Tag Archives: Pride

What God Gave Up for Lent – Day 36

36. Pharisee Fever

Swear

Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. (Mark 14:55-59)

The Greek word for trying to obtain is very intentional and very deliberate (one of its translations). It is a mental, emotional, and physical process. You are trying to reason it out or meditate upon it; but you are also striving after it and craving it. The pursuit and maintenance of untruth requires total commitment on your part. Heart, soul, mind and strength. Sound familiar?

Do you remember the passage from the Sermon on the Mount? Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ( Matt 7:7) A more accurate way of representing this passage would be: Ask (and keep asking) and it will be given to you; seek (and keep seeking) and you will find; knock (and keep knocking) and it will be opened to you. Note the sense of persistence in this passage. The question arises: Are we as persistent in seeking God’s Truth in our prayers as the Pharisees were seeking untruth?

The Greek word for consistent is where we get the root for an isosceles triangle; or equilateral triangle. And if one of the three angles is off even a fraction of a degree, then it is no longer an isosceles triangle. So it is with the truth. If there is any divergence from it, then it is no longer truth but a lie.

In the Greek, the meaning of the word has to do with being the same or equal, measure for measure. It has to do with equal shares, equal rights and fair measures. It is a sad thing to note that the Pharisees had the law and the prophets in their possession; but the truth and guidance found therein did not possess them..

I call this the Pharisee Fever. They had God in the flesh before them, they had Truth Incarnate standing there. He had proven Himself by authority, through miracles and teaching; yet they still would not accept Him as Messiah.

Now, when confronted with the Truth, you either accept it or deny it. But denying it requires that you disassemble it. You cannot ignore it; for if Truth remains it will be revealed, it will be found, and at some point, it will cause you to stumble and your house of cards to fall.

The need to destroy the Truth becomes so great, that eventually it doesn’t matter if what you proclaim has no consistency or credibility. You simply declare your version is consistent, credible, and worthy of placing your trust in it. And that’s what you do—you put your trust in it. And it doesn’t really matter how many civil, social or spiritual commands you break:

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)              

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. (Exodus 20:4)

You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:11-12)

There are more, but you get the point. The members of the Sanhedrin knew these laws but to keep them would have meant giving up their truth.

Here then is the first phase of the Pharisee Fever: your truth receives its validation and authority from you. You declare it to be meaningful and trustworthy. And you declare it long enough and loud enough until any inconsistencies are seen as irrelevant.

True Truth, absolute truth, has no need for validation. It simply is. That’s how God designed it. It’s worth, veracity, and application is not determined by human perspective, nor by individual interpretation, but by divine decree. It is utterly consistent and will stand up to the most strenuous scrutiny.

The second phase, and indeed the very purpose to the Pharisee Fever, is to destroy the Truth so that manufactured truth can stand unchallenged. Manufactured truth cannot stand when seen in the light of absolute Truth. The Pharisees were not about to trade in their cushy religious jobs and their seemingly exalted positions for a relationship with The Most High.

The reason for the existence of manufactured truth: pride.

The power behind these acts of pride is organized religion (I use that term in the broadest sense). When people choose to ascribe to the same opinions, beliefs, philosophies, and untruths, then build rituals and traditions around them, a unifying and destructive power begins to grow. And those who have gathered beneath its shadow, with the truths they believe, the pronouncements they make; and the actions they take, risk perilous and eternal consequences. Note the actions in Psalm 2.

Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.  Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! (Psalm 2:1-12)

Note how the LORD addresses these kings. He lays down the consequences for their actions: break them with a rod of iron…  shatter them like earthenware. But He also gives them the opportunity to repent: show discernment, take warning, worship and do homage. He is revealing to them the path of repentance, and the opportunity to turn from rebellion to refuge. But how can they know this, these pagan kings, who have neither the commands of God nor Word of God. Recall the passage Paul’s letter to the Romans: For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

God has shown enough of Himself for all to know that HE IS. Knowing that, it is then our responsibility and journey to leave the path of rebellion and travel the path of refuge, that we might find salvation.

If there is hope for a pagan king to repent, is there hope for the Pharisee? Can you be healed from the Pharisee fever?

Father, help me to seek You, and to seek Your Truth with at least the same total and utter commitment as one who would seek and maintain untruth. Amen.

What God Gave Up for Lent – Day 16

16. Healing & Teaching

Woman healed

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3d)

As we saw in yesterday’s teaching, the word grief was often translated as sickness and disease. And we noted that a significant part of Christ’s ministry was the healing of the sick.

