Tag Archives: Pharisees

THE BOOK OF ACTS – WILY AS A SNAKE

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WILY AS A SNAKE

“The aides were scandalised. ’How dare you talk to God’s Chief Priest like that!’

“Paul acted surprised. ’How was I to know he was Chief Priest? He doesn’t act like a Chief Priest. You’re right, the Scripture does say, “Don’t speak abusively to a ruler of the people.” Sorry.’

“Paul, knowing that some of the council was made up of Sadducees and others of Pharisees and how they hated each other, decided to exploit their antagonism: ‘Friends, I am a stalwart Pharisee from a long line of Pharisees. It’s because of my Pharisee convictions — the hope and resurrection from the dead — that I’ve been hauled into this court.'” Acts 23:4-6 (The Message).

Paul was in a critical situation — knowing that his life was on the line and that whatever he said would be taken up the wrong way and used against him. It was up to him now to get as much mileage out of the situation as he could, and to use it to his own advantage. He was a shrewd and quick thinker.

The bullying action of the High Priest was a good opportunity to show him up for what he was and Paul was quick to respond, pretending that he was unaware of the high priest’s position because of his behaviour and making him look like the bully he was in front of his peers.

Jesus counselled His followers to be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves, especially when they were dragged before the High Council. Paul also knew of the deep divide between Pharisees and Sadducees down both religious and political lines. Pharisees were fully convinced of the supernatural and of the resurrection while Sadducees rejected both ideas. They were the more secular and political wing of the Sanhedrin.

All Paul had to do was to use his rhetorical skill to turn them against each other, and the heat would be off him, and that is exactly what he did. He used his background and training as a Pharisee to identify with the Pharisee section of the Sanhedrin, and they knew it because Paul had been a prominent Pharisee before his conversion, contending for the law to the extent of persecuting the church.

“The moment he said this, the council split right down the middle, Pharisees and Sadducees going at each other in heated argument. Sadducees had nothing to do with a resurrection or angels or even a spirit. If they can’t see it, they don’t believe it. Pharisees believe it all. And so a huge and noisy quarrel broke out. Then some of the religion scholars on the Pharisee side shouted down the others: ‘We don’t find anything wrong with this man! And what if a spirit has spoken to him! Or maybe an angel? What if it turns out we’re fighting against God?'” Acts 23:7-9 (The Message).

Paul got exactly what he wanted and the Roman captain got his answer as well. Now he could see that the whole furore over Paul was nothing more than an internal religious squabble and nothing to do with lawlessness or criminal activity. Paul’s shrew move had blown the whole thing open and forced a “not guilty” verdict from the mouths of at least half of the Sanhedrin.

“That was fuel on the fire. The quarrel flamed up and became so violent that the captain was afraid they would tear Paul apart, limb from limb. He ordered the soldiers to get him out of there and escort him back to the safety of the barracks.” Acts 23:10 (The Message).

Paul was in custody, not because he was guilty, but because he was in danger. It was up to the captain to decide what to do with him. If he released him, the Jews would attack him and start the whole process all over again. God was still in charge, slowly moving in Paul’s life to get him to Rome, where He wanted him to be.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – FOLLOW JESUS

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FOLLOW JESUS

“The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. Then Peter took the floor. ‘Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that He wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it — and not in any second-hand or roundabout way, but first-hand straight from my mouth. And God, who can’t be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person’s thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as He treated us, beginning at the very centre of who they were, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed Him.

“‘So why are you trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don’t we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as He did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?'” Acts 15:6-11 (The Message).

Thank God, someone had the good sense to examine the simple facts instead of formulating doctrines based on reason and not truth!

We don’t know what they were arguing about but, whatever it was, it got them nowhere until Peter came up with his story. It is dangerous to make experience the criterion for a doctrine; for example, we know that Scripture is full of stories of miracles that God did then, but we cannot say that God no longer does miracles today simple because He may not have done a miracle for us.

At the same time, when we match our experience with Scripture, we know that we stand on solid ground, because God confirms His word to us through experience.

Peter had the wisdom to match his experience with God’s Word to realise that the answer to their dilemma was right there for them. God Himself had supplied the answer by giving the Gentiles the gift of the Holy Spirit in the same way He had fallen on them so that they would be in no doubt about their salvation. This was God’s confirmation that salvation comes by faith alone and not by any additions to faith with which the Pharisees wanted to burden the Gentiles.

They themselves had not fully understood the complete and final work of Jesus on the cross; otherwise they would not have made this such an issue that it warranted a church council to settle it. In spite of the fact that it was settled there in Jerusalem in unity, the Judaisers continued to dog the footsteps of the apostles as they carried the gospel across the Gentile world.

It is still very much alive today and still robbing many people of the truth of Jesus’ simple invitation, ‘Follow me!’ He did not come to set up a new religion and He certainly did not burden His followers with the rules and rituals that we see in so many denominations today.

