Friday, July 4, 2008
"Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground" (Hebrews 11:36-38 NIV).
IDEA: The Pharisees who wanted righteousness in the land were opposed to Righteousness Himself when He appeared from God.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand how something that seems good can actually turn out bad.
Someone has said that religion can sometimes be the worst enemy of a genuine Christian faith.
Would you agree that there's some truth in that observation?
The Pharisees who appeared in the first century are an example of a righteousness that became unrighteous.
I. The Pharisees kept the Law scrupulously and wanted everyone else to keep it.
What is the problem that people face when they try to keep the commandments?
For example, the Law says "You shall not steal." What exactly do we mean by stealing?
The Law says that you shall keep the Sabbath holy. What would questions would people have about that?
The Pharisees attempted to answer those questions with what is called the Oral Law.
Sometimes they came up with laws about the Oral Law.
Ultimately the interpretations of the Law became as sacred as the Law itself and perhaps even more important.
You catch a glimpse of what this must have been like in the Islamic truth squads who want to force people, especially women, to keep not only what the Koran says but what the teachers say about what the Koran says.
An example from the New Testament is Mark 7:1-23—the Pharisees complained that Jesus and His followers did not follow "the tradition of the elders." They ate with impure hands.
They were not talking about hygiene. Apparently they wanted people, when they sat down to a meal, to wash their hands in a ceremony. It was probably an extension of reflection of the psalms, "Who can ascend the holy hill of God? Those with clean hands . . ."
II. The Pharisees opposed Jesus.
They accused Him of not keeping the Law.
They meant the Oral Law that was an extension of the Old Testament Law.
Jesus attracted large crowds who came to hear His teaching. The Pharisees who had a popular following may have felt that they were losing it.
III. The desire for righteousness actually stood in the way of Jesus the Righteous One when he appeared in their midst.
Is it possible that, even though the Pharisees as a group do not exist today, the spirit of the Pharisees continues into the 21st century?
Can rules which are an expression of righteous behavior become central in the Christian faith and the people who keep the rules miss out on who Jesus was and what Jesus taught?