Pharisees in the Bible

Meaning: set apart

Exact Match

Then the officers returned to the chief priest and Pharisees,

Verse ConceptsLaying On Hands For EvilArresting Christ

Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. And he said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and I see.

But these Jews [i.e., Pharisees] did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight back until they called his parents

Verse ConceptsMiracles, Responses ToUnbelief, As Response To GodNot Believing PeopleFrom Birth

The Pharisees said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he restore your sight?"

Verse ConceptsWhat Do They Do?

The man replied, "Is not that strange! You do not know where he came from and yet he restored my sight! [Note: The next sentence may be the beggar stating the Pharisees' argument. See verse 24].

Verse ConceptsAmazingIgnorance, Of ChristNot Knowing About ChristChrist's OriginWhere From?

now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had publish'd an order, that if any man knew where he was, he should give information in order to have him seized.

Verse ConceptsCommands, in NTArresting Christ

Thematic Bible



The Pharisees, who were avaricious, heard all this, and they ridiculed him.


So they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, to say to him, "Master, we know that you tell the truth, and teach the way of God with sincerity, regardless of the consequences, for you are impartial.


Meanwhile as the people gathered in thousands, until they actually trod on one another, he proceeded to say to his disciples first of all, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, hypocrisy.

"When you fast, do not put on a gloomy look, like the hypocrites, for they neglect their personal appearance to let people see that they are fasting. I tell you, that is all the reward they will get. But when you fast, perfume your hair and wash your face, so that no one may see that you are fasting, except your Father who is unseen, and your Father who sees what is secret, will reward you.

"Listen to another figure. There was a land owner who planted a vineyard and fenced it in, and hewed out a wine-vat in it, and built a watch-tower, and leased it to tenants, and left the neighborhood. When the time for the vintage approached he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share. But the tenants took his slaves and beat one and killed another and stoned a third. read more.
Again he sent other slaves and more of them than he had sent at first, and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw his son, they said to one another. 'This is his heir! Come on, let us kill him, and get his inheritance!' So they took him and drove him out of the vineyard and killed him. When the owner of the vineyard comes back, therefore, what will he do to these tenants?" They said to him, "He will put the wretches to a miserable death, and let the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the vintage when it is due." Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, " 'That stone which the builders rejected Has become the cornerstone; This came from the Lord, And seems marvelous to us'? "That, I tell you, is why the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a people that will produce its proper fruit. Whoever falls on that stone will be shattered, but whoever it falls upon will be pulverized." When the high priests and the Pharisees heard his figures, they knew that he was speaking about them, and they wanted to have him arrested, but they were afraid of the people, for the people considered him a prophet.

So when you are going to give to charity, do not blow a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and the streets, to make people praise them. I tell you, that is all the reward they will get! But when you give to charity, your own left hand must not know what your right hand is doing, so that your charity may be secret, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you. read more.
"When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they like to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the squares, to let people see them. I tell you, that is the only reward they will get! But when you pray, go into your own room, and shut the door, and pray to your Father who is unseen, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not repeat empty phrases as the heathen do, for they imagine that their prayers will be heard if they use words enough. You must not be like them. For God, who is your Father, knows what you need before you ask him.

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, and said to him, "Why do your disciples break the rules handed down by our ancestors? For they eat their bread without first washing their hands." But he answered, "Why do you too break God's command for the sake of what has been handed down to you? read more.
For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'He who abuses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever tells his father or mother, "Anything of mine that might have been of use to you is given to God," does not have to provide for his father.' So you have nullified what God has said, for the sake of what has been handed down to you. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied finely about you when he said, " 'This people honor me with their lips, Yet their hearts are far away from me. But their worship of me is all in vain, For the lessons they teach are but human precepts.' "

