The Pharisees and the Law

[tsth]

There were nine different orders of Pharisees, comprising tens of thousands of them. You cannot say the majority of them were hypocrites.

I have always believed that Ezek. 34 was a prophecy that would find it's anti-type fulfillment in the days of Christ's first and second comings..... That is my understanding of the reason that Christ came when He did because the majority of the teachers were false shepherds, eating the fat while starving the flock.... Pretend shepherds, only using the flock to feed themselves and dress themselves up well(clothing/positions), while neglecting the hungry, the diseased, the sick/broken, and the lost strays which were left valnerable to prey...

Eze 34:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

Eze 34:3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

Eze 34:4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

Eze 34:5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

Eze 34:6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

Eze 34:7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

Eze 34:8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

Eze 34:9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

Eze 34:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

Eze 34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

Eze 34:12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

Eze 34:13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

Eze 34:14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

Eze 34:15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

Eze 34:16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Eze 34:17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.

Eze 34:18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

Eze 34:19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

Eze 34:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

Eze 34:21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

Eze 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

Eze 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd

And again it may also depend on one's defination of hypocrisy........another example is...Mar 12:14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

Mar 12:15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.

.....These were pretending outwardly that they believed and respected who He was in front of the crowd, while inside and privitely, they were only looking to snare Him in a trap...

Webster...

Hypocrisy

HYPOC'RISY, n. [L. hypocrisis; Gr. simulation; to feign; to separate, discern or judge.]

1. Simulation; a feigning to be what one is not; or dissimulation, a concealment of one's real character or motives. More generally, hypocrisy is simulation, or the assuming of a false appearance of virtue or religion; a deceitful show of a good character, in morals or religion; a counterfeiting of religion.

Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Luke 12.

2. Simulation; deceitful appearance; false pretence.

Hypocrisy is the necessary burden of villainy.

Mat 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Mat 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Mat 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,

Dear nanasimmons,

I am in agreement with your view of Ezekiel 34. I believe it is for both periods as well.

FWIW, the Strongs Greek for hypocrite is this:

uJpokrithv

[Guest shiloh357]

There were nine different orders of Pharisees, comprising tens of thousands of them. You cannot say the majority of them were hypocrites.

I have always believed that Ezek. 34 was a prophecy that would find it's anti-type fulfillment in the days of Christ's first and second comings..... That is my understanding of the reason that Christ came when He did because the majority of the teachers were false shepherds, eating the fat while starving the flock.... Pretend shepherds, only using the flock to feed themselves and dress themselves up well(clothing/positions), while neglecting the hungry, the diseased, the sick/broken, and the lost strays which were left valnerable to prey...

Eze 34:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

Eze 34:3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

Eze 34:4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

Eze 34:5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

Eze 34:6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

Eze 34:7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

Eze 34:8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

Eze 34:9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

Eze 34:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

Eze 34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

Eze 34:12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

Eze 34:13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

Eze 34:14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

Eze 34:15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

Eze 34:16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Eze 34:17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.

Eze 34:18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

Eze 34:19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

Eze 34:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

Eze 34:21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

Eze 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

Eze 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd

And again it may also depend on one's defination of hypocrisy........another example is...Mar 12:14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

Mar 12:15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.

.....These were pretending outwardly that they believed and respected who He was in front of the crowd, while inside and privitely, they were only looking to snare Him in a trap...

Webster...

Hypocrisy

HYPOC'RISY, n. [L. hypocrisis; Gr. simulation; to feign; to separate, discern or judge.]

1. Simulation; a feigning to be what one is not; or dissimulation, a concealment of one's real character or motives. More generally, hypocrisy is simulation, or the assuming of a false appearance of virtue or religion; a deceitful show of a good character, in morals or religion; a counterfeiting of religion.

Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Luke 12.

2. Simulation; deceitful appearance; false pretence.

Hypocrisy is the necessary burden of villainy.

Mat 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Mat 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Mat 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,

Dear nanasimmons,

I am in agreement with your view of Ezekiel 34. I believe it is for both periods as well.

FWIW, the Strongs Greek for hypocrite is this:

uJpokrithv

[WayneB]

Well spoken Victor. Very well spoken and clearly expressed with GRACE and LOVE.

I am so very glad that I will be judged as an individual and I am even more happy that my Judge, Advocate, Mediator and Redeemer is found in the Way, the Truth and the Life... Jesus Christ. His Word tells that although I may suffer some consequence for the sins of my fathers, I will NEVER be held accountable for their sins or anyone else's sins but my own.

We must avoid seating ourselves on a throne of judgement and casting people into certain groups.

In Christ,

wayne

[nanasimmons]

Dear nanasimmons,

I am in agreement with your view of Ezekiel 34. I believe it is for both periods as well.

So. . . would it be safe to say that since you and nanasimmons like to pack whole groups of people into one barrel, categorize them, label them, and judge them, then we should be able to do that with you too, right? I mean after all, if you are going to do it with other groups of people, then you have no objections if the same behavior is applied to you, right? Would you say right now, that you are pretty close to the people at Westboro Baptist, in your over-all stance? Would that be accurate?

By the way, Strong's is a great tool, but it is hardly an authority on anything.

First of all, I only pointed out that based on the scriptures one could mistakenly or not, come to that conclusion.... I am neither creating or willing to create a doctrine out of it.... As far as being labeled, As a Christian this is a God given....Does my flesh find offence to it? Sometimes... but as Christians we should be bringing our flesh into subjection and die daily to the works of the flesh... which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like:

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Gal 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

[stacey c]

Was no lesson learned from the Old Testament? When God's Children disobeyed they were severly chastised by God with the use of other peoples of the land. But once they repented and once more in His grace those other people were literally wiped out by the hand of God. Doesn't that speak of God's favor over His Chosen. I would not be the one to stand angainst the Jews!

[tsth]

If everyone will simply read Matthew 23 I think they will see that Jesus lambasted the entire group of scribes, lawyers and Pharisees as being hypocrites who play-accted religion in that day. The leaven had gotten through the whole lump, as demonstrated by the fact that Nicodemus was the only one who stuck up for Jesus in John 7:50-53. True righteousness has to do with what we do with the person of Jesus Christ. Nicodemus stuck up for Jesus because he had had an encounter with him in chapter 3, he was close to being born again (though it was impossible to actually be born again until after the Holy Spirit came, after Jesus' death and resurrection).

It is also true that the Pharisees and lawyers of Jesus' day rejected the baptism of John and so they did not justify the Lord when he spoke of John the Baptist's testimony concerning Him. See Luke 7:24-35, specificall verses 29-30.

The common people, who were also Jewish and descendants of Abraham, received the testimony of Jesus because they were baptized by John. See last post. The fact that the scribes and Pharisees rejected Jesus and were responsible for his death in no way should promote anti-semitism. The common people of Jesus' day loved him and believed in him. These were all Jewish people, they simply had not fallen for the leaven of the scribes and Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Luke 12:1. Again, the leaven had gotten through the whole lump, but Nicodemus became unleavened through his encounter with Jesus.

Dear Victor,

I completely agree. I also addressed each of the things you posted above. I guess you missed it? Either way, we are in agreement.

In His Love,

Suzanne

[Guest shiloh357]

Was no lesson learned from the Old Testament? When God's Children disobeyed they were severly chastised by God with the use of other peoples of the land. But once they repented and once more in His grace those other people were literally wiped out by the hand of God. Doesn't that speak of God's favor over His Chosen. I would not be the one to stand angainst the Jews!

Well said, Stacey!!