Those Dastardly, Despicable Pharisees!

Our God is truly amazing and awesome.  When I consider the “gods” of this world, no other god compares to Him.  None is holy like He is.  There is no other God who shows lovingkindness, mercy, and faithfulness to His creation.  No other God called a people and manifested Himself in their midst and made covenant with them.  And our God is longsuffering unto salvation.  Over and over again He called the Israelites back to Himself; again and again their hearts wandered.  In keeping of His word, in about 600 B.C. all the choice Israelites, the strong, intelligent, healthy and talented were taken away; even still He kept them and blessed them while they lived in the land of their captors, the Babylonians. 

Living in a land of idolatry and slavery, they quickly turned their hearts back to the true and living God.  Although the Jews were taken captive by the pagans, they did not adopt their captors’ customs.  Far away from the temple they loved, faithful Jews began to meet together to read the Torah, to remember God’s faithfulness and His promise to return them to their land after 70 years.   From Babylon, to Persia, to Greece, to Rome, Israel and her people were occupied by foreign nations.  Teachers of the Torah (the Law) began to appear known as Pharisees.  A fervor and expectancy rose again in the hearts of the people as these men would teach the Law in the synagogues.

Since the Jews kept their own laws, the Romans allowed the religious leaders to rule under Roman authority.  These Jewish rulers were known as the Sanhedrin.  They had power only in matters that applied to Jewish religious law and life.   The Sanhedrin was made up of both Pharisees and Sadducees.  For more detailed explanation see: http://www.gotquestions.org/Sadducees-Pharisees.html

Sadducees were generally wealthy aristocrats and also included the priests and Levites.  They favored Roman policy and enjoyed majority rule in Jesus’ day.  Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection of the dead (they were “sad-you-see”) and did not believe in angels or demons.  They held strictly to the Torah.  Pharisees were a minority in the Sanhedrin, but related more to the common person.  They opposed the Sadducees and taught that the soul was immortal.  In addition to the Torah, Pharisees added an oral set of laws known as the Mishnah.  God’s laws were given by a loving God to protect and prosper His people, but as these religious teachers applied the Torah, they became more concerned about the details of the law rather than the spirit of the law. Over time, oral traditions were added that over-defined and extended the law. 

Under Roman authority and with religious control, these two groups had extensive and oppressive power over the people.  When John the Baptizer and Jesus began to preach, they disrupted the system that gave the religious leaders supremacy.  All this, of course, occurred in ancient times without printing press and modern media.  One more group, the scribes, will also factor into the opposition that Jesus faced.  The scribes were educated men who knew well the Law they meticulously copied by hand. 

They were so detailed and treated God’s Word so fearfully that it is said that they counted every letter, space and mark (known as jots and tittles) to help assure the accuracy of their transcription.  If an error occurred, the entire page would be destroyed.  It is also said that they would change pens every time they wrote God's holy name, “Yaweh/Jehovah”.  Because of this there is very little variation in our copies of Old Testament documents.[1]

The Sadducees, wealthy and aristocratic, and the Pharisees, powerful and influential had much to lose from a man who preached repentance in the wilderness dressed in camel hair and leather.  Only strict adherence to the Law under their power could please and appease a holy God.  Surely the promised Anointed One—Messiah—Christ would be a powerful ruler who would deliver them from Roman oppression and favor their elite authority. 

But the people flocked to hear first John, then Jesus.  The Pharisees and Sadducees feared losing their influence with the people.  If Jewish life was disrupted and the people began to reject the power of the Sanhedrin, the Romans could dismiss their rule and oppress the people more. 

It is easy to disregard these religious leaders and easily hold their hypocrisy in disdain.  But what disrupts the balance or stability of my life?  Do I manipulate circumstances to favor myself?  How quick am I to see the Lord working in the heart of another?  Or am I quick to find fault? Oh, those contemptible Pharisees!  Oh, do I sometimes see myself?

I need the Lord, my Shepherd, His rod and His staff.  I’m ready to follow.  Are you ready, too?

Next:  Mat 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23

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[1] The New Testament is made up of five historical books—the four Gospels and Acts, twenty one letters known as Epistles, and one book of Prophecy.  By comparison, these books and letters were copied quickly and passed from church to church as the numbers of believers grew.  Persecution also grew leaving little opportunity to transcribe with the same detail as the Old Testament.