Today, Selwyn continues to examine the attitude of the Pharisees - that group of people known for their self-righteous attitudes.
He says: “Jesus saw right to the depths of their lives and perceived that they were inwardly bankrupt … they were proud, supercilious and self-righteous – the attitudes some people adopt to cover up their feeling of inferiority.”
Later on, in the study he brings our attention to the fact that the sin of pride is often found at the root of a superior attitude. While Selwyn concentrates on just one aspect: that a superior attitude is a cover, a shelter from the unpredictable storms we all have to face in everyday life. I also think that with many people, who portray a superior attitude; that attitude is used as a diversion – to divert attention from their real motives, which is based on pride, greed and lust. In summary, Pharisaism is basically idolatry – it’s the putting of self-interests first; in their hearts they love their ‘self’. Consequently, they don’t have a relationship with God. They cannot love others in the true sense of the word, and any charitable works are done to makes themselves – ‘feel good’. This ‘yeast of the Pharisees’, is still active and spreads rapidly through each generation. The attributes of our sinful nature, are the same now - as they were two thousand years ago; as they will be – on the last day.
In Luke 12:1-3 (NIV), we hear Jesus talking to His disciples: “Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”
Jesus is telling the disciples that a person’s true motivation will be revealed. In a very real sense – Jesus is within us, monitoring the desires which we form in our hearts – nothing we do is missed by God. Even those thoughts or actions that come to us under the cover of darkness, are seen by Jesus. Hypocrites – are the devil’s fools!
Any comments on today’s study?
The big cover-up
Today, Selwyn continues to examine the attitude of the Pharisees - that group of people known for their self-righteous attitudes.
He says: “Jesus saw right to the depths of their lives and perceived that they were inwardly bankrupt … they were proud, supercilious and self-righteous – the attitudes some people adopt to cover up their feeling of inferiority.”
Later on, in the study he brings our attention to the fact that the sin of pride is often found at the root of a superior attitude. While Selwyn concentrates on just one aspect: that a superior attitude is a cover, a shelter from the unpredictable storms we all have to face in everyday life. I also think that with many people, who portray a superior attitude; that attitude is used as a diversion – to divert attention from their real motives, which is based on pride, greed and lust. In summary, Pharisaism is basically idolatry – it’s the putting of self-interests first; in their hearts they love their ‘self’. Consequently, they don’t have a relationship with God. They cannot love others in the true sense of the word, and any charitable works are done to makes themselves – ‘feel good’. This ‘yeast of the Pharisees’, is still active and spreads rapidly through each generation. The attributes of our sinful nature, are the same now - as they were two thousand years ago; as they will be – on the last day.
In Luke 12:1-3 (NIV), we hear Jesus talking to His disciples: “Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”
Jesus is telling the disciples that a person’s true motivation will be revealed. In a very real sense – Jesus is within us, monitoring the desires which we form in our hearts – nothing we do is missed by God. Even those thoughts or actions that come to us under the cover of darkness, are seen by Jesus. Hypocrites – are the devil’s fools!
Any comments on today’s study?