The Pharisees and Sadducees came up and to test him asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered, OMITTED TEXT read more.
"It is a wicked and faithless age that insists on a sign, and no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah." And he left them and went away. When the disciples went across the lake, they forgot to take any bread. And Jesus said to them, "Look out, and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!" But they were discussing something with one another, and saying, "We have not brought any bread!" Jesus noticed it and said, "Why are you discussing with one another your being without bread? You have so little faith! Do you not understand yet? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets full you gathered up? Nor the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets full you gathered up? Why do you not see that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!" Then they understood that he was warning them not against yeast but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

"The scribes and Pharisees have taken Moses' seat. So do everything they tell you, and observe it all, but do not do as they do, for they talk but do not act. They tie up heavy loads and have them put on men's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. read more.
They do everything they do to have men see it. They wear wide Scripture texts as charms, and they wear large tassels, and they like the best places at dinners and the front seats in the synagogues, and to be saluted with respect in public places, and to have men call them 'Rabbi.' But you must not let people call you 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and you are all brothers. And you must not call anyone on earth your father, for you have only one father, your heavenly Father. And you must not let men call you master, for you have only one master, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. "But alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you lock the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces, for you will neither go in yourselves nor let those enter who are trying to do so. OMITTED TEXT Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you scour land and sea to make one convert, and when he is converted you make him twice as fit for the pit as you are. Alas for you, you blind guides, who say, 'If anyone swears by the sanctuary, it does not matter, but if anyone swears by the gold of the sanctuary, it is binding.' Blind fools! which is greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that makes the gold sacred? You say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it does not matter, but if anyone swears by the offering that is on it, it is binding.' You blind men! Which is greater, the offering, or the altar that makes the offering sacred? Anyone who swears by the altar is swearing by it and by everything that is on it, and anyone who swears by the sanctuary is swearing by it and by him who dwells in it; and anyone who swears by heaven is swearing by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. "Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you pay tithes on mint, dill, and cummin, and you have let the weightier matters of the Law go??ustice, mercy, and integrity. But you should have observed these, without overlooking the others. You blind guides! straining out the gnat, and yet swallowing the camel! Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! You must first clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may be clean too. Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you are like white-washed tombs! They look well on the outside, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead, and all that is unclean. So you outwardly appear to men to be upright, but within you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. "Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you build tombs for the prophets, and decorate the monuments of the upright, and say, 'If we had been living in the times of our fathers, we would not have joined them in the murder of the prophets.' So you bear witness against yourselves that you are descended from the murderers of the prophets. Go on and fill up the measure of your forefathers' guilt. You serpents! You brood of snakes! How can you escape being sentenced to the pit?

Once he was driving out a dumb demon, and when the demon was gone the dumb man spoke. And the people were amazed. But some of them said, "It is with the aid of Beelzebub, the prince of the demons, that he drives the demons out." Others to test him asked him for a sign from heaven. read more.
But he knew what they were thinking, and he said to them, "Any kingdom that is disunited is on the way to destruction, and one house falls after another. And if Satan is disunited, how can his kingdom last? Because you say that I drive out demons with Beelzebub's aid. But if it is with his aid that I drive out demons, by whose do your sons drive them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But if it is with the finger of God that I am driving the demons out, then the Kingdom of God has overtaken you. When a strong man fully armed guards his own dwelling, his property is undisturbed. But when somebody stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he strips him of the arms that he relied on, and divides up the spoils. Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not join me in gathering, scatters. When a foul spirit goes out of a man, it roams through deserts in search of rest, and when it finds none, it says, 'I will go back to my house that I left.' And it goes and finds it unoccupied, cleaned, and all in order. Then it goes and gets seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there, and in the end the man is worse off than he was before." As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the mother who bore you and nursed you!" But he said, "You might better say, 'Blessed are those who hear God's message and observe it!' " As the crowds pressed a round him, he went on to say, "This is a wicked age! It demands a sign, and no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this age. The queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation at the Judgment and will condemn them, for she came from the very ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and there is more than Solomon here! Men of Nineveh will rise with this generation at the Judgment and will condemn it, for they repented at Jonah's preaching, and there is more than Jonah here. No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a peck measure; he puts it on its stand, so that people who come in can see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is sound, your whole body is light, but when it is unsound, your body is dark. So take care! Your very light may be darkness! If, therefore, your whole body is light with no darkness in it at all, it will all be as light as a lamp makes things for you by its light." When he said this, a Pharisee asked him to lunch with him, and he went to his house and took his place at table. The Pharisee noticed that he did not wash before the meal, and he was surprised. But the Master said to him, "You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the Creator of the outside make the inside too? But give your inmost life as charity, and you will immediately find everything clean. But alas for you Pharisees! For you pay tithes on mint, rue, and every tiny herb, and disregard justice and the love of God. But you should have observed these, without neglecting the others. Alas for you Pharisees! For you love to have the front seat in the synagogues and to be saluted with respect in public places. Alas for you! For you are like unmarked graves which men tread upon without knowing it." At this, one of the experts in the Law said to him, "Master, when you say that, you affront us too." But he said, "Yes, alas for you experts in the Law too! For you load men with burdens they can hardly carry, and you will not touch them yourselves with a single finger. Alas for you! For you build monuments for the prophets, whom your forefathers killed. So you testify to what your fathers did and approve it, for they killed them and you build their monuments. This is why the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send prophets and apostles to them, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute'??50 so that this age may be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the creation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you! This age will be charged with it all! Alas for you experts in the Law! For you have taken the key to the door of knowledge, but you have not entered it yourselves, and you have kept out those who tried to enter." After he left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began to watch him closely and to try to draw him out on many subjects, plotting to entrap him in something he might say.