A close associate with healing, is teaching. They move in unison throughout Christ’s ministry. And in this case (probably in most) the healing becomes the application for His teaching.

And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness. And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him. (Luke 13:10-17)

For eighteen years a daughter of Abraham had been bound by Satan, bent over double. Did she attend synagogue every Sabbath? The fact the Jesus called her a daughter of Abraham indicates she was faithful to her God, and probably attended synagogue every time it was open. Where else would she find healing? But did she receive comfort there, or even attention? We can’t tell. But I suspect that all she received was their inattention. For eighteen years they ignored her. For eighteen years they probably offered nothing more than ingenuous ungracious greetings, and superficial, legalistic instruction.

So here’s Jesus, at a synagogue, in the midst of a really excellent teaching and this doubled-over woman catches His eye. He calls her over and pronounces her freed from her sickness. Her response is quite appropriate: she stood up straight and began glorifying God. How scandalous, that a woman should start praising God in the midst of synagogue.

We immediately see the hardness of the hearts found in the religious authorities. How dare you heal on the Sabbath! Yes you may teach, indeed even teach with authority never heard before, but don’t start healing, especially don’t heal a woman.

I’m pretty sure that it was not Christ’s goal to humiliate his adversaries. They did that quite handily themselves. Indeed, I believe that He would have eagerly healed them from their pride and arrogance, and even their hard hearts, if had they only asked.

The application is: Jesus sees us in all of our infirmities, sins, and brokenness. We all need healing. So let us be bold in our infirmities; let us acknowledge what He already knows and then be healed by Him. We would probably receive the same scorn that she did, for interrupting their religious service, but it will give you the opportunity to straighten up and glorify God.

One more thought about being made straight by Jesus. Are you straight? Or are you bent over with a load of sin? You were never intended to carry that load. Yes, it is yours. You certainly deserve it and have quite properly earned it. But it should not be carried by you. Christ has already taken that burden upon Himself at the cross. Now if He has already laid down His life for you, and left your sins in the grave, why aren’t you standing straight and glorifying God?

Singing with the King (95) – Pride & Humility

Lord, I have given up my pride and turned away from my arrogance. I am not concerned with great matters or with subjects too difficult for me.  Instead, I am content and at peace. As a child lies quietly in its mother’s arms, so my heart is quiet within me. Israel, trust in the Lord now and forever! (Psalm 131)

Last time I looked at this Psalm, I focused mainly on the author. It was King David, who was, shall we say, a reasonably successful King. Yet this is where his heart was. But this time I want to look at our hearts in relation to this Psalm.

This is one of the Songs of Ascents, there are 15, which are presumed to be the songs the Jews sang as they walked up to the Temple. If that is indeed the case, then the four David wrote were for future generations.

So here we are walking to worship, and it’s probably a good time and place to give up your pride and turn away from your arrogance. God’s not particularly fond of either of those attributes:

Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud. (Psalm 136:6) It’s going to be tough to worship—to draw near—if the LORD is keeping His distance from you.

All who fear the LORD will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech. (Proverbs 8:13) Fear of the LORD means you understand Who He is and who you are. Pride and arrogance will not only NOT lead to understanding, it will put you in a dangerous place where God hates you.

Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2) Disgrace or wisdom…it’s your choice.

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.  Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud. (Proverbs 16:18-19)

Disgrace, distance, and finally destruction and a fall.Can you see how impossible it is to have a loving and worshipful relationship with Him, with all that against you? Pride exalts us beyond our place. Pride replaces God, or at best ignores Him. Pride completely re-writes our priorities. Pride makes us stupid. And the damage? Well that’s what the Psalms and Proverbs are talking about.

So what is it that grabs your attention? Great things? Difficult things? In and of themselves there is nothing wrong with either. But what if they become a distraction? What if they complicate too much? Find the simplicity of a child’s love and rest in the Lord.

Finally, lets not forget the context. You’re on your way to worship. God knows your heart. He knows when you’re being prideful and stupid, and he knows when you’re being humble like Jesus. He knows when you are near, and when you are distant. But what about your friends around you, as you’re going to worship? Are you being transparent so they can see that you’re struggling, and therefor could encourage you and strengthen you? Or are you keeping to yourself, hurting alone, being alone? It could be that your willingness to be open could bring about the healing you need, the truth you need, and so as your walking to worship, you’re actually being made ready for worship.

Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8) You might even find yourself held in His loving arms.


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