Whenever you hear of the word “religion,” what comes to mind? Perhaps attending a church service, someone worshipping a Buddha statue, a baptismal service, someone reciting a chant or prayer, someone fasting, people praying to the east every hour, someone making an animal sacrifice, or someone meditating? Each of these things involves some form of “action.”
Whenever you hear of the word “relationship” what comes to mind? Perhaps a husband and wife, walks on the beach, dinner for two, stargazing at the lookout point, writing love letters, and talking on the telephone. Each of these things, while some of them require action, involves “spending time” with someone getting to know them better.
Religion involves action and doing; while relationship involves spending time with someone you love and care about. In our walk with the Lord, religion can become a distraction by always doing and by always coming and going; however, a relationship can draw us closer to the Lord as we are able to take the time to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).
This morning I wish to take some time to contrast religion and relationship; and hopefully, by the end of this message you will be able to see that religion is not something to be desired, but that a relationship with Jesus is to be highly treasured. I believe you will also be able to see that religion brings about death, and relationship brings about life.
Religion Is Very Burdensome (vv. 1-4)
1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
The first thing to point out about religion is that “religion is very burdensome.” Religion weighs down the heart and takes away one’s passion and joy. We read here of how the Pharisees gave people orders concerning religious observances, and they were sometimes very “hard to bear” (v. 4). They were so difficult that the Pharisees themselves would not attempt to hold these observances, and that is because they could not uphold them at all, and neither could anyone else for that matter.
These observances that the Pharisees placed on the people were their “rules,” “regulations,” and “laws.” Henry Drummond says about the laws placed on the people by the Pharisees, “In those days men were working the passage to heaven by keeping the Ten Commandments, and the hundred and ten other commandments which they manufactured out of them.”(1) There were so many rules and regulations that people could not possibly uphold them all. Remember how James said, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).
Too many rules and too many laws lead to a loss of freedom and cause people to feel enslaved and burdened; which ultimately leads to a desire to escape and run away. Religion distances people from a relationship with the Lord, and it causes people to see God as a slave driver, ready to lash out at them should they mess up one single time. Instead of experiencing the joy of the Lord, people only experience drudgery and heaviness of heart.
Religion is absolutely condemning. It is based on things that are often not found in the Bible, but are instead the inventions of men (Mark 7:7-8); and religion becomes condemning as it leaves no room for mistakes; and thus no room for God’s grace. If someone fails to uphold a certain rule or regulation, condescension and criticism occur way before forgiveness.
Allow me to give some examples of religious beliefs that can become burdensome: If you do not read a particular version of the Bible, then you are not led by God; if you raise your hands in worship, then you are a holy roller; if you believe that the Lord wishes to bless us, then you are self-centered; if you are sick all the time then you are living in sin; a woman cannot speak in church, for the man was made before the woman; if you believe in miracles you have been deceived by the devil, for miracles ceased after the apostles; if you aren’t a Baptist then you are not saved – and I could keep going.
Jesus is not about religion. In fact, Christianity was not even started as a religion, but as a movement; and this movement of God was called “the Way” (Acts 9:2; Acts 19:9, 23; Acts 24:14, 22). It was turned into a religion when Emperor Constantine made it the official religion of the Roman Empire; and thus, utilized this new religion as a form of governmental control over the people. Jesus, however, is not about religion; and that is why He spoke out against the Pharisees in this passage. Jesus is all about relationship!
Let’s think about this another way. Who in their right mind wants to be bound to someone or something that is burdensome, controlling, condemning, and emotionally abusive? When we hear of a woman who is trapped in such a situation we often feel that she should get out as quickly as possible, even if we do frown on divorce. We feel the same way about religion, even if we don’t say it.
Jesus offers us a relationship, not religion; and this relationship is one of rest, peace, security, and it is non-burdensome. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” As a yoke ties two oxen together to walk side-by-side, Jesus calls us to come and walk by His side, and He promises that His yoke will not be heavy. His yoke will allow us to become unencumbered by guilt and condemnation, and we will be able to walk in the grace and joy of Lord.
Religion Seeks to Please Men (vv. 5-7)
5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’
The second thing to point out about religion is that “religion seeks to please men.” Jesus gives us an example here when he says that the Pharisees make their phylacteries, or the boxes on their foreheads containing Scripture, big in order to appear knowledgeable and smart. This would be similar to people today who are on a paper chase to attain numerous degrees, not to broaden their knowledge, but to look smart to other people in the hope of commandeering some respect. Jesus also says that the Pharisees like greetings and to be called “Rabbi.” People today are obsessed with titles, such as Reverend, Bishop, Apostle, Pastor, and Doctor. In fact it’s not uncommon to see inscribed on a business card something like, Dr. Smith, Ph.D., when “Dr.” and “Ph.D.” are the same thing!
