Jesus and the Pharisees.

[B-A-C]

I often hear people say things like Jesus wouldn't have said that. You should have more love when you say things.
No doubt that is true. But even though Jesus never sinned, and I'm sure He loved the Pharisees, did He always answer them in love?

Matt 5:20; "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Unless you are better than the Pharisees, you won't enter the kingdom of heaven. Kind of a sad commentary about the Pharisees.

Matt 16:6; And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

Watch out... so that you don't become prideful, puffed up and full of yourself like the Pharisees. Was that a nice thing to say about the Pharisees, or was it
simply the truth?
What was the leaven of the Pharisees? Jesus tells us.

Luke 12:1; Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Matt 23:13; "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

Jesus says .. "woe" (danger, warning) you are hypocrites... is there anything God hates worse than a hypocrite? Not only are you not going to heaven,
you prevent other's from going to heaven. Did Jesus say this with love?

Matt 23:15; "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around 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.

.."you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves". What a nice compliment Jesus is giving the Pharisees here.

These are just a few examples. Thee are more. We have this vision that Jesus just went around "loving everything and everyone" no matter what. But
it seems to me He had no patience for some people.

Matt 23:27; "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

Again He calls them hypocrites, what a nice thing to say. He says they look good on the outside, but inside they are dead.

Luke 11:39; But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.

Then again.. maybe it's possible that telling them they "are full of robbery and wickedness" is the loving thing to do.
I'm not being sarcastic with this sentence. I honestly believe sometimes telling the truth is the most loving thing we can do.

Matt 12:34; "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
Matt 23:33; "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

Jesus called them vipers, snakes, evil, and He asks them how will they "escape the sentence of hell". Jesus didn't sugar coat things.

Matt 7:6; "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Matt 15:26; And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

Jesus even called Gentiles (non-Jews) .."dogs". I don't think He was saying this as a racial insult as much as a "non-spiritual" insult.
Still many people are offended that Jesus would call anyone a dog.

Of course we have the story of the money lenders in the temple.

John 2:15; And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;

Jesus makes a "scourge" (a small whip) and He chases people out of the temple, he pours out their money and turns the tables over.
What a sweet and nice thing to do.

There are a few more examples, so am I trying to make Jesus out as some unloving hateful person? No not at all.
He does love us. (He loved us enough to die for us) but I think many people have the wrong idea about Jesus letting people walk all over Him
and Him not sticking up for the truth.

So when people ask me "what would Jesus do". I give them a few examples of what Jesus did.

 

[Dave M]

so what is the difference between the religious leaders that Jesus called hypocrites and white washed tombs, from say other sinner's, like the adulteress the pharasies brought before him and wanted to stone her for committing adultery. Or the tax collector that invited Jesus to his house???

these people are all sinners, yet he had mercy on the tax collector and the adulteress women. But no mercy on the phaarasies.

Could be as simple as humbling ourselfs and repenting. I guess humbling our self's might not be that easy once we have elevated yourself so high that even people around you think of your position as elevated above normal man.

 

[Hekuran]

There's a pattern in the gospels: the better you religious and social credentials, the more you expect a hard time from Jesus. Outcast lepers, beggars tax collectors, prostitutes and demoniacs are treated with great grace and gentleness.

High status pharisees and priests often got very rough treatment.

 

[B-A-C]

High status pharisees and priests often got very rough treatment.

I wonder if it was because they were "religious" or because they were hypocrites pretending to be religious?

 

[sweetcake]

I often hear people say things like Jesus wouldn't have said that. You should have more love when you say things.
No doubt that is true. But even though Jesus never sinned, and I'm sure He loved the Pharisees, did He always answer them in love?

Matt 5:20; "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Unless you are better than the Pharisees, you won't enter the kingdom of heaven. Kind of a sad commentary about the Pharisees.

Matt 16:6; And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

Watch out... so that you don't become prideful, puffed up and full of yourself like the Pharisees. Was that a nice thing to say about the Pharisees, or was it
simply the truth?
What was the leaven of the Pharisees? Jesus tells us.

Luke 12:1; Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Matt 23:13; "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

Jesus says .. "woe" (danger, warning) you are hypocrites... is there anything God hates worse than a hypocrite? Not only are you not going to heaven,
you prevent other's from going to heaven. Did Jesus say this with love?

Matt 23:15; "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around 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.

.."you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves". What a nice compliment Jesus is giving the Pharisees here.

These are just a few examples. Thee are more. We have this vision that Jesus just went around "loving everything and everyone" no matter what. But
it seems to me He had no patience for some people.

Matt 23:27; "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

Again He calls them hypocrites, what a nice thing to say. He says they look good on the outside, but inside they are dead.

Luke 11:39; But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.

Then again.. maybe it's possible that telling them they "are full of robbery and wickedness" is the loving thing to do.
I'm not being sarcastic with this sentence. I honestly believe sometimes telling the truth is the most loving thing we can do.

Matt 12:34; "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
Matt 23:33; "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

Jesus called them vipers, snakes, evil, and He asks them how will they "escape the sentence of hell". Jesus didn't sugar coat things.

Matt 7:6; "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Matt 15:26; And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

Jesus even called Gentiles (non-Jews) .."dogs". I don't think He was saying this as a racial insult as much as a "non-spiritual" insult.
Still many people are offended that Jesus would call anyone a dog.

Of course we have the story of the money lenders in the temple.

John 2:15; And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;

Jesus makes a "scourge" (a small whip) and He chases people out of the temple, he pours out their money and turns the tables over.
What a sweet and nice thing to do.

There are a few more examples, so am I trying to make Jesus out as some unloving hateful person? No not at all.
He does love us. (He loved us enough to die for us) but I think many people have the wrong idea about Jesus letting people walk all over Him
and Him not sticking up for the truth.

So when people ask me "what would Jesus do". I give them a few examples of what Jesus did.

I enjoyed reading your post.

 

[Enxu]

I think the issue here is people confuse the love Jesus has for mankind and the love they imagine is love.

To them, love means constantly and forever saying gentle and soothing words to everyone, regardless of whether the words are based on truth or flattery. Certainly, this is not the kind of “love” Jesus has or shows to people. This kind of “love” is no different from seeing a child sticking his hand into fire and saying gently “sure go ahead” so as not to offend the child.

Hard for them to accept is the fact that even when Jesus is speaking condemning words to the Pharisees, He is doing it out of love. He is exposing the extent of evil in their hearts, both to bring them into repentance (if possible) and also as a warning for others to not become like them or to follow their footsteps.

The Pharisees have become so good at hiding their evil from the common masses that anything short of what Jesus said would not bring to light the reality of their spiritual state. To not expose their evil would at the very least endanger all the people who listen and believe in their teachings. What Jesus did is therefore an act of true love, and given His knowledge about the state of the hearts of men, He is the only one qualified to make such condemning statements about these group of religious leaders.

But for nominal believers like you and I, I would lean on the side of caution in condemning anyone. I do vehemently speak out against heresies and sin but seldom do I ever speak out against people. Firstly, people could be deceived themselves without intentionally teaching heresies or could be struggling with sin without the intention to live in sin. Secondly, I can never know their heart and most often I don’t even know the fruit in their life. So I only speak out against the sin and heresy, not against the person.