Were the Pharisees That Bad?

When Jesus came to earth 2,000 or so years ago, the Jewish religious leaders of the day refused to accept him as the Messiah.  They had what they thought were good reasons for this but they all boiled down to one thing -- Jesus did not validate their belief system.  The Pharisees and Sadducees had, over the years, come up with a complex set of rules and interpretations that they imposed on their followers.  Jesus came and turned all of that upside down.  He started with the Sermon on the Mount.  "You have heard that it is said... but I tell you..."  Who were the people doing the saying that Jesus referred to?  The religious leaders.  Jesus was trying to get the church back to the fundamental truths.  This was too much for the leaders of the day.

We tend to think we are different from the leaders of Jesus' time.  They were small-minded, selfish, stubborn.  Jesus himself had some colorful descriptions and choice words for them.  We would be different if Jesus came back today.  We would welcome him and fellowship with him and accept him as our Savior.  Or would we?

I recently attended a Lutheran church where the service started with a processional to bring a cross on a pole to the front of the church.  We all had to turn to face the cross and reverently watch its progress as it was carried to the alter and put in its place.  That whole affair felt uncomfortable to me (and my wife), but was not necessarily sinful or blasphemous.

However, let's just say, hypothetically, that Jesus showed up in that church and reprimanded them for their practice similar to the way he overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple.  Would the members of the congregation willingly and immediately change their tradition or would they push back?  Would people accept Jesus as the true Messiah after he publicly denounced their beliefs?  I hope so, but I can also see how people could have strong opinions in the opposite direction.  Who is this guy who is questioning our traditions?  How dare he?

What if Jesus came to a meeting of the leaders of the Wisconsin Synod Lutheran Church and told them that their doctrine about the role of women in the church was wrong or the doctrine of fellowship was wrong?  Again, this is hypothetical, but think about it.  These teachings of the WELS are not accepted by other Christian denominations.  They are interpretations that some men made hundreds of years ago that have been passed down to each generation.  If Jesus came to the meeting and proved from the scriptures that some of the doctrinal beliefs were wrong, would he be accepted?  Again, I hope so.

Here is a personal example.  Say Jesus came back to earth, found me, introduced himself as the Son of God, and invited me out to lunch.  On the way to lunch and while waiting for the meal, we had great conversations about spiritual things and I agreed with everything the man said.  Then, the food came and we started eating.  I was horrified to see that this guy, who called himself Jesus, chewed with his mouth open--not just a little bit, but in that lip-smacking, mouth wide open, completely disgusting way. That would be it for me.  "You cannot be the Son of God.  There is no way God chews with his mouth open."

I am only half-kidding.  While I hope I would get over it, I admit, it would not be easy.  I might have to avoid breaking bread with Jesus.

Where am I going with this?  Obviously, the Pharisees and other religious leaders of the day were wrong.  The Bible clearly condemns them for their way of thinking.  We cannot give them a pass because we might do the same thing.

Maybe the lesson is that we need to evaluate our beliefs and traditions, not in the light of history or experience, but in the light of the Bible.  We should be willing to give up traditions and interpretations that do not square with the truth.  Whose truth do we accept?  The "truth" that comes from our intelligence and wisdom?  The "truth" that comes from our local religious leader or the organization we grew up in and identify with?  The "truth" that aligns with our current culture?  The "truth" that is similar to the way we feel? 

I pray that God would not give we wisdom from any of these sources.  I pray for the truth and wisdom of God's word, regardless of what this means for my current beliefs.  Maybe my thinking about something is wrong, even though my friends and neighbors agree with me, and society agrees with me.  I am still wrong.  I want to know the truth, even if it contradicts what I have been taught; even if it offends those around me; even if I must give up things I now hold dear.

May the Holy Spirit open my eyes, grant me wisdom, and draw me closer to Christ.  "Lord I believe.  Help, thou my unbelief."

Is humility enough?

The New Testament reading for today was taken from Philippians 2.  This is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible because it gets to the heart of what our life should be.  Paul explains how Jesus lived and pleads with us to live the same way.

The heading for this section in the NIV says, "Imitating Christ's Humility".  While humility is certainly in there, it is just a part of who Jesus was and what Paul is trying to say.

Perhaps a better heading would be "Having Christ's Mindset".  Paul is not just suggesting that we could all use a bit more humility.  This is not some well-meaning advice that we should evaluate and see if it applies to us or not.  Paul's words are not a metaphysical buffet where we can pick and choose what appeals to us.  ("I suppose I'll have some humility.  I already help others; don't need more of that.")  This is life-changing stuff.  Paul is calling us to a completely different and all-consuming lifestyle.

Why did Jesus take the form he did?  Why was he born into a poor family?  Why did he live in a town that hosted a Roman garrison?  Why did he work with his hands?  Jesus could have been born into a rich, influential Jewish family living in Jerusalem.  He was not.

Paul does not call this a choice.  He calls it a mindset.  What does this mean?  It wasn't that God prefers Carpentry to the other crafts or thinks being poor is a more pious way of life.  The form that God took in this world was a mindset, a way of life that we should not simply imitate but that we should embrace body and soul.  The way Jesus lived is how every Christian should live.

The truth Paul is encouraging us to embrace relates to our purpose.  This purpose is about relationships to others and our relationship to God.

Why did Jesus come to this plane of existence?  Two reasons

1. to save the world and 
2. to bring God glory.

Why are you and I here?  Two reasons

1. to spread the good news of salvation to everyone we come in contact with and 
2. to bring God glory.

That is the mindset we need to embrace.

Why then does Paul talk about humility and thinking about others as more important than ourselves?  Because pride is the enemy of our purpose.  Pride ultimately leads us to believe that we do not need God.  Just like Adam and Eve, we want to "be like God, knowing good and evil".  Pride separates us from God.

Pride also separates us from each other.  I  may compare myself to the people around me and feel that I am better than them.  When I do, I feel less willing to help them.  "You should take care of yourself.  I did it.  So can you."  That is not the humble mindset that God wants us to have.

If we are to have the mindset of God, it starts with letting go of everything the world has taught us and embracing Jesus mindset.  Humility is a required part of this.  Becoming a servant is a required part of this.  They are the means to the end; the way we fulfill our purpose.

The central part of a Christ mindset is giving in to God's plan for your life.  Fully.  Completely.  Becoming obedient unto death.  Jesus eschewed riches, fame, and fortune so that he could focus completely on his mission and so that we would focus completely on his gospel.  He had to be poor so that we could clearly see how rich we are in Christ.  He had to put others first so they could see the extent of God's love.  We should do likewise.

This way of life is not just a good idea or a suggestion.  Living with the mind of Christ is the only way.  May each of us be like Jesus -- give up our life in this world to live the humble, self-abasing, and serving life that leads others to Christ and brings glory to God.