Nearness to Jesus

It is amazing when you pay attention to the kinds of people who were closest to Jesus during His ministry. Tax collectors. Notorious sinners. Not the people that you would have expected. And it’s not like Jesus was actively seeking them out too. No, our text says they “often came to listen to Jesus teach.” They were drawn to him. There was something magnetic about Jesus that drew those kinds of people to Him. Now this is in stark contrast with the Pharisees, right? These are the people that you would have expected to be drawn to Jesus! I mean they are the most religious people. They are experts in the Torah. And yet, there was something about them that was repelled away from Jesus. Despite checking off every religious box, they missed Jesus. I believe Jesus calls out the Pharisees, not to bash on them, but to warn us of this little Pharisee that lives inside each one of us that if left unchecked, can start to cause distance rather than intimacy with Jesus. So as we walk through these four questions, reflect: Where do I have the heart of a Pharisee and where do I have the heart of Jesus?

1. Are You Focused on External Appearances or Internal Transformation?

The Pharisees were obsessed with how they appeared to others. We see this in Matthew 23 where it says,

Matthew 23:5–7 NLT

“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

Now contrast this with the people eating with Jesus. Their external appearances were pretty rough! You know it’s bad when your literally called a notorious sinner in Scripture. They’re like, “You couldn’t phrase that any other way?” Jesus attracted those cared more about internal transformation rather than external appearances.

What about you? Do you live for the praise of others? Are you constantly focused on how other people see you? The heart of a Pharisee seeks praise. The heart of Jesus seeks transformation.

2. Are You Exclusive or Inclusive of Those Different Than You?

What was the complaint of the Pharisees? Luke 15:2 “This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!” The Pharisees had drawn clear lines between who was "in" and who was "out." They built walls—political walls, racial walls, socioeconomic walls, religious walls—and refused to associate with those on the other side. In their eyes, Jesus was crossing every one of those boundaries. Instead of staying in their exclusive club, He welcomed sinners, tax collectors, and outcasts. And they hated Him for it.

Now contrast this with Jesus. He didn’t just tolerate people who were different—He pursued them. He ate with tax collectors like Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), spoke with Samaritans whom Jews despised (John 4:1-26), and touched lepers that others avoided (Matthew 8:1-3). Jesus didn't build walls; He broke them down.

What about you? Do you only spend time with people who think like you, vote like you, live like you? Do you avoid those whose lives look messy? Or are you someone who follows Jesus in crossing barriers to love others? The heart of a Pharisee excludes. The heart of Jesus embraces.

3. Are You More Eager to Condemn or Show Compassion?

One of the hallmarks of a good Pharisee was that they were super quick to condemn others. John 8:3-5

John 8:3–5 NLT

As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

If you compiled all the words that you have spoken. All the texts that you have sent. All the social media posts that you have made. What would you see? Someone who loves to condemn? See the fault in others? Criticize everyone else? Or are you quick to forgive? Seeing the plank in your own eye before the speck in your neighbor’s? The heart of a Pharisee condemns. The heart of Jesus forgives.

4. Do You Hide or Acknowledge Your Own Brokenness?

Pharisees had a habit of pretending they had it all together. In Matthew 23, Jesus exposes their hypocrisy:

Matthew 23:27-28 (NLT) "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness."

They looked good on the outside, but inside, they were spiritually dead. They spent so much time covering up their brokenness that they never actually dealt with it.

Now contrast this with the tax collectors and sinners who gathered around Jesus. They weren’t pretending to have it all together. They knew they needed grace. They were willing to acknowledge their need for Jesus, and that’s exactly why they were drawn to Him.

What about you? Do you put on a show, pretending everything is fine while hiding your struggles? Or are you willing to be honest about your need for Jesus? The heart of a Pharisee hides. The heart of Jesus heals.

How did you do? You see, in the Pharisee, we see not just a specific group of people, but a reflection of the human heart. A heart that that lives for the self. Seeking praise from others to validate the self. Looking down on others to elevate the self. Condemning others to justify the self. The self. The self. The self. And this heart isn’t fixed by And this heart will grumble and complain about Jesus because their is nothing more offensive to a self-righteous heart than the radical grace Jesus offers.

To drive this point home, Jesus shares a story. Luke 15:4-6

Luke 15:4–6 NLT

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’

And then He says, Luke 15:7

Luke 15:7 NLT

In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

Do you believe this? That you can slave away in your life trying to be outwardly righteous. Do all the right things. Go to church. Read your Bible. Check off 99 religious boxes and yet all of those things pale in comparison to the joy that you bring Jesus when you take that sin that you have been hiding for far too long and bring it to the light. It’s as Psalm 51:16-17 says,

Psalm 51:16–17 NLT

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

Are you broken. Is there sin that is weighing you down. Jesus is near. He came for you.