Woes to the Pharisees

 

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:1-12 ESV).

 

It's just Tuesday of the Week of Passion and we see Jesus confronting hypocrisy directly. I find it a very contemporary truth in today’s world. The Pharisees meet with Jesus as He is teaching. Remember the Pharisees were religious leaders who wanted people to keep the law of Moses. So, they built up all kinds of rules around the basic law. In fact, there are over 3,000 of these laws that they burdened the people with. In the process, many of the leaders got so distracted by the rules that they forgot the heart of the law (love God; love your neighbor), and they did not practice what they preached.

 

In our reading today, Jesus let the Pharisees know what he didn’t like about them. Jesus agreed with a lot of what the Pharisees taught. Jesus was a faithful Jew, so he thought the Pharisees had good things to say about what it meant to love God and to serve God. But Jesus showed that the Pharisees cared more about the appearance of loving God than about actually loving God.

 

Following Jesus does not mean throwing out all religious traditions. Jesus knew that faith is meant to be practiced in community. We cannot be Christians by ourselves; we live within the guidelines of a community of other Christians. But following Jesus also does not mean following the law just for the sake of the law. Jesus always called his disciples to put people first and traditions second. Jesus challenged the Pharisees for making the rules of the law too important. He called them to show love to people, as the law was intended to help them do. Jesus calls us to love people today too, following his excellent example. Commit yourself to being like Jesus rather than merely talking about being like Him!