Everything the Pharisees did seemed to be in order to impress people. They liked to tithe in public, to which Jesus replied in Matthew 6:2, “When you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.” They liked to pray in public, to which Jesus commented in Matthew 6:5, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.” And they liked to fast in public, to which Jesus stated in Matthew 6:16, “When you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.”
The Pharisees did these things to brag about how they were holy; however, this public demonstration only resulted in making bystanders feel lesser then the Pharisees; as incompetent and unrighteous. It only led to feelings of guilt and condemnation in those who witnessed these acts.
Maybe you have met people like the Pharisees, who do what they do to seek glory and approval from men. When we make pleasing people a priority over pleasing God – or when we forsake our relationship with God in order to abide by the laws of men – then we have become religious just like the Pharisees. Jesus declared that those who seek to please men will “have their reward” (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16), meaning they will receive glory from men, but that’s as far as their reward will go. In putting public opinion over God’s opinion, we may forfeit or jeopardize our reward in heaven.
Religion Is a Hindrance to Faith (v. 13)
13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
The third thing to point out about religion is that “religion is a hindrance to faith.” There is a parallel to this verse in Luke 11:52, in which Jesus said, “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.” So, the way in which the Pharisees shut up the kingdom from others was by taking away the key of knowledge. Warren Wiersbe says that “by teaching man-made traditions instead of God’s truth, they ‘took away the key of knowledge’ and closed the door to salvation.”(2) If we exalt tradition over truth, we could be leading people to hell and not even know it.
Religion not only “leads” people astray, but it can “push” people astray. We have already seen that religion can result in feelings of exclusion, guilt, condemnation, and bondage, resulting in people wanting nothing to do with God. This was the end result of the judgment and condemnation from the Pharisees. Whenever we impose religion on people it still has the same effect today. The judgmental nature and condemnation of religion becomes a stumbling block to a person’s faith. In Romans 14:13, in the New Revised Standard Version, we are told, “Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another.”
Religion Sees Only People’s Faults (vv. 23-24)
23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
The fourth thing to point out about religion is that “religion sees only people’s faults.” Let me share an example from Mark 7:1-3: “Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him [or Jesus], having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.”
Religion zeros in on the negative, and fails to notice the positive. Religion is very picky, as we see from the visual imagery Jesus provides concerning how the Pharisees would “strain out a gnat.” They sought to pick out, or to “strain out,” the tiniest transgression in another person, while they themselves were continually “swallowing camels,” or committing some major transgressions.
Basically, they were so focused on finding fault that they overlooked their own sins, as they focused on the mistakes of others. This is what religion does – it just picks and picks, and pecks and pecks away at a person like a hen, until that person’s worth and value are torn to shreds, and they walk around with no sense of enthusiasm for serving the Lord. They reason, “Why try to serve God, if everything I am doing is all wrong?” In Matthew 7:5, Jesus told the Pharisees, “First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Religion Looks Good on the Outside (vv. 25-28)
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
The fifth thing to point out about religion is that “religion looks good on the outside.” Religion is all about “appearance” – the “appearance of righteousness.” The apostle Paul said in Colossians 2:20-23, “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations – ‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,’ which all concern things which perish with the using – according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.” Paul stated that religious practices have an “appearance” of wisdom, but that is all they have. Religion is about how it looks on the outside.
One of the practices of the Pharisees, which was to wash the outside of the cup but not the inside, resembled their own lives. They looked spiritually clean outside, but inside they were full of sin. Jesus said they were like whitewashed tombs painted nicely on the outside, but dirty and full of rotting decay on the inside. What Jesus said could compare to how we sometimes treat our yards. If we are really tired when mowing time rolls around, we might choose to mow only the front yard and leave the back yard uncut. We reason, “People only see the front yard, so why mow the back?” If the front looks good, that’s all that matters. It’s often about appearance, just like religion.
Time of Reflection
“Religion” is based on the keeping of numerous regulations and laws; however, “relationship” is not like that. Religion can’t make us holy before God. It is shallow and focuses more on people than the Lord. Religion depends on man’s own righteousness to get to heaven, and we can never earn our way to heaven. The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Man’s keeping of the law and observance of religion can never result in entering the Lord’s kingdom, but a relationship can. A relationship is built on grace, and it is by grace that we have been saved.
Romans 6:23 tells us that “the gift [or grace] of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The grace that leads to eternal life is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and Jesus died on the cross to make us holy and blameless before God so that we can also have a relationship with God the Father. In the New Living Translation, we read in Romans 4:13, “It is clear, then, that God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was not based on obedience to God’s law, but on the new relationship with God that comes by faith.” I wish to invite you this morning to break free from the bondage of religion, and start living in a relationship of grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ our Lord.
NOTES
(1) Henry Drummond, The Greatest Thing in the World (Old Tappan: Flemming H. Revell).
(2) Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, Il: Victor, 1989), p. 84.
