Knowing the IMPORTANCE of FOLLOWING the NEW COVENANT instead
of the “FAKE RELIGIOUS LEADERS”
03/07/2019
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The
religious leaders of Jesus' Day mentioned in the Gospels can be confusing,
since some of the terms are overlapping. For example, a scribe could be either
a Pharisee or a Sadducee, and the word "scribes" is synonymous with
other terms such as "teachers of the law" and "lawyers."
Hopefully the following will clarify these in your mind. While reading these
definitions you should be able to fit MOST of today’s RELIGIOUS LEADERS into
these definitions.
Pharisees
"Pharisees"
belonged to a lay movement or party that defined righteousness as observing
every detail of traditional rules designed to serve as a "hedge" or
"fence" around the commandments. If one kept the traditions, he would
not then transgress the law itself. The Pharisees were relatively small in
number, but had great influence in First Century Judaism. They believed in
angels and in the resurrection of the dead at the end of the age, in contrast
to the Sadducees. As strict observers of the traditional, oral law they are somewhat akin
to modern-day Hasidic Jews.
High Priests
High priests were powerful figures in First
Century Jerusalem. The high priests (there were several in Jesus' day
who had short tenure) had a vested interested in the religious status quo, and
probably gained financially from money changing and sales of sacrifices in the
temple. Since
in Jesus' day the high priest was appointed by Herod, and served at the
pleasure of the Roman Governor, the high priests were often closely aligned
with Roman interests.
Sadducee's
"Sadducees"
were a group closely identified with the priestly aristocracy. They rejected the
oral law or "traditions of the elders" held by the Pharisees, and
held rather to the Torah itself. They denied the resurrection, and
perhaps angels or spirits. Most of Jesus' conflicts were with the Pharisees rather
than the Sadducees.
Scribes
"Scribes" (KJV)
or "teachers of the law" (NIV)
translates Greek grammateus -- "a class of professional exponents and
teachers of the law" who might belong to either the Sadducee party or the
Pharisee party. While any male Jew could read the scripture in the synagogue
and give an interpretation of the scripture, scribes were respected teachers
who often had pupils who studied the law with them. The Scribes were often poor and depended on gifts from their
students, funds from the distribution to the poor, or the Temple treasury to
take care of their needs. It was considered meritorious to show hospitality to
a scribe, to give him a share of one's property, or to run his business for
him. In some
ways Jesus would have been classified in his day as a scribe, with students who
leave their families to study with him. But he didn't teach like the scribes,
appealing to tradition; rather he spoke authoritatively from God himself.
- "Teachers of the law" (NIV) or "doctors of the law" (KJV). Greek nomodidaskalos, another word for "scribe."
- "Lawyers" (KJV) or "experts in the law" (NIV), Greek nomikos, another word for "scribe"
- "Rabbi" (KJV and NIV), a Hebrew/Aramaic word, is a respectful form of address for all teachers that means, literally, "great one." In Jesus' day it was not yet a fixed title for academically schooled, ordained scribes as it became later, and is in our day.
- "Teacher" (NIV) or "master" (KJV), Greek didaskalos, usually translates the Hebrew/Aramaic word rabbi.
- "Master" (NIV and KJV), Greek epistates, a more general term for a supervisory or official person, appears rarely and only in Luke's Gospel.
As you can see from these definitions JESUS would be
a thorn in all their sides because HE was the fulfillment of the LAWS, so
mankind needed only to trust in HIM to fulfill the Law. All of these NAMES
represent some form of bondage which JESUS came to set mankind FREE FROM!!!
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,
saying: “The scribes and
Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses’ chair [of authority as teachers of the Law]; so practice and observe everything they
tell you, but do not do as they do; for they preach [things], but do not practice them. The scribes and Pharisees tie up heavy loads [that are hard to bear] and place them on men’s shoulders, but
they themselves will not lift a finger [to make them lighter]. They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their
phylacteries (tefillin) wide
[to make them more conspicuous] and
make their tassels long.
They love the place of distinction and honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues [those on the platform near the scrolls of the Law, facing the congregation], and to be greeted [with respect] in the market places and public forums, and to have people call them Rabbi. But do not be called Rabbi (Teacher); for One is your Teacher, and you are all [equally] brothers. Do not call anyone on earth [who guides you spiritually] your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not let yourselves be called leaders or teachers; for One is your Leader (Teacher), the Christ. But the greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be raised to honor. Matthew 23:1-12
Here is a quick summary of why JESUS was NOT a fan
of the “RELIGIOUS” leaders of His time. {Matthew
23}
1.
