pharisee

Sketched V Day 1 Saul, The Pharisee

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Philippians 3:4-6
Acts 8:1-2
Acts 9:1-2
Ezekiel 36:22-29

Sketched V, Day 1

Any man would be a fool not to envy me.

I am a Hebrew, through and through. Born in Tarsus, I was raised in Jerusalem.
I cut my teeth on the Law, and was educated in the way of our fathers at the hand of the famous Rabbi Gamaliel.
I am of the tribe of Benjamin, and my lineage is untainted by Gentile blood.
I hold the Roman citizenship so many covet by birthright.
I am truly blessed by God.

My righteousness is perfect.

I am also a Pharisee, set apart, tasked and privileged to discern and uphold the Law as it applies to our people. My zeal and passion for the Way are unmatched.

Scores of so-called “Christians” will rot in prison by my hand, men and women alike.
As well they should!
Anyone who would dare challenge our holy tradition, or our God, deserves to die.
Who do they think they are?
They think that a man has come to fulfill the Law? They are out of their minds!
Clearly, God does not stand for such outrage.
Why else would he deliver so many of them into my hands?

I uphold the inspired word of God, the Torah, in addition to the rich, important traditions our people have developed over generations. I adhere to and help enforce all 600 of our laws strictly, just as I adhere to and enforce our important traditions. Our traditions and our laws work together to pave the way to righteousness.

I lead by example, and I expect nothing less than what I myself give: perfection.
All one must do is follow the rules, like I do. It isn’t impossible. I do it every single day!
And I can thank myself for my own holiness. And God, of course…but mostly, me.
I mean, sure, He laid out the Law for us, so there’s that, but all the work I’ve put in, the way I restrain myself from all evil, that is my work alone. I have made myself a good person.

I am the one who toes the line and makes sure to keep in step with the holy traditions we have implemented.
I am the one who upholds God’s laws.
It is I who pursue and punish these Christians who fail to value our Way.

Just today, a man, a Christian named Stephen was stoned by my counterparts.
I wholeheartedly approved when they laid their garments at my feet.
I wouldn’t want any blasphemer’s blood staining my robe, either!

Although, I can’t seem to shake the look in his eyes during those final moments…
So clear. So focused. So…forgiving.
It was enough to give me pause.
For a moment, I felt like what they were doing, what we are doing, might be wrong, somehow.

But it couldn’t be.
I’m, we’re, merely upholding our Way, exactly as I, we’ve, been taught. This is the Way.
Everything I’ve ever known has been preparing me for this time, this moment.
My mission is to scrub the earth of these infidels who would challenge our, God’s, Way.
And I will succeed!

But… If I am being honest.. I know the truth.
Truth I’ll never admit to a soul, barely even myself.
Truth that haunts me.

This weight of perfection, it looms heavy in my chest these days.
Day in and day out, I wonder if this will be the day when I will fail and my humanity will rear its ugly head and I will slip up. There are so many rules, so many laws. Sometimes fear grips me because if ever my heart were known by anyone, they would see that though outwardly I am flawless, my heart is empty and cold.
And truthfully, even the outer deeds …

Make me weary.

And as much as I try to forget, my mind keeps returning to that stoning I witnessed.
That man… Stephen. I’ll never forget that moment. That man. Those eyes.
That feeling of blood on my hands….
What if God saw him as innocent?

The thought makes my insides shudder and I shut it out.
As that first stone was hurled toward him, Stephen’s eyes caught mine, and in that instant time stood still.

I still can’t shake the sense that he saw right through me. Through my titles and education. Through my citizenship, and bloodline, and associations. Through the facade I have almost managed to convince myself is real.

The others, they were so angry. They picked up their stones with religious fervor and righteous anger, I know, but in that moment it felt… Wrong.

He saw through everything. And he…forgave?

Yes, he forgave.
What if there’s something I am missing for all the things I do right?

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A Note About Sketched
In this series, we are stepping into the shoes of various characters throughout history. Some are biblical, some are well-known in modern day times, and some are people our writers know personally. We do our best to research the culture and times surrounding these individuals to give an accurate representation of their first-person perspectives on life and the world, but we can’t be 100% accurate. “Sketched” is our best interpretation of how these characters view(ed) God, themselves, and the world around them. Our hope is that by stepping into their everyday, we will see our own lives a little differently!
Enjoy!
And keep watching for Sketched Themes to pop up throughout the year!

Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Sketched V Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Sketched V!

Prodigal Day 8
The Gift of Inheritance

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Luke 15:11-32
Ephesians 5:1-2
Romans 3:21-28
Isaiah 64:2-7 attachment-1-31

I’d heard the story of the Prodigal Son my whole life, but, honestly, I really didn’t like it. Sure, it was a nice story, but it was completely irrelevant to me.
I didn’t have a concrete example of what a father’s love looked like, at least not the kind represented by the tale Jesus told. My dad didn’t run to me, stand up for me, or go out on a limb for me….and in my mind, he didn’t need to, I was strong enough on my own.

I was the oldest son.
I was the hard worker behind the scenes, never getting noticed.
I was the over-achiever always hoping for a good word, but never receiving it.
I was the one giving 120%, but never being enough for “dad” going “all-out” for me.
And then, when the “prodigal” actually showed up, which in my case was anyone who caught my dad’s attention instead of me, I was the jealous one.
They got the party, but I was the one who worked hard.
They got the love, but I was the one who was deserving.
They had foolishly spent everything, while I carefully horded every cent, never asking for anything.
And grace was lavished on the Prodigal?!
Yeah, I wasn’t really a fan of the story.

Until, I understood that, yes, the story was about me….more than I realized.

The truth is that Jesus told the story of the prodigal son to a bunch of Pharisees, caught up in all that they had accomplished,
all they could boast about,
all they were deserving of,
all their pride from never asking for a thing, but rather depending on themselves.
I was the Pharisee.
This story was told for me.
To point me to True Love and show me how much I had been missing because I was too caught up in looking at all my work.

For the boy who returned home, freedom was found when fake came off.
Redemption and true relationship was available to both sons, but only one had the realization that he was dirt poor without the inheritance of love.

As Are We, Sisters!
Dirt poor without Jesus’ love.

No works.
No good deeds.
No mask of artificial awesomeness.
Just.
Simply.
Broken.

Standing in the middle of a pig field was as disgraceful as you could get for a good Jew who couldn’t touch pork, let alone stand in the same field as live bacon and feed them slop. But that’s exactly where that young man stood as he stared in the face of his own brokenness and utter disgrace against his father.
His body caked in mud.
His heart rotten with the cost of sin he could never repay.
He knew he was unworthy.
He knew he deserved nothing.

Can you see yourself standing with him?
Face to face with your own sin?
Lies.
Cheating.
Gossip.
Anger.
Pride.
Jealousy.
I know it’s uncomfortable.
I know it isn’t pretty.
But, like the boy in our story, unless we hold in our hands the ugliness of our sin and take in the magnitude of how far away we are from a holy God, we can’t see His forgiveness as the grand gift that it really is.
The rich inheritance God offers us isn’t valuable.
Again, like that wayward son, take your broken, take the knowledge of “not enough”, and
run home, Beloved, run home!

The Father’s inheritance awaits.
His grace awaits.
His wealthy goodness and richest love awaits.
HE waits, with arms open wide.

He hasn’t been holding out on you, but maybe, just maybe, you’ve been living without the inheritance and freedom He has already adopted you with because you haven’t been willing to accept it.

Stop trying to hold on to all you can do on your own because, let’s face it, it’s pig slop compared to what Jesus can do in you. Stop looking down at the grace given to others because you feel they don’t deserve it.
Remember that neither of you deserve it.

Instead, reach out for the inheritance that’s right in front of you.
The unconditional, unfathomable love of a Father God.
A love that forgives everything.
A love that allows you to love others the way you have been loved.
That’s true, lasting inheritance.
That’s worth running home for.

Yes, the story of the prodigal son was about me.
It’s about you too.
But it wasn’t for my shame or to feed my arrogance.
This story points to the heart of a good Daddy who loves deeper than I could possibly ever know. A love I want to remember to wrap myself up in every single day because my God has blessed me with an inheritance that can never be earned or lost.
It’s a gift!

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!

Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Prodigal Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies in Prodigal!