Paul to Felix: "I am in Agreement with the Pharisees...sort of"

In Paul's defense before Felix (Acts 24.14ff) he acknowledges the areas of agreement with his accusers (who now seem to be Pharisees, or at least some of the Pharisees). He says that:

• I worship the God of my fathers
• I believe all things that are written in the law and the prophets
• I have hope toward God
• I believe in the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust
• I work to always have a conscience void of offense both to man and God

In other words, Paul is saying that he agrees almost completely with his accusers. The area of disagreement is on the person of Christ. Paul says that Christ is the Messiah, his accusers disagree, and want to see him killed.

All in all it is a brilliant defense from Paul, and Luke clearly weaves into the narrative Paul's innocence, both from his own perspective and from the perspective of Felix, the one who could set Paul free.

Clean on the Outside; Filthy on the Inside

Christ accuses the Pharisees of being clean on the outside—of having the appearance of being righteous—but filthy on the inside in Luke 7.39-41. They were doing things that made them appear religious, but inside they were doing just the opposite. As Christ points out, they were full of greed and wickedness. Do something, Christ says, to rid yourselves of that greed, "give gifts to the poor," and you will rid yourselves of greed and at the same time you will both understand God's heart and train yourselves in living rightly.

We would like to think that we are not like the Pharisees, but in reality we are. All too often I am motivated by greed rather than generosity, and stinginess rather than freely giving. Christ condemns this attitude very strongly here.

Prayer: O Lord may I not be a Pharisee, but may I have a heart for the poor; a heart for those less fortunate; a heart filled with compassion; may I have your heart.

On the Poverty of Seeking a Sign (from Christ)

The miracles, like the teaching, of Jesus were not offered as signs to convince spectators; they were done as acts of love to people in need. They only became signs for those with the humility and openness to perceive and receive the meaning. This the Pharisees clearly did not possess, as their attitude towards him shows. (BST)

Thus points out the BST commentary on Mark 8.12. The Pharisees seek a sign from Christ and his response is to sigh deeply in spirit (the Greek word is used only here in the Scriptures). He is not here to be a magician and they are completely missing the point of Christ's miracles. They will receive no sign and he emphatically tells them so.

Some Were Paying Attention

In John 10. 41, 42, this morning. Some in Israel were paying attention. They had watched John's ministry and understood that he had preached about the coming of Messiah, but had done no works. Along came Christ who said he was Messiah and who did miraculous works. They rightly concluded that everything that John said about this man was true. The result: And many believed in him there.

One cannot overemphasize the importance of paying attention like this. The Pharisees and scribes had the exact same information as those who believed, but because of their preconceived notion of how Messiah should act and what he should do, they were spiritually blind.

The Contrast Between the Pharisees and Judas

Matthew 27 is a fascinating chapter, it is chock full of characters, good and bad, surrounding the crucifixion of Christ. One could write multiple sermons just on the people surrounding Christ's death on the cross. What struck me this morning was the contrast between Judas, and the Pharisees and elders of the people. The Pharisees, knowing that Christ was innocent, had him killed anyway because they hated him. Judas, on the other hand, after betraying Christ and knowing that he was innocent, killed himself, presumably due to remorse. Through the entire crucifixion story the Jewish leaders show no such remorse, nor even any introspection or hesitation at crucifying an innocent man. They hate him. They want him dead. They accomplish their—make that God's—purpose.

And that is the fascinating fact in all of this. The Jewish leaders, making their own ghastly choices, fully comply with God's preordained plan. How did that happen? The Scriptures don't see the need to explain this conundrum, they are content to simply lay out the facts.

Flattery Will Get You Nowhere

The Pharisees and Herodians use flattery on Christ in Matt 22.16; they get nowhere. Kent Hughes defines flattery as "saying something to someone's face that you would never say behind their back," just so. While Christ's opponents speak truthfully, they do not believe a word of what they say, it is flattery for the sake of entrapment.

What I find fascinating is that they inadvertently reveal to history Christ's true character. They list four aspects of Christ's character which are all true: You are true. You teach the way of God truthfully. You do not care about people's opinions of you. You are not swayed by appearances. Since Christ is our example of how to live the faith, our aim ought to be to emulate Christ in these four characteristics.

