The sect of Pharisees

I am reading a very intriguing book called 'beware the leaven of the Pharisees' by David Chatwell... My friend Dallas gave it to me, and I am fascinated by the historical perspective which Chatwell brings to the subject matter...

I believe it is incredibly well-researched and well written, and it chronicles the story and 'evolution' of the Jewish sect known as the Pharisees.

One particularly interesting passage from Chatwell's book lists several attitudes/activities which caused Jesus to speak harshly to and about their hypocrisy:

1. They bound burdens on others which they themselves refused to accept
2. Their controlling motivation was a hunger for praise and honor
3. They deliberately prohibited people from entering the Kingdom
4. They made artificial, meaningless religious distinctions
5. Their concern for minutia obscured matters of grave importance
6. They were concerned about the appearance of purity, not about being pure

As I read these descriptions of the Pharisees (which are, incidentally, supported by scripture), I get a chill... because so much of my religious upbringing was shaped by men whose attitudes were similar if not identical to the ones attributed to this sect. My own attitudes and actions have, in the past, been very Pharisaical!

you know, when they came into existence as a group, the Pharisees did not set out to be hypocritical or pious or self-righteous... according to extrabiblical history, they began with pure motives... they sought to return God and His word to prominence in the Hebrew culture and society. They were the restorationists of their day!

But, much as we sometimes forget purpose in favor of man-made structure, they (as a group) forgot WHY they were restoring... they forgot WHAT they were restoring...

and for their trouble, they were roundly blasted by the Son of God. He did not give them credit for the effort; He didn't say 'well, their intentions were good'... He called them hypocrites, blind guides, sons of hell, self-indulgent, blind fools, greedy, snakes, vipers, and my favorite: whitewashed tombs!

This is indeed a cautionary tale! Whatever these people were, we should try our best NOT to be.

May we aspire to live so that the opposite would be said of us:

1. They bound nothing on others which was not bound by God
2. Their controlling motivation was a hunger to know the risen Christ
3. They deliberately, purposefully invited people into the Kingdom
4. They dropped artificial, meaningless religious distinctions; instead they lifted up Christ
5. They gave weight to weighty matters and left room for disagreement on unimportant matters
6. They were concerned about keeping themselves pure and helping others be pure by showing them a pure life

God bless! (from one recovering Pharisee to another...)