Pharisees
In the extended discourse that follows, Matthew records Jesus’ condemnation of Pharisaic practices, including:
• Public demonstrations of piety, such as wearing phylacteries and fringed garments (Matt 23:5)
• Claiming seats of honor in public settings (Matt 23:6)
• Claiming titles of distinction (Matt 23:7)
In Matthew 23:8–12, Jesus rebuts these practices by offering a different model of piety; He follows this by a series of “woe” statements to the Pharisees in which He:
• Condemns their practices of recruitment (Matt 23:15), oath-making (Matt 23:16), and tithing (Matt 23:23)
• Criticizes their emphases on trivial matters of the Law while ignoring more weighty aspects (Matt 23:23–24)
• Accuses them of presenting the outward appearances of holiness while being consumed with inward vainglory (Matt 23:25–28).
In his account, Matthew pairs the Pharisees with various other groups, including:
• The Sadducees (Matt 3:7; 16:1, 6, 11–12)
• The scribes (Matt 12:38; 15:1; and Matt 23:1–39)
• The chief priests (Matt 21:45; 27:62)
As in Mark, the Pharisees—in combination with different groups—challenge Jesus by demanding signs as a means of testing Him (Matt 12:38; 16:1).
Luke
Although Luke’s Gospel shares much material with Matthew and Mark, he provides a number of unique accounts of the Pharisees—many of which provide a slightly less decisive view of the Pharisees. The Pharisees first appear in Luke 5:17–26 during the healing of the paralytic, when Jesus uses the physical healing of the paralytic to demonstrate His authority in forgiving sins. The scribes and Pharisees respond with charges of blasphemy (Luke 5:21). However, Luke also notes that the entire assembly is awed by the healing of the paralytic (Luke 5:26).
Luke includes several accounts of Jesus interacting with Pharisees and using them as negative examples in His teaching. In Luke 7:36, Jesus dines with a Pharisee. When a sinful woman anoints His feet, Jesus offers a parable in which He contrasts the gratitude and hospitality of the woman with that of His host (the Pharisee; Luke 7:37–50). When Jesus dines at the home of a Pharisee another time, the meal serves as a channel through which He offers a corrective to Pharisaic rules governing the Sabbath. This establishes a series of contrasts between the Pharisees and their antitheses: tax collectors and sinners. Jesus portrays this contrast by comparing the prayers of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:10–14), and in His parables of “lost things” (Luke 15:1–32). In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the dutiful son seems to exemplify the pious Pharisees, whereas the prodigal son represents the repentant sinner.
Jesus’ encounters with the Pharisees provide insights into the nature of some of their members. Luke records that they rejected the baptism of John (Luke 7:29–30). He also characterizes them as “lovers of money” (Luke 16:14). At the same time, however, at least some of the Pharisees seemed to have been curious about Jesus: they ask Him when the kingdom of God is to be expected (Luke 17:20), and some of them even warn Jesus of Herod’s plot to seize Him (Luke 13:31).
John
John’s Gospel shares few points of contact with the first three in terms of the Pharisees. In John 3:1, John introduces Nicodemus, a “ruler of the Jews” (John 3:1) who comes to Jesus when it is dark and addresses Him as “teacher” or “rabbi” (ῥαββί, rhabbi; John 3:2). He seems to be speaking for a larger group of people, acknowledging that Jesus’ signs do authenticate Him as one sent by God. The questions Nicodemus asks do not seem to be tests or traps, but reflect a genuine desire to learn more (John 3:4, 9). Later verses indicate that Nicodemus remained at least somewhat sympathetic to Jesus, urging the religious officials to give Him a fair hearing (John 7:50–51). These deliberations demonstrate a developing division among the people (including the officers sent by the Pharisees to arrest Jesus) over the issue of Jesus (John 7:43–48). Later, John relates that even some of the authorities become advocates of Jesus, but were reluctant to proclaim their opinions publicly for fear of being excommunicated by the Pharisees (John 12:42–43).
