Read Matthew 23 online here.
For days we have seen presents sitting under the Christmas tree, all wrapped up in festive paper. Some of the gifts may even have fancy ribbons and bows, which only add to the anticipation. The more elegant the wrapping, the more we hope for a wonderful present. How disappointing it would be to untie the ribbon, tear off the paper and open the box only to find a handful of packing peanuts and no gift at all. It would be even worse to admiringly remove the shiny, decorative paper and discover the remains of someone’s fried chicken dinner. You would remember that gift for a long time, but not in a good way.
The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were a group of well-wrapped Christmas presents. It’s easy for us to see them as the bad guys in the Gospels because Jesus frequently called them out. However, most people in Jesus’ day saw them as the spiritual superstars. When it came to obeying God’s law, they were the varsity team. They looked really spiritual and holy, even down to their accessorizing1, but Jesus saw their hearts. They were like beautiful wrapping paper covering up nasty chicken bones. Six times in this chapter, Jesus calls the Pharisees “hypocrites.” In Jesus’ words, a hypocrite is someone who does not practice what they preach (v. 23:3). They are quick to tell other people what to do, but are not willing to give them any help (v. 23:4). They do good things only to get noticed (v. 23:5). Basically, a hypocrite is someone who thinks the answer to sin is more rules and learning how to keep them. A hypocrite is someone who thinks that they can change their heart by changing stuff on the outside.
Trying to save yourself by following the rules will only turn you into a hypocrite. It doesn’t even matter what your rules are. The only real cure for hypocrisy is the Gospel. Jesus is very harsh in his words to the Pharisees, but he ends his words to them with an invitation to come to him. Jesus doesn’t deny that the people had sinned. In fact he said that they had murdered God’s truth-tellers — the prophets. But this did not mean that there was no hope for them. He said that he wanted to gather these sinful people of Jerusalem to himself like a mother hen protecting her baby chicks. The problem was not that they were too awful for Jesus to forgive or that they weren’t working hard enough to please God. The only thing that kept the people of Jerusalem from knowing God’s love and forgiveness was their own unwillingness to receive it on Jesus’ terms.
The Pharisees had their lists of rules and said, “Do these.” In his death on the cross, Jesus said, “It is done.” What are you counting on to make you “a good Christian”? Are you depending on rules or on Jesus?
1For an interesting education on “phylacteries” (called “tefillin” by Jews today) check out http://www.chabad.org/generic_cdo/aid/102436/jewish/Tefillin.htm
Today's article written by Scott Gassoway.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
What I Don't Want for Christmas. Matthew 23.
3 comments:
Yes the pharisee loved there sin more than God.
That's the main reason why the world doesn't accept the Christ of the Bible. Oh yes they will accept the "man-made" Christmas ideas of universal peace and love but the idea that people need rescue from their sin and depravity is absurd in America. Christ came to seek and save the lost is the true message of Christmas. The problem is most people, religious and secular, refuse to acknowledge they are lost in their sins. To America sin is an antiquated concept. America defines what is right and wrong not the Bible. The Bible to most of America is antiquated and not aligned with "science." They reject the vast truth of scripture over theories that have incredibly no hard scientific evidence.
John MacArthur asks "What in the world about us that makes us so embarrass about the Gospel?" Most Evangelical Churches have taken out the what they believe to be the offensive parts of what Jesus taught because of fear of being rejected. But in order for the Church to grow the complete Gospel of Jesus need to be preached. Without the message of being lost the message of salvation and love mean nothing. How can people understand the Gospel of Jesus unless they truly understand their horrible destiny without Christ - eternal torment in Hell and separation from God and all others.
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector display the true essence of Sola Fide. That's why my favorite secular Christmas story isn't Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, The NutCracker, or Planes, Trains and Automobiles but Dickens Christmas Carol. Can you imagine America waking up on Christmas morning with the attitude of Ebenezer but instead of having been visited by the ghosts of Christmas Americans are visited by the Holy Ghost and justified through the Creator's regeneration. America would be far different state than what it is in now.
Luke 18
9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Luke 9
23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell,[c] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'
Scott, excellent post, thanks brother...I am especially moved by your analogy of the wrapping versus the contents.
Scotsman, I have a couple of points to offer regarding your analysis though I am in agreement with much of it.
You said: "Yes the pharisee loved there sin more than God."
I would be more inclined, from this passage, to state that the pharisees loved their trappings of "godliness" more than God Himself. I may be wrong, but I would think that the critical issue was a lack of authentic transformation by the same Law with which they clothed themselves.
You said: John MacArthur asks "What in the world about us that makes us so embarrass about the Gospel?"
Obviously this keys me into Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes...
However I would note that in your analysis you quoted John MacArthur yet never actually articulated the gospel of Christ (which I assume that you are referring to in your reference to the "Gospel of Jesus").
Therein lies, what I see as, a major challenge for American Christians. I do not believe it is entirely American hubris or shame which presents the challenge, instead it may well be rooted in ignorance. And, while I will not dispute your polemic regarding the promised result of the persistent rejection of Christ, I believe it is necessary to point out that if we, as Christians, do not articulate the gospel, and choose instead to point the finger of blame on the ignorant (or further, to generalize "most Americans" as "rejecting the truth"), then we are not successfully evidencing the transformative power of that same gospel to the world. (How is that for a run-on sentence :) )
In my (possibly flawed) view, our calling is to reach the lost, not constantly re-establish the root cause of their lost-ness, which we know to be sin.
It is only through the efforts of the Spirit that we, and the lost, are convicted of our sin...and that only comes through hearing the gospel of Christ.
Just as the pharisees were experts at rapidly identifying flaws in the trappings of godliness worn by others, I believe we, as Christians, too often place an un-Christ-like emphasis on what we see on the outside rather than completing our true calling to articulate the gospel of Christ and allow the Spirit to perform His miracle of transformation.
The true sin, in my estimation, is to condemn the ignorant when I am equipped through the Word and the Spirit to inform them of the truth, but choose not to because of my estimation of the degree of their lost-ness.
We rebelled against God and received the death sentence for it. But God loved us so much that He came to earth as Jesus, lived a perfect life and was killed in our place. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead. The fact that he died in our place and returned to life provided us with both forgiveness of our debt and everlasting life if we accept it.
He lived the life we could not live, died the death that we deserved, and offers a gift that we cannot earn.
Blessings! Your brother in Christ, Aaron
Flying Scotsman
Thank you for your comments. Granted, this was not intended to be an exhaustive treatment of this passge (I tried to keep my comments to 500 words), but I'm curious if you feel the "offensive parts of what Jesus taught" were masked by this post?
BTW...is your identity a tribute to Eric Liddell?
Aaron,
Thanks for your contribution. I appreciated your reminder about the truth that Jesus lived the life we should have lived, etc. Keep contending for the Gospel.
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