All the tax-collectors and irreligious people were crowding up to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes grumbled, and said, "This man welcomes irreligious people, and even eats with them!" So in speaking to them he used this figure: read more.
"What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep, and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go in search of the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he finds it, he puts it on his shoulders with joy, and when he reaches home, he calls in his friends and neighbors, and says to them, 'Congratulate me, for I have found my lost sheep!' I tell you, in just that way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinful person who repents, than over ninety-nine upright people who do not need any repentance. Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one, does not light the lamp and sweep the house and look carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls in her friends and neighbors, and says to them, 'Congratulate me, for I have found the coin that I lost!'


Then some of the scribes and Pharisees addressed him, saying, "Master, we would like to have you show us some sign." But he answered, "Only a wicked and faithless age insists upon a sign, and no sign will be given it but the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Then his disciples came up to him and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were shocked to hear you say that?"

Have any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him?


"I am a Jew, and I was born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but was brought up here in this city, and thoroughly educated under the teaching of Gamaliel in the Law of our forefathers. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.

Among the Pharisees there was a man named Nicodemus, a leader among the Jews.

But some members of the Pharisees' party who had become believers got up and said that such converts ought to be circumcised and told to obey the Law of Moses.


Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, and said to him, "Why do your disciples break the rules handed down by our ancestors? For they eat their bread without first washing their hands." But he answered, "Why do you too break God's command for the sake of what has been handed down to you?

The Pharisees gathered about him with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem. They had noticed that some of his disciples ate their food without first giving their hands a ceremonial washing to purify them. For the Pharisees and all the Jews observe the rules handed down from their ancestors, and will not eat until they have washed their hands in a particular way, read more.
and they will not eat anything from the market without first purifying it by sprinkling it, and they have a number of other observances which have come down to them, in the way of washing cups, pitchers, and basins. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not observe the rules handed down by our ancestors, but eat food without purifying their hands?" But he said to them, "It was about you hypocrites that Isaiah prophesied so finely, in the words, " 'This people honor me with their lips, Yet their hearts are far away from me. But their worship of me is all in vain, For the lessons they teach are but human precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded and hold fast to what men have handed down. "How skilful you are," he said to them, "in nullifying what God has commanded in order to observe what has been handed down to you. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever abuses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Anything of mine that might have been of use to you is Korban," ' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother, and so you nullify what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many such practices." He called the people to him again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand this. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can pollute him. It is what comes out of a man that pollutes him."


