When I was a young child, perhaps 7 or 8 years old, I found a rock that looked like gold, and I thought I had struck it rich! I was soon very disappointed when I was told that it was not gold, that it was a piece of pyrite, or what is commonly known as “fool’s gold”. We may think we have found an art masterpiece at the local resale shop, only to find out it is a cheap imitation. Some people do not mind the imitation, but if you want something of real value you must be sure that you get the real thing, not an artificial imitation. In the spiritual realm we need to look for the real thing, not something cheap and artificial. When we want to look for someone to be a spiritual mentor or guide, it is very important that their walk with God is genuine, and not a piece of “fool’s gold”. This is something that the Lord Jesus addressed in our Scripture passage today.
Any reading of the Gospels will show that Jesus’s greatest opposition came from the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a strict religious group within Judaism, who appeared to be diligent in keeping every line of the Old Testament Mosaic Law, and also all of the man-made laws compiled within the Talmud, which are numerous volumes of rabbinical commentary on the Law, containing numerous man-made regulations. The Pharisees thought of themselves as good people who kept God’s Law. They presented themselves to the public as holy, following God’s Law. However, upon close examination that appearance was deceiving, like fool’s gold. They failed to see their desire for prominence and respect as evidence of pride. Pride can show itself in a desire for recognition and validation, and in a superior attitude of self-importance.
The Pharisees took the man-made rules of the Talmud and other sources as seriously as God’s Law, and often even much more so (Mark 7:5-13). The Pharisees had gone beyond any legitimate authority, and were adding human traditions to the Word of God. They also told people to obey these regulations, but they did not do so themselves (vs. 2-4). The “heavy burdens” that Jesus spoke of were human traditions and man-made religious regulations, not from God’s Word. When they did obey these regulations they did so, not to honor God, but to make themselves look good.
Jesus spoke about the phylacteries that the Pharisees wore, and how big and fancy they had made them (vs. 5). Phylacteries are like an amulet that devout Pharisees wore, and some Orthodox Jews today still wear when praying. They contain a piece of paper with certain portions of the Pentateuch written on it, which are rolled up and placed in a small metal cylinder, which is put in a leather case with long leather straps. These are worn on the forehead and left hand and arm, according to Deuteronomy 6:8-9. They were usually only worn during prayers, but some Pharisees wore them all the time in order to appear holy, and had made them extraordinarily big and fancy. The phylacteries, the objects themselves, became more important for the status they gave them, then for the truth, the Word of God, that they contained.
The Pharisees knew Scripture, but they did not live by it. They did not care about being holy, only just about looking holy, in order to get the people’s admiration and praise. I’m sure that we all know some people like this, the person at church who carries the biggest Bible they can to church, or who wears the biggest or most bejeweled cross around their neck. They want to appear holy, but a closer examination of their life will show that it is all luster, not genuine. Give it a little scratch and it will reveal that it was just a thin outer layer, covering something of inferior value.
God is not a fool, and is not deceived. He does not want outward luster, but inward devotion and obedience. We need to let the Word of God change our lives, not just sit in a Bible that we carry around for show, but never read and obey the contents of. Our religious practices, spirituality and holiness should be for our own relationship with the Lord God, not be done to impress others, making them believe we’re some spiritual Superman. Let’s make sure our life and relationship with God is genuine, not an artificial imitation. Let’s be sure our life is real gold for the Lord, and not fool’s gold.
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