Don't be a Pharisee

By Brother R. Michel Lankford
As It Is Written:
Matthew 23:1-12 ¹ Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴ "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵ "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. ⁶ "They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. ⁸ "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ "Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ¹¹ "But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. Matthew 23:1-12 (NASB)

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When we think of Pharisees today, we tend to think of people that are extremely strict about observing the law of God given to Moses. They were always at odds with Messiah, an instrumental in the plot to kill Jesus. Today the term is synonymous with being legalistic or overly religious. In fact, it is one of the key excuses that most traditional Christians use to rebuff and reject Whole Testament theology, is that they don't want to be like the Pharisees. The problem is that in making such a comparison, "Christians" who are anti-Torah observant are making two critical mistakes. First, they are drawing their conclusions based on modern-day interpretations of what we traditionally believe the Pharisees were instead of looking at the problem from its true historical context. This leads to the second problem. When we look at who and what the Pharisees were, and what they did, modern and postmodern Christendom might well realize many are in danger of being a lot more like the Pharisees than they think they are.

 

 

A History Flyby

As we read our Bible, we might notice that very often Yeshua, the Messiah rebukes the Pharisees, but there is not much mention of his criticizing the sect of the Sadducees. So what made the difference? What made the Pharisees worthy of special attention in the eyes of Messiah?
The historical first century Jewish writer Flavius Josephus gives us a distinct clue of the reason.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/ant-13.htm
(Flavius Josephus - book 13. 10. 6.)
You See, the sect of the Pharisees often treated human tradition handed down from one generation to the next as though it were equal to and sometimes even greater than the written text of the Scriptures. In other words, the Pharisees believed and taught that in order to be faithful to God, one not only had to keep the Torah (The written laws of God), but also a great many oral traditions handed down from one generation to the next. The problem is that what the Pharisees believed and practiced was a direct violation of Deuteronomy 4:2.
Therefore the Sadducees soundly rejected the approach of the Pharisees, and the Sadducees held to the belief that one only needed to keep the written Law of God. Messiah clearly favored the position of the Sadducees, at least concerning their doctrine.
A reasonable modern-day comparison would be that this would be a kin to the differences between a staunch holder of Roman Catholic tradition, as compared to someone who fiercely believes in the written Scriptures alone to determine our conduct.

 

 

By Contrast: the Pharisees believed:

Rambam's introduction to the Mishnah
"If there are 1000 prophets, all of them of the stature of Elijah and Elisha giving a certain interpretation, and 1001 rabbis giving the opposite interpretation, you should incline to the majority, and the law is according to the 1001 rabbis, not according to the 1000 there will prophets, only from the rabbis who are men of logic and reason."
My son! Be careful concerning the rabbinical decrees even more than the Torah... the Torah contains prohibitions... but anyone who violates a rabbinical decree is worthy of death (from the Babylonian Talmud).
... And even on the view that presets cannot nullify each other that applies only to a biblical precept with a biblical precept or, with a rabbinical precept to other rabbinical precepts, but in the case of a conflict of contradiction between a scriptural and a rabbinical precept, the rabbinical precept shall nullify the scriptural one... (from the Talmud 115a)
When we understand these things, the words of Yeshua the Messiah make a whole lot more sense:
Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸ "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20 (NASB)

 

In the light of its proper historical context, let us now consider what Messiah Himself said about the Pharisees:
1. They abandoned or diminished the law of God in favor of their own traditions (Mark 7:8-13).
2. They taught keeping strict observance of the Law, while they themselves were breaking the law (Matthew 23:2-3). it was hypocrisy. Messiah said that unless our righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees, we would not enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:20). So unless they repent it, the Pharisees would not be entering into the Kingdom of God. Now that's serious.
3. They had God’s law. They understood the law, they spent their whole lives from childhood being trained in the Law of God given to Moses, but none of them kept it (John 7:19).
4. Consider: Who would be counted as Pharisees today? Could it be those who actively teach God's people to disobey his Law in favor of human tradition? It's something to ponder.
Conclusion: According to Messiah, the problem with the Pharisees was not that they were overly Torah observant. According to Yeshua, the problem was exactly the opposite. According to Messiah the problem with the Pharisees was that they WERE NOT being Torah observant, but they were merely pretending to be so. According to Messiah, the problem of the Pharisees was that they were pretending to be Torah observant, when they weren't. They used their positions and power over people's lives to add burdens and laws over them which God did not make. In doing such things, they in fact outright violated Torah (Deuteronomy 4:2; Deuteronomy 12:32). So the problem with the Pharisees was not that they were overly Torah observant, but that they were not Torah observant enough. So I would have to agree, don't be a Pharisee:
Matthew 16:6 And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Matthew 16:6 (NASB)