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It amazes me how widespread the idea that the Pharisees were these guys who just really liked rules and Jesus came to free us from rules so that is why they hated Him.
Any time someone attempts to say that God has standards for His people and we should follow them, that person is called a "legalist" and likened to "the Pharisees."
Every time.
Every time.
But in Jesus's fights with the Pharisees, He is never arguing that God's Law is bad or that He has come to overturn it.
And they are never actually arguing that it is good, either.
They are always manipulatively misapplying it to accuse Jesus.
And they are never actually arguing that it is good, either.
They are always manipulatively misapplying it to accuse Jesus.
When Jesus is accused of violating the Sabbath, He goes back to the story of David on the run from Saul:
David and his men are famished and will die if they do not eat. They reach the tabernacle and the priests only have showbread, reserved only for priests.
David and his men are famished and will die if they do not eat. They reach the tabernacle and the priests only have showbread, reserved only for priests.
The priests know any violation by them of God's commands regarding worship could result in death like Nadab and Abihu.
But before them stood men about to die if they did not eat.
So they gave them food.
Because God's Law is not made for its own sake.
But before them stood men about to die if they did not eat.
So they gave them food.
Because God's Law is not made for its own sake.
In the same way, Abraham's, Isaac's, Rebekah's/Jacob's, Rachel's, Rahab's/the Hebrew midwives' deception operates the same way.
Bearing false witness is a sin. But deception when doing so will avoid great evil, is not.
Bearing false witness is a sin. But deception when doing so will avoid great evil, is not.
The Pharisees are the kind of people who would condemn people who lied to the Gestapo about hiding Jews under the floorboards.
"Gotcha. The Lake of Fire is reserved for Liars!"
"Gotcha. The Lake of Fire is reserved for Liars!"
We have so many people like this within evangelicalism.
Those who will condemn right application of God's standards as legalism, and on the flip side condemn you in the strongest terms if you don't uphold modern liberal democracy's moral standards.
Those who will condemn right application of God's standards as legalism, and on the flip side condemn you in the strongest terms if you don't uphold modern liberal democracy's moral standards.
Like the Pharisees, they hate God's standards, except when they might be convenient to use against God's people.
That is what a Pharisees is. A whitewashed tomb, a hypocrite.
Not someone a little too zealous about God giving us commands to follow.
That is what a Pharisees is. A whitewashed tomb, a hypocrite.
Not someone a little too zealous about God giving us commands to follow.
I preached about this stuff yesterday. You can listen to it here:
