The Heart of a Pharisee

To move from a cultural understanding of Jesus to one that is rooted in Scripture can be a shock to the system. As we discussed in a previous post, Jesus is very different from our cultural depictions of Him. Jesus was not a flower child teaching a group of hippies about peace and love on a grassy meadow. But rather, as we have already seen in the first nine chapters of John, Jesus was focused, determined, intense and confrontational. He was in no way passive as He purposefully drove confrontations with a wayward Israel, and the world beyond.

We see in John 9 that Jesus healed yet another man on the Sabbath. Why did He heal on the Sabbath knowing that it would cause anger and consternation among the leaders of Israel? Because Jesus was confronting the religious leaders at the point of their sin, which was their man-made religious system. They had long ago abandoned true devotion to God in favor of man-made traditions, and outward piety that was devoid of true inner devotion. And, just like corrupt leaders today, they were prepared to protect that false system at any cost.

You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" -- Matthew 15:7-9

The confrontations of Christ were not by accident, they were by design. Whether He drove money changers from the temple or healed on the Sabbath, He had a clear reason for doing so.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. -- John 3:17-19 

That is the subtext underneath the ministry of Christ. He came not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He came to seek and to save the lost. And that meant shining His light in dark places. It meant confronting people in their sin and calling them to repentance. It meant giving them (and us) a wake-up call, and we generally don't like that. Jesus is like the morning sun shining into our darkened rooms where we slumber in sin.

When Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath day, it caused quite a commotion for all parties involved. It was yet another confrontational act on the part of Jesus and no heart was left untroubled. The people didn't know what to make of this miracle, so they dragged the blind man to their leaders. In turn, the Jewish leaders did not want to believe this man who was staring at them with a newly fashioned set of eyes. And the man's parents, instead of rejoicing that their son had received his sight, wanted nothing to do with the situation because they feared the Jewish leaders and excommunication from the synagogue. Excommunication would have severed them from the religious, social, and economic life of Israel.

But there is yet another reason Jesus healed this blind man; because physical blindness is a picture of spiritual blindness and spiritual darkness. It is a vivid illustration to show us that Jesus came to open our spiritually blind eyes so that we might see the light of Christ. Unless Jesus opens our spiritual eyes, we will remain blind to the things of God, just like the Jewish leaders who were too blind and too proud see their own spiritual poverty and their need for Christ.

Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, "Are we also blind?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains. -- John 9:39-41

Even as the evidence mounted about who Jesus was, their hearts grew harder and harder. It is a dangerous thing to ignore the words of Christ. When confronted with the claims of Christ, our hearts will either soften, and we will bow to His Lordship, or our hearts will grow harder, and that without remedy (Proverbs 29:1). When the light of Christ shines, our eyes will either be opened by the truth, or we will run further into darkness. But you needn't be "religious" to be a Pharisee. At base, a Pharisee is proud before God and thinks himself better than others.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." -- Luke 18:9-14 

We are either proud before God (like the Pharisee), believing that we can stand in His awesome holy presence based on our record of good deeds, or we will understand our true condition (like the tax collector); that we are spiritually bankrupt, wretched and broken, and in need of the mercy that God so freely gives. And that is the confrontation -- we are all told that we are sinners before a holy and just God, that none are righteous, not even one (Romans 3:9-11), and even our best works are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). We are given a sober assessment and a tough diagnosis - and we, like the pharisees, are offended. But with that sobering truth, we are told of a miraculous cure, and an offer of peace from the very God we have offended:

John 3:16 (ESV)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Amazing Grace

That's a song that gets to everybody. -- Marion Williams

Because John 9 is about Jesus opening the eyes of the blind, it seemed appropriate this week to take a look at one of the best loved hymns ever written, Amazing Grace. Penned by John Newton, a former slave trader turned abolitionist, the story of this hymn is a wonder in itself.

Written in 1779, Amazing Grace has transcended time and culture. You will find renditions of it performed in all parts of the globe, by people of all colors. You can find it being played in large concert halls with a full orchestra, or you can hear a soul stirring rendition played with bagpipes by the Scots, and you can hear it sung with gut wrenching pathos in the inner city. It was sung by the Cherokee Indians along the Trail of Tears, and by African Americans during the Civil Rights struggle. It was even sung during the 9/11 Memorial, even though this kind of religious expression is often eschewed in the public square these days. It is a hymn that has brought great comfort in times of deep sorrow. But it is not only a hymn we sing in times of grief, we also sing it to express deep joy in the mercy of God.

In 1852, through a providential set of circumstances, African Americans would even add a verse of their own to this well loved hymn, a verse that was passed down through oral tradition.

When we've been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We've no less days to sing God's praise,

Than when we first begun.

Who would have thought that a hymn written by a former slave trader would be so loved by the descendants of the very people he enslaved. In effect, Amazing Grace was written by the slave trader and the slave. That is the wonder of the Gospel of Christ, that former enemies can be forgiven and reconciled at the foot of the cross, and sing in one accord about the mercy of God.

There is also something curious about the second verse of Amazing Grace that doesn't get the attention it merits. Perhaps that's because familiarity breeds apathy and indifference, so we fail to really hear the words.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears reliev'd;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believ'd!

How is it that Newton would write, "grace taught his heart to fear"? What place does fear have in comfort? What Newton is alluding to is something that has been forgotten in our culture. The fear of God and the day of reckoning. There came a day when Newton saw his sins for what they were, and he understood what every true Christian comes to know, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

Once again, I must borrow from Lewis who said it so well.

God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from. He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves His enemies. Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again. They are still only playing with religion. Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger - according to the way you react to it. And we have reacted the wrong way…

Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness. It is after you have realized that there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind the law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that Power - it is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk. When you know you are sick, you will listen to the doctor. When you have realized that our position is nearly desperate you will begin to understand what the Christians are talking about…

All I am doing is to ask people to face the facts - to understand the questions which Christianity claims to answer. And they are very terrifying facts. I wish it was possible to say something more agreeable. But I must say what I think true…

Of Course, I quite agree that the Christian religion is, in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort. But it does not begin in comfort; it begins in the dismay I have been describing, and it is no use at all trying to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay. -- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

In other words, It is only after we understand that there is a holy God to Whom we will give an account (and the fear that comes with it), does grace begin to sing. Only when we realize that we owe a debt before God that we cannot pay, does the offer of forgiveness begin to sound like glorious news of comfort and joy. But, if like the Pharisees, we have come to believe that we owe God a mere pittance, or perhaps nothing at all, then the offer of forgiveness will mean nothing. If we are convinced that we can stand before God in our own righteousness, a righteousness that the Bible calls filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), we will never see our need for grace, we will never understand our need for a Savior.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. -- Proverbs 9:10

The Graceless Heart

So what is the song of the self-righteous and graceless heart? The song of the self-righteous is the antithesis of Amazing Grace because they deny their need for a Savior. They effectively sing in their heart:

Amazing Grace, can't hear the sound

Because the wretch is not me

Was never lost, no need to be found

Never blind, I already see

Either we will cry out to God for mercy and rest in the abundant merits of Christ, or we will trust in our own righteousness and rest in our own merits. But the merits of the self righteous are wholly inadequate. Jesus said, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter heaven (Matthew 5:20)." In our fallen state, we are all proud Pharisees at heart, convinced of our own righteousness. It is only by seeing God as He is, in His perfection and holy righteousness, we are undone, and come to see our need for a Savior (Isaiah 6:1-5). May God, in His grace, open our eyes to understand our desperate need for Him, and lead us home.