Do I Look More Like Jesus or a Pharisee?
Do I Look More Like Jesus or a Pharisee?
I’ve been reading through the Gospel of Luke, which is chock-full of interactions Jesus had with people during the last three years of His earthly ministry. This is what stood out to me, while studying those interactions…
Though Jesus came to be the Savior of the world, He was unrecognizable to the people who should’ve had the easiest time recognizing Him: the Jewish religious leaders, a.k.a. the Pharisees.
And the only reason the Pharisees could not recognize Jesus for who He was (their long-awaited Messiah) was because He didn’t show up and do what they’d hoped/assumed He would, in the manner they’d hoped/assumed He would.
In other words, He didn’t meet their expectations.
By the Pharisees’ own estimation, they had been the “faithful few.” So when this man claiming to be the Messiah showed up on the scene, they’d expected Him to pat them on their backs and say, “Well done, my good and faithful servants!”
They’d expected seats of honor at His table — privileges, power, and recognition.
Not to mentioned, they’d expected Him to give them back the land that was “rightfully theirs” as children of Abraham.
The Messiah was supposed to be their biggest fan, and their great champion! But in reality, He turned out to be a great big disappointment…
Why the Pharisees disliked Jesus
Jesus was sinless, and yet, the Pharisees could still find “sin” in Him — not because He actually disobeyed the laws of God, but because He didn’t follow their man-made rules (Luke 6:6-11).
Jesus fulfilled every prophecy about the long-awaited Messiah, and still, they refused to see it. They refused to even consider it. Because if they did, they’d have to submit to a God-man who was not to their liking.
And the craziest thing is, the reason the Pharisees didn’t like Jesus was that in contrast to all of His goodness, their badness was being revealed in brilliant color (Luke 11:37-52).
Jesus had compassion on people whom the Pharisees despised (Luke 10:25-37).
Jesus showed honor to the poor (Luke 21:1-4), and wasn’t impressed by the wealthy. (And most of the Pharisees were wealthy, so…)
Rather than impotently declaring “shalom” to those He passed on the street, as was the custom of the religious men (Jeremiah 6:13-14), Jesus actually brought His shalom, “wholeness, completeness, soundness, health, safety and prosperity, carrying with it the implication of permanence” (source: “What Is Shalom: The True Meaning” by Susan Perlman) to the broken, incomplete, unstable, sick, vulnerable, and poor (Luke 2:11-14; Luke 7:18-22).
The Pharisees took for themselves “in the name of God” (Luke 20:46-47); Jesus gave (Luke 9:10-17).
They condemned sinners “in the name of God” (Luke 7:36-39); Jesus forgave (Luke 7:40-50).
They avoided anything dirty “in the name of God” (Luke 11:37-41); Jesus reached out and touched a leper (Luke 5:12-13).
They saddled people with heavy burdens and long to-do lists “in the name of God” (Luke 11:46); Jesus took on the heaviest parts of humanity’s burdens, and gave us one simple to-do: Follow Me (Luke 22:41-44; Luke 22:47-23:46; Luke 9:23).
They made names for themselves “in the name of God” (Luke 11:43); Jesus rightly held the name above all names (Luke 1:31-33).
They patted themselves on the back for being better than others “in the name of God” (Luke 18:9-14); Jesus called them hypocrites (Luke 12:1-3).
They put to death “in the name of God” (Luke 23:13-25); Jesus brought to life (Luke 7:11-15).
Jesus’ warning to His followers
If you’re anything like me, you might have read through that list just now and found yourself judging the Pharisees pretty harshly.
Just a warning though, if that’s you, that’s a red flag that you (like me) might not actually be all that different from a Pharisee; because Pharisees are quick to see the faults in others while painting themselves in a better light.
All of us are prone to do exactly this (Matthew 7:1-5) — especially those of us who are actively pursuing godly living. I think maybe that’s why, when Jesus gave the warning to be on guard against becoming hypocritical like the Pharisees, we’re told that, though there was a crowd waiting to hear from Jesus, this particular warning was given expressly to His closest followers, the “real deal” disciples.
Meanwhile, a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling on one another. He began to say to his disciples first, “Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” - Luke 12:1 (CSB)
And the scariest part is, if we don’t take this warning seriously, we’re likely to slip into a Pharisaical way of thinking. And if we begin to think like a Pharisee, you and I will blindly do all sorts of terrible things “in Jesus’ name.”
So, for those of us who call Jesus our Lord, who know Him as the Messiah today — taking an honest evaluation of our lives in comparison to the life of Jesus, do we look more like Jesus or more like a Pharisee?
If we look like Jesus, we’ll probably be a turn off to the false children of God, those who don’t like to hear that they’re anything less than good enough themselves, just as Jesus was a turn off to the so-called sons of Abraham.
We might even be a turn off to some very real followers of Jesus, who’ve failed to heed His warning and fallen into the trap of self-righteous judgmentalism, forgetting where they’ve come from — forgetting where God’s brought them from.
But oh, if we let His goodness (not ours, but His) shine through us, you and I will be a like cold, fresh drink of water to a thirsty world of people...
To those who know already that they are hopelessly broken, incomplete, unstable, sick, vulnerable, and/or poor unless someone exists Who’s goodness is better than their own…
To those who are hungry for His shalom.
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” - Jesus (John 14:27a, CSB)
Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciples greatly offended. “What is he doing eating and drinking with misfits and ‘sinners’?”
Jesus heard about it and spoke up, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out.”
- Luke 5:29-30, MSG
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
“‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn’t take me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of me.’
“Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?’
“Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
-Matthew 25:31-46 (CSB)
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