Pharisees Anonymous
Hi. I’m Chris. And I’m a recovering Pharisee.
Everything we carry with us into the Sermon on the Mount (which precludes much of the angst between Jesus and the Pharisees) is built upon the entirety of the story in the Gospels. Therefore the Pharisees had no hope of getting the benefit of the doubt. They’re the bad guys.
And we’re one of them.
We like our boundaries and borders. They keep us safe and give us a clear indicator of when and how much we can be kind, generous, and/or compassionate. The power of the Pharisees was in their ability to exclude. Holiness became a club for a select few. Piety was their code, jargon, and verbiage. Everything worth noticing was done in a very public display – or better – like a fashion show.
And we’ve followed their example.
The Sermon on the Mount’s biggest reveal is the adjustment Jesus makes to holiness. No longer are external acts of sacrifice and religion the priority amongst followers. Jesus goes right for the heart – and makes a new benchmark for holiness: what’s going on inside each of us.
Some recovered from this paradigm shift – most did not.
Hi, I’m Chris, and I’m a recovering Pharisee.
Are you recovering?