One Sabbath, when he went to take a meal at the house of a member of the council who was a Pharisee, they were watching him closely.

One of the Pharisees asked him to have dinner with him, and he went to the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table.

When he said this, a Pharisee asked him to lunch with him, and he went to his house and took his place at table.


Then the disciples of John came up to him and said, "Why is it that we and the Pharisees are keeping the fast, while your disciples are not keeping it?"

I fast two days in the week; I pay tithes on everything I get.'


And some Pharisees came up to him to test him, and they said, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?"

Then the Pharisees went and made a plot to entrap him in argument. So they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, to say to him, "Master, we know that you tell the truth, and teach the way of God with sincerity, regardless of the consequences, for you are impartial. So give us your opinion: Is it right to pay the poll-tax to the emperor, or not?" read more.
But he saw their malice, and said, "Why do you put me to such a test, you hypocrites? Show me the poll-tax coin!" And they brought him a denarius. And he said to them, "Whose head and title is this?" They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Then pay the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and pay God what belongs to God!" And when they heard it they were amazed, and they went away and left him.


Knowing that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, Paul called out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees! It is for my hope for the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!"

for they have known from the first, if they are willing to give evidence, that I was a Pharisee and my life was that of the strictest sect of our religion.


And the Pharisees observed it, and they said to his disciples, "Why does your master eat with tax-collectors and irreligious people?" But he heard it, and said, "It is not well people but the sick who have to have the doctor! You must go and learn what the saying means, 'It is mercy, not sacrifice, that I care for.' I did not come to invite the pious but the irreligious."


For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'He who abuses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever tells his father or mother, "Anything of mine that might have been of use to you is given to God," does not have to provide for his father.' So you have nullified what God has said, for the sake of what has been handed down to you. read more.
You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied finely about you when he said, " 'This people honor me with their lips, Yet their hearts are far away from me. But their worship of me is all in vain, For the lessons they teach are but human precepts.' "


But the Pharisees saw it and said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing something which it is against the Law to do on the Sabbath!" But he said to them, "Did you never read what David did, when he and his companions were hungry? How is it that he went into the House of God and that they ate the Presentation Loaves which it was against the Law for him and his companions to eat, or for anyone except the priests? read more.
Or did you never read in the Law how the priests in the Temple are not guilty when they break the Sabbath? But I tell you, there is something greater than the Temple here! But if you knew what the saying means, 'It is mercy, not sacrifice, that I care for,' you would not have condemned men who are not guilty. For the Son of Man is master of the Sabbath."


But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming? Then produce fruit that will be consistent with your professed repentance! Do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather,' for I tell you God can produce descendants for Abraham right out of these stones! read more.
But the axe is already lying at the roots of the trees. Any tree that fails to produce good fruit is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire.


Knowing that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, Paul called out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees! It is for my hope for the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!"

For the Sadducees hold that there is no resurrection and that there are no angels or spirits, while the Pharisees believe in all three.


but the Pharisees and experts in the Law thwarted God's purpose for themselves, by refusing to be baptized by him.


But their worship of me is all in vain, For the lessons they teach are but human precepts.' "


But some members of the Pharisees' party who had become believers got up and said that such converts ought to be circumcised and told to obey the Law of Moses.


and they wanted to have him arrested, but they were afraid of the people, for the people considered him a prophet.

But the Pharisees left the synagogue and consulted about him, with a view to putting him to death.

Then the high priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and they said, "What are we to do about the fact that this man is showing so many signs?

So from that day they planned to kill Jesus.

For the high priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where he was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.


And some Pharisees came up to him to test him, and they said, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?"

and one of them, an expert in the Law, to test him, asked,

Then the Pharisees went and made a plot to entrap him in argument. So they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, to say to him, "Master, we know that you tell the truth, and teach the way of God with sincerity, regardless of the consequences, for you are impartial.


The Pharisees, who were avaricious, heard all this, and they ridiculed him.

