As we look more closely to our relationship with Christ during this Lenten Season is your relationship one of a Pharisee or one of a disciple? Quickly we want to answer, "Why, of course, its as a disciple!! No way am I a Pharisee!!" That was my first response as this question tumbled around in my mind while doing my morning Scripture reading. But, some of the things Jesus is accusing the Pharisees of doing am I not doing them? Let's take a closer look at these two relationships, Pharisee or disciple.
The Pharisees that were following Jesus from place to place were there to attempt to entrap him for the sole purpose of finding something they could use to crucify him. They were not seeking answers to improve their relationship with God but to kill His Son. When Jesus was twelve, on the verge of becoming a man, he was found by his parents "in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers." At every opportunity the Pharisees were constantly testing him with their questions; constantly attempting to entrap him. Have we not, at some point in our life, attempted to entrap Jesus with our questions?
Jesus criticized the Pharisees because they washed their outsides but not their insides; tithed but neglected to show God's love; loved praise and attention; load ones down with laws and rituals and do nothing to ease the burden; not accepting the truth about Jesus; and they prevented others from knowing the truth about Jesus. We do the same when we do things to be seen rather than from the excess of our love for Christ. We do the same when we attend church on Sunday to be seen or because "its the right thing to do" rather than to worship the One who has saved you. We do the same thing when we "wear our Christianity" on the outside but our actions do not reflect God's love on the inside.
Jesus tells us to be on guard against "the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy". The New International Version Life Application Bible tells us the signs of hypocrisy is "knowing the truth but not showing it. People can say they follow Jesus, but not be obedient to his Word. 2) Hypocrisy is living a self-serving life. People may desire leadership only because they love position and control, not because they want to serve others. 3) Hypocrisy reduces faith to rigid rules. People can end up worshiping their own rules and regulations about what they think God wants instead of worshiping God Himself. 4) Hypocrisy is outward conformity without inner reality. People can obey the details but still be disobedient in general behavior. For example, a person may carefully tithe but be rude and obnoxious to his co-worker...Consider these signs of hypocrisy and make sure you are not guilty. Then ask God to help you live rightly."
As a disciple, "a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another" (Dictionary.com), of Jesus he tells us the greatest commandment is to "love God with all our heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbors as yourself". At one point he looked at his disciples and asked "Who do you say I am?" If your answer is like Peter's , "You are the Messiah" after honest introspection do your actions tell others you are a Pharisee or a disciple of Jesus Christ of Nazareth?
