Reference: Pharisees
American
A numerous and dominant sect of the Jews, agreeing on some main points of doctrine and practice, but divided into different parties or schools on minor points; as for instance, the schools or followers of Hillel and Shammai, who were celebrated rabbins or teachers. The name is commonly derived from the Hebrew purash, to separate, as though they were distinguished form the rest of the nation by their superior wisdom and sanctity. They first appeared as a sect after the return of the Jews from captivity. In respect to their tenets, although they esteemed the written books of the old Testament as the sources of the Jewish religion, yet they also attributed great and equal authority to traditional precepts relating principally to external rites: as ablutions, fasting, long prayers, the distribution of alms, the avoiding of all intercourse with Gentiles and publicans, etc. See Mt 6:5; 9:11; 23:5; Mr 7:4; Lu 18:12. In superstitious and self-righteous formalism they strongly resembled the Romish church. They were rigid interpreters of the letter of the Mosaic law, but not infrequently violated the spirit of it by their traditional and philosophical interpretations. See Mt 5:31,43; 12:2; 19:3; 23:23. Their professed sanctity and close adherence to all the external forms of piety gave them great favor and influence with the common people, and especially among the female part of the community. They believed with the Stoics, that all things and events were controlled by fate yet not so absolutely as entirely to destroy the liberty of the human will. They considered the soul as immortal, and held the doctrine of a future resurrection of the body, Ac 23:8. It is also supposed by some that they admitted the doctrine of metempsychosis or the transmigration of souls; but no allusion is made to this in the New Testament, nor does Josephus assert it. In numerous cases Christ denounced the Pharisees for their pride and covetousness, their ostentation in prayers, alms, tithes, and facts, Mt 6:2,5; Lu 18:9, and their hypocrisy in employing the garb of religion to cover the profligacy of their dispositions and conduct; as Mt 23; Lu 16:14; Joh 7:48-49; 8:9. By his faithful reproofs he early incurred their hatred, Mt 12:14; they eagerly sought to destroy him, and his blood was upon them and their children. On the other hand, there appear to have been among them individuals of probity, and even of genuine piety; as in the case of Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, the aged Simeon, etc., Mt 27:57; Lu 2:25; Joh 3:1. Saul of Tarsus was a Pharisee of the strictest sect, Ac 26:5; Ga 1:14. The essential features of their character are still common in Christian lands, and are no less odious to Christ than of old.
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It was said, moreover, Whosoever shall divorce his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement;
Ye have heard, that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
When, therefore, thou mayest be doing an alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, just as, the hypocrites, do in the synagogues and in the streets - that they may be glorified by men, - Verily, I say unto you, they are getting back their reward.
And, when ye may be praying, ye shall not be as the hypocrites, because they love, in the synagogues, and at the corners of the broad ways, to take their stand and pray, that they may shine before men; Verily, I say unto you, they are getting back their reward.
And, when ye may be praying, ye shall not be as the hypocrites, because they love, in the synagogues, and at the corners of the broad ways, to take their stand and pray, that they may shine before men; Verily, I say unto you, they are getting back their reward.
And, the Pharisees, observing it, began to say unto his disciples, - Wherefore, with tax-collectors and sinners, doth your Teacher eat?
But, the Pharisees, observing it, said unto him, Lo! thy disciples, are doing what is not allowed to do, on sabbath.
And the Pharisees, going forth, took, counsel, against him, to the end that, him, they might destroy.
And there came unto him Pharisees, testing him, and saying, - Whether is it allowed a man to divorce his wife, for every cause?
But, all their works, they do, to be gazed at, by men, - for they make broad their amulets, and make large their fringes,
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye tithe the mint and the anise and the cummin, - and have dismissed the weightier matters of the law - the justice, the mercy, and the faith; whereas, these, it was binding, to do, and, those, not to, dismiss.
And, when, evening, arrived, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, whose name was Joseph, who also, himself, had been discipled unto Jesus.
and coming from market, unless they sprinkle themselves, they eat not, - and, many other things, there are, which they have accepted to hold fast - immersions of cups and measures and copper vessels - -
And lo! there was, a man, in Jerusalem, whose name, was Symeon; and, this man, was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and Holy Spirit was upon him;
Now the Pharisees, who were, lovers of money, were hearing all these things, and were openly sneering at him.
And he spake, even unto certain who were confident in themselves that they were righteous, and were despising the rest, this parable: -
I fast twice in the week, I give a tenth of whatsoever things I gain!
There was however, a man from among the Pharisees, Nicodemus, his name, - ruler of the Jews.
Surely, none of the rulers, hath believed in him, nor of the Pharisees? But, this multitude, that take no note of the law, are, laid under a curse.
For, Sadducees, say, there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, whereas, Pharisees, confess them both.
inasmuch as they were aforetime observing me, from the outset, - if they please to bear witness, - that, according to the strictest sect of our own religion, I lived, a Pharisee.
And was making advancement, in Judaism, above many contemporaries in my nation, being, surpassingly zealous, of my paternal instructions.
