John Burke, in his book Mud and the Masterpiece, writes that the Pharisees were reformers, but in the wrong direction. Change is good, but it should be for good. He analyses the Pharisees’ good things and how they went wrong.
Loved the Law: The Pharisees were worried about the moral decay in the Nation. The Roman influence increased, and God’s law given by Moses was neglected. (Matthew 9:11) They desired social reformation through Moses’ Law. Even today, many Christians may love the Bible and be concerned about the fall of moral values in society, yet they do not act.
Studied the Law: They diligently studied the Law. (John 5:39) They memorised the first five books of the bible, called the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. For them, loyalty to Moses and the Prophets was a priority. Like the Pharisees, many have studied, memorised, and even preached from the Bible, but did not apply the Scripture.
Principles to traditions: Fasting, giving, and tithing were spiritual principles. Pharisees separated the spiritual principles from the rituals and kept the traditions diligently. They followed a few disciplines, not as spiritual principles, but with a traditional mindset. Hence, like Cain’s offering, their traditions, including sacrifices, were rejected.
Evangelistic: They were willing to travel over land and sea to win a single convert. But the Lord confronted the Pharisees for making the new convert twice as much as a child of hell as they were. (Matthew 23:15) Because their behaviour did not match the principles and commandments of the bible, the new converts became worse than Pharisees.
Separated themselves: They considered themselves privileged, chosen, and good people. They did not want to do anything with the ‘bad people.’ For them, bad people were tax collectors, commoners, and Gentiles. Hence, they separated, isolated, and insulated themselves from them. They could not understand why Jesus was spending time with sinners. Hence, they termed the Lord as the friend of sinners. (Matthew 11:19) The Lord came to save the sinners and not those who considered themselves righteous.
Am I heading in the wrong direction like the Pharisees?