For example, for whole groups of people, the church is a building — not the people who are the temple in which God dwells by His Spirit, and is treated with superstitious reverence as though bricks, stones and mortar are somehow holy. Priests and ministers are the professionals and the laity subject to them and their superior knowledge and wisdom. Where do we find this in God’s Word? All God’s people together are a royal priesthood.

I suspect that many sections of the church are still enslaved to the old covenant with its rules and rigmarole; altars, sacred garments, dietary laws, symbols, etc., and have never stepped into the freedom of God’s grace, resting in Christ alone for His gift of righteousness which no amount of effort on our part can earn.

What a tragedy that the spirit of the Pharisees is still very much alive in the church and doing what the Pharisees tried to do to Jesus — kill the truth!

THE BOOK OF ACTS – THE CHURCH ON A KNIFE EDGE

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THE CHURCH ON A KNIFE EDGE

“As they were sent off and on their way, they told everyone they met about the breakthrough to the Gentile outsiders. Everyone who heard the news cheered — it was terrific news!

“When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were graciously received by the whole church, including the apostles and leaders. They reported on their recent journey and how God had used them to open things up to the outsiders. Some Pharisees stood up to say their piece. They had become believers but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. ‘You have to circumcise the pagan converts,’ they said, ‘You must make them keep the Law of Moses.'” Acts 15:3-5 (The Message).

This Jew/Gentile thing was a really sensitive issue in the early church. It was the subject of the first general church council recorded in Acts 15. The leaders of the infant church had to deal with issues as they arose, some of which were relatively simple matters of administration, for example, the neglect of the Greek widows in Acts 6, and some with far more significant matters of understanding regarding the work of Jesus.

Jesus had chosen twelve men to be with Him so that they could learn His yoke. It would be their responsibility to interpret and apply His yoke when He was no longer there, and that was what they were doing now. The Pharisees in the church in Jerusalem were speaking out of turn because they were not part of the original group of men trained by Jesus. They had not lived with Him intimately and understood His heart and the heart of the Father.

God’s intention, from the beginning, was to work through one nation whom He called into fellowship with Himself in a marriage covenant, to reveal Him to the whole world. He had taught them His Word, a way of life that would reflect His nature and requirements for people who belonged to Him.

However, the Jews misinterpreted God’s intention, believing themselves to be superior to the Gentiles, despising them and isolating themselves from them. The Pharisees in particular, hated Jesus because He showed them that God loved and accepted all people. They were so stuck on the letter of the Law of Moses, regardless of the fact that they didn’t obey it themselves, that they could not embrace the real meaning of God’s plan. He dealt with sin through Jesus’ sacrifice, once for all, so that all people, Jews and Gentiles, could come to the Father without having to do anything but believe.

It was important for the apostles to decide what the yoke of Jesus was in this situation — His interpretation of the heart and disposition of the Father which He both taught and practised. It was not a matter of thumb sucking, but of examining the evidence and reaching a conclusion based on what they saw and heard from Jesus as well as what was happening in their current situation.

There would be another important spin-off from the outcome of this meeting. It was imperative that the church remain united. It would be a serious matter if some were teaching one thing and others another. In the early days of the church they had worked hard to keep the unity in their relationships with one another. Now a far more serious and sinister issue had arisen — which had the potential to splinter the church around doctrines that hit at the very heart of their faith.

How relevant this is for the church today! Over the centuries the church has become fragmented over this very issue — what is the yoke of Jesus? Had church leaders only stuck to the criteria of Jesus Himself, His words and His ways, and a passion to keep the unity of the Spirit instead of allowing reason and opinions to dominate them, perhaps the prayer of Jesus, “that they may be one”, would be much nearer to being answered than it appears now.

The Power Of The Cross – The Forgiveness Of Sins

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THE POWER OF THE CROSS

THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS

. . . In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1: 14)

This topic should have been at the beginning of our series, but I have left it to last because it sums up everything we experience through the power of the cross.

Do you know what it is like to be forgiven? Really forgiven? All the weight of your guilt removed; the torment of your conscience because of what you have done gone; the flashbacks and the regret of what you said or did, stilled.

Four men brought their paralysed friend to Jesus but they could not get him near Him. The house was jam-packed with people, and not one of them was willing to make way for him. They were too eager to hear Jesus to give him a place. What were they to do? There was only one answer. If they could not get him into the house through the door, they’d let him down through the roof! Then the people would have to make a place for him if they didn’t want him on their heads!

Fortunately they had access to the roof via the outside staircase. They lugged their heavy burden up the stairs, dug a hole in the roof big enough to get him through and slowly lowered him down on his sleeping mat until he lay at Jesus’ feet. What would Jesus do?

The man obviously needed healing. Would He heal him and send him on his way? Perhaps Jesus gazed at him for a moment, saw the pain in his eyes, perhaps the pain of memories he could not escape. Why was he in that condition in the first place? Did he believe that it was punishment for sin? Was there something he had done years before that still tormented him? Did he remember all the times he had disregarded the ceremonial law, failed to do his duty to God and his fellow Jews? And now he was powerless to make it right.

