Pharisee's

Jesus challenged the leaders of Judaism while he walked the earth. He challenged the Pharisees and Sadducees (teachers of religious law and scribes) and they challenged him and ultimately killed him. There were many differences between these groups that I will not get into here. What I do want to address is their nature as a whole and why they were so offensive to our Savior.

As Christians it is easy for us to look at the Pharisees, Sadducees and the other Jewish leaders of Jesus' time and consider them immoral and corrupt. We simply assume that they were bad guys that had "it out" for Jesus. But, the evidence tells a different story.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were known for following the letter of the law. They strictly followed and enforced these laws and were considered priests. They wielded great power and were a huge influence on the Jews of their time. Most people would have thought of them as being upright and righteous men. Men that could be followed and respected. They would have exuded piety (looked very religious and devoted in their actions, personality and dress). They would have walked the walk of a priest. I am not saying that they were free from sin, but they followed certain ceremonies and offered sacrifices for their sin. This, in their minds, made them right with God. This type of thinking breeds pride.

These groups challenged Jesus because he upset their understanding of the law. He challenged their understanding of murder, adultery, oaths, hatred, vengeance, marriage and divorce. His ministry was to show that living by the letter of the law would not satisfy God without a heart devoted to him.

I intend to show that what was objectionable to Jesus (God) about the Pharisees was that they were full of pride and that they had no relationship with God. They simply followed the rules and insisted that everyone else do the same. There was no love or compassion for their fellow man or for God himself.

Here is an important point for us to understand: God does expect our obedience, but sin will enter our lives from time to time even when we do our best (this is why Jesus died for us). In fact, Paul describes this as a struggle between our sinful nature and our desire to be obedient. If that struggle isn't there we are not living in faith. Further, it is impossible to be saved without an ongoing relationship with God (Matt 15:1-9). The Bible clearly shows this over and over. We are saved by faith through grace. God's grace has always been there and always will be, but part of faith is a relationship with God. True faith can't exist without it.

What was it about Abraham that made him acceptable to God? He believed what God said. How about David? Same thing. Were these men free of sin? Not even close. But, what two things did they have in common. They both had faith in God and they had a relationship with him. Their relationship was demonstrated by their daily walk and talk with the Lord.

Jesus challenged the Pharisees and other religious leaders, why? Were they not obedient to the laws that God himself issued to the Jews? They were remarkably obedient to the laws as they understood them. Then what problem did Jesus find in them? Let us take a closer look at Jesus' statements. I will list some verses from the Gospel of Matthew that show some of Jesus' challenges to these two groups below:

John the Baptist called them out first.

Matthew 3:7-10. "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducee's coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father." I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.' "

The Pharisees couldn't be saved by simply being born into salvation. They considered themselves to be acceptable because they were obedient Jews and not because of God's grace.

Jesus said: in Matt 5:20 "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Okay so what is righteousness?

Definition: righteousness- "The establishment of a right relationship-- primarily between God and people, secondarily between people and themselves. Righteousness is the fulfillment of just expectations in any relationship, whether with God or other people..." (Tyndale Bible Dictionary 2001)

So no relationship with God would, by definition, disqualify them from being considered righteous. God's grace applies to those who belong to him.

Matt 6:5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

Matt 6:2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

Were their works wrong? Nope, the Bible instructs us to do these things. It is the attitude in which the works are done that is pleasing or displeasing to God. If we seek to please God over men, that pleases him. If we, on the other hand, desire a relationship with men and to be approved by them over God, we anger God and distance ourselves from him.

In Matt 9:1-8 Jesus heals a paralyzed man. When he does he forgives his sins. The teachers of the law accused him of blasphemy for saying that he could forgive sins. Jesus demonstrates his authority by telling them that he has the authority and then commanding the paralytic to stand and walk home. Jesus proclaims his authority as the Messiah in this passage.

Matt 9:10-11 "When Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked the disciples, 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners'?' On hearing this, Jesus said, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.' "

Internal devotion leads to external obedience and it requires a relationship with God. External obedience doesn't lead to internal devotion nor require any such relationship. What is in our hearts matters most to God.

Matt 12 Demonstrates the Pharisees trying to enforce their understanding of the Jewish law of the Sabbath. Jesus responds by explaining that the law wasn't given to be so strictly followed that good isn't done (ie., healing). He further claims his authority over the Sabbath as the Messiah. The Pharisees, not liking the blows to their pride, plot to kill Jesus. Obedience to rules without the concept of love is not of God. Love is always our guide because God is Love.

In the story of Moses (Exodus 1:15-22) the midwives lie to the authorities to save the little babies lives. Lying is a sin, right? Of course, but because they did this out of love and respect for God, they were blessed by God instead of punished.

Matt 12:38-39 "Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, 'Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.' He answered, 'A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.' " (Also 16:1-4)

Why were the Pharisees being considered by Jesus as being wicked and adulterous? Are not our lives to have been given over to the Lord as a bride gives herself to her husband? Feeling like we are justifying ourselves and the resultant sense of pride from being able to accomplish great feats among men apart from God, alienates us from God and makes us adulterers. Adulterers cheat on their spouses. In essence Jesus is saying that these men's hearts were running around on God.

Perhaps the most important scripture to understand Jesus' objection with the Pharisees is Matt 15:1-9 "Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 'Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!' Jesus replied, 'And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, "Honor your father and mother" and "Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death." But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, "whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God, " he is not to honor his father with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain: their teachings are but rules taught by men." "

Honoring God internally and maintaining a relationship with him is mandatory for salvation. It is not an option or sign of maturity. It is absolutely required. Christianity that preaches anything else is in vain.

Matt 15:10-14 "Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him "unclean, " but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him "unclean." ' Then the disciples came to him and asked, 'Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?' He replied, 'Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit' "

Matt 16:5-12 Jesus warns his disciples to watch the doctrine and teachings of the Pharisees. He uses yeast as a symbol of their teachings. Yeast spreads fairly rapidly through the dough and is next to impossible to remove once it is there.

The Pharisees continually challenged Jesus' violation of their sense of the law. Jesus presented himself as the Messiah and let their pride follow it's course away from truth and righteousness just as it was prophesied in Isaiah. He challenged their pride head on and clearly stated that if your heart doesn't belong to God then your strict obedience is an act of pride and is therefore in vain.

God Bless,
Sean