We know!

In John 9.24, this morning where the Pharisees encounter the man who had been blind from birth, but whose eyes Christ had opened. The whole encounter has a side element of comedy to it as the blue collar guy—without education and intellect—schools the guys who have all of the education and intelligence.

What struck me is that the Pharisees used the language of devotion. They call for the unnamed ex-blind guy to give glory to God. Sounds good! What could possibly be wrong with that. Then they say, we know that this man is a sinner. In the Greek the we is emphasized as if they were saying, "we and not you," or "of this we are sure." The language of devotion masked a spirit of pride that could not or would not see what was plainly in front of them, as the ex-blind guy points out for them: Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. Ouch! How that must have hurt.

The learning point is two-fold: First, I had better make sure that my heart does not hide unbelief and pride behind a mask of devotion. Second, it is possible that I can be so convinced that what I believe is correct—even when it is absolutely wrong—that I miss the truth, even when it smacks me squarely in the eyes. Be careful, O wandering heart!

The Heart of a Pharisee

My Bible reading highlight today was John 9.34. It is the Pharisees' response to the man who was born blind and healed by Christ. They make a tacit admission that the man was healed by Christ without even realizing it! In addition, in the Greek they emphasize the second person singular: "YOU were born in utter sin, and would YOU teach us?"

We need to be very careful that we do not have the heart of a Pharisee. The Bible Speaks Today makes this point in its commentary on this section:

The Pharisees are not an extinct breed. Whenever we find ourselves valuing the letter of God’s law above its spirit; whenever we find ourselves unable to rejoice in the saving and renewing of lives simply because the instrument used was not someone who dots all the i’s and crosses all the t’s of our theological group; whenever we lose the daily, hourly sense of joy in the grace of God by which alone we know him and live before him, then we need to beware.

The Heart of a Pharisee

Reading in Luke 15.2, this morning.  The Pharisees and scribes—in contrast to Christ—did NOT receive, nor eat with sinners.  The heart of a Pharisee says, "I will not be infected by consorting with filthy sinners."  The heart of Christ says, "I will go where a physician is needed most desperately."  May I have the heart of Christ. 

The Heart of a Pharisee/The Heart of Pharoah

While reading in both Ex 10.27 and Luke 13.14 this morning, I was struck by the similarities between the heart of the ruler of the synagogue and the heart of Pharoah. Both men see God's power demonstrated in as mighty acts as he ever demonstrates on earth. In the ruler's case a woman who has been in slavery to a disabling spirit for 18 years is freed. In Pharoah's case, he has seen God use nature in a supernatural way to destroy his country. Pharoah still won't let the people go even after 9 plagues. The ruler of the synagogue still won't recognize the hand of God in Christ's miracle, choosing rather to focus on the fact that Christ healed on the Sabbath!

Two very different men, and yet two hearts that are the same, closed off to God even when they see his power demonstrated in mighty ways. May we purpose not to miss God's power because he doesn't act like we assume he should act (the ruler of the synagogue) or because we do not believe in him (Pharoah).

The Syro-Phoenician Woman I

Context. Mark doesn't just set this story (Mark 7.24-30) will-nilly as if it suddenly popped into his mind. The two pericopes that come before this demonstrate how the Pharisees lambast Christ's disciples for eating without ceremonial cleaning. In turn Christ lambasts the Pharisees for being legalists. Next Christ explains that, in contrast to the Pharisees' theology, it is not what comes into a man that defiles him, but what is inside of him. Then comes the story with a Gentile, Canaanite, pagan-therefore-unclean, woman. She tells Christ that second place (behind the Jews) is okay with her, if she can just have the demon cast out of her daughter (incredible faith). Here is the way one writer puts the contrast between this woman and the Pharisees:

Ironically, the unclean Gentile girl is cleansed of the unclean demon (Mark 7:30) by her mother’s decisive and intercessory faith in Jesus, but the clean Pharisees remain unclean because their evils come from unrepentant and unbelieving hearts that reject Jesus (Mark 7:15, 23).

Thus the importance of context.