Pharisees

At a Glance

Pharisees are a major Jewish movement known for devotion to law, tradition, and resurrection.

Key Points

• They were not the same as priests or Sadducees and often had broader lay influence.
• The Gospels often portray them in conflict with Jesus over law, purity, and hypocrisy.
• They also preserve beliefs, such as resurrection, that differ from Sadducean positions.

Description

Pharisees are a major Jewish movement known for devotion to law, tradition, and resurrection. The Pharisees appear throughout the Gospels, Acts, and in Paul's autobiographical reflections. They test Jesus, oppose him at key points, sometimes agree with him on matters such as resurrection, and also help form the background of Paul's former zeal. Historically, the Pharisees were a lay-oriented movement with influence among the people, distinct from the priestly aristocracy. After the destruction of the temple, strands of Pharisaic tradition contributed significantly to later rabbinic Judaism. The Pharisees illustrate both the seriousness of covenantal religion and the danger of externalism, self-righteousness, and man-made tradition obscuring God's word.

Biblical Context

The Pharisees appear throughout the Gospels, Acts, and in Paul's autobiographical reflections. They test Jesus, oppose him at key points, sometimes agree with him on matters such as resurrection, and also help form the background of Paul's former zeal.

Historical Context

Historically, the Pharisees were a lay-oriented movement with influence among the people, distinct from the priestly aristocracy. After the destruction of the temple, strands of Pharisaic tradition contributed significantly to later rabbinic Judaism.

Jewish and Ancient Context

The Pharisees help explain debates over purity, Sabbath, tithing, oral tradition, and resurrection in the New Testament world.

Primary Key Texts

• Matthew 23:1-36 - Jesus denounces Pharisaic hypocrisy and distortion.
• Mark 7:1-13 - Conflict over tradition and the commandments of God.
• Acts 23:6-8 - Pharisees are distinguished from Sadducees on resurrection and spirits.
• Philippians 3:5-6 - Paul describes his former Pharisaic identity.

Secondary Key Texts

• Luke 18:9-14 - Jesus exposes self-righteousness through a Pharisee in prayer.
• John 3:1-10 - Nicodemus shows Pharisaic leadership wrestling with new birth.
• Acts 15:5 - Some believing Pharisees continue to influence early church disputes.
• Acts 23:6-9 - Pharisaic commitments to resurrection create a real doctrinal divide.

Theological Significance

The Pharisees illustrate both the seriousness of covenantal religion and the danger of externalism, self-righteousness, and man-made tradition obscuring God's word.

Interpretive Cautions

Do not collapse Pharisees into a timeless stereotype or assume every reference uses the group in the same way. Ask who is in view, when they appear, and how Scripture or later history uses the group within the storyline.

Doctrinal Boundaries

This entry bears on law and gospel, justification, sanctification, resurrection, and the relation of tradition to divine command.

Practical Significance

The Pharisees warn believers that zeal for religion can coexist with pride and blindness if the heart is not humbled before God.

Related Entries

• Sadducees
• scribes
• Sanhedrin
• Second Temple Judaism

See Also

• Paul
• law
• Resurrection