They expected
people to {do as I say NOT as I do}
2.
They placed
heavy burdens on the people
3.
Everything they
did was for show NOT for the glory of God
4.
They dressed
themselves to make themselves look better than everyone
5.
They loved a
place of distinction; they desired the best seats in the house and expected
people to call them Rabbi.
6.
Jesus made it
clear that we are all ONE and no man should be called Rabbi.
7.
Jesus said DO
NOT call any man who guides you spiritually “FATHER”
8.
Jesus let us
know that HE [the Christ] was the ONE true teacher.
9.
Jesus laid out 8
woes to the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees in Matthew
23:13-33 referring to
them as serpents that were the spawn of vipers deserving of eternity in HELL.
Let us now turn
our attention to the REASON JESUS CAME to earth for a clearer understanding of
why the RELIGIOUS MEN of HIS TIME hated HIM so much.
Jesus
came to bring a NEW COVENANT which would RADICALLY change the MINISTRY of GOD’S
WORD. The NEW COVENANT would bring FREEDOM instead of bondage therefore these
Pharisee’s and Sadducee's would no longer be able to control others with their
heavy burdens; for through JESUS the burdens would be much lighter. When
studying the Word of God we learn from Hebrews 8; 9; 10 that God was bringing a BETTER
MINISTRY [A NEW COVENANT] through HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. Take a moment now to
read about this NEW COVENANT. Click on each number to read the Scripture.
Hebrews 8 – THE NEW COVENANT
When God speaks of “A new covenant,”
He makes the first one obsolete. And whatever is
becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) and growing old is ready to disappear.
Hebrews 9 – THE OLD
and THE NEW
Christ did not enter into a holy place
made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but [He entered] into heaven
itself, now to appear in the very presence of God on our behalf. Now we have direct access to the Father through Christ JESUS.
Hebrews
10 – Jesus Christ the only SACRIFICE NEEDED
And the Holy Spirit
also adds His testimony to us [in confirmation of this]; for after having said, “This is the covenant
that I will make with themAfter those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their heart, And on their mind I will inscribe them [producing an inward change],” He then says, “And their sins and their lawless acts I will remember no more [no longer holding their sins against them].” Now where there is [absolute] forgiveness and complete cancellation of the penalty of these things, there is no longer any offering [to be made to atone] for sin.
This NEW COVENANT meant the MINISTERS
would have to learn to minister to the people through the POWER and ANOINTING
of the HOLY SPIRIT. Through this ministry change the people of God would have
access to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Living now in the Holy Spirit
believers are set FREE from the bondage of the LAW being declared free of
guilt and sets them apart for God’s special purpose. Take a moment now to read 2
Corinthians 3 to learn more
about this New Covenant.
Now
the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from
bondage, true freedom]. And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into
His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the
Lord, [who is] the Spirit.
As we continue to study the Word of God
we learn more about the reason’s Jesus came to earth.
The
Gospel in Thirty Words…
Jesus is GOD WITH US, come to
SHOW US God’s love,
SAVE US from sin,
SET UP God’s kingdom, and
SHUT DOWN religion, so we can
SHARE IN God’s life
1. GOD WITH US
1. The Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament,
written hundreds of years before Jesus) prophesied a time when God would burst
through the boundaries of religion and dwell intimately with humankind.
2. Jesus’s coming began the fulfillment of
many prophecies, and started a “New Covenant” or new way of living in
relationship with God and with others.
»
READ Luke
22:20; 2
Corinthians 3:6; John
1:1-18; 5:37-40;
2. SHOW US GOD’S LOVE
1. The essence of God, our Source and
Sustainer, is love—pure interrelating love. This truth resonates with us on a
deeply intuitive level because we have been made by (and for) this God who is
love.
»
READ 1
John 4:7-21
2. Jesus (and only Jesus) gives us clear
and definitive evidence of God’s great love for us.
» READ John
3:16; Romans
5:6-10
3. SAVE US FROM SIN
1. Sin is any attitude or action that is
anti-love. Sin separates relationships because of patterns of selfishness,
self-centeredness, and eventually self absorption. Sin leads increasingly to a
kind of living death.
» READ Isaiah
59:1-2; Mark
7:20-23; Romans
6:23
2.
