Pharisees, Sadducees, Publicans, and Sinners

Who are they? Who are we?

The church in its various forms (liberal and conservative) makes fun of or criticizes the Scribes, Pharisees, and the Sadducees (the religious communities of Jesus' day). They often uplift the tax collectors and sinners. Who are all these people and who would they be today?

 

I notice, however, that usually the ones they criticize don't look like them and the ones they praise are the ones they say they relate to the most. I want to be honest before I go any further and say in my understanding of the times, I would have been a scribe with a Pharisees background, not particularly high up but definitely better than others by the social standards of that day. Thankfully there were scribes and Pharisees who came to know Jesus though we don't hear about them much, just the troublemakers. I would hope I would have fallen into the group that recognized Jesus. 

 

So, who were these people? What is their equivalent in today's world?

 

The Pharisees: The conservative knowing there was a right way to get things done. They had rules and knew how things needed to happen. Of course, some of their rules gave them permission to disobey God's law, but since they loved the law, it was okay, at least in their minds. Their thought was it was their way or no way. Just to clear something up, someone could be a political progressive and still have the attitude of the Pharisees because they believed they were the only ones who were right and persecuted anyone who disagreed. They gave to the poor, but only because it was commanded and to look generous to those around them.

 

The Scribe: These were the educated people, the writers. They had the knowledge of their day. They were usually experts in transcribing words. They could be either Pharisees or Sadducees in their background. They probably wouldn't like being told they didn't understand something. They definitely knew they were better than the average man.

 

The Sadducees: These were the liberal or pragmatic people of their day. They used the religious establishment to get ahead but didn't believe much other than what they could feel or see. They moved with the politics of the day to get an advantage and to prosper. They controlled the highest place in the Jewish world, the temple (this might be the colleges and denominational hierarchy today). They moved with the tides of the day. On a side note, it was probably these who made sure the welfare of the day was given to the Jewish needy in Jerusalem. They were good people, just ask them.

 

The Sinners: These were the outcast. They were not liked or welcomed in polite circles. The sin they committed could have been their own or their families and it could have been once or ongoing. The sin was also what was considered a socially unacceptable sin (today it might be racism, greed, or intolerance). If people don't move away from you when you enter the room this isn't you. They were often a lonely lot.

 

The Publican/tax collectors: These people used the legal and economic system of their day to get rich on the backs of others. No, they weren't the capitalist of their day, because you can find them in socialist societies also. They used the system the law provided to line their pockets. Taxes had to be collected and they collected them with the backing of the Roman soldier but took extra just because they could. In the West today, they would be the Payday lenders, the Credit Card Company and Student Loan Executives, the sweatshop owners, Leverage bankers, the Stockbroker, and the CEO of companies who take advantage of their workers. They were the villains of their society.

 

The Masses: These people followed whoever they liked best or gave them what they wanted. They followed Jesus until he called them to make a commitment.

 

So, who are you really? How do you see people, not like you?

Remember, Jesus loved ALL of these people. He spoke harsher to some, but he loved them all. Do you love them all? Will you forgive them like Jesus commanded?  

Lewis on Forgiveness

I was doing some other work and came across this quote from CS Lewis the author of the Chronicles of Narnia and many other books He said, "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you."

This quote is good because it reminds us how much we have been forgiven.

How much is that? Your sins (and mine) could be paid only by the crucifixion of Christ. Killing Jesus is as inexcusable as it comes.

Here are the questions? Do you believe Lewis is right? Do you always feel Lewis is right?

Forgiveness the next step

I started praying for the man that I believed murdered my Grandmother but I did not do it with much conviction. After a time the prayer, “God, I don’t want this man to go to hell forever” became easier. It was then that I felt God direct me to pray that the man would go to heaven. This is a sense was not any different than what I had been praying for because if he isn’t in hell then the man would be in heaven.

I knew for that to take place God would have to come into his life and make him a new person, but still. Praying that he does not go to hell was one thing, but praying that he went to heaven was another. So I started once again praying without any enthusiasm.

You might have already guessed that after a while the pray became easier. I knew that for him to go to heaven he would have to have a relationship with God and that as I said before would make him not the same person he was.  Now mind you, I knew this but I had not yet prayed that he become a Christian. 

