Pharisees 

The Pharisees’ roots go back to the foundation of Israel when God allegedly gave Moses the Torah in written and oral forms. They were associated with the oral, or spoken, law. Most Pharisees were not wealthy; they were scribes and laymen who believed in the importance and authority of the oral tradition as handed down by Moses. The rich Sadducees, the ruling class who adhered to scripture, dismissed the oral law as traditions of men, rather than the wisdom of God.

Pharisees maintained their status and influence until the Jews revolted against Rome around 70 CE. When the revolt was crushed by the Romans, and the Pharisees were dispersed, there was concern that the Oral Law might be lost. To prevent this loss, it was put into written form and given the name Rabbinic Literature, the mainstream form of the Jewish religion that has existed ever since.

Pharisees and Sadducees were Jewish religious authorities and enforcers of written and oral forms of Moses’ law (the Torah) long before and shortly after Jesus’ time. The two groups were really religious parties, rather than sects. The Pharisees believed in the oral version, while the Sadducees believed and taught only the written law. Despite their differences, both the Pharisees and Sadducees opposed Jesus and his followers. They saw his teachings as humans adding to God’s commands.

The Pharisees believed that:

1. Their interpretations of the Torah were correct.
2. The oral tradition deserved just as much respect as the written law.
3. By promoting and enforcing their way of life, they were helping Israel hold up their end of the covenant with God.
4. There is a resurrection of the dead and an afterlife (the Sadducees did not believe or teach this).

And there were three things to which the Pharisees paid particular attention:

1. The practice of strict tithing.
2. Scrupulous observance of the laws of purification (handwashing, etc.).
3. Avoidance of association with all non-Pharisees.

The Pharisees came from all classes and professions, but primarily the scribes, sages, and experts in Jewish law. They were seen as keepers and enforcers of this law, and they believed Jews were supposed to practice purity rituals outside the temple, not just in it. In their minds, they were defending Judaism against heretical beliefs and false doctrines.

Jesus did not despise the Pharisees personally. He knew many were honest of heart and he understood their enslavement to religious traditions. It was their erroneous teachings and meaningless practices which he sought to discredit. One day, at the home of a Pharisee named Nathaniel, Jesus addressed the Pharisees, acknowledging that some were present as friends or even disciples. However, he criticized the majority of the Pharisees for persistently refusing to recognize the truth of the gospel, even when presented with its powerful message. Jesus pointed out the Pharisees' tendency to meticulously focus on outward appearances, cleansing the outside of cups and platters while neglecting the contamination within their spiritual selves. Despite presenting a facade of piety, Jesus accused them of harboring inner qualities such as self-righteousness, covetousness, extortion, and various spiritual vices.

Furthermore, Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their leaders' audacious plot to murder him. He emphasized that God scrutinizes not only outward actions but also the inner motives of the soul, cautioning against relying on almsgiving and tithing as a means of cleansing unrighteousness. Jesus expressed woe upon those Pharisees who persistently rejected the light of life, highlighting their meticulous attention to minor duties like tithing and almsgiving while neglecting more substantial moral obligations. He warned of the consequences for those who shunned justice, spurned mercy, and rejected the truth, especially those seeking prominence in the synagogue and desiring flattering salutations in public spaces.

On another occasion, at the temple in Jerusalem, three days before he was killed and one day after he had “cleansed the temple,” Jesus delivered his fiercest denunciation of the Pharisees to a large gathering that included many of them. In his denunciation, Jesus condemned the Pharisees, chief priests, and rulers who sought his destruction. Despite their rejection of his teachings, he expressed no malice towards them and acknowledged that some secretly believed in him. He questioned how their leaders, who claimed to talk with God, could justify rejecting and plotting against the one who came to reveal the Father.

Jesus then denounced their hypocritical actions. He criticized them for hindering sincere individuals from entering the kingdom of heaven, making proselytes worse than they were before, and seizing the property of the poor. Jesus rebuked their dishonest practices in oaths, their neglect of weightier matters of the law, and their outward piety while harboring internal corruption.

Jesus concluded by echoing John the Baptist's description of them as the offspring of vipers and questioning how they could escape the judgment pronounced upon them.

This was Jesus’ final attempt to help the Pharisees see the errors in their teachings before they killed him. And some were persuaded. The focus of Jesus’ teachings, whether framed positively or negatively, was to widen the community boundaries and loosen the norms for membership in it. He thereby created a new community outside the Pharisees’ control and quite naturally provoked their protest and hostility.

The Sanhedrin was a judicial body that ruled the Jewish people during Jesus’ lifetime. Its members were Pharisees, Sadducees, and other Jewish officials. These groups often opposed each other, but Jesus’ teachings united them, and the Sanhedrin was used by them to officially condemn Jesus to death. The Sanhedrin then persuaded the Romans to execute him.

The Pharisees and Sadducees attempted to stamp out Jesus and his followers, even though some followers were in their own ranks. They feared him because he threatened their hold upon the people and their power and prestige as religious teachers. In their eyes, he was a lawbreaker and disregarded their solemn traditions. He was a blasphemer because he alluded to God as his Father. And they deeply resented his bitter denunciation of them.

Jesus was executed using the power and authority of the Sanhedrin, but soon after his death, its members lost their seats of judgment. In 70 CE, during a revolt against Roman rule, the temple at Jerusalem was torn down and the Jewish religion was left in tatters. Judaism reorganized itself and survived, but a new religion was born based on the teachings of a Jew named Jesus, the one the Pharisees so feared, and the Sadducees so hated.

Two of the most notable were Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea who came to talk with Jesus and embraced his teachings shortly before he died. After the crucifixion, these two men boldly asked the Romans for Jesus’ body and put it in Joseph’s tomb.

Simon was the name of a half-hearted Pharisee who invited Jesus into his home and then treated him disrespectfully. That story features a woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with oil and washed them with her tears.Paul declares he is a Pharisee in Acts 23:6 of the Bible’s New Testament: “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee…”

In late 28 CE, there was a Jerusalem convert, a Pharisee named Abraham, who gave all of his worldly goods to the apostles’ treasury. Abraham was a young and influential member of the Sanhedrin who publicly espoused the teachings of Jesus and was baptized.

In February of 30 CE, at Ragaba, there lived a wealthy Pharisee named Nathaniel. He invited Jesus and the apostles to a breakfast. When Jesus disregarded the Pharisees’ practice of hand washing, except for cleanliness, Nathaniel and other Pharisees were shocked. This incident is noted in Matthew, chapter 23, where Jesus objects to how the Pharisees abuse their position and authority. It is there that the famous “woes of the Pharisees” appears. Another version of the woes is in Luke 11:37-54.