When we envision
the crucifixion, we see our sin killing Christ, acted out by the leaders of
religion and politics. It is our sin that we see acted out in the rejection,
mockery, wrath, and violence against Jesus. It is our sin that drives in the
nails and washes our hands of it all. And it is our sin that Jesus takes upon
himself and drags down into the grave with him.
»
READ the passion narratives; notice
the pattern of early church gospel preaching in Acts
2:23-24, 36; 3:15, 19; 4:10; 5:30; 7:52-53.
3.
Jesus assures us
that we are now free from judgment, wrath, and condemnation.
»
READ John
5:24; Romans
5:9; 8:1
4.
Jesus embodies
God’s message of forgiveness and reconciliation, and announces God’s plan to
renew and restore us and our world.
»
READ John
3:3-8; Romans
3:23-24; 5:1-2; 2
Corinthians 5:17-21;
5.
When we trust
God to rebirth us into our true selves, we are made perfect in spirit and can
live in union with God, even if we are still temporarily living in bodies that
sin.
»
READ Romans
7:17, 20; 2
Corinthians 5:21
6. In his life, death, and teachings,
Jesus—and only Jesus—gives us a clear and unmistakable demonstration that God
is really with us and for us.
»
READ Matthew
1:23; Luke
23:34; John
13:1-5;
and all 4 Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
7. Because we know that God is with us, for
us, and not against us, we can come home to him like the prodigal son {Luke
15}
with confidence and bold joy.
» READ Hebrews
4:16
SET UP GOD’S KINGDOM
1. Jesus not only saves us from something
(sin and self-destruction), he also saves us to something: living in union with
God’s will and God’s way. This is called “the Kingdom of God”.
»
READ Matthew
6:10; Mark
1:15
2. The Kingdom of God is an eternal life
that we can begin to live right here and right now. Jesus shows us the way.
»
READ Luke
17:20-21
3. The way of the Kingdom is a way of
peace, where we view other people who oppose us, not as the enemy, but as
victims of the true, unseen enemy. This allows us to reach out to all people
with the divine, non-violent, love of Jesus.
4. Shut Down Religion
1.
Jesus introduces
us to the most IRRELIGIOUS concept of all: GRACE. Grace means that God gives to
us as a gift everything that RELIGION tries but fails to accomplish.
» READ – John
1:17; 2
Timothy 1:9-10; Hebrews
8
2.
Jesus never used
the word “RELIGION” to describe what God wants, but He did talk about “FAITH”,
which simply means a trusting relationship. What God gives us as “GRACE”; we
receive by simple “FAITH” {or believing/trusting}.
» READ – John
3:15-18; 6:28-29; 17; 17:3; 20:30-31; Ephesians
2; 2:8-10
3.
If we think of
“RELIGION” as any system of rules and rituals that we use to get right with
God, then God’s gift of coming to us and making us right causes the “RULES” and
“RITUALS” of “RELIGION” to become redundant.
» READ - 2
Corinthians 3; Galatians
3:23-4:7; Hebrews
8:13
4.
Now our
“RELIGION” is simply to live a loving life. This means all of the “SPIRITUAL
PRACTICES” we participate in created by mankind’s “RELIGION” are simply “WANT
TO HAVE” not “HAVE TO HAVE.”
» READ – James
1:26-27
5. Share in God’s Life
1.
God’s hope is to
include us in God’s own triune of love life, starting now and stretching into
eternity.
» READ John
14:15-20, 23; 15:15; 17; 17:24-26
2.
We can begin to
live in love with God here and now through partnership with the HOLY SPIRIT.
» READ – Galatians
2:20; 2
Peter 1:3-4
As you can see JESUS had a multitude of
reasons for coming to earth the first time. Now let us examine what JESUS did
that made the “RELIGIOUS” leaders of HIS day want to kill HIM. I am sure as you
read through these things you will see similarities to the “RELIGIOUS” leaders
of today.
Things about Jesus that infuriated the religious leaders included:
- The claims that He made.
- The deeds that He did.
- His threat to their religious system.
- His threat to their way of life.
- The people with whom He socialized.
- The lack of respect He had for their religious traditions.
These six things caused outraged among the religious rulers. Consequently they wanted to see Jesus dead. We will consider each of these reasons.
1. Jesus' Claims Outweighed Their Authority
When Jesus claimed to be the Messiah it meant His authority outweighed their authority. The religious leaders did not believe His claims and were angry that some of the people did. They said, Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed (John 7:48,49).
