The premise of this blog is that the Pharisees were a little bit good. You may now produce your torches and pitchforks.
I would, however, ask that you please hear me out before the Frankenstein-esque attacks on my person begin. First off, for anyone who is not aware, the Pharisees have been set up (and not without reason) as some of the worst "bad guys" in all of scripture. They constantly stood in the way of Jesus attempting to love people, and could potentially be used to define the term legalism in terms of a religion. Whereas these individuals were meant to be the shepherds of Israel, they were instead its persecutors.
I honestly think that there is something which we can learn from this group. To begin, I want to examine a premise that I feel is well known to a good many people who have come to know the Lord, that being that God is capable of finding good in just about anything. For example, in the case of the interaction between Jesus and a woman he meets at a well, Jesus knows full well that the woman with whom he is speaking has sinned a great deal, but chooses to cross all manner of social borders in order to show her that she is cared for in a deeper way than she could ever imagine. God in turn used this woman to proclaim the gospel to those living in her community. Fast forward to the modern day, and we see that God is still using plenty of messed up people, deeply troubled and wounded individuals (myself included) to show the world His love.
For one who chooses to identify as a Christ follower, it becomes their goal to live as Jesus lived. This means taking on a certain burden, including attempting to emulate His ability to find the goodness in anything, no matter how depraved it might have been. This is the polar opposite of an easy task, but if accomplished to even a small fraction of the ability which Jesus had during His time on the Earth, it has the potential to change lives more dramatically than we could ever know. So, if we are indeed called to love as Jesus loved, to seek the good in people as Jesus did, what about individuals such as the Pharisees?
Before I go any further, I want to clarify something. I am by no means attempting to justify the actions of the Pharisees. These men abused people in the effort to prove Jesus wrong, and harshly held Israel to a moral code so unreachable that upon Jesus' arrival, those who heard Him were incredibly eager to hear anyone who spoke of freedom from the yoke which had been placed on them.
There is, however, a good which can be found, even a group as deplorable as the Pharisees. I think we would be hard pressed to find a Christian in the modern day who knows scripture to the same extent that these men did. Though they misused it, though they abused it, they knew it. Scripture was something which was carved into the minds of these men. Though 90% of the example which the Pharisees provide is only useful to show what not to do, I think that, if we are to follow after Christ, we should desire to have the ability to discern that which is indeed beneficial. The knowledge of scripture seen in the example of the Pharisees, coupled with a truly passionate heart to follow after God, would bring with it a love so profound that it would have the ability to do unthinkable amounts of good, truly beyond anything I can imagine.
I believe that this is a practice we need to work on. The ability to see an opportunity to seek God in all that we do and in all of the situations in which we find ourselves is something too great to pass up. From that which glimmers with holiness, to that which is so dark with depravity that it is painful to behold, there is the potential to find some level of good in anything in this world, though it does require a choice. Making this choice is more often than not incredibly difficult, is there anything which is truly good in this world that isn't?
With His love and hopefully His grace,
Taylor
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