The Pharisees had strict rules on ritual cleanliness, which they adhered to scrupulously. Jesus’ disciples, it appears, were more laid back in this department, earning them the rebuke of the Pharisees. Jesus, however, as he so often does, strikes at the heart of the matter. We are not made clean or righteous or acceptable to God by some kind of external cleansing process because such things do not change our hearts.
Let us look into our own hearts. Do we recognise any of the following in our own heart: evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly? If the answer is yes, what then do we conclude? That we are righteous? No, of course not. We recognise that we are sinners in need of salvation, and we cry out, as Paul cried out, ‘Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.’
We need to resist the spirit of the Pharisee, which lurks in us all. The spirit of the Pharisee is alive and kicking when we think things such as: don’t say anything that could offend anyone; focus on what is right with the ‘church’ and its leadership; don’t be critical; promote the status quo; don’t make ‘waves’; don’t call anyone ‘out’; respect ‘authority’; don’t expose ‘wrong doing’; cover up those who ‘spiritually abuse others – keep it ‘secret’ within the family; don’t ask any hard questions. The refuge of the Pharisee in us is hypocrisy – in the name of Jesus, resist it, cast it out and strive to live truthful, honest, and authentic Christian lives.
