Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “He is such a Pharisee!” It’s an accusation that is not uncommon to hear in church or in the Christian community, but what does it mean? Pastor Adriel Sanchez talks about who the Pharisees were and what made their conduct something to be wary of in his episode “You Might Be A Pharisee If…”. He gives us context to the religious group known as the Pharisees and three things to watch out for in our own Christian lives.
Who Were the Pharisees
The Pharisees were a religious and political association that developed around the 2nd and 3rd centuries B.C. They were Jews who wanted to be faithful to the Torah and wanted to separate themselves from those they thought didn’t follow God correctly. They were committed both to the Torah—the Jewish Scriptures—and to tradition. To those frustrated with Roman rule and the corruption of Jewish culture by pagan influences, the Pharisees must have been a breath of fresh air.
But the Pharisees were just regular people who applied to be a part of this religious affiliation because they wanted to follow God’s law amidst a corrupt culture. They wanted to go above and beyond the law, like tithing beyond what the law demanded, but they rejected the weightier matters of God’s law like justice and mercy. And they were afflicted with the same proclivity to sin as everyone else.
Pharisees Trusted the Wrong Thing
The Pharisees put more stock in their religious pedigree than in the words of the Messiah. John the Baptist warns the Pharisees that their lineage from Abraham and their fastidious exercise of works would make them right before God.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.— Matthew 3:7–10
In the Gospel of John, Jesus says to the Jews who believe in him that those who abide in his word are truly his disciples and that “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). They respond, confused:
“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."— John 8:33–36
The Pharisees didn’t think they needed Jesus’s deliverance because they were Abraham’s offspring, but the true children of Abraham are those who have faith in God’s promises, fulfilled in the work of Christ, like Abraham did. The first fatal flaw of the Pharisees is that they trusted in themselves rather than confessing their sins and coming to Christ.
Their Self-Confidence Often Leads to Contempt
Rather than displaying compassion for the lost, the Pharisees show disgust at those who break God’s law. We see this often in Luke’s Gospel. “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:1–2).
But Jesus tells them that he has come to seek and to save those who are lost: “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7). The truth, of course, is that we’re all lost sinners and we all need to come to Jesus in repentance. Jesus never condoned sin, but sinners were drawn to him because of the compassion he extended and the hope and healing he offered.
Adriel notes that: “People who are self-righteous typically spend more time complaining about sinners than they do trying to show them compassion, and that’s exactly what we see in the Pharisees. You might be a Pharisee if you have more contempt in your heart for the sinful people of society than you do compassion.”
They Prioritized Man-Made Traditions Over the Word of God
On one occasion, a Pharisee confronted Jesus about his disciples about not washing their hands before they ate in the tradition of the elders (Matt. 15:1–2). In other words, he accuses Jesus of not keeping their particular application of the law. Jesus responds:
And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” (Matt. 15:3–7)
Jesus is pointing out the hypocrisy of following man-made regulations and rules but ignoring the heart of the law of God, which is to love him and love neighbor.
The self-confidence and arrogance of the Pharisees kept them from seeing Jesus and their need for the salvation he offered.
But here’s the good news, Christ came into the world not just to save notorious sinners, but the prideful and self-righteous as well. If we come to him, he will wash us and make us clean.
