The Pharisees at Ragaba 

In mid-February of 30 CE, Jesus and his helpers were preaching and teaching in Perea, a region northwest of Jerusalem on the eastern side of the Jordan River. On Sabbath morning, February 18, Jesus was at Ragaba, a village where a wealthy Pharisee named Nathaniel lived. Many Pharisees followed Jesus, and Nathaniel invited them to breakfast, about twenty of them, with Jesus as the guest of honor.

Pharisees had a strict law about purification that required the washing of hands before and during a meal. When Jesus arrived at the breakfast table, he sat in the seat of honor, left of Nathaniel, but he did not wash his hands before sitting.

Many of the Pharisees, especially those favorable to Jesus’ teachings, knew that he washed his hands only for purposes of cleanliness and that he disliked and disregarded these purely ceremonial performances, so they were not surprised at his coming directly to the table without having twice washed his hands. But Nathaniel was shocked by the Master's failure to comply with the strict requirements of Pharisaic practice.

There was much whispering between Nathaniel and unfriendly Pharisees, which Jesus overheard. He stood and said: "I had thought that you invited me to this house to break bread with you and perchance to inquire of me concerning the proclamation of the new gospel of the kingdom of God, but I perceive that you have brought me here to witness an exhibition of ceremonial devotion to your own self-righteousness. That service you have now done me; what next will you honor me with as your guest on this occasion?"

All were silent after hearing Jesus’ question. And since no one spoke, he continued, saying, in part: "Many of you Pharisees are here with me as friends; some are even my disciples, but the majority of the Pharisees are persistent in their refusal to see the light and acknowledge the truth. Your leaders even dare to plot and plan the murder of the Son of Man. Woe upon you, Pharisees, who have persisted in rejecting the light of life! You are meticulous in tithing and ostentatious in almsgiving, but you knowingly spurn the visitation of God and reject the revelation of his love. Woe upon all who shun justice, spurn mercy, and reject truth! Woe upon all those who despise the revelation of the Father while they seek the chief seats in the synagogue and crave flattering salutations in the marketplaces!"

Besides the Pharisees, there were lawyers at the breakfast table. After Jesus’ sharp denunciation, one of them asked: "Is there nothing good in the scribes, the Pharisees, or the lawyers?"

Among other things, Jesus said: "You, like the Pharisees, delight in the first places at the feasts and in wearing long robes while you put heavy burdens on men’s shoulders. Woe upon you who take your greatest delight in building tombs for the prophets your fathers killed! You yourselves refuse to enter into the way of truth, and at the same time, you would hinder all others who seek to enter therein."

When the Master had finished speaking, he departed without eating. Of those who heard him, some became believers in his teaching and entered the kingdom. But most of them became more determined to find reasons to bring him to trial and judgment before the Sanhedrin court at Jerusalem. The next day, Jesus and his followers left Ragaba, going to the Perean cities of Amathus and Gerasa.