No, I don’t want to kill Pharisees.

What is a Pharisee? A Pharisee was more or less a type of political party during the time that Christ was on earth. They were the conservative party. Pharisees were regarded with religious zeal. They were the leaders of the common people. They were fanatical. They knew and upheld the Torah (The first 5 books of the Bible). However, the Pharisees found opposition through theSadducees. The Sadducees were the liberal party. The Sadducees didn’t believe in an afterlife.

John the Baptist and Jesus both condemned the Pharisees and Sadducees. And they didn’t do this politely or in a politically correct manner. Jesus lumped the two groups into the same box, even though the Pharisees were devout followers of the law and the Sadducees didn’t believe in God’s judgment of man. Matthew 3 states that John the Baptist called them the “offspring of vipers.” Matthew 7:20, Jesus tells them, “Then surely from their fruits you shall know them.” Matthew 15:9 Jesus describes the Pharisees as worshiping God in vain. Luke 18:9 gives us the very heart of Pharisaism: “And He also spoke this parable to some of those relying on themselves, that they are righteous, and despising the rest.”

The reason I labeled this blog as the Pharisee Killer is because I see this mentality in existence today. I see myself act like a Pharisee. I see others do the same. Look at Luke 18:9 and see if you ever fall into the category of either relying on yourself, being righteous, or despising the rest (others).

Those who have a Pharisee mentality say things like this:

“I didn’t enjoy the worship service. I didn’t know any of the songs.”

“If I give money to that bum, he will just drink it away.”

“That church only teaches topically.”

“Yes I served God today; I read my bible and prayed.”

“I can’t associate with him; he goes to nudy clubs.”

“I have heard this verse preached 100 times.”

“I don’t need to give to ____; I already give to my church.”

“I can’t believe they watched that movie.”

“My kid would never say that!”

“Did you see what she was wearing?”

I hope that through this outlet, I can become less like a Pharisee. It’s easy to act like a Pharisee. It’s hard to act like Jesus. But thankfully a Pharisee mentality is killable.