During the discourse of the Sermon on the Mount in the second year of his preaching, Jesus made an interesting statement to his disciples: “Except your righteousness exceed (literally ‘abounds more than’) the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20). Obviously the form of righteousness the scribes and Pharisees attributed to themselves was unacceptable to God.
The punctilious observance of the requirements of the law regarding feasts and rituals only led to self-righteousness in these men. This attitude is exemplified in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican in Luke 18. The Pharisee went up to the temple ostensibly to pray to God but did nothing of the sort; he prayed only with himself. In a superior self-satisfied manner, he reminded himself that he fasted twice a week, gave tithes and therefore must be justified in the eyes of God. There is no hint that the man searched his heart for his motivation. It is apparent that in laying so much stress on the form of religious rituals, he had completely lost sight of their meaning.
The laws of God are good and essential, but human nature can so easily glory in the keeping of them. The condemnation of the Lord makes it plain that if we are to enter the kingdom of God we must have a totally different attitude.
Mercy not sacrifice
When Jesus directed the Jewish leaders to the scripture: “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice…” (Hos. 6:6), he intended them to grasp the essential fact that the inner quality of mercy far outweighed the ritual requirement of sacrifice. Mercy (some translations give “steadfast love” or “loving kindness”) was the characteristic demonstrated by God Himself in His dealings with Israel in the time of Hosea, but they chose to ignore it. Now, the love of the Father was seen in the Son and once again, self-interest and willfulness blinded the Jews to the fact. They failed completely to appreciate that obsessive adherence to the rituals of the law could in no way atone for their basic lack of loving kindness.
Avoidance of empty ritual
The Lord warned his disciples on a number of occasions of the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees. Those warnings are still needed today.
A sanctimonious display of religious piety is certainly less of a temptation for us, living as we do in an irreligious society, but in some respects a pharisaical way of thinking may creep up on us unawares. Elevating the material over the spiritual and, in effect, desiring sacrifice not mercy is a danger that is ever present. We have fewer rituals than the Pharisees but they exist nonetheless. We stress the importance of regular attendance at the meetings, particularly the breaking of bread on Sunday morning; then there are mid-week Bible classes, seminars and various other gatherings. This is right and proper but, as the weeks roll into months and months into years, we can lose sight of the underlying meaning and purpose of our attendance. Consequently our presence at the meeting becomes mere habit.
Throughout the years our community has laid great emphasis upon the daily reading planner (a legacy inherited from the late Bro. Roberts in the 19th century). The world of today is becoming increasingly fast moving and busy, making time a premium. Sometimes to fit in the readings we hurry the process. This is counterproductive to our goals which should be to assimilate the revealed mind of God in the inspired word: to receive instruction and a deeper understanding of His will and purpose: to learn of His character and in some measure reflect it in our own lives. How can this possibly be achieved with an inattentive, mechanical approach to the reading of scripture?
We must be aware of the danger of elevating these essential components of our discipleship into an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. It behooves us this morning, at this most important of our gatherings together, to reflect carefully on the purpose of our being here, which is to remember the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Concentrating upon our inner motivation will help us put to rest any residual pharisaical perspective.
The great physician
Another example of the distorted judgment of the scribes and Pharisees is seen in the calling of a despised tax collector to discipleship. When the Lord went one step further and actually dined with the offender, the leaders were aghast: “Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?” (Matt. 9:11). As we have seen, Jesus referred them to Hosea and, using great irony, added: “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick…I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matt. 9:12,13). The Pharisees were sinners; nevertheless the Lord addressed them in the way they were accustomed to think of themselves; as whole, strong and righteous.
In the days of Hosea, the people were wayward in the extreme: “There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land” (Hos. 4:1). Remedial punishment in the form of dispersion and affliction was the result. God in His foreknowledge waited for the nation to acknowledge its offense and seek Him once more. “Come let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up” (Hos. 6:1). Had it not been for their rampant iniquity, God ever merciful would have healed them sooner. “When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria…” (Hos. 7:1). Perversely, Israel turned to a heathen king to heal their “sickness,” bypassing the great physician who waited patiently to cure them, once they demonstrated a change of heart and a dependence upon Him.
“When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound” (Hos. 5:13). There is something very poignant in the elicited cry from God: “0 Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help” (Hos.13: 9).
The preacher and physician
Appropriately, the Lord Jesus Christ, as God manifest, took on the role of his father. He preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and healed all manner of sickness, the aspect of both preacher and healer being juxtaposed throughout the gospels. Wonderfully, the cures were not limited to physical illness. “He said unto the sick of the palsy, son thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mk. 2:5). The Lord was demonstrating his power to forgive sins by healing man’s infirmity, thereby showing that with the forgiveness of sins, at the last, will come the redemption of the body. “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself’ (Phil. 3:21).
Counting the cost
As we come to the central point of our meeting we should remember the cost of that redemption. “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick” ( Matt. 8:16). The recipients of the miracles went joyfully on their way, leaving Jesus to contemplate the words of Isaiah: “…but he was wounded… he was bruised.. .and with his stripes we are healed” (Is. 53:5). Each act of healing anticipated the suffering and death of Jesus and yet, unhesitatingly, he reached out with compassion.
With our thoughts on the upper room, let us remember our Lord’s words: “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…” (Lk. 22:15). Such a cost should make us far more circumspect in our behavior. We should be here not as a matter of habit, but like Jesus, we should have an earnest desire to partake of this feast in the company of our brethren.
As it was with Israel in the time of Hosea, the religion of the Pharisees was external; their hearts were devoid of the loving kindness and steadfast love in which the Lord delights and desires to see. The multitudes were impressed by the perceived religious adherence of their leaders; but the Lord, seeing through the veneer, knew their motives. The Lord is not deceived; he sees us as we really are. Taking heed of these scriptural lessons, let us render thanks for the great hope of salvation in Christ with which we have all been blessed.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One