Good Monday morning (4-19-11),

The Bible tells the story of a sinful woman who had washed Jesus’ feet. The woman who touched Jesus was so notorious that the whole event caused the preachers in attendance to conclude that if Jesus was a holy man, He wouldn’t have allowed her to even touch Him.

What was it about the Pharisees that moved Jesus to the point of calling them names?

It was their lack of mercy and love for others. They were apparently unmerciful and unloving towards those who did not keep their doctrine, such as that sinful woman who touched Jesus.

As a new Christian, one of the first stories I read in the Gospels was when Jesus called those religious folks of the day, “snakes, hypocrites, and unmarked graves.” Frankly, I admit to being shocked and confused by His attitude.

So I started studying the Bible and made it a point to understand what mistakes these religious men had made, mostly in order not to repeat them in my life. Who would want to be called a “snake” by Jesus!

At first, it seemed confusing how people who seemed so dedicated in their religion could be so at odds with Jesus. They were even called “children of hell.” That’s a serious thing to call a preacher!

Now I know that these men had developed man-made boundaries out of their doctrines, and no matter what was going on in their hearts, they felt very righteous, as long as they remained on this side of their imaginary lines.

When Jesus taught His message on the Beautiful Attitudes, He addressed this issue of self-righteousness to all who were there, including those preachers. Jesus got right to the point when He said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

I’m convinced there’s the seed of a Pharisee in all our hearts, and if we fail to walk in mercy, it sprouts up into something just like them.

Christians cannot falter in mercy, for if we do, our hearts will become hard rocks, and our religious boundaries will deceive us as they provide a false sense of holiness. Hard hearts will no longer love its enemies, or those who do not see it their way. As Jesus pointed out, hard hearts become stinky and snaky.

From the beginning, the Word has always required all to walk in God’s mercy.

Exodus 23 commanded the Righteous that, “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.”

This is mercy, to help your enemy, to do good to them.

But the Pharisees justified themselves by only following the letter of the Law. They only did what they had to do, missing the spirit of the law (love) altogether.

I can imagine that if they saw their enemy’s goat loose, they’d let it wander off. After all, the Law didn’t say anything about saving your enemy’s goat, only his ox or donkey! Legalism was their excuse in getting around doing good to their enemies. This behavior was encoded into the infamous “doctrines of men.”

This is what Jesus was pointing to in His messages when He said, “You have heard that it was said by them of old time that you shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

We cannot keep the letter of the Law by not killing our brother, or our enemy, and still feel justified in our hatred of him, no matter how horrible he may be. It’s not good enough to not kill, or not steal, or not commit adultery, if we fail to walk in mercy toward others.

Christians are justified when we love others though acts of mercy. This is grace at its best.

We are not justified if we keep every doctrine to perfection and yet hate our brother, or our enemy. This is legalism at its worst.

I tell you, something greater than the temple (our religion) is here.

If we know what this means, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,” we would not condemn others. If I really wish to not be a snake, a hypocrite, or an unmarked grave (a Pharisee), I must first go and learn what this means: Jesus desires mercy, and not sacrifice, for He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Wayne Witcher

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 6:1