One of the most notorious groups of people in the Bible are the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Although they failed in their objectives, these people worked to discredit Jesus. They schemed against our Lord. They were always in the corners and in and amongst the crowds, watching, listening, waiting, all with the hope of catching Jesus out when it came to some religious issue or certain theology. Before we dive in and take a look at why this group of people was so dangerous, there's a few things you have to understand. When we think of running away from God, we often think of someone running away by doing bad things. People run away from God in very different ways. They do this through sin and disobedience, and it's in their sin of committing adultery, stealing, or gossiping about others, or whatever it may be. It's in doing these things that they run away from the Lord. While all of this is true, there is an equally dangerous way to run away from God that we often overlook. And that is running away from God by doing good things and thinking we are better than those around us. Now we can believe that we have earned the favor of God by doing good things, but this is not how God works. No one can earn the favor of God. No one can earn mercy. No one can earn a blessing. All of these things are freely given to us by the Lord because of his great love. For anyone who thinks they can earn God's favor or love because of the things they do, this is called self-righteousness. Self-righteous people are less concerned about their hearts and what God sees and more about how others view their actions. Let's take a look at the most self-righteous groups in the Bible, the Pharisees and Sadducees. In the book of Matthew, we see Jesus rebuke the Pharisees and Sadducees for their self-righteous behavior. Matthew 6, verse 5 says, And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. In Greek culture, a hypocrite was an actor in a play. They would have many different roles in a play. In one scene, they would come out in a green mask. Then in the next scene, they would play a different role and come out in a red mask. They were constantly changing their roles depending on the scene. Jesus says that the Pharisees and Sadducees do the same thing. They play different roles in front of people depending on the audience they have in front of them. In today's culture, we would find it strange for someone to stand on the street and start praying. However, when Jesus was on this earth, the Pharisees and Sadducees would be perceived as extremely holy for doing such a thing. However, Jesus tells the hypocrites that their motives are off. True holiness is not praying so that others would hear you, but praying in order to have a relationship with your heavenly Father. The hypocrites will not receive the reward of a relationship with God because their reward is others listening to them. One of the most significant problems with the Pharisees and Sadducees was that they did not see themselves as people needing God's grace. Luke 18 illustrates this well. Luke 18, 10-14 says, Two men went up to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus, God, I thank you that I am not like other men. Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. In this story, the Pharisee prayed a very self-righteous prayer. Instead of thanking God for the mercy and grace in his life that has made him a righteous man, he saw the sin in others. Instead of going to God seeking mercy, he goes on to talk about how perfect he thinks he is. This Pharisee talked about all the great things he thinks he has done. However, the tax collector, he knew he was a sinner and undeserving of God's love and mercy. He knew that he needed to be forgiven and he called out for mercy. Jesus teaches that true purity, holiness, and righteousness do not come from our actions. It comes from the grace and mercy that Jesus gives us. The Pharisee's pride blocked him from seeing his need for mercy. He was righteous in his own eyes. However, the tax collector was justified because he recognized his need for the mercy of God. He was righteous because God made him righteous through his confession. The difference between self-righteousness and righteousness really comes down to motive. The self-righteous, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees, do good things in order to be seen by others. There is always an agenda. Those who are self-righteous want to look good in the public eye. Even deeper than that, they often think that the good things they do earn favor with God. We often see this today in the prosperity movement. Many in this movement think that because they have followed the rules of God, they have earned the favor of God for protection from the sickness and brokenness of the world. While the action is good, the motive is off. However, those who are truly righteous do good out of the love for God. They have a true purity, holiness, and righteousness. They know there is nothing they can ever do to earn the love of God. They have sin rooted deep in their heart. However, they confess that to God and know that God has made a way to take that sin away through Jesus Christ. Then due to that love, they follow the commands of God. Not so they can be seen by others, but because God's grace and mercy runs deep for them. Sometimes it is good for us to reflect and examine our hearts. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to see if you are self-righteous or truly righteous. When you do good things such as go to church, help out a neighbor, or give money, do you do that so others will see? Do you feel that the good things you do earn you love and favor from God? Do you think that you are better than the people around you? If you find that you are self-righteous, the great news is that there is a way forward. While the Pharisees and Sadducees get a bad rap, they were not all self-righteous. In the book of John, there is a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who came to Jesus in secret because he did not want any of his fellow Pharisees to see him coming to Jesus. He was afraid of man. But by the end of the book of John, you see a complete change in Nicodemus. He takes the body of Jesus down from the cross after the crucifixion and prepares it for burial. He goes from worrying about what other men will think, which is self-righteous, to worrying about what God thinks, which is true righteousness. If the heart of a man can be changed from one of the most self-righteous groups ever to walk the face of the earth, he can also change your heart. Just as the tax collector in Luke 18 came before the Lord beating his chest and asking for mercy, you do the same.