The religious leaders assumed that the belief of some of the crowd was due to ignorance. But the attention Jesus was getting brought out the leaders' hatred and jealousy. The jealousy of the religious leaders caused them to want Jesus dead.
2. His Deeds Outraged The Religious Rulers
The deeds of Jesus also angered the religious leaders. After seeing Jesus heal a demon-possessed man some of the multitude questioned if Jesus could be the Messiah:
And some of the multitudes were amazed and said, 'Could this be the Son of David [the Messiah]?' But when the Pharisees heard it they said, 'This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons' (Matthew 12:23,24).
The miracle was undeniable, for the man was blind and mute as well as demon-possessed. Rather than believe Jesus to be the Messiah, these religious rulers attributed Jesus' power to the devil. Thus their "official" explanation was that Jesus' power came from Satan. This was another cause for which they wanted Him dead.
3. Jesus Was A Threat To Their Religious System
Jesus was also a threat to their religious system. He pointed out the hypocrisy that was connected with their practice. The Bible records that on two different occasions He came into the temple precincts and drove out the moneychangers.
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And he found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And he made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves he said, "Take these things away; stop making my Father's house a place of business." His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me (John 2:13-17).
4. Jesus Was A Threat To Their Way Of Life
There were political reasons that the religious leaders wanted Jesus dead. There was an unstable situation between the Jews and the Romans. The thought of a Messiah who may lead an uprising against Rome weighed heavily on their minds.
5. The People With Whom He Socialized Outraged The Religious Rulers
The religious leaders were filled with pride and arrogance. They were particularly proud that they did not socialize with "sinners." They did not believe that the Messiah would socialize with such a crowd. When one Pharisee saw Jesus allow a woman to wash His feet, he said,
This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner (Luke 7:39).
Jesus noted their opinion of Him.
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' (Matthew 11:19).
The religious rulers believed themselves to be righteous by avoiding sinners. When Jesus kept company with these individuals, it infuriated the proud Pharisees and other religious rulers.
6. Jesus Had A Lack Of Respect For Their Traditions
As much as anything, the lack of respect that Jesus had for their religious traditions incensed the religious leaders. Jesus ignored these traditions, which they observed so minutely. He knew they were human-made rules that had not come from God. And it was Jesus' disregard for their traditions concerning the Sabbath that caused the most outrage. God had commanded the Sabbath to be a day of rest from labors and a time to worship Him. The religious leaders added all types of restrictions to the Sabbath making it difficult, if not impossible to observe.
Jesus was grieved and angry at the way they had perverted the Sabbath observance. He asked the religious leaders, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill? But they kept silent. So when he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts (Mark 3:4,5).
Jesus then healed a man in their presence. This healing on the Sabbath was more than they could endure. They concluded that the genuine Messiah would not dare do such a thing. Their response was immediate:
Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him (Mark 3:6).
They were convinced that Jesus had to die.
They Had No Godly Or Righteous Motive
It was not for anything godly or righteous that the religious leaders wanted to put Jesus to death. It was their hypocrisy, pride and arrogance that caused them to bring Jesus before Pilate to be crucified. They did not want to hear the truth of God.
Summary
The religious leaders wanted Jesus dead for a number of reasons-none of the reasons were righteous. First, the claims that he made demonstrated that his authority was greater than theirs. The religious leaders could not accept this. The miraculous deeds that he, which demonstrated his superior authority, was also a reason they wanted him dead. Jesus was also a threat to their religious system. He went the temple and condemned the practices. They also considered him a threat to their way of life. They were worried how the Romans would respond. The people with whom Jesus socialized offended the pride of the religious leaders. Above all, it was the lack of respect for their religious traditions that caused them to desire to kill him. This is particularly true of Jesus' attitude toward the Sabbath. All of these things contributed to their evil desire to want Jesus dead.
The “POPULAR
RELIGIOUS LEADERS” remind me of these Pharisee’s because they love the
POPULARITY, they FLAUNT their RICHES gained from deceiving the people of God,
they are so PRIDEFUL that JESUS would not be allowed in their MEGA SANCTUARIES
because they are AUDITORIUMS of SHOWMEN NOT HOUSES of WORSHIP, and finally they
NO LONGER HONOR the SABBATH so they would be at ODDS with JESUS.
Pray for your Spiritual
Leader that they may turn their lives around and actually teach THE TRUTH of GODS WORD instead of being the ENTERTAINERS to a people who no longer want SOUND
TEACHING.
Forever In Christ Jesus Service,
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