Avoid Being Like the Pharisees

“‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” Matthew 23:27-28 NIV

In a harrowing story published by The Canada Chronicle Herald yesterday, it was reported that a woman running in Shubie Park last Friday morning was seriously injured when a tree fell on her. According to Halifax Fire deputy chief David Meldrum, his members responded at about 10:30 a.m. to a report of a woman trapped by a tree. “On arrival they were directed to the patient, who was pinned under a fallen tree,” said Meldrum in a written statement. “They used a chainsaw to remove the tree and free the woman. They then assisted Emergency Health Services paramedics in the care and transport of the woman to a parking area where she was placed into an ambulance…” The woman, who is pregnant, was transported to hospital, where she was kept in a medically induced coma. Thankfully, the woman is now stable and will hopefully make a full recovery. The writer went on to explain why the woman had been caught by surprise, “The tree appears to have been a white birch, which are prone to staying up while rotting from inside their bark and can fall suddenly.”

And, you know, in the same way that we should steer clear of trees that are known for looking healthy on the outside but can be rotten on the inside, we should steer clear of becoming like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who Jesus described as “whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.” Jesus was calling them out on their hypocrisy by comparing them to the gravestones that were cleaned up when a crowd was expected. You see, it was the custom of the Jews of that time to whitewash the tombs in the city of Jerusalem before Passover so that no one would touch one accidentally, thus making themselves ceremonially unclean. Jesus said these religious leaders were like these whitewashed tombs - pretty on the outside, but ugly and dead on the inside. Men might see them as righteous, but God did not. And although they put on a good show, God is never fooled by what man shows on the outside. He sees them for what they actually are, not what they appear to be to other people. Which is the very reason you and I must strive each and every day to be sure that our hearts align with our actions. Now this won’t mean we will be perfect as we all fall short of the mark. But it will mean that our hearts are set on pleasing God and not man. 

So avoid being like the white birch tree my friend. Serve God with your whole heart, confess your sins to Him and then turn away from them so you won’t rot within. This will keep you beautiful on both the inside and the outside. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that You see the whole of man and can never be fooled by our pretentious behavior. Lord, point out any hypocritical ways within us that we might turn from those ways and avoid being a whitewashed tomb. Help us to shine the pure light of Jesus in the world. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!