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Sinners PRECEDE the Pharisees into the kingdom of God

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acomplishedartis:
It is the religious people that Jesus used to fight against the most. ...Be careful of the leaven (teachings) of the religious people... Be careful of those ''teachers'' that supposedly bring the word of Almighty God to the masses while they are more carnal that the people they are trying to teach...

Many of the common sins from the average sinners that society tend to look down fast doesn't compare with the consequences of a fake, corrupt, misinformed spiritual teacher. It is like getting into surgery with a fake and corrupted and ignorant doctor. There is always mistakes and consequences on many levels and degrees.

Many Christian Pastors look clean and nice and respectable on the outside, but... 

oh well

Kat:

Hi Denise,


--- Quote ---The pharisees believed in their faith- strongly and believed in God and a messiah and all of that. did they just lack of the belief that Jesus is the son or lack the Christ mind or what exactly?
--- End quote ---

The Pharisees tried to be righteous by keeping the letter of the law. Like Moises' comment said, "Many Christian Pastors look clean and nice and respectable on the outside, but..." yes, they want to 'appear' righteous. They were leaders and  teachers of the law and the way they taught it was to require great restrictions on the people in order for them to obey. Here is what Jesus says about them and their form of righteousness.

Mat 23:1  Then Jesus spoke to the crowd and to His disciples,
v. 2  saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
v. 3  Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do. But do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
v. 4  For they bind heavy and hard-to-carry burdens and lay them on men's shoulders. But they will not move them with one of their fingers.
v. 5  But they do all their works in order to be seen of men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.

Mat 23:25  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of extortion and excess.
v. 26  Blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of them may be clean also.
v. 27  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outside, but inside they are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
v. 28  Even so you also appear righteous to men outwardly, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

The Pharisees were so blind and carnal minded, but as the leaders and teachers of this law, were held to a much higher standard. But we all are deceived at first, in this age it is only a few that God opens the blind eyes and gives His Holy Spirit of Truth to.

Titus 3:3  For we ourselves also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, slaving for various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.
v. 4  But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
v. 5  not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
v. 6  whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
v. 7  that being justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Regardless of what our background it will take God's indwelling Spirit to turn us from our carnal ways.

Eze 36:26  And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
v. 27  And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My judgments and do them.
v. 28  And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. And you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

mercy, peace and love
Kat

sarahfromcolorado:
Hey Denise, I think the answer to your question can also be found when you read what John the babtist was preaching. He said to repent because the kingdom of God is at hand and to bare fruit worthy of repentance. That tells me that repentance isn't just saying a prayer but that it involves turning from your sins. So the sinners that go into the kingdom before other who have been blinded (Pharisees) go in because they believe that the kingdom of God is near and so not only acknowledge their sins but turn from them. It seems to me that the Pharisees weren't willing to acknowledge that they were sinners. I think maybe being baptised by a man like John and openly acknowledging their sins would have humiliated them because they felt they were already righteous and because they loved the praise of men more than God.

Revilonivek:

I still am trying to understand what Jesus saw in the sinners and his perspective on the Pharisees. I know Jesus' home was from Galilee providence. that is about almost 70 miles from Jerusalem. It's days maybe a week  Journey to Jerusalem. Its a providence that was of mixed people. I think Greeks lived there as well. There's mixed languages. various beliefs, etc. I am sure people are a bit friendlier there.

Now, to Jerusalem and around close to Jerusalem, Judaism is the primary religion there. common people like prostitutes and tax collectors, they have to be extra careful around the Pharisses. They had to hide, they had to have protection while They try to make a living.  Its just their job. The Pharissses make it hard for them. From a drug thug's perspective, from a prostitute perspective, from a tax collector's perspective. For many of them, they are just trying to make a living. One thing I know is that the sinners and pharisses, they don't have the same convictions.

I mean, for example, Let's change the story details a bit. The story is still the same. I can see why the pharisees were offended.

Instead of words like tax collectors and prostitutes. these words seem not to hit anything close to home....because we don't know anyone-  for some people, they can relate, Think of the IRS person that audits someone very often and you end up owing alot of money to the government. There's bound to be some hard feelings toward that auditor right? Now, about the drug thug, that sells drugs to people. It's similar to selling sex like the prosutitutes did, they do it becuse it helps them make a living. But you have a hard time with that becuase the drugs affect people. It ist he same way as how Pharissees feel about women selling sex. It affects the men. it makes them addicted. You wouldn't want your child hooked up on drugs? It is the same way. same idea.

