To the modern Christian, the word ‘Pharisee’ seems no more than a biblical synonym for a self-righteous hypocrite. When we think of Pharisees, we tend to think of pretentiousness, pride, and judgmentalism. We think this way because we have the benefit of seeing the Pharisees through the eyes of Jesus. But that benefit diminishes greatly when we lose sight of who the Pharisees were in their time and culture. In fact, Jesus’ words to and about the Pharisees stood in contrast to public opinion, and even peer evaluation. When we fail to understand that most people of the day didn’t see Pharisees the way Jesus shows their heart to be in scripture, we lose a great deal of the benefit gained from seeing through Jesus’ eyes in the first place.
So who were the pharisees in their time and culture? What did they stand for? What did they believe? And how did others view them?
- The Pharisees were a group of educated men who shared a specific set of beliefs and practices.
First and foremost, the pharisees were a group of Jews who shared a specific overall interpretation of the scriptures. They believed, as many Jews did at that time, that the Messiah was coming to establish His kingdom and overthrow the oppressors of Israel. They believed in the resurrection of the dead. They also believed in strict adherence to the law of Moses, including many nuanced interpretations from scholars of ancient times. The pharisees were well educated, and being one of their number meant receiving an education that included indoctrination into their interpretations of the Bible.
An important part of the Pharisees’ practice involved avoiding contact with “sinners.” It is important to understand that the use of ‘sinners’ in this context is not the same as when we who have the benefit of looking back at scripture recognize that all are ‘sinners.’ Rather, sinners were those who continuously and habitually violated the law of Moses and/or committed serious offenses. A modern-day equivalent would be something like a convicted felon, someone constantly in-and-out of jail, or sex offender – to name a few.
- The Pharisees were respected, and even borderline revered, in their culture.
Though Jesus frequently called out the Pharisees for hypocrisy and self-righteousness, the common Jew didn’t view them that way. The people looked up to them as the most holy, the most knowledgeable, and even those who were closest to God. People called them things like “father,” or “rabbi.” These titles carry great respect and even honor, showing how much the common people set them apart in their minds.
- The Pharisees were the religious elite of their time.
This cannot be emphasized enough. Our scriptural lens lets us peek past the veneer of righteousness and piety that many Pharisees covered their less presentable heart with. Yet people living in that time didn’t have access to these scriptures, and, until Jesus’ arrival, even if anybody had thoughts as to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, nobody would dare to publicly oppose them. But in general, nobody wanted to oppose them. They held a lot of sway in the religious scene in Israel, including the synagogues, which were much more than our local churches today. The synagogue was a place of meeting, connection, and fellowship, more like a modern community center than a modern church. As we see in scripture, the Pharisees had the religious pull to have someone banned from the synagogue – and they weren’t afraid to use or threaten it.
Because of their extensive religious training, their strict observance of the law – or at least their interpretation of the law, and their great shows of piety and charity, it would’ve been hard for a first century Jew to imagine anybody more righteous than the Pharisees. This is precisely why Jesus used them as an example when He told His audience that anyone wanting to enter the kingdom of heaven must possess righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees. However, it is also precisely this aspect of the Pharisee’s image that many modern Christians easily forget.
Why It Matters
It’s important to realize that the Pharisees were a group of people rather than a type of person for one very important reason: there is a group of people today who are the modern day equivalent to the Pharisees, and indeed this group has existed since the emergence of religious schools many centuries ago. That is not to say that the members of this group are all like the Pharisees that Jesus rebuked repeatedly in the scriptures. Only that their position in the church and in the eyes of the “common Christian” mirrors that of the Pharisees in their day and culture. The reason you don’t hear much about this in churches is that this group is precisely the seminaries and the pastors that come out of them.
Think about your own life and those around you. How many Christians hold pastors in high esteem – not just respecting their office (which is right and proper), but subconsciously estimating them as more holy – closer to God – than themselves? How often do people treat their words – that is, their interpretations of scripture – as equal to the scripture itself? How many of them love being called “Pastor Joe” and even refer to themselves that way?
I can think of some examples from my personal life. For example, for a long time I went to a Tuesday morning group that met before work with the stated purpose of discussing the sermon. Toward the end of my attendance in the group, the pastor preached a message that omitted a substantial part of the scripture it was taken from in order to make a point that seemed to run counter to the scripture taken as a whole. To put this in context, this was the latest in a progression of messages in this church that were becoming increasingly liberal in their use of scripture. During the discussion that week, I read the whole scripture and made the point that the scripture did not seem to say what was preached. When nobody could find an answer, I was pulled aside by the leaders afterward and told that was not the place to question the pastors. In other words, a men’s group with the expressed intent for discussing sermons wasn’t the place to read the actual scripture and compare the pastor’s message to it. This was honestly mind-boggling, and the increased departure from the clear meaning of scripture became a reason that we eventually left that church.
In another context, at the same church, I raised an objection to another message where the pastor explicitly contradicted what scripture said. He responded that we had to give pastors some creative license with scripture, which again shocked me. The scripture-mandated role of the pastor is to rightly divide the Word of Truth. How can one “rightly divide” something that everyone who preaches is allowed creative license with?
I want to reiterate that I’m not writing this to say that all pastors and professors are self-righteous and hypocritical like the Pharisees. Rather, the point is that in the minds of most Christians pastors sit on a higher religious plane, just as in the eyes of the Jews the Pharisees sat on a higher religious plane. And there are many pastors who embrace and sub-consciously accept it just as many of the Pharisees did in their day. The Pharisees and Jesus’s interactions with them in scriptures are a twofold warning: first, a warning for those who sit in the leaders’ positions not to emulate them. Secondly, a warning for those who are the “laypeople” not to hold those who are more educated and in positions of leadership as though they are spiritually better.
To summarize, the Pharisees were the educated religious experts of their day. The people around them saw them as more holy, closer to God, and better able to answer anything related to the scriptures than others. And the group today that most closely mirrors them are the seminarians. These principles are important to understand in everything related to the Pharisees.
