Sometimes we're closer to certain people groups than we allow ourselves to realize. Take for example, our good friends from the Gospels: the Phanatical, Phantastic Pharisees! Now, I know they don't typically garner such enthusiasm, especially because they haven't been painted in a good light for quite some time. But if we take a minute and examine their beliefs and ideals we might find they weren't so bad at all.
First, it was the objective of the Pharisaic community to combat the mounting political and social upheaval that surrounded them by living lives dedicated to purity and holiness. For them, purity of self was the foundation to combat the impurity of one's surroundings. This makes sense - for if you were unable to control the holiness of the world which surrounded you, at least you were at work to control the holiness of yourself. And yet while all of this is important, it was not their primary objective in and of itself. Their aim was not to achieve piety for its own sake, but to honor Israel's king and see the redemption of the nation (and through it, the world). In other words, they were about the work of bringing God's covenant to its completion.
Second, in a world of shifting sand and uncertain futures the Pharisees stood to preserve the ancient traditions of Israel so that this nation might remember its heritage. To remember the godliness of the past and have the nation's history serve as a cry to return back to their god. Included in this particular wing of the Pharisaic movement were certain individuals who spoke as modern day prophets, often engaging the hot political and social issues of the day. Others sought to achieve pockets of influence in order to sway the decisions of the military and governing officials - all in the name of Israel's true king.
Third, of the most fundamental beliefs was that held by the nation as a whole - the coming of a messiah. This would be the individual ordained to purify the land by removing all of the ungodly powers which permeated the nation (i.e., kicking out the Romans). This lead to a common belief that the messiah would be a military figure ordained by Israel's god.
Fourth, there was a movement to foster these beliefs through the daily practices of first century commoners. That is to say that since there was not a clear opportunity to take over the governing bodies of the day, it became more important to build a 'coalition' of purity throughout the nation of Israel by working through the local religious centers (synagogues) in educating, guiding, and calling the people of Israel to a higher holiness so that they might be prepared for the arrival of their redeemer.
I must say, this is not a bad course of action.
In fact, it is so 'not bad' that it is still in use by modern evangelicals.
How many times do we stress the need for personal piety in the face of mounting opposition? (Although this is not a bad agenda to have, it does bring us one step closer to understanding this group) How often do evangelical leaders get caught up in the opportunity to achieve power and influence and sacrifice the true nature of working in the kingdom? How many times has the church allowed itself to place its hopes within a certain military or government official who comes with the expectation of removing all of the ungodliness from the land? How much have we sought to build our own coalition in the name of godliness but have face (in reality) a group seeking to achieve power of influence?
Are we so far removed?
Matthew 23: But woe to you who. . .
. . .shut people out of your churches (13)
. . .seek converts out of motive instead of love (15)
. . .display yourselves as hypoctrites by your words (16-22)
. . .try to tilt the odds to your favor (23)
. . .miss out on what's really important because of meaningless rants (24)
. . .try to make everything appear clean while the inside is corrupt (25)
. . .act out works of righteousness while allow sin to rule yourself (26)
. . .for erecting monuments to your religion and missing the living god (27)
*Pharisaic facts influenced throughout by N.T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992), 167-203.
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