Jesus as Rabbi 5: Jesus and the Pharisees
At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day’”for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’
Jesus as Rabbi:
Part 1: What is a Rabbi?
Part 2: Was Jesus a Rabbi?
Part 3: Jesus’ Miracles
Part 4: Jesus and other Rabbis
When most of us think of the word “Pharisee”, some pretty strong, negative images are brought forward - for good reason - we we reflect upon their role in scripture. Just check out the textbook definition of Pharisee:
1. A member of an ancient Jewish sect that emphasized strict interpretation and observance of the Mosaic law in both its oral and written form.
2. A hypocritically self-righteous person.
Not a really flattering picture, is it? Nor were most of Jesus’ words with the Pharisees. Just check out Matthew 23 for a good taste. So why on earth should we have anything good to say about these guys? Well, in many/most cases, we don’t. However, I think that by viewing them with the above definitions only, we miss the contextual picture of Jesus and these religious leaders of the day. After all, Jesus had Pharisee followers, some Pharisees warned Jesus of a plot to kill him (Luke 13:31-35, quoted above), and Paul still claimed affiliation with the Pharisees long after his experience on the Damascus road.
Origins and Basic Beliefs
The Pharisees descended from the hasidim, the “pious ones” of the Galilee region in the hundred and fifty years prior to Jesus’ birth, as we discussed in Part 1 of this series. These intensely religious people differed greatly from the Judeans to the south, who were primarily of the Sadducee/Priestly persuasion and believed only in the Pentateuch as God’s Word, and not the entire TaNaKh (which is our modern day Old Testament). The Pharisees, on the other hand, believed in all of the TaNaKh as God’s inspired Word, the oral law, and had a theology developed around the coming of a Messiah and the Kingdom of God. They also believed in the future resurrection of the dead, which the Sadducees denied.