When the high priests and the Pharisees heard his figures, they knew that he was speaking about them,

Then his disciples came up to him and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were shocked to hear you say that?"


For the Pharisees and all the Jews observe the rules handed down from their ancestors, and will not eat until they have washed their hands in a particular way,

and how I surpassed many of my own age among my people in my devotion to Judaism, I was so fanatically devoted to what my forefathers had handed down.

And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not observe the rules handed down by our ancestors, but eat food without purifying their hands?" But he said to them, "It was about you hypocrites that Isaiah prophesied so finely, in the words, " 'This people honor me with their lips, Yet their hearts are far away from me. But their worship of me is all in vain, For the lessons they teach are but human precepts.' read more.
"You give up what God has commanded and hold fast to what men have handed down.


When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet, he would know who and what the woman is who is touching him, for she leads a wicked life."

And the Pharisees observed it, and they said to his disciples, "Why does your master eat with tax-collectors and irreligious people?"

All the tax-collectors and irreligious people were crowding up to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes grumbled, and said, "This man welcomes irreligious people, and even eats with them!"


And Jesus said to them, "Look out, and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!"

Why do you not see that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!" Then they understood that he was warning them not against yeast but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.


But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law highly regarded by all the people, got up in the council and ordered the men to be removed for a while,

So there was a great uproar, and some scribes of the Pharisees' party got up and insisted, "We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose some spirit or angel really spoke to him!"

Among the Pharisees there was a man named Nicodemus, a leader among the Jews.


The Pharisee stood up and uttered this prayer to himself: 'O God, I thank you that I am not like other men, greedy, dishonest, or adulterous, like that tax-collector.

I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a descendant of Israel. I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew, and the son of Hebrews. As to the Law, I was a Pharisee; as to my zeal, I was a persecutor of the church; and by the Law's standard of uprightness, no fault could be found with me.


You blind guides! straining out the gnat, and yet swallowing the camel!

Blind fools! which is greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that makes the gold sacred?


The Pharisees and Sadducees came up and to test him asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees addressed him, saying, "Master, we would like to have you show us some sign."


But the Pharisees said, "It is by the aid of the prince of the demons that he drives them out."

But when the Pharisees heard of it they said, "This man cannot drive out demons except by the aid of Beelzebub, the prince of the demons."


I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a descendant of Israel. I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew, and the son of Hebrews. As to the Law, I was a Pharisee;

But some members of the Pharisees' party who had become believers got up and said that such converts ought to be circumcised and told to obey the Law of Moses.


The Pharisees, who were avaricious, heard all this, and they ridiculed him.

OMITTED TEXT


They said to him, "John's disciples observe frequent fasts and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but your disciples eat and drink."

I fast two days in the week; I pay tithes on everything I get.'


To some who were confident of their own uprightness, and thought nothing of others, he used this illustration:

And he said to them, "You are the men who parade your uprightness before people, but God knows your hearts. For what men consider great is detestable in the sight of God.


One of the Pharisees asked him to have dinner with him, and he went to the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table.

When he said this, a Pharisee asked him to lunch with him, and he went to his house and took his place at table.


The Pharisees heard the people saying these things about him in whispers, and the high priests and the Pharisees sent attendants to arrest him.

The attendants went back to the high priests and Pharisees, and they said to the attendants, "Why have you not brought him?"





"I am a Jew, and I was born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but was brought up here in this city, and thoroughly educated under the teaching of Gamaliel in the Law of our forefathers. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.

They said to him, "John's disciples observe frequent fasts and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but your disciples eat and drink."