The first words that fell from Jesus’ lips were, surprisingly, not, ”Be healed,” but, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark. 2: 5b) Did you get that? First of all, Jesus called him “son”. What did that mean? Yes, he had sinned, but that did not cancel his relationship with His Father as His son. Not even sin could destroy that relationship. His guilt had long destroyed fellowship with God – in fact he was born in sin, but God’s forgiveness through Jesus would take care of that.

Jesus knew what he needed most of all, even before the healing of his body. He needed the healing of his heart and Jesus gave it to him unconditionally. Forgiven! Imagine that! No more regret. No more tormented dreams. Just peace. Peace. Peace!

The ever-present Pharisees were up in arms. They knew that there was no forgiveness without sacrifice. What right had Jesus to forgive sins? Did He think He was God? Where was the sacrifice? Little did they know that they would be partly responsible for making the sacrifice – not of an animal on the altar in the temple court but of the man they had come to hate because of His goodness, on the altar of a Roman cross.

You see, the death of Jesus was much more than just an event in history. It was the very heart of history – the pivot around which the whole of human history turned. Every animal that was sacrificed on the Jewish altar of God, in the tabernacle or in the temple, pointed backwards to what had already taken place in eternity, and forwards to what would happen at a moment in history.

Could Jesus forgive his sin? In spite of the religious leaders’ objections, yes, because He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. God planned it before man sinned, and the effects of the one event in history covered all sin for all time. Those who sinned before the cross were invited to put their trust in a lamb because the Lamb of God would be manifested on earth to reveal what He had already done in heaven.

Forgiveness! Yes, Jesus had the authority and the power to forgive sins because He bore our sin in His body on the tree. He was the sacrificial lamb and the scapegoat who took away our sin, removed our guilt and set us free to follow Him.

This is the power of the cross!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

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Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com ?

 

 

Nailed Again!

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NAILED AGAIN!

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch Him in His words. They came to Him and said, ‘Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?’

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. ‘Why are you trying to trap me?’ He asked. ’Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.’ They brought the coin, and He asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s.’ they replied. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’ And they were amazed at Him (Mark 12: 12-17).

Would they never learn? The religious leaders could not face Jesus again. He had made them look stupid so many times that they sent representatives to try again. They so desperately wanted to trap Him so that they could arrest and indict Him for speaking against Rome that they just would not stop trying.

Did you notice the words of the ones who came to Him? Their words were strangely accurate if they really meant them. They would have been expressing their sincere evaluation of Jesus had they not been buttering Him up for the attack. “A man of integrity.” True! “Not swayed by others.” Absolutely! “Pay no attention to who they are.” Exactly! “Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.” Spot on! So why did they refuse to believe Him? Why were they so intent on getting rid of Him?

Simply because they were not interested in the truth. They had to defend their position at all costs because it was comfortable and lucrative for them. They had to protect their interests with Rome. Get Him on the wrong side of Rome, and they had it made. Interesting that the representatives of the religious leaders were Pharisees and Herodians – two groups on opposite ends of the scale.

So what was their problem? Always the burning question – paying taxes to Rome! Roman taxation financially crippled the people. And to make matters worse, there were some from among their own who were in bed with the Romans – collecting taxes for them and feathering their own nests in the bargain. “Let’s nail Jesus on this one,” they thought. “Surely He does not approve of the heavy taxation burdening His own people?” One word from Him and there would be an uprising because the people hung on His every word.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jesus caught on to their scheme. He cut right through their flattering words to their hypocritical hearts. “Bring me a coin.” He ordered them. They should have known better. What was He up to now? Producing a coin, they listened intently. Was this their moment? He held it up for all to see and demanded, “Whose face is on this coin?” Mystified, they replied, “Caesar’s.” Turning it over, He asked, “Whose title is on this side?” Once again they were forced to reply, “Caesar’s.”

Suddenly the penny dropped. “Give back to Caesar what is his and to God what is His.” He declared and, turning on His heel, He walked away. Did they have egg on their faces! Once again they had made a fool of themselves in public. Instead of catching Jesus, He caught them. He neither sanctioned nor condemned the paying of taxes to Caesar. They were part of a world system that needed money to keep it going. It was neither right nor wrong to pay taxes – it was necessary.

On the other hand, there was another system in place – an unseen kingdom over which God ruled. There were obligations to fulfil in this kingdom as well. Jesus had come to teach the people that God had the right to call the shots regarding the way He ruled over the hearts of men. His was a rule of mercy and grace. His people were to live in the world system in the spirit of His truth as representatives of their God in the world. This was the part the religious leaders refused to accept. Their corrupt hearts adhered to the world system of greed and selfishness.

Every word Jesus spoke exposed their wicked hearts. They had to find a way to silence Him so that they could carry on in their evil ways without His continual prodding and poking at their sin.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com