“Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites …: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teaching are but rules taught by men.’”
Mark 7:6-7
The Pharisees saw themselves as spiritually pure, a movement which would hasten God’s promise of the coming kingdom. They were the conservative, Bible-believing faithful who worked for spiritual and cultural renewal. Honestly, that doesn’t sound bad. It’s just that they believed they themselves could earn their way to heaven. This self-righteousness was taking them further from— rather than closer to—God.
Jesus’ teaching for the Pharisees infuriated them. He said it was the sinner, the tax collector, the impure who actually were closer to God. Not because it was virtuous to violate the law, but because he understood his inability to make himself pure.
Where is your heart this Easter season? Maybe you’re feeling quite proud of the good citizen you’ve been, the good neighbor, the good church.goer, the good money-giver. There may be some Pharisee residing in you. No matter who you are, Jesus is saying, “Come to the Father.” Thankfully, Jesus is not a Pharisee about Pharisees; to all of us He lovingly extends His gracious gift of salvation.
Jesus’ teaching for the Pharisees infuriated them. He said it was the sinner, the tax collector, the impure who actually were closer to God. Not because it was virtuous to violate the law, but because he understood his inability to make himself pure.
Where is your heart this Easter season? Maybe you’re feeling quite proud of the good citizen you’ve been, the good neighbor, the good church.goer, the good money-giver. There may be some Pharisee residing in you. No matter who you are, Jesus is saying, “Come to the Father.” Thankfully, Jesus is not a Pharisee about Pharisees; to all of us He lovingly extends His gracious gift of salvation.
Scripture Focus
Isaiah 29:13-15
Insight
“Forgive me, Lord, I beg of Thee,/ deal with the Pharisee in me!” (Jill Briscoe, 2016)
Bible In A Year
- Deuteronomy 1-2
- Psalm 80
- Acts 1
