The Pharisees Knew More Than You

We live in time when a man who knows a lot about biblical things, and who can articulate those biblical truths well is considered mature, even if his life or his attitude and character don’t reflect the truth he talks about.

I’ve seen men speak about scripture and expound on scripture with great depth and clarity. I’ve seen them have great commentary on books they’ve read and even watched them carry great insight on the world around them. Indeed, the Christians around them, considered them as spiritual giants. They seemed to have answers for everything.They know how to debate and spot heresies and walk with great confidence. But I’ve learned that many times things are not always as they appear. Many men think of themselves as giants when in reality, God might see them as rather small.

I think one thing that’s important to mention in an article like this is that Jesus never meant discipleship to end in commentary. The goal was never to just know what he knew.

Luke 6:40 says, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.”

So the man isn’t simply aiming to be informed or able to summarize what Jesus has said, but more than this, he is like Jesus.

Jesus spent years with his disciples, and at the end he didn’t hand them a final exam in theological studies. Rather he washed their feet.

Then he said, “I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you” (John 13:15).

He was forming men whose lives would carry his life, and whose humility, love, tenderness, obedience, and self-forgetfulness would make him visible in the world.

That is the first reason a disciple is known by his character and not his commentary: men are to become more like Christ.

The second reason is that the apostles themselves,

When Paul describes the Spirit’s work in a Christian, he doesn’t begin with a list of victories in arguments or approval of depth in theological vocabulary.

Rather, he says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23). These are the evidence of maturing life and what the Spirit grows.

At one point when Paul wants to expose anything done without grace, he says: “If I… understand all mysteries and all knowledge… but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2).

Think of that! A man can possess great insight, powerful speech, mountain-moving faith, and still be, spiritually useless if love is absent. If we are not doing as Jesus has done.

Christians are often tempted to treat knowledge as if it were self-authenticating, and as though a man’s ability to explain truth proves he has been deeply changed by it. But Scripture has a big problem with that. A mature Christian isn’t just one who can define sanctification, but one in whom sanctification is visible and working. He’s not just someone who can defend the doctrine of grace, but someone deeply changed by grace. He’s not just someone who can parse Romans, but someone who is becoming patient, gentle, and lives in holiness.

The third reason is,

In John 5:39–40, Jesus says, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life… yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”

They had the texts, they had their thoughts, stories, and feelings. They had scripture memory. They had the arguments. Yet standing before them was the one to whom all Scripture pointed, and they wouldn’t come.

This is the greatest danger in our day of commentary without character. We have knowledge and endless material and we still sit without Christ-likeness. This can become an instrument of self-deception and why I think there’s so much fallout of popular pastors.

The Pharisees were not ignorant men. At all. They were learned men and they were ruined by pride. They had light streaming through their minds and yet darkness filled their hearts. They used truth not to bow before God, but to establish themselves. How much harder is this in our day of fame and platforms? That is why Jesus could say to them, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44).

We must understand that a disciple is not known first by his commentary, rather he is known by whether truth has made him humble and like Christ. We don’t need more armed leaders. We need leaders whose doctrine has changed them and not puffed them up. We need leaders who scripture has brought to Christ and begun to make them look like Christ.

A man may know a lot and still be dangerous. He may read deeply and remain unregenerate. He may speak accurately and still be proud, unteachable, harsh, impatient, and lustful.

But where Christ is truly being formed in a disciple, something else appears. Love appears. Repentance appears. Meekness appears. A growing tenderness toward others appears. A willingness to be corrected appears.

I don’t write this because doctrine is unimportant, but because doctrine is so great that, when truly believed, it lays hold of the whole man. This is what we need for every person who sits in a chair on Sunday morning. This is what we should foster, what we should encourage, and what we should watch for as we invite men and women to step into places to lead.

So, the final test of discipleship is not whether a man can speak about Christ with intelligence, but whether, over time, he begins to look like he has been with him.

Cling to Christ!

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