You guessed it, that prayer was next. The problem was God was not content to have me just pray that he becomes a Christian. Oh No! I felt that God wanted me to pray that he becomes a “brother in Christ.”

Now let me tell you this was a long way from grudgingly praying that the man did not spend eternity in torment. 

I looked at it logically. If I was praying that he did not go to hell and that he went to heaven then the only way for that to happen was for him to become a follower of Christ. If he was a follower of Christ then scripture teaches he would be my brother. So logically praying that he did not go to hell was the same as asking God to make him my brother. 

Logic only helps so much.

So I knew what I had to do. I had to pray that God makes him my brother in Christ. 

It was not easy but it was what I needed to do to get to the place where I forgave him for what he did.

The question that remains in the minds of some of you is how does that forgiveness work itself out.

Not like most people have been taught....but that is for my next post. I have written enough for most people to cough on. I do not want to choke you. 

The question you have to ask yourself is, “Am I willing to try and forgive?”

Remember that if you do not forgive, you are giving that other person power in your life. I do not know about you but I do not want a _______(fill in the blank) to have power in my life.

 Photo by Todd Trapani on Unsplash

Forgiving the first real steps.

 After I learned of my grandmother's alleged* murder. I knew I needed to forgive the person, but I did not know-how. I had never before faced such anger in my heart.

So I asked for help.

I prayed to God and asked him to help me, to show me how to forgive. I admitted that I did not want to forgive but knew I was commanded to in scripture.

 I did pray more than once. I needed to because God knew at first I did not want an answer.

Finally, God spoke. Now you have to understand it was not an audible voice but it was God.

Here is what God asked me-- "Do you want him to burn forever in eternity?"

"Yes" was my first thought, but I knew that was not the Christian answer. So I admitted it to God and myself.  "I shouldn't want him to."

That was enough and God gave me the first step.--"Pray that he does not spend eternity in Hell."

So that is what I started to do. I have to admit that I did not pray it with any enthusiasm but eventually it got easier. Finally, I could pray the prayer with some(not a lot) conviction.

I really did not want him to be tormented forever.

Why did this begin to change me?

I started thinking about good for him rather than evil. I did not realize it at the time but now I can say this is the reason my feelings began to change. Dr. Enright a secular expert on forgiveness points out we have to change the way we look at people if we are going to forgive. 

The core reason why my feeling changed though I did not understand then. It was because I was looking at this man differently. I was willing to try to let God change me.

If you do not want to even try then this will never work. 

(but of course, this was not the end of the story)

*I use the word alleged because he was not tried for the crime as the prosecutor picked the strongest cases to prosecute. If in future posts, I leave out the word alleged I ask for pardon because in my heart there wasn't an alleged crime there was a crime.

Are you willing?

 When I went to God about forgiving I have to admit, I didn't really want to forgive. I'm so glad at that time I couldn't google "Do I have to forgive" as I could today. Today there are lots of otherwise solid Bible teachers that teach you do not have to forgive. Their arguments sound solid but they miss the point, God commanded us to in both the Lord's Prayer and Jesus' own example on the cross. I won't spend more time on that today. I want to look are our willingness.

The question which came to my mind was, "Are you willing to forgive?" I wanted to argue I couldn't whether I wanted to or not. 

This wasn't the question. 

The question was was I willing? Did I want this person to suffer forever in hell? 

The answer was YES I did (I know not very spiritual is it).

I knew that was the wrong answer so I told God I would be willing but I didn't know how and I definitely didn't feel like it.

This willingness is all God needed. 

He didn't need me to feel love, to have a desire, or to be in the right place mentally. God just needed me to be willing. 

It was like the man who Jesus said all things are possible to those who believe. The man replied, "I believe, help my unbelief." For me it was I am willing, help my unwillingness. 

He did and he will for you too. 

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Forgiveness: Truths and Lies

 I hope to go into more detail later but for today I wanted to highlight some of the truths and lies we often hear about forgiveness. You can disagree with me but please consider them. Some of these truths will free you, some of them may cause you to do some work, but ultimately what I pray is that God will use these to help you grow in him.

YOU HAVE TO FORGIVE.

LIE. You do not have to forgive. You don't have to eat either but if you go without eating too long you will die. Matthew 6:14-15

GOD CAN HELP ME FORGIVE.

TRUTH. James said that if we need wisdom we can ask of God and he will give it. You need help forgiving God will help you (He did me). James 1:5

FORGIVENESS MEANS YOU HAVE TO BE RECONCILED.

