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[29] “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. [30] And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

Matthew 23:29-30

Reading this passage in Matthew today reminded of the old bit by the comic, Jeff Foxworthy. If Jeff Foxworthy was a comic in 1st Century Judea, he might have said, “You might be a Pharisee if ____________________ (fill in the blank).”

In a similar vein, we could say, “You might be a Pharisee if you think you would not have opposed Jesus if you lived in Judea in the 1st Century.”

Of course, Jesus wasn’t being funny when he confronted the Pharisees, and this wouldn’t be a comedic schtick.

I don’t think Jesus was saying it was wrong for people to build tombs to the prophets or decorate them with flowers. Jesus was saying it was wrong to say (and think) they would have treated the prophets any differently.

The Pharisees are to us what the prophets were to the Pharisees. We may be tempted to think that we would embraced Jesus if we lived in 1st Century Judea, and would not have opposed him or called for his crucifixion if we we were in the crowd that shouted, “Crucify him!”.

But, that is no different than how the Pharisees thought and what the Pharisees claimed about the prophets that were resisted, derided, and sometimes killed by the “religious” people of their day. Jesus was clearly implying that the religious people of his day (the Pharisees), were no different than the religious people in the days of the prophets.

Can we say, then, that we are different than they?

Only if we adopt the same thinking as the Pharisees! (If I am understanding Jesus accurately.)

The Pharisees thought of themselves more highly than they should have. John came preaching repentance, for the Kingdom of God is near! But, the Pharisees didn’t repent. They didn’t think they needed to repent.

When Jesus – who was God in the flesh – came into the world, the Pharisees didn’t recognize Him or receive Him. (John 1:9-11) They did not prepare themselves for his coming by repenting, as John the Baptist exhorted. They adopted the wrong attitude about what God was doing in their time, and they didn’t hear and respond to what God God’s messenger was saying.

Pharisees say the right things, and they do the right things, but they fool themselves. What the Pharisees said and did was a façade. Their hearts were not aligned with their actions. They claimed to be experts in the Law, but Jesus called them blind guides leading blind followers. (Matt. 15:14)

Pharisees were concerned with appearances and the way people saw them. Pharisees were not as concerned with their heart attitudes. Jesus called them “white-washed tombs” that were empty inside (full of dead people’s bones and uncleanness). (Matt. 23:27-28) We need to be careful that we do become like the Pharisees.

To be fair, these are generalities. Some Pharisees, like Nicodemus, may may have taken the words of Jesus to heart and may have had hearts to match their actions. Some of them may have repented, as John urged them, but most of them apparently did not.

Isn’t that why Jesus confronted them to begin with? Didn’t he want to move their hearts to repent? After all, God is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but desiring all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

When we read these words, and the Word of God becomes living and active within us, we take these words to heart. Taking them to heart means being honest with ourselves. It means being honest about our own tendencies to sin. It means being humbled to realize that we might be (and probably are) no different than the Pharisees were in the 1st Century.

Just when we become proud of our own spiritual advancement we are most in danger of spiritual catastrophe!

Human nature moves us to play the part of “good Christian” – doing and saying the right things. We know we should be like that, but let’s be honest. Sometimes, we are putting on a show.

I believe Jesus is telling us not to do that. He is telling us to be “real” with ourselves, with others, and most importantly with God. He wants us to focus our attention on the inside and to pay less attention to the way people see us on the outside.

God is waiting for us to realize we can’t “be all that we can be” as a Christ follower on our own. It is impossible. Because we are sinners – all of us.

God wants us to be more concerned about the inside than the outside. He wants us to be more concerned about our hearts than the way we act out our Christian lives. He wants the fruit (our conduct) to flow from our heart attitudes that are the product of God working in us!

I don’t think He wants us to act anything out. He wants us to be authentic, brutally authentic (if we need to be). The sinful self won’t like that, and that “distaste” is evidence that we are doing as we should, refusing to allow ourselves to be placated by a shell of a Christian life.

Paul promises that God desires to work in you to will and to act to fulfill His good purpose. (Phil. 2:13 NIV) Let Him! Let Him reign in your heart – to be the Lord of your heart. Let Him change you.

God wants us to take our sinful nature, our sinful and selfish thoughts, and all our sinful ways and law them before Jesus at the cross where there is forgiveness of sins. But not just that, He wants to deal with our sin – honestly, candidly, unrelentingly.

“When you deal seriously with your sins, God will gently deal with you.”

Charles Spurgeon

Don’t settle for saying the right things and doing the right things if you don’t feel the right things. The disconnect between your heart and your actions is a sign that something is wrong, that you are not who you pretend to be, that you need to get real with God (and yourself).

But, we do not get discouraged in coming to this realization because we know we have a merciful God who is faithful and just to forgive our sins when we confess them to Him. (1 John 1:9) We know we have a God who is able to work in us to will and to act according to His good purpose.

Be ever vigilant and honest with yourself before God. After all, God knows you inside and out. He knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows when you get up and when you lie down. He knows the words you are about to speak before you even say them, and He knows your thoughts from afar. (Psalm 139)

Nothing you can do will fool or surprise God. You are only fooling yourself if you are not anything but open and honest before the Almighty.

We all live our lives out in front of people and in front of God. The audience of the many is not what is most important. The audience of the One is what matters most. We don’t have to be a Pharisees because we have a God who knows, understands us, loves us, and desires to give us Himself.