Now, lets get back to the Pharisees.  Pharisees are the ones that make the effort to make things right. They make the effort to live right. They are like the Christians of today. They try to live right. They try to follow rules- they feel that by following these rules, they do it because they feel it would please God. They STRIVE to do right, They are very strict, very dedicated. I am sure they look down to the sinners- telling them they need to live the same way Pharisees do. It is the same mindset as christians of today.

Now.. the details of the story has changed but the main story remains... Jesus is telling the pharisees that the IRS auditor and the drug seller will PRECEDE the Pharisees.

Think of how that causes the Christians of today to feel? I am sure that p'd them off. It hurt their feelings. It was a SHOCK to them.

Okay Now- If you were a christian, The reason Jesus said these things that the IRS auditor who keep auditing you, and you end up owing alot of money to, and a drug seller that kept selling drug to your child will precede you to the kingdom of God. How would you react. Of course. I would understand the Pharisees' reaction. But I am tryng to understand the reasons why Jesus said these things.

 Is it because the sinners had less standards of the heart than the Pharisees? They were light laden than the Pharisees? They were easy to love other people than the Pharisees did? even today, if you hung out with these kinds of people, you would see that they are very close knit, and help one another through hard times. they were like brothers/sisters. they were practically family. For some of them anyway.  I Know Jesus didn't hang out with the pharisees, he hung out with common sinners. imagine him hanging out with ladies that use to sell sex, and an IRS auditor that audited you several times almost every year, and a drug seller that sold drugs to your children, and  other sinners on that same level. I would understand Pharisees' perspective of Jesus at that time.

Even the Roman soldiers had a hard time telling him apart from the other disciples in the garden so they had Judas pick him out. He just looked the same as those sinners. He just didn't look any different. Of course it would be easy to see the difference if he dressed up highly and powerful like the Pharisees but he didn't. he wore regular clothes, probably had same hair- The thing is, He identified with the sinners more than the Pharisees or Christians of today.

I am sure Christians of today would not recognize Jesus if he was here today at all. Even if they did, they wouldn't follow him because he doesn't wear the same clothes, follow code of laws. think of Pentecostals, Catholics, etc. Jesus will never have identified with them.. He would rather hang out with drug dealers, prostitutes, tax collectors, the common people that was less judgmental toward others. They were his friends.

 Maybe These sinners were able to repent before the pharisees because they saw How enlightened Jesus was and how free he was, and how much love he had to share, how humbled he was. it caused a ripple effect and they wanted the same thing Jesus had? By being around Jesus, their eyes were opened and wanted the same thing Jesus had? Is that how they were able to repent easier than the Pharisees?


I  know John the baptist was a preacher, paving the way for the Messiah to arrive.  Imagine a man who ate bugs and honey, probably not the best groomed man out there. I can see how the Pharisees were wary of listening to him. They prob thought he was crazy. I would understand. I mean He ate bugs and honey. :) Other people would be wary not to listen to anyone who weren't church leaders. chrsitians of today are the same way all because they feel the common people need to have  the same standard like the Pharisees did? Pharissees seeing the sinners as heathen and becomes more judgmental toward them until they converted?  is that what Jesus was trying to say all along? Less standards of the heart, means you are closer to the kingdom of God?

John kept preaching that the kingdom of God is at hand and we are to repent. How do we repent  to what? to a higher Christ self in your mind? The NT says we are to renew our minds constantly.  How do we understand what repentance mean. Of course it means change to something else because you see it that its the better way to do it? see it as freedom-I know it is harder to repent without the Spirit of God. Jesus had the spirit of God, mercy, love, kindness, gentleness, slow to anger, and so on, it opened the sinners' eyes and they were led and wanted the same thing Jesus had and was able to repent easier than the pharisees?   What does John mean the Kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus has not died yet? Kingdom of God is a manifestation of everything perfect  in the mind? I have seen throughout scripture that kingdom of God is near, and kingdom of God is at hand... what does these things mean? manifestion of what is perfect and Good?

Gina:
Hi Denise,

It's really pretty simple.  The reason the prostitutes and tax collectors and anyone else ever repents is because God grants them repentance.  "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy."  Easy peasy. :)

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