Are We Pharisees?Sample

When we eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil we can become very… pragmatic. “Knowledge is helpful, let’s get lots of that. People are powerful, let’s make sure we’re on top. Let’s definitely make sure we’re financially secure!” We can be enamored with power and the things which give it to us: money, knowledge, small (or large) armies of people at our command…

Let’s sum these up as the power of man. The Pharisees LOVED the power of man. They had tons of it: temple guards, dodgy characters they could call on as false witnesses in court, gold, and (of course) knowledge.

In them, we can see the best of what men can achieve. It can be very impressive: impeccable commitment, volumes of material memorized, and perfect image. Their eloquent messages and impressive clothing sounded correct and seemed noble, but the Pharisees were dry. They were dull, boring, puffy (lacking substance), and sterile.

Jesus, who had neither financial security, eloquent messages, nor impressive clothing, won the hearts of crowd after crowd talking about normal things. And, infuriatingly, Jesus taught like He had authority to interpret and comment on scripture, though none of the Pharisees had given it to Him. (They were too religious to even give it to themselves anymore.) Worse, supernatural power seemed to flow from Him.

Common, uneducated people fell for Jesus everywhere. His movement was not sterile. Then, they decided he was the Messiah--the King--and he didn’t even deny it! He was letting people call him that.

Jesus was dangerous. Literally, the whole country was at stake. So, the Pharisees utilized the power of man, bribing Judas, ordering soldiers to arrest Jesus, and manipulating the crowds to demand their will before Pilate.

Pilate could plainly see it was out of envy the Pharisees had handed Jesus over to him. You see, the Pharisees reeked of the power of man.

While Jesus and (later) His apostles relied on and exuded the power of God, we can settle for less. Maybe we tried to summon it through our prayers and fasting, failed, and concluded it wasn’t God’s will. Maybe our leaders learned to be content without it and show impressive commitment. Maybe we’ve read eloquent books with resounding points about nobility in powerlessness.

After trying to do the impossible with God, we can give up and settle for what we can do… and hope God shows up every now and then. We can study and earn degrees. We can dial up our outfits, stage lights, and worship bands. We can display commitment and command large audiences. We can become very impressive.

In other words, we can become dry. We can forsake the power of God and rely on the power of man. We can be dull, boring, puffy (lacking God), and sterile. We can quote scripture about God’s power being displayed in our weakness, somehow emphasizing our weakness while entirely glossing over His power.

Am I suggesting we try harder? Well, no. Determination and commitment are not necessarily spirituality. If it’s not empowered by the Holy Spirit, it’s actually stubbornness. The power of God is not something we try for and accomplish. The power of God is a Person we receive, and He’s a Person we can rely on.

Jesus taught we must be born of and directed by the Holy Spirit (John 3). He clothed His disciples (who were also not impressive and displayed dubious commitment, by the way) with the power of God (Acts 1-2) and said those who trusted Him would do the same things He did (and even greater).

When we actually walk with God, we regularly experience the power of God and others do, too.

Though Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing”, many of us still believe we can actually do something without Him. So let me ask, are we ready to receive the power of God? Or are we still content with (maybe even grasping for) the power of man? How open and yielded are we to the Holy Spirit? How dependent are we? Are we convinced we can fulfill God’s purposes anyway with the power of man? Really, are we Pharisees?