"But alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you lock the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces, for you will neither go in yourselves nor let those enter who are trying to do so. OMITTED TEXT Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you scour land and sea to make one convert, and when he is converted you make him twice as fit for the pit as you are. read more.
Alas for you, you blind guides, who say, 'If anyone swears by the sanctuary, it does not matter, but if anyone swears by the gold of the sanctuary, it is binding.' Blind fools! which is greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that makes the gold sacred? You say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it does not matter, but if anyone swears by the offering that is on it, it is binding.' You blind men! Which is greater, the offering, or the altar that makes the offering sacred? Anyone who swears by the altar is swearing by it and by everything that is on it, and anyone who swears by the sanctuary is swearing by it and by him who dwells in it; and anyone who swears by heaven is swearing by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. "Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you pay tithes on mint, dill, and cummin, and you have let the weightier matters of the Law go??ustice, mercy, and integrity. But you should have observed these, without overlooking the others. You blind guides! straining out the gnat, and yet swallowing the camel! Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! You must first clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may be clean too. Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you are like white-washed tombs! They look well on the outside, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead, and all that is unclean. So you outwardly appear to men to be upright, but within you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. "Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you build tombs for the prophets, and decorate the monuments of the upright, and say, 'If we had been living in the times of our fathers, we would not have joined them in the murder of the prophets.' So you bear witness against yourselves that you are descended from the murderers of the prophets. Go on and fill up the measure of your forefathers' guilt. You serpents! You brood of snakes! How can you escape being sentenced to the pit?


and to be saluted with respect in public places, and to have men call them 'Rabbi.' But you must not let people call you 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and you are all brothers. And you must not call anyone on earth your father, for you have only one father, your heavenly Father. read more.
And you must not let men call you master, for you have only one master, the Christ.


"Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you pay tithes on mint, dill, and cummin, and you have let the weightier matters of the Law go??ustice, mercy, and integrity. But you should have observed these, without overlooking the others.


Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you scour land and sea to make one convert, and when he is converted you make him twice as fit for the pit as you are.


But he answered, "Only a wicked and faithless age insists upon a sign, and no sign will be given it but the sign of the prophet Jonah.


You serpents! You brood of snakes! How can you escape being sentenced to the pit?


Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you are like white-washed tombs! They look well on the outside, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead, and all that is unclean.


and to be saluted with respect in public places, and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'


and they like the best places at dinners and the front seats in the synagogues,


They tie up heavy loads and have them put on men's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.


For I tell you that unless your uprightness is far superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never even enter the Kingdom of Heaven!


They do everything they do to have men see it. They wear wide Scripture texts as charms, and they wear large tassels,


But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming?


Now Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the Lord's disciples, went to the high priest, and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women there who belonged to the Way, he might bring them in chains to Jerusalem.


So when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had been told that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John??2 though it was not Jesus himself who baptized them, but his disciples??3 he left Judea and went back again to Galilee.


Alas for you! For you are like unmarked graves which men tread upon without knowing it."


for they have known from the first, if they are willing to give evidence, that I was a Pharisee and my life was that of the strictest sect of our religion.


Have any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him?


but the Pharisees and experts in the Law thwarted God's purpose for themselves, by refusing to be baptized by him.


For the Sadducees hold that there is no resurrection and that there are no angels or spirits, while the Pharisees believe in all three.


Knowing that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, Paul called out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees! It is for my hope for the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!"


And the scribes and the Pharisees were on the watch to see whether he would cure people on the Sabbath, in order to find a charge to bring against him.


The Pharisees, who were avaricious, heard all this, and they ridiculed him.


"Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector.

The Pharisees and Sadducees came up and to test him asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

And some Pharisees came up to him to test him, and they said, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?"

but the Pharisees and experts in the Law thwarted God's purpose for themselves, by refusing to be baptized by him.

Knowing that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, Paul called out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees! It is for my hope for the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!"

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law highly regarded by all the people, got up in the council and ordered the men to be removed for a while,

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming?

"The scribes and Pharisees have taken Moses' seat.

