Pharisee

“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. ”

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.”

Christianity: is it a religion made by man; or the revelation of God's dramatic love toward us, a path to lead us to Him? Christianity: is it a way for us to think well of ourselves, to be dignified, to make social contacts, and look good? Or is it a way to realize how far we've fallen and, after realizing that, knowing God can still forgive, still want us back, still love us and show us how we may be acceptable people to Him?

In the year 587 BC, Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians, ending the City of David's more than four centuries as the capital city of the Jewish people, a free and powerful state. From 587 BC to the time of Christ, the Jews were exiled in Babylon, then returned to Judah to rebuild their fallen cities . But now they were vassals of a succession of powerful foreign empires. The Babylonians were followed by the Persians, then by the Greeks under Alexander, then under the Ptolemies of Egypt, and the harsh Antiochus rulers of Syria, and finally by Rome. Under these empires, the Jews longed for independence, for the glory of Solomon and David again. From time to time their observance of the Jewish Law and practice of its religious rites had its revivals, and then the faith of their fathers would ebb away again.

In 168 BC, the harshest of the Syrian kings, Antiochus Epiphanes, crushed the Jews and forbid their practice of religion. He even sat himself in their Temple, sacrificed a pig on their altar, and declared himself god. This fulfilled a prophecy of Daniel of centuries before: an abomination that made the Temple desolate . But a priest named Mattathias and his son Judas Maccabee raised an army in defiance of the Syrian occupation and actually threw them out of Palestine for a period of four years, creating a brief sweet time of Jewish independence. A more benign period of Syrian-Greek rulership followed until all was swallowed by the Roman troops. But in their rebellion, a new light was seen in the eyes of Jewish men— Hasidim , saints , willing to fight and die for Israel. The descendents of these rebels became known as Pharisees . By the time Jesus walked those same roads, the Pharisees were the most powerful and prodigious sect of all the Jews.

Pharisee means “ the separated ones .” This may betoken their sense of personal holiness, seeing their own purity of religion setting them apart from the sinful world. Or it may simply indicate a section of Judaism apart from the official sacrificial system of the priests and the Temple in Jerusalem, for the Pharisees looked more to obedience of the Law than sacrifice and rituals for their holiness . They therefore developed an intricate system of rules of obedience, purification, appropriate clothing, behavior, and association. They numbered only about 6,000, but they held more sway over the Jewish people of Jesus' day than any other sect or faction of the religion. The synagogues were their home bases, where they instructed the people on the written and oral traditions and laws. Although their theology was close to that of the future Christians, believing in angels and devils, the bodily resurrection and an afterlife, the Pharisees were violently intolerant of any teachings that didn't coincide with their own and they had no love. They were the perfect Jewish equivalent of the Islamic mullahs of present day Iran: ill-trained and hypocritical know-it-alls who claim the right to tell everybody how to live and persecute anyone who offends them.

Jesus had little to do with the Pharisees. He made a pretty harsh speech against them, recorded in Matthew's Gospel, with a series of woes: “… woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men ; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in… you devour widows' houses , even while for a pretense you make long prayers… you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves… Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you… have neglected… justice and mercy and faithfulness … you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence… you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness… you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous… consequently you bear witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets …” Matthew 23:13-31

He told a parable about two men who were in the Temple for prayer. A Pharisee stands before God and congratulates himself as a righteous man who does all things right. The other man, a tax collector for the Romans, a man despised and hated by his countrymen for his occupation, can't even look up, but beats his chest and cries for God's mercy for his sins. Jesus probably stopped in His parable after painting this picture for the people… ( walk around )

He looked in their eyes, watched their reactions, read the thoughts of their hearts. He knew the common feelings His people had toward the two classes of men. Tax collectors were commonly extortioners, drunkards, certainly traitors, and hardly religious in their lives. How dare this worthless cheater come into the Holy Temple at all? He has no sacrifice, his sins are many, and he even admits it. What on earth is he doing here?

Likewise, Jesus knew the respect and fear commanded by the Pharisees. It was a cultural assumption that Pharisees were godly, pure, holy, respectable, they wore good clothes, kept themselves away from questionable and lowly people. They knew the law inside and out. They lived it and taught it.

Jesus studied the reactions of his audience: like He would study ours if we were presented with two men coming in here —one a layreader and vestryman, a pillar of the church, whose suit is always pressed and tie is always straight. He gives much to the church and has been responsible for a number of additions to it. He carries an air of respectability and everyone wants to know what he thinks of father's sermons before they make up their own minds. We don't have anyone like that here, of course, but you know the type. His family has been in the church for years.

Then there is the bar owner. ( We don't have a bar owner, either .) His bar gets kids drunk every weekend and its reputation is smeared. He's divorced, twice now, and his kids are a mess. He comes here unshaved, and in shorts, and his hair is a little long. He can't take his head off the back of the pew in front of him.

Both men pray. The modern Pharisee does it beautifully, in the language of the '28 Prayer Book, with all the “ beseeches ” and “ vouchsafes ” and “ bestows ” and “ through our Lord and Saviour .” It sounds good. Amen .

The other man simply cries, “Jesus, Oh my God. Forgive me. I'm so sorry. Help me. I'm in trouble.”

In the church, our two men are before our eyes, and in our hearts we are asked to discern: which man left here forgiven, and which man didn't, he wasn't even seeking forgiveness? You know the answer. What is the problem Jesus was addressing: the substance or form of our prayers , or a knowledge of sin and a right understanding and feeling about how our sins alienate us from a God who nevertheless is available to forgive us?

The Pharisee left the Temple happy. He had seen a man much worse than himself, and felt justified that he does all things right. The publican left sore and still somewhat ashamed. But God met him in there and he knew God loved him still.

Jesus summed up the lesson: “ for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Without humility, we can never even approach an Almighty and Holy God. That's why we pray, right before receiving Communion, “We do no presume to come to this, Thy table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness… we are not worthy to gather up the crumbs…” “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof…”

We are the publicans. We are unworthy of all of this. Jesus knew that before He became human to die in your place. He knew what was in man. John 2:24-25 We don't fool Him. We really don't fool anyone. Why should we try? It's plain, isn't it? We need to be forgiven. We must humble ourselves. We have only one plea.

God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

PFH+