LIE. (kind of) God wants all men reconciled to himself and one another, but because of the hardness of men's hearts, it won't always happen. I forgave the nurse who I believed murdered my grandmother, but I wasn't going to ask him to take care of my mom. Sometimes separation in this life is the right path. Genesis 31:49, Matthew 19:18

FORGIVENESS IS ABOUT YOU, NOT THE OTHER PERSON

TRUTH: Though Jesus did say that if our brother has ought against us we should work it out, most of the rest of the scriptures tie forgiveness to ourselves and to our relationship with God. Jesus made forgiving others part of our responsibility to stay in right relationship with God. Matthew 6:14-15 Observation and science have now shown that holding on to unforgiveness is unhealthy mentally, physically, and I would add for society. Proof of the last one is seen by the genocide that has happened around the world, all rooted in hate and unforgiveness.

Here is the biggest one.

YOU HAVE TO FORGET 

LIE. The scriptures say that our sins are thrown in God's sea (Micah 7:19) but nowhere do we see God unable to remember what has happened. Yes, our sins are forgiven not to be held against us but the miracle of God is he can remember the actions and not have the sin be held against us. I might argue that if you don't remember there isn't anything to forgive (the exception is repressed memories that cause trauma). The miracle of the Christian life is we can forgive and treat people justly. Sometimes that means holding people accountable, sending them to jail, or separating from them but now instead of being done out of personal vengeance it is done because it is right (1 Corinthians 5:5, 1 Timothy 1:20). There is a lot more to be said on this part of forgiveness but I'm going to pause today. 

My Journey in Forgiveness past 1 (It isn't easy)

 

“Ouch” I yell as I drew back because of the injury that my little girl accidentally caused to the side of my face.

 She turned back toward me and the joy she was feeling at the game she was playing left her. Tears filled her eyes, and a frown filled her face as she whimpered out, “Daddy, Daddy, I’m sorry!” and then the tears began to flow as she repeated, “I’m so sorry, Daddy. Daddy, I’m so sorry.”

 Now the pain that I felt is not near as bad as I opened my arms and my little girl fell into my lap and weeps. She begged for forgiveness, and I told her it was okay.

 After a while, her joy was back, and we move on.

 OH, (sigh) if forgiveness was always that easy, but it isn’t.

 What makes forgiveness hard is, most of the time, it is not an accident that needs forgiving. Yes, sometimes it is an accident, but that we will discuss that later. How do we forgive those people who do not repent or worse rejoice in their actions?

 I grew up in the church and always knew that we were supposed to forgive. I usually never had many problems. Then again what usually happened did not radically affect me. I became a minister and had to deal with all kinds of problems and people with issues some of which were directed at me, still no problems forgiving. Everything changed when I received the call from a family member who told me that my grandmother's death was suspicious and that the prosecutor said she was the victim of a serial killer.

 I was shaken to the core. This was not hurt feelings or damaged property this was my grandmother, and everything was different. If you have not lost someone to a crime, then trust me it is different. I will discuss levels of pain and hurt in a different post. For those of you that feel you lost more than me, I will not diminish your pain by saying it was equal to mine. What I want you to understand is that for the first time, I did not want to forgive somebody, I wanted revenge.

 Here I was a minister, a Bible teacher, a follower of Jesus who forgave more than I will ever have to, and I did not want to forgive.

 Understand, I knew that I needed to. I knew the words of Jesus that said that if I refused to forgive, I would not be forgiven, but I also knew I could not do it.

 I struggled with the thought of killing the person myself or at least volunteering to be the person to pull the switch for him to be electrocuted (I had forgotten that lethal injection was being used). I knew that this was wrong, and I also knew that I did not want to spend time in jail for doing it.

 What could I do? I prayed and asked for help. I admitted to God that I could not forgive this man and I needed God’s help. This is where my journey to learn about forgiveness truly began. 

I will share more next week but let me tell you this if you believe that you can just whistle and easily say, “I forgive and will forget it ever happened” don’t read this blog. Why? Because you don’t live in my world and personally, I’m jealous, because life was easier when forgiveness was easy.

 

What I want you to take away from this post is first, you don't have to feel like a failure because forgiveness isn't easy. The second is God will help you even when it is impossible.