The Pharisees: Then and Now
Lately, I’ve been struck by the influence of the Pharisees in Scripture. You may wonder why, they lived over 2,000 years ago, and now they’re extinct … but are they?
It’s unclear where this religious group of men got their name but the Hebrew suggests ‘to be separate’ or ‘explain well’. Combined, those meanings help you understand that Pharisees separated from the world’s ways in order to clearly explain the Old Testament. Not a bad beginning, but, per-usual, people take something good and go off the rails.
These men were passionate about understanding and explaining the Word of God to the common people, unlike the Sadducees who were the wealthy aristocrats of the time. Unfortunately, their passion went too far stretching Scripture to intimidate and produce ‘rule followers’; they missed the spirit of the Law. Jesus dealt with that issue in His famous Sermon of the Mount (Matt. 5:17-48) explaining that the 613 commandments in the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament) were a lower story, the letter of the Law. He was looking for those who would not justify themselves by following rules but honestly looking deeper, into their own hearts: the upper story.
These 6,000 men were priests, rabbis, and leaders in local synagogues who organized during the ‘400 years of silence’ between what we know as the Old and New Testaments. There was no prophetic voice, God was silent, and the people needed guidance and Bible teaching. Unfortunately the Pharisees, who clearly believed in the inspiration of Scripture, began to write and declare oral traditions or commentaries suggesting they had equal authority to the Bible. Opinions and perspectives of men became their plumb line instead of Spirit-inspiration helping people live for God in relationship. Literally obeying rules began to outshine the deeper, spiritual meaning as Jesus pointed out; outward actions became more important than inward hearts.
John the Baptizer nailed the Pharisees first (Matt. 3:7-12) calling them a ‘bunch of snakes’; I’m sure that didn’t go over well. He directed them to repentance and turning back to relationship with God producing good fruit because Messiah is coming soon. He accused them for being phony, exposing their hypocrisies, and warned them to turn from legalism and back to relationship. It wasn’t about heritage but about the heart. Messiah is not going to immerse (baptize) you in the lower story rules and regulations but in the upper story Holy Spirit and fire.
Lest you shake your finger at the Pharisees better check your own heart as I have. As Christians we are different from the world, desire to understand and explain Scripture; am I right so far? However, have we given Bible commentaries equal authority to the Bible itself? Have we missed the spirit in favor of the literal letter of the Law? It’s called legalism. As we enter into this study let’s take it personally, otherwise why would Jesus have intentionally highlighted their perspective: it’s a warning for us as well.
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