Skip to main content

Waiting for the Messiah... the Pharisees


The best-known sect of first century Judaism today are the Pharisees. We see them frequently throughout the Gospels as they question and oppose Jesus seemingly everywhere he goes. I think we often get the impression that the Pharisees represent the entirety of first century Jewish thought and theology, but in truth they only comprised roughly 10% of the Jewish world.

The Pharisees were purists above all else. They believed in a strict devotion to the Law of Moses and that all Jews should obey it to the letter. They despised what they saw as the current corruption of the Temple and the priesthood, emphasizing personal obedience to the Law above meeting the requirements of the Temple. They were looking for a Messiah who would cleanse the Temple, restore the authority of the Law of Moses, and bring about a golden age of Judah.
           
This purity of devotion to the Law was why the Pharisees were so against Gentiles and “sinners.” It is also why it is the Pharisees more than anyone who harassed Jesus with questions about the Law and hounded him for, in their opinion, not following it. People were claiming that this Jesus was the Messiah, but to them this was impossible. How could Jesus be the Messiah, when he healed on the Sabbath and ate with sinners? That was breaking the Law!
           
The Pharisees were right in their expectation and desire to see more obedience to what God had said. However, they missed the point of obedience. God doesn’t want people to obey for the sake of obeying, but out of love for God and others. Jesus indeed called for obedience, but it was an obedience grounded in love and mercy.
           
Today we still are tempted to follow the path of the Pharisees. We look for rules to follow and try to define who is “pure” and who isn’t. We want Jesus to be the Judge but not the Shepherd who chases down the one lost sheep no matter the cost. Jesus calls us to be obedient to God, but he also calls us to be light and love to everyone.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving, the day that we are supposed to celebrate all the things we are thankful for. It is a time of family reunions, football, and turkey eating. I sincerely pray that each and every one of you has a good day today. I'll admit that being thankful has not been easy for me this year. As pretty much all of you know, my mother passed away December of last year. Though she had been in the hospital for months, we were not expecting it. In fact I was sure she would be finally able to come home within a matter of weeks. Instead she peacefully passed on into the arms of Jesus, whom she loved more dearly than anyone else. As you can imagine, the entire family was heart broken. After what can easily be described as the worst Christmas ever, I returned to home to Illinois. It was here that I finally broke down. I spent the next months doing everything except being thankful. I cursed God, wept, screamed, begged to have her back, and was generally not the nicest person to be
3 comments
Read more

Matthew, The Promised Messiah

Imagine, if you will, living as a Jewish Christian in the first century. You grew up following the Mosaic Law and have studied the Old Testament backwards and forwards. The life of the synagogue, that shared community of faith, is precious to you. It was, for the longest time, the cohesive core of your walk of faith. You grew up waiting on the promises of God to be fulfilled. Now you've heard the good news you've been waiting for; the news the entire Jewish people have been waiting for. God has acted decisively! The covenant promises made to Abraham have at last been fulfilled! The Messiah has come! Eagerly you listen to those proclaiming the Messiah, a man named Jesus from the town of Nazareth. You listen and are astounded at his life and teaching. Truly this man was a great prophet, just as Moses promised. You listen in awe as your entire concept of royalty is turned on its head, as this Jesus assumed the throne as the promised king of Israel not by war or riches but by a
Post a Comment
Read more

Reading Aloud

What is the primary way we use Scripture today? I think the answer, at least in our society, is private reading and study. The majority of our spiritual advice can be summed up in "study the Bible more." The moral of many sermons is simply that we don't read the Bible enough. I think that this is absolutely true, but I probably mean something a little different. While I obviously agree that we, in general, don't read the Bible enough individually that isn't actually my main gripe. I think we don't read the Bible enough out loud, in community, as a part of worship. This, I think, should be a central part of our gatherings every week. We should simply read the Bible out loud and listen together in community. How much is the Bible read aloud in your gathering? I'm talking specifically about just reading, not during sermons or classes. How often is the Bible simply read without someone commenting on or explaining it? Just the Scriptures read aloud for all to h
Post a Comment
Read more