When We Are Like the Pharisees: Keeping a Teachable, Soft Heart Before God

Dr. Oyin
Dec 20, 2025
3 min read

I had mentioned in the last post that there are two groups of people in the Bible whose story bothers me.

First, I wrote about the complaining heart of the Israelites going through the wilderness with Moses as their leader.

The second group that unsettles me in Scripture is the Pharisees and Sadducees. Their story doesn’t just confuse me — it terrifies me.

The terrifying paradox

A group of arrows pointing right but the collection of them are pointing left

The Pharisees and Sadducees are unsettling because they combine religious competence with spiritual blindness. They knew the Scriptures, officiated worship, upheld tradition—yet they rejected Jesus, the very Messiah their Scriptures pointed to.

These were men who looked righteous on the outside…

…and yet were full of darkness on the inside.

For over three years, they watched Jesus — the very Messiah they had been waiting for — heal, teach, restore, fulfill prophecy… and they killed Him because He threatened their control.

Their story should shock and warn us: knowledge without a soft heart can become the greatest obstacle to God’s work.

The theological puzzle: how knowledge becomes blindness

Jesus confronted the religious leaders not because they were ignorant but because their knowledge had calcified into religion.

Matthew records his most biting rebukes (see Matthew 23): he calls out hypocrisy, neglect of justice, and the posture that burdens others.

In Luke, His parable (or teaching) about the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9–14) drives this home: the religious man prays to himself and leaves unchanged; the humble outsider is justified.

Jesus’ indictment is consistent: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

Religious competence + Spiritual pride = Spiritual blindness.

How can someone know the Word and still miss God?

Because head knowledge without heart openness becomes religion.

Learning without humility becomes arrogance.

Doctrine without intimacy becomes blindness.

And we have modern-day Pharisees now — not always in the pulpit, but often in everyday Christian life:

Christians who will not let Scripture correct them.
Christians who refuse counsel, disregarding correction because of prior “rightness” or reputation.
Christians who dismiss others based on tradition.
Christians who call good “evil” because it doesn’t match their expectations.
Christians who hide pride behind “discernment.”
Christians who use Scripture to win arguments rather than to be formed by Christ
Christians who police minor practices while missing the weightier matters (justice, mercy, faith).

They know the Bible, but their heart is hard.

They are unteachable.

They cannot see what God is doing because they refuse to be moved.

This is not academic. It shapes pastoral life, community life, and our capacity to be used by God. A hard heart cannot hear the Spirit’s new initiatives or repent when God calls for change.

The enemy is not doctrine; the enemy is pride that turns doctrine into an idol.

The cure? Nicodemus and the posture of a learner

Nicodemus models the alternative.

He was a Pharisee, but he came at night — curious, humble, seeking.

John 3 records a man who asked questions and did not immediately condemn.

He approached with openness.

He let the Lord confront his theology.

And he was changed.

Later Nicodemus defends Jesus (John 7:50–51) and assists in Jesus’ burial (John 19:39).

He moved from learned to learner.

Becoming teachable often looks like the steps Nicodemus took:

Ask questions (even hard ones) with humility
Stay in the tension when answers are not immediate
Let Jesus reshape categories, not merely confirm them

Be like Nicodemus.

Every believer must guard against becoming a Pharisee.

We must remain teachable, humble, and correctable.

I often remind myself:

“I only know what I know. And God can teach me something different tomorrow.”

A soft heart sees God clearly.

A hardened heart will miss Him every time.

Practical pathways back to a soft heart

Recognize limited knowledge: Admitting “I may be wrong” opens you to correction.
Be open to diverse voices: listen first before you disagree. Let the Spirit sift. Instead of putting up a wall, put up a sieve. Filter what you hear through Scripture, not tradition.
Adopt a learner’s posture: daily prayer: “Lord, keep my heart soft and my mind teachable. Open my eyes to see your truth”
Test rather than attack: when you see a new ministry or teaching, ask: What in this encourages Christlikeness? Where do I need discernment? Aim to test with humility
Practice mercy before verdicts: when tempted to “call out” quickly, choose mercy and conversation first. Going on social media to tell everyone how wrong a preacher is will never be the way to go.