Finding the Lost
Day 26
I just can’t get over it. I’ve never seen it so clear. I would never have guessed that (so far) this would be my number one discovery from the Unvarnished Jesus: The Pharisees. They’re the worst. They are the absolute polar opposite of Jesus Christ and diametrically opposed to what He preached. They are anti-grace, anti-Jesus, anti-Messiah, anti-anointing, anti-Christ!
The Pharisees were the catalyst for an enormous amount of Jesus’ teaching. In fact, I would say that all of Luke chapters 14, 15 and 16 are about Jesus contending with the Pharisees.
Consider…
Luke 14 opens like this…
Now it happened as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.
This led to a debate about the legality of healing on the Sabbath and a series of teachings and parables on humility, the Kingdom of God, the cost of discipleship and the worthlessness of salt that has lost its flavor — all directed at the Pharisees.
Luke 15 opens like this…
The tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes complained saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
This led to Jesus’ three parables on lost things: The lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.
The common theme of chapter 16 is the proper use vs. the corrupting influence of material wealth. The chapter opens with Jesus giving the parable of the unjust steward (where Jesus says we should make friends by unrighteous mammon) and it closes with the story of the miserly rich man who went to hell. Right in the middle of the chapter we read these words…
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard these things, and they derided Him
And here’s the amazing thing: Of the three religious parties predominant in Jesus’ day — the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes — Jesus would have identified theologically with the Pharisees. Jesus would have had major theological differences with the Sadducees and the Essenes, but Jesus would have largely agreed theologically with the Pharisees. I’m sure that growing up and prior to His ministry, Jesus associated with the Pharisees and probably would have been identified as an adherent of the rabbinical tradition of the Pharisees. But for all of that, it was the Pharisees who must vehemently hated Jesus and most ruthlessly pursued His murder. And it was the Pharisees who were the recipients of Jesus’ most scathing rebukes. But the difference between Jesus and the Pharisees was not doctrinal. It was a difference of the heart. The Pharisees had orthodox doctrine…but hate-filled hearts. The Pharisees were sound in their theology, but self-righteous in their spirituality. Let that be a sober warning to us.
The highlight of the Luke 14, 15 and 16 has to be the parable of the prodigal son. This may be Jesus’ greatest parable. It may the most powerful revelation of the heart of the Father heart of God. Unconditional love. This is the thing the Pharisees knew nothing about, and it was why their souls were lost and corrupt. They were the older brother, the son who was lost, not outside, but inside the father’s house. They were the one’s who never understood what was going on at the Father’s house…
The Celebration of Salvation…
The Party of Grace…
The Music of Mercy…
The Dancing Redemption…
If you don’t yet understand these things and the father’s extravagance upon the prodigal’s return, you don’t yet understand salvation.
The last time I was in St. Petersburg, Russia I made a special trip to the Hermitage Museum just to see Rembrandt’s Prodigal Son. Instead of viewing hundreds of masterpieces like I had done on previous visits, I went to the Hermitage to see this one painting. It was worth it. Jesus’ passionate parable of the prodigal son was worthy of Rembrandt’s best efforts. Jesus’ lesson on unconditional love brought out the best in Rembrandt, and it will bring out the best in us.
Amen
BZ