Lessons from the Pharisees
(Exhortation - May 2003)
Following the daily readings in the gospel of Luke, we cannot fail to be impressed by the great wisdom of the inspired record. The beauty of the parables, the wonder of the miracles and the skill with which the Lord dealt with the opposition are all presented succinctly and enable us to draw out some wonderful lessons. Our focus this morning is the Lord’s interaction with the Pharisees.
To the distorted minds of the Pharisees the great crime of the man they demeaned, as just the son of a carpenter, was that he was a blasphemer. The occasion that convinced them of the veracity of their accusation was the healing of the paralytic man who was lowered down from the dismantled roof of the house. The importance of the incident can be seen from the fact that it is recorded in three of the Gospel records.
Spiritual sickness
Luke sets the scene graphically: “And it came to pass on a certain day,
as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting
by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem:
and the power of the Lord was present to heal them” (Lk.5:17). There is
a statement here that we must not overlook. The power of the Lord bestowed
in the word made flesh, was present not only for performing miracles, but
also to heal the spiritually sick. Unknown to the Jewish leaders, it was a
malady from which they were suffering. How sad that the intelligentsia
gathered from such a wide geographical area missed the wonderful opportunity
to come to God through the Great Physician in their midst. They were
blinded and hardened by their own willful stubbornness and expectations.
Instead of having receptive minds ready to absorb truth, they were intent on
looking for any deviation from the religious opinions devised from their own
learning and understanding.
Then came the accusation of blasphemy: “Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” (Luke 5.21). The blasphemy scenario persisted and was a factor leading to the infamous trials by the Jewish authorities. Of course, the charge was unfounded because the Son of Man did have power on earth to forgive sins.
The lesson for us is that when we approach our Heavenly Father in prayer, reading the scriptures, or even attending ecclesial meetings, we should clear our minds from preconceived ideas. We can miss so much when we become too complacent, feeling that we understand the truth and have all of the answers. This attitude of mind negates any ongoing spiritual healing that can be derived from the word of God.
The next issue was the implied accusation of a loose lifestyle. Jesus had accepted Levi’s invitation to accompany him to his home: “And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?” (Lk. 5:29-30). Obviously, the inference was that association with such people could only lead to personal contamination. The answer Jesus gave is etched upon our minds: “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Lk. 5:31-32).
The Lord selects
His own
A little later Jesus accepted a similar invitation to the house of another
Pharisee where a woman who was a sinner entered unhindered. (One is left to
speculate why such a woman had access to the house.) Perhaps embarrassment
tinged the thoughts of Simon as he said to himself: “This man, if he were
a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that
toucheth him: for she is a sinner” (Lk. 7:39). Rather, he should have
been embarrassed that he didn’t share her overwhelming gratitude for
forgiveness.
Nevertheless, the Lord used the situation to demonstrate his power of assessment and authority to forgive: “I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven thee” (Lk. 7:47-48).
God knows the situation of all who would come to Him and it is not for us to judge the sins of others or in our perceived wisdom, make decisions as to who is the right type to be saved.
The Lord of the
Sabbath
Another area of contention was
Sabbath breaking. On the occasion of the disciples plucking and rubbing
ears of corn in order to assuage their hunger, the question was asked:
“Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days?” (Luke
6:1-2).
Even more infuriating to the Pharisees was the Lord’s repeated selection of the holy day to perform miracles. Nevertheless, this did not deter these hypocrites from planting a sick man in the house of one of the senior leaders on the Sabbath day and then inviting Jesus to dinner! “And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day, that they watched him. And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy” (Lk. 14:1-2).
Imagine the excitement and tension as they waited expectantly to gather more evidence with which to accuse him. But they were about to receive a lesson in compassion and priority from the Lord of the Sabbath. “And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? And they held their peace, and he took him, and healed him, and let him go; and answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day?” (Lk. 14:1-6). The obvious insight and correctness of the rationale left the audience speechless and in awe.
Rebirth
It is encouraging to see that some of the Pharisees responded positively to
the accumulative evidence of the Messiahship of the man from Galilee.
Nicodemus was one of these people: “There was a man of the Pharisees,
named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and
said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no
man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him” (John
3:1-2).
Although he came furtively for fear of criticism from his peers, he was taught the way of salvation: “Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:5).
God speaks to the human race through His word, which if allowed to take root, will begin the process of regeneration, or rebirth. Nicodemus experienced the privilege of hearing the words of life from the “word made flesh.” After the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the new birth was to be accomplished through the hearing of the Spirit word preserved in the Bible, leading to a symbolic death in the waters of baptism, and in God’s mercy, the bestowal of spirit nature at the resurrection.
The impact of the teaching from the lips of the Son of God was not lost upon Nicodemus. Following the death of Jesus, he openly declared himself to be a disciple by taking precious spices and participating in the preparation of the Lord’s body for his burial.
Redemption through
grace
As the result of the courage and inspired preaching of the apostles, many
more Pharisees accepted the sad fact that they had been responsible for the
death of the long-awaited Messiah. Unfortunately, problems surfaced due to
their inability to recognize that “new wine must be put into new bottles”!
They embraced the teaching of Jesus Christ and accepted him as the promised
seed, but they still wanted to hold on to the law of Moses: “But there
rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, that it
was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of
Moses.” Peter admonished them: “Now therefore why tempt ye God, to
put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we
were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ we shall be saved, even as they” (Acts 15:5, 10-11).
The crux of the matter was the converted Pharisees still believed that salvation could be obtained through the works of the law. No, said Peter, it is through grace!
It was vital for the Pharisees to understand and accept this teaching and the situation is the same for us. As followers of the one we have come to honor and remember this morning, it is important to recognize that we cannot earn a place in God’s kingdom. Only through faith in the promises, the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus and God’s kindness and grace will we granted a place therein.
Clive Drepaul