Nicodemus appears to be a standout among the Pharisees, even attending to the crucified body of Jesus (John 19:39). Although some Pharisees at large refer to Jesus as “teacher” or “rabbi” (ῥαββί, rhabbi; John 8:4), this ascription appears more sarcastic than genuine, as evidenced by John’s report that their inquiry was part of an attempt to entrap Him (John 8:6). John records a scene where a woman accused of adultery is brought before Jesus, followed by an account of the healing of a young blind man (John 9:1–41); together, these accounts serve as extended narratives in which the Pharisees figure prominently. Although Jesus seems to draw a growing number of loyalists from the sect (John 9:16), the majority view of the Pharisees is antithetical to Jesus, indicating opposition to His claims of authority.
Acts
Although it is an extension of Luke’s Gospel narrative, Acts provides a unique perspective by providing information about the Pharisees during the dawn of the church age. In Acts 5:34, Gamaliel—a respected scribe of the Pharisees—settles a commotion prompted by the preaching of Peter and the apostles by inviting the providence of God to determine the apostles’ fate (Acts 5:34–39). This account demonstrates a positive characteristic of the Pharisees: in their high view of divine providence, they maintain that God cares deeply enough about His people to ensure that His will is accomplished. Acts 15:5 indicates that some of the Pharisees were becoming followers of Jesus, but maintained that Gentile Christians must be circumcised and observe the Law of Moses. Paul later capitalizes on his doctrinal sympathies and identification with the Pharisees by setting them against the Sadducees (Acts 23:6–10). Amid these proceedings, Luke notes that Pharisees were in part defined by their belief in bodily resurrection, angels, and spirits (Acts 23:8). Later accounts record Paul’s involvement with the Pharisees (which Paul calls “the strictest party of our religion,” Acts 26:5).
The only other explicit mention of the Pharisees by name in the New Testament comes in Phil 3:5, where Paul asserts his status as a Pharisee.
Josephus
Josephus is the most significant Jewish source for a study of Pharisaism. Noting that he himself “lived as a Pharisee” beginning at age 19 (see Life 1:12), Josephus lists the Pharisees as one of three primary sects of Judaism (the other two being the Sadducees and Essenes; Life 1:10; Antiquities 13:171–72; 18:11; Jewish War 2:119). He reports that the Pharisees rose to power during the reign of the Hasmonean prince, John Hyrcanus (135–105 BC). Hyrcanus seemed to have some sort of relationship with the Pharisees, but broke with them when a dinner guest named Eleazar confronted Hyrcanus concerning his usurping of the high priesthood. When the Pharisees failed to respond to Eleazar’s accusations in ways he expected, Hyrcanus became opposed to them, abolishing their decrees and banning their practices of religious piety (Antiquities 13:296). However, the large base of popular support was with the Pharisees (Antiquities 13:298). Within a generation, the Pharisees emerged as the dominant ruling political and religious party under the reign of Queen Alexandra Salome (76–67 BC; Antiquities 13:401–10; compare Jewish War 1:110–12). Although the Pharisees’ political party seemed to have lapsed under Herod, they nevertheless retained some degree of influence within the Sanhedrin and a great deal of influence among the populace. Josephus records that, at one point, there were 6,000 Pharisees (Antiquities 17:42).
Josephus’ description of the Pharisees focuses on their strict devotion and the refined skill they had in the Law (Antiquities 17:41; Jewish War 2:162; Life 1:191). He records their primary traits, indicating that they:
• despised delicacies in diet (Antiquities 18:12)
• followed reason—possibly an allusion to the pragmatic nature of their political-religious posture (Antiquities 18:12; Life 1:191–92)
• honored their elders (Antiquities 18:12; Life 1:191–92)
• held in tension both a divine fatalism and human agency (Antiquities 18:13; Jewish War 2:162–63)
• believed in the immortality of the soul
• believed in punishments and rewards in the afterlife (Antiquities 18:14; Jewish War 2:163)
Josephus also notes that the masses of commoners accepted many of these doctrines (Antiquities 18:15), so much so that even the Sadducees were subject to the Pharisees in some measure (Antiquities 18:17). He further characterizes the sect, in contrast to the Sadducees, as fraternal, peaceable, and civic-minded (Jewish War 2:166), noting especially how some of the Pharisees tried to diffuse an insurrection of Jews (Jewish War 2:411).
Additional Jewish texts may allude to the Pharisees, but the value of these texts is disputed:
• The rabbinic writings
• The Dead Sea Scrolls
• 1 Maccabees
• Psalms of Solomon
• The Lives of the Prophets
• The Scroll of Fasting
• Pseudo-Philo and 4 Ezra
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.