The Pharisee’s Mistake

My name is Erin and I am a pharisee. Perhaps you are one too. 

If you’ve been in the church long at all you’ve likely been taught to boo and hiss when you hear the word “pharisee.” The Pharisees were Jews deeply devoted to keeping the Old Testament law. They recognized their need for God; they weren’t atheists. They knew who God was. He was Yahweh, not a pagan god of their day. What they missed was the centrality of Jesus. There is so much Pharisee in each of us. 

To understand the problem—and the solution—let’s look together at three snapshots of Nicodemus. They’re all found in the Gospel of John. We first meet Nicodemus in John 3 when he snuck to see Jesus under the cover of darkness. It’s a long passage so you may need to read it twice. 

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:3–15 ESV)

If Nicodemus is a Pharisee, and we are too, what does this story teach us about how our pharisaical hearts tend to relate to Jesus? Here are three thoughts. 

Pharisees Want a Savior They Can Control

Nicodemus knew Jesus was a teacher with God-given authority (John 3:2). He wanted to learn from Him. He wanted an explanation.

Jesus talked to Nicodemus about being born again. Jesus explained nothing about His miracles, His teaching strategy, or His authority from God. Instead, He said some things that were difficult for Nicodemus to understand, and then He talked about Himself:

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. (John 3:13–14 ESV)

Jesus is not a narcissist. We know that from the cross. 

• We want answers; He gives us Himself. 
• We want circumstances to change; He gives us Himself. 
• We want to know the plan; He gives us Himself. 

The question we must answer every day is this: Is Jesus enough?

How will you respond when Jesus doesn’t fit in your box? When He allows suffering you don’t want? When He withholds good things you do want? Pharisees demand a savior who fits our definition of what God should be like. And very often, when He doesn’t, we withdraw intimacy from Him. We may still go to Bible study, still serve at church and read our Bibles, but we default to our pharisaical, predictable ways because when coming to God on His terms makes us feel out of control, we try to get Him to come to us on ours. 

Pharisees Miss Jesus in the Word

If you jump from John 3 to John 7, you’ll see Nicodemus again. 

When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (John 7:40–52 ESV)

Again, we see people struggling with the fact that Jesus was not who they expected Him to be. The Pharisees, Nicodemus among them, were starting to become agitated so Nicodemus quoted the law, 

“Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” (John 7:51 ESV)

Nicodemus wasn’t wrong. Verses like Exodus 23:1, Deuteronomy 1:16–17, and Proverbs 18:13, all of which the Pharisees would have known, demanded that Jesus get due process under God’s law. But what is the point of all of those verses about justice? To point to the One who executes justice perfectly. 

Nicodemus thought the aim of the Scriptures was to treat Jesus justly, not to see Jesus as the sample of perfect, sinless justice, making Him an unjust, grace-filled sacrifice for Nicodemus’ sin. 

We do this too. We read our Bible thinking of it primarily as a guide to be a good woman, when the Bible is not a book about us. It is a book about Jesus.The goal is not to understand ourselves better but to see Jesus more clearly. 

Try to imagine your husband saying to you, “Come and sit with me. I have a list of things you need to change, or at least try a lot harder at.” (I’d be tempted to respond with something like “I’ve got a list for you too, buckaroo!”) The Pharisee’s mistake is to think that’s why God calls us to His Word when, instead, He calls us to His Word to give us Himself. The Word is not a book. The Word is not a task. The Word certainly is not a taskmaster. The Word is Jesus (John 1:14). Which brings us to the third mistake . . .

Pharisees Miss the Gospel

Perhaps, like me, John 3:16 was the first Bible verse you memorized. It sure is a beautiful one! 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” 

Notice the quotation marks. These are the words of Jesus. Who did He speak them to? Nicodemus! Jesus loved Nicodemus just as He loved every single Pharisee. Good news: Jesus still loves pharisees. He died for all of us and He longs for us to be saved from our slavery to sin and moved to life with Him. 

We’re prone to forget this. Here’s how I see this play out in my own life:

• When the Christian life is more exhausting than freeing: I’ve forgotten the gospel. 
• When following Jesus feels like a list of got tos not get tos: I’ve forgotten the gospel. 
• When I stop using the word “sin” and start using the word “struggle” then act like I’m powerless to stop struggling: I’ve forgotten the gospel. 
• When my heart is filled with grumbling instead of gratitude: I’ve forgotten the gospel. 
• When my thoughts are consumed with all I am going to do to impress God instead of all He has done to deliver me: I’ve forgotten the gospel. 
• When I am cynical and critical toward God’s people: I’ve forgotten the gospel. 
• When I am ambivalent toward the plight of the lost: I’ve forgotten the gospel. 

What is the gospel? I can’t say it better than Jesus:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16–17 ESV)

Did Nicodemus learn the lessons Jesus died to teach him? I believe he did, but I’ll let you reach your own conclusions about the last snapshot of Nicodemus recorded in John 19:38–42. The most pressing question for us is this: how do we resist the Pharisee's mistake? We get ourselves to Jesus over and over again. We refuse to settle for any lesser source of comfort, of satisfaction, of assurance, of affirmation, or of strength than Jesus. 

Pharisees can change. That’s why Jesus shared the gospel with Nicodemus and why He’s always calling us by His Word and through His Spirit to make our lives all about Him. 

No matter what it costs you, run to Him today.