Biblical Nations - Jewish Pharisees

Pharisees

Key Scripture: Luke 11:39-54

Figures: Nicodemus, Gamaliel, Saul

This week we reach one of the most commonly-referenced groups in the Gospels, the Pharisees.  As one of the most important groups in Jewish culture during the first century AD, this group combined political and religious influence through their emphasis on morality.  Although several of Jesus' followers came from among their number, Christ had some of his harshest exchanges with them.  Although they were exceptionally well thought of among the population, the Pharisees are today considered to be unpopular and their ways undesirable.  By studying the history, beliefs, and actions of this group we'll get to understand them a bit better. 

Like most of the groups we have studied within Jewish culture, the Pharisees trace their origins back to the time of the Hasmonean dynasty.  They seem to have arisen shortly after the Maccabean Revolt alongside the Sadducees, but were largely made up of members outside the priestly ranks.  Unlike their more powerful counterparts that comprised the majority of the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees not only emphasized the importance of the written laws of Moses but also placed significant weight on the value of oral tradition.  Believing that God had revealed His wishes in ways not recorded in the Torah, they included the teachings of prophets and rabbis as an equal source of truth.  The piety of the Pharisees depended on rituals, rules, and purification, but Jesus regularly accused them of hypocrisy and improper theology.  Despite their minority position in the ruling bodies, their popularity among the general population meant their views had to be recognized and considered by the Jewish elite. 

John records the visit of Nicodemus, who is referenced as the teacher of Israel, with Jesus as the Pharisee leader attempted to better understand the teachings of this Galilean outsider.  One of the most basic statements of the Christian faith came from the ensuing conversation - John 3:16.  Although many of the stated beliefs of this political and religious group align closely with what is now considered orthodox Christianity, such as angels, a spiritual realm, the afterlife, and resurrection, they still drew the ire of John the Baptist and Jesus.  Referring to their teachers of law as whitewashed tombs, a brood of vipers, and hypocrites, it is clear that these two men expected repentance from the self-righteous acts of the Pharisees.  Perhaps due to their status in society, they took offense at such rebukes and very few accepted the words that could have been their salvation.  As Matthew's gospel pointed out, they had ignored what was more important in the law - "justice, mercy, and faithfulness." (Matt. 23:23)

The Pharisees joined forces with other religious leaders to oppose Jesus, and when they were unable to trick or trap him with difficult questions they eventually had a hand in his arrest and crucifixion.  As the early church grew they came into contact numerous times with Pharisees such as Gamaliel and Saul (who became better known as the Apostle Paul).  After the destruction of Jerusalem none of the political groups yielded any power, and yet the Pharisees managed to extend their influence into the period after the Temple.  As they had seen the synagogue as the most vital location for study and teaching, the Pharisees managed to transition into a period without priests and sacrifices better than most other Jews.  Perhaps it's ironic that despite their rigid views on behaviors and rituals, they had a more flexible understanding of community practice that allowed them to adjust to new realities.  They compiled rabbinical teachings into the Mishnah, the first portion of what became the Talmud, around AD 200.  This established a written guide to the oral traditions of the Pharisees, and as the most complete answer to the problem of practicing the Jewish faith without a central point of sacrifice it became the primary text for nearly all subsequent generations.  Although no groups refer to themselves as Pharisees today, we recognize their heirs as modern orthodox Jews that maintain strict rabbinical teachings and continue their worship and training in a local synagogue.