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, and said to him,


No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a peck measure; he puts it on its stand, so that people who come in can see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is sound, your whole body is light, but when it is unsound, your body is dark. So take care! Your very light may be darkness! read more.
If, therefore, your whole body is light with no darkness in it at all, it will all be as light as a lamp makes things for you by its light." When he said this, a Pharisee asked him to lunch with him, and he went to his house and took his place at table. The Pharisee noticed that he did not wash before the meal, and he was surprised. But the Master said to him, "You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the Creator of the outside make the inside too? But give your inmost life as charity, and you will immediately find everything clean. But alas for you Pharisees! For you pay tithes on mint, rue, and every tiny herb, and disregard justice and the love of God. But you should have observed these, without neglecting the others. Alas for you Pharisees! For you love to have the front seat in the synagogues and to be saluted with respect in public places. Alas for you! For you are like unmarked graves which men tread upon without knowing it." At this, one of the experts in the Law said to him, "Master, when you say that, you affront us too." But he said, "Yes, alas for you experts in the Law too! For you load men with burdens they can hardly carry, and you will not touch them yourselves with a single finger. Alas for you! For you build monuments for the prophets, whom your forefathers killed. So you testify to what your fathers did and approve it, for they killed them and you build their monuments. This is why the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send prophets and apostles to them, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute'??50 so that this age may be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the creation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you! This age will be charged with it all! Alas for you experts in the Law! For you have taken the key to the door of knowledge, but you have not entered it yourselves, and you have kept out those who tried to enter." After he left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began to watch him closely and to try to draw him out on many subjects, plotting to entrap him in something he might say.

They answered, "We are descended from Abraham, and have never been anyone's slaves. How can you say to us, 'You will be set free'?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. Now a slave does not belong to a household permanently; but a son does. read more.
So if the Son sets you free you will be really free. I know that you are descended from Abraham, yet you want to kill me, because there is no room in your hearts for my teaching. It is what I have seen in the presence of my Father that I tell, and it is what you have heard from your father that you do." They answered, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, then do what Abraham did. But instead you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth he has heard from God. Abraham would not have done that. You are doing as your father does." They said to him, "We are not illegitimate children. We have one father, God himself." Jesus said to them, "If God were your father, you would love me, for I have come from God. I have not come of my own accord, but he has sent me. Why is it that you do not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to listen to my message. The devil is the father you are sprung from, and you want to carry out your father's wishes. He was a murderer from the first, and he has nothing to do with the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in his true character, for he is a liar and the father of them. But because I tell the truth you will not believe me. Who among you can prove me guilty of sin? But if I tell you the truth, why do you refuse to believe me? Whoever is sprung from God listens to God's words. The reason you refuse to listen is that you are not sprung from God." The Jews answered, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and are possessed?" Jesus answered, "I am not possessed, but I have respect for my Father, and you have no respect for me. But I do not seek honor for myself; there is someone who seeks it for me, and is the judge of it. I tell you, if anyone observes my teaching, he will never experience death." The Jews said to him, "Now we are sure that you are possessed! Abraham is dead and so are the prophets, and yet you say, 'If anyone observes my teaching, he will never know what death is!' Are you a greater man than our forefather Abraham? Yet he is dead and the prophets are dead. What do you claim to be?" Jesus answered, "If I show special honor to myself, such honor counts for nothing. It is my Father who shows me honor. You say he is your God, yet you have never come to know him. But I know him. If I say I do not know him, I will be a liar like yourselves. No! I do know him, and I am faithful to his message. Your forefather Abraham exulted at the thought of seeing my coming. He has seen it, and it has made him glad." The Jews said to him, "You are not fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "I tell you, I existed before Abraham was born!" At that, the Jews picked up stones to throw at him, but he disappeared and made his way out of the Temple.

Then they sneered at him, and said, "You are a disciple of his yourself, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man came from." The man answered, "There is something very strange about this! You do not know where he came from, and yet he has made me able to see! read more.
We know that God does not listen to sinful people, but if a man is devout and obeys God, God will listen to him. It was never heard of in this world that anyone made a man born blind able to see. If this man were not from God, he could not do anything." They answered, "You were born in utter sin, and are you trying to teach us?" So they excluded him from the synagogue.


References

Hastings

Easton

American

Fausets

Morish

Smith

Watsons