Element Church Insider

In Acts 24, the Apostle Paul finds himself in the custody and protection of Governor Felix.  Paul was there because the Jews and religious leaders in Jerusalem wanted him killed for his belief and preaching about Jesus as the Messiah.  While in the custody of Felix, whose wife was Jewish, Paul had opportunities to speak to them about faith in Jesus, AND the Bible said they listened.  But, in Acts 24:25 this verse ALWAYS challenges me.  I blogged about it last year.  Here are my thoughts:

HERE is a link to the last post with links to the first two as well.  You can also just scroll down the blog home page to read all four.  Here are my final thoughts on the Pharisees (while I know there could be TONS more), and they come from the  final stages of Jesus’ life.  Again, even at the trial of Jesus, their TRUE motives are revealed, and their TRUE problem is exposed.

In Mark 15 Jesus is arrested and taken before Pilate for a trial.  The crowds had gathered, and the leading Priests and Pharisees were making their case.

Mark 15:10 it says: For he (Pilate) realized by now that the leading Priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.

What were they envious of?  ATTENTION!  From who?  The CROWDS!  Matthew 23:5 Jesus says about the Pharisees that “Everything they do is for show”.  If EVERYTHING they do is for show, and people aren’t paying THEM any attention, they were going to do whatever it took to bring the “show” back to THEM.

We can react the same way in our faith AND in our leadership.  How do we respond to another churches success?  How do I react when someone ELSE gets recognized?  What is my reply when someone tells me how GREAT someone else is, or that person gets MORE attention?  When we have the problem of the Pharisees, we’ll begin to look for ways to cut them down, trip them up, beat them down or drag them away, all in an attempt to bring the SHOW back to me.  It’s a DANGEROUS trap and a VERY real one.

Where does my fear come from?  Where is my motivation?  What is my inspiration?  ANYTIME it starts coming from the CROWD…there’s a problem.

Checking myself,

Jeff

You can read the first two thoughts on this subject HERE and HERE.  Here is my third thought on the Pharisees.

Because their fear, motivation and inspiration came from the crowd (Matthew 22:46), they lived from MAN MADE traditions trying to achieve happiness, while they ignored GOD GIVEN ideas that would have led to their holiness.

In Mark 7:5 the Pharisees ask Jesus “Why don’t your disciples follow OUR age-old TRADITION?” Notice WHOSE it was and WHAT it was.  It was a tradition, NOT a command.  It was from man NOT from God.  Jesus calls them out on it and responds in the following verses.

Mark 7:6-8 says:  Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,  ‘These people honor me with their lips,but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”

I truly believe that anytime WE or the CROWD becomes more important than GOD, we will begin to substitute our own traditions while ignoring God’s commands.  The Pharisees weren’t after TRUE holiness, they were after a FORM of holiness that would impress those around them.  They were chasing happiness and the expense of holiness.  Happiness is ALWAYS more comfortable, but it is only HOLINESS that will satisfy our longings.  And HOLINESS can only be found in God’s ways not mans ideas.

Where have I made traditions more important than God’s commands?  Where am I pursuing happiness at the expense of holiness?

Being careful,

Jeff