Pharisees Continued

Sorry for the delay. I got some new gear and I'm getting close to be able to do some halfway quality recordings of my music. I'm looking forward to it!

We are really enjoying our time off of church. All I can say that is that I feel at peace.

So, continuing the Pharisees discussion...

If Jesus was not battling "legalism" when he was dealing with the Pharisees, what was going on? I've always understood the Pharisees to be the bad guys in the story. They were oppressing people with their legalistic interpretations of the Law, right? Forcing people to "earn" their way to heaven by following dietary laws, Sabbath observance etc, right? I'm finding that maybe that's not exactly true.

First, the Pharisees were probably the more liberal of the Jewish sects of Jesus' day. The Sadducees were in control of the Temple. They wanted everything to stay status quo. They wanted everything revolving around the Temple. Next, the Essenes were the radicals who saw the Temple system as absolutely corrupt. So far gone, in fact, that they started their own community in the desert to separate themselves from the world and await the time that God would restore them as the "real Israel". The Pharisees were trying to help the common person be faithful to Israel's traditions without going to either extreme. Not quite the "Darth Vaders" of the First Century that I was taught about in Sunday school. . . Throw in to this mix Herod, who is building palaces and the Temple to try to appease the people while trying to get along with his political bosses, and the Zealots whose goal was a forceful revolution. It becomes pretty easy to see that religion and politics was not as separate as it is in our day.

I am suggesting that the Pharisees, as well as the other religions sects of Jesus' time, had a nationalistic agenda, and at least part of what Jesus was dealing with so forcefully was that Israel's vocation of being a "blessing to the world" could not be fulfilled within that nationalistic agenda. Let's remember Abraham's covenant, which superseded the Mosaic Law:

Gen 12:1-3
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Emphasis mine)

I believe that this is the controlling story of the Bible. The vocation of Israel is plain and simple: bless the world. The problem is that all of the symbols that demark Israel as a nation have been co-opted by a nationalistic agenda that wants to overthrow Rome, restore the land, and end the long exile. According the the Scriptures this will be accomplished by the Messiah. Interesting that Jesus was not the first, nor the last to claim to be the Messiah isn't it? Most of the people of Israel were not looking for a spiritual kingdom, they wanted the Roman animals off their backs and out of their land!

I know, you are skeptical. Surely there is more to the story. I'm not saying there isn't, but this is a big part of what Jesus was dealing with. What other Biblical proof is there? Check out Luke 13:

Luk 13:1-9 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

These verses aren't talking about heaven and hell like I thought when I first read them. They make much more sense in the context I am proposing. If Israel does not repent from their nationalistic rebellion against Rome they will perish. There will be Roman swords in the Temple and falling bricks in Jerusalem. Isn't that exactly what happened in AD 70 when Titus destroyed Jerusalem?

I know. You aren't convinced. Okay, lets look at Luke 19 where Jesus is approaching Jerusalem. This is the pivotal moment in the Gospels. Jesus, the Messiah, is entering the Holy City! There is great expectation that the God's Kingdom will be established. Jesus' followers are singing "Hossanna!" Save now! They a singing from Ps. 118 that were thought to reference the Messiah. Remember his followers were not looking for a spiritual kingdom. . . they wanted to boot Rome out of Israel!

Luk 19:41-44 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

We are getting a clear picture of the judgment that Jesus is declaring on Israel. The writing is on the wall! If Israel continues down the path of nationalistic revolution, Rome will wipe them out!

What does Jesus do next? He marches right into the Temple and begins the judgment on the system. It too has been co-opted by this nationalistic fervor. It is not serving it's original purpose: to be a blessing to all nations. Rather, it is the place where Israel is looking for the restoration from exile. It is the place where the Messiah will return and setup his kingdom. Salvation for Israel will come from the Temple! The revolution will start there! No wonder the people are excited as Jesus is heading into Jerusalem!

This is to long as it is. I'll stop. Next, I'll look at Matthew 21-25 in this context. . .