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Who were the Pharisees?

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Who were the Pharisees?

ThePhariseesis the name of a Jewish religious party in biblical times. They were both religious leaders and involved in national politics. The Pharisees held seats in the Jewish ruling council called the Sanhedrin.
The Pharisees were teachers and pastors, what the Jewish people today callRabbis. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, they received the backing and goodwill of the common people. Jesus agreed with some of what they taught. Mark 12:28-34 gives an example.
From where did the Pharisees come?
The wordPhariseemeansseparated. During the historical period between the Old and New Testaments (about 400 years), some Jewish priests, scribes, and teachers who became known as Pharisees were against assimilating with non-Jewish people or even being friends with them. They developed codes of ethics (things you can and cannot do) and wrote them out in literature that became known as the “Tradition of the Elders.”
Why did Jesus have trouble with some Pharisees?
There is nothing wrong with trying your best to be faithful to the Lord’s instructions in the Bible. Some Pharisees, however, separated themselves too much. These Pharisees took some biblical teachings and added their own thoughts and lifestyle ideas to them. These often got so complicated that the Pharisees themselves couldn’t practice their own rules and regulations.

HOME/BIBLE QUESTIONS/BIBLE CHARACTERS/
Who were the Pharisees?

ThePhariseesis the name of a Jewish religious party in biblical times. They were both religious leaders and involved in national politics. The Pharisees held seats in the Jewish ruling council called the Sanhedrin.
The Pharisees were teachers and pastors, what the Jewish people today callRabbis. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, they received the backing and goodwill of the common people. Jesus agreed with some of what they taught. Mark 12:28-34 gives an example.
From where did the Pharisees come?
The wordPhariseemeansseparated. During the historical period between the Old and New Testaments (about 400 years), some Jewish priests, scribes, and teachers who became known as Pharisees were against assimilating with non-Jewish people or even being friends with them. They developed codes of ethics (things you can and cannot do) and wrote them out in literature that became known as the “Tradition of the Elders.”
Why did Jesus have trouble with some Pharisees?
There is nothing wrong with trying your best to be faithful to the Lord’s instructions in the Bible. Some Pharisees, however, separated themselves too much. These Pharisees took some biblical teachings and added their own thoughts and lifestyle ideas to them. These often got so complicated that the Pharisees themselves couldn’t practice their own rules and regulations.
Jesus opposed “some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else” (Luke 18:9 NIV). They developed an attitude we callhypocrisy— saying one thing and doing something different.
Jesus told a story about how one Pharisee acted: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector [a Roman government employee]. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:10-13).
That Pharisee did some things right:
He went to church.
He was not a “robber, evildoer, or adulterer.”
He did not work for the Roman government (considered collaboration with the enemy in those days).
He supported the church financially.
He followed the rules of his religion.
But he also did some things wrong:
He “stood by himself.” He made sure he wasn’t “contaminated” by those he considered less significant than himself. That’s known as bigotry and prejudice today.
He had a wrong attitude: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people.”
He insulted the tax collector right inside the church! — “Or even like this tax collector.”
Did Jesus get along with any Pharisees?
There were some Pharisees who became followers of Jesus. The most well-known are Nicodemus (John 3) and Joseph of Arimathea who provided a gravesite for Jesus (Mark 15:32).
Some Pharisees warned Jesus about a plot to kill him (Luke 13).
A few invited Jesus home for a meal (Luke 7) —a risky thing for Pharisees to do in those days.
A few Pharisees even protected the early Christians in the Sanhedrin itself (Acts 5).
The Apostle Paul, the most notable Christian in the Early Church, notes that he had been “concerning the law, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5). He was, “Advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14).
What does this have to do with me?
Hypocrisy is never the way to go. Some people judge others for what they wear, what they drive, what church they go to, how often they pray, what version of the Bible they read, and with who they associate. Remember, being perfect on the outside and flawed on the inside gets you nowhere with the Lord!
What is the meaning of the termChristian?
In the New Testament, believers never refer to themselves as “Christians”; rather, they use such terms asbrethren(Acts 15:1;1 Corinthians 16:20, NAS),disciples(Acts 11:26;14:24, NKJV), andsaints(Acts 9:13;2 Corinthians 13:13, ESV). Before his conversion,Saul of Tarsussought out those “who belonged to the Way” (Acts 9:2), indicating that an early label for Christians could have been “people of the Way” (see alsoActs 19:9;24:22).
Believers in Christcame to be called “Christians” during a time of rapid expansion in the church. Persecution had forced many believers from Jerusalem, and they scattered to various areas, taking the gospel with them. The evangelism was at first limited to Jewish populations. That changed when “men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:20–21).Barnabaswas there in Antioch, as was the newly converted Saul, and they were both teaching in the church. “And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians” (Acts 11:26, BLB).
At the time that believers got the appellationChristians, it was common for the Greeks to give satirical nicknames to particular groups. So those loyal to the Roman General Pompey were dubbed “Pompeians,” and the followers of General Sulla were called “Sullanians.” Those who publicly and enthusiastically praised the emperor Nero Augustus received the nameAugustinians, meaning “of the party of Augustus.” To the Greeks, it was all a fun word game and a verbally dismissive gesture. Then a new group cropped up in Antioch; since they were characterized by behavior and speech centered on Christ, the Greeks called them “Christians,” or “those of the party of Christ.”
In the first decades after the resurrection, the wordChristmeant little to the general population. In fact, some ancient sources refer to believers as “Chrestians” and relate that their key figure was “Chrestus,” reflecting limited knowledge of the actual faith. This makes it seem even more likely that the wordChristianwas cobbled together by those who were not involved in Christianity themselves.
Non-believing Jews of that day would not have referred to believers as “Christians,” sinceChristmeans “Messiah” and refers to the Son of David. Christ was exactly what they didnotbelieve Jesus to be; such a term would not have been used by Jews until it became an established, stand-alone word. In the book of Acts, we see the unbelieving Jews referring to Christians as those “of the Nazarene sect” (Acts 24:5)—Nazareth being a city of low repute in the minds of most Israelites (seeJohn 1:46).
Both the Bible and history suggest that the termChristianwas probably meant as a mocking insult when it was first coined. Peter actually tells his readers not to be “ashamed” if they are called by that term (1 Peter 4:16). Likewise, when Herod Agrippa rejects Paul’s appeal to be saved, he says, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” and he was probably playing off of the negative reputation of that term (Acts 26:28). Why would he, a king, submit to the indignity of being called a “Christian