Easton
separatists (Heb persahin, from parash, "to separate"). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the "pious"), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt against his heathenizing policy. The first mention of them is in a description by Josephus of the three sects or schools into which the Jews were divided (B.C. 145). The other two sects were the Essenes and the Sadducees. In the time of our Lord they were the popular party (Joh 7:48). They were extremely accurate and minute in all matters appertaining to the law of Moses (Mt 9:14; 23:15; Lu 11:39; 18:12). Paul, when brought before the council of Jerusalem, professed himself a Pharisee (Ac 23:6-8; 26:4-5).
There was much that was sound in their creed, yet their system of religion was a form and nothing more. Theirs was a very lax morality (Mt 5:20; 15:4,8; 23/3/type/emb'>23:3,14,23,25; Joh 8:7). On the first notice of them in the New Testament (Mt 3:7), they are ranked by our Lord with the Sadducees as a "generation of vipers." They were noted for their self-righteousness and their pride (Mt 9:11; Lu 7:39; 18:11-12). They were frequently rebuked by our Lord (Mt 12:39; 16:1-4).
From the very beginning of his ministry the Pharisees showed themselves bitter and persistent enemies of our Lord. They could not bear his doctrines, and they sought by every means to destroy his influence among the people.
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But, seeing, many of the Pharisees and Sadducees, coming unto his immersion, he said to them, - Broods of vipers! who suggested to you, to be fleeing from the coming wrath?
For I say unto you, that, unless your righteousness exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, in nowise, may ye enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
And, the Pharisees, observing it, began to say unto his disciples, - Wherefore, with tax-collectors and sinners, doth your Teacher eat?
Then come near unto him the disciples of John, saying, - Wherefore do, we, and the Pharisees, fast, whereas, thy disciples, fast not?
But, he, answering, said unto them, A wicked and adulterous generation, a sign, doth seek, and, a sign, will not be, given, it, save the sign of Jonah the prophet.
For, God, said - Honour thy father and thy mother, and - He that revileth father or mother, let him, surely die!
This people, with the lips, do, honour, me, while, their heart, far off, holdeth from me;
And, the Pharisees and Sadducees coming near, putting him to the test, requested him, a sign out of the heaven, to shew unto them. But, he, answering said unto them -
A wicked and adulterous generation, a sign, doth seek after, and, a sign, will not be given it, - save the sign of Jonah. And, leaving them behind, he departed.
All things, therefore, whatsoever they tell you, do and observe, - but, according to their works, do ye not, for they, say, and do not, perform.
But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye are locking up the kingdom of the heavens before men, - for, ye, are not entering, neither, them who are entering, suffer ye to enter. Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because ye compass sea and dry land, to make one convert - and, when it is done, ye make him a son of gehenna, twofold more than ye.
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye tithe the mint and the anise and the cummin, - and have dismissed the weightier matters of the law - the justice, the mercy, and the faith; whereas, these, it was binding, to do, and, those, not to, dismiss.
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, - while, within, they are full of plunder and intemperance.
But the Pharisee who had invited him, seeing it, spake within himself, saying, This one, if he were the prophet, would have been taking note, who and of what sort, is the woman, who is even touching him, that she is, a sinner.
And the Lord said unto him: Now, ye, the Pharisees, the outside of the cup and of the tray, do make pure; but, your inward part, is full of plunder and wickedness.
The Pharisee, taking his stand, these things unto himself was praying: O God! I thank thee, that I am not like the rest of men, - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or, even as this tax-collector; I fast twice in the week, I give a tenth of whatsoever things I gain!
I fast twice in the week, I give a tenth of whatsoever things I gain!
Surely, none of the rulers, hath believed in him, nor of the Pharisees?
But Paul, getting to know that, the one part, were Sadducees and, the other, Pharisees, began to cry aloud in the council - Brethren! I, am, a Pharisee, son of Pharisees: - Concerning a hope, even of a rising again of the dead, am I to be judged. And, as this he was saying, there arose a dissension of the Pharisees and Sadducees; and rent asunder was the throng. read more. For, Sadducees, say, there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, whereas, Pharisees, confess them both.
My manner of life, then, from my youth, which, from its commencement, was formed among my nation, even in Jerusalem, know all Jews, inasmuch as they were aforetime observing me, from the outset, - if they please to bear witness, - that, according to the strictest sect of our own religion, I lived, a Pharisee.
Fausets
From perishin Aramaic, perashim, "separated." To which Paul alludes, Ro 1:1; Ga 1:15, "separated unto the gospel of God"; once "separated" unto legal self righteousness. In contrast to "mingling" with Grecian and other heathen customs, which Antiochus Epiphanes partially effected, breaking down the barrier of God's law which separated Israel from pagandom, however refined. The Pharisees were successors of the Assideans or Chasidim, i.e. godly men "voluntarily devoted unto the law." On the return from Babylon the Jews became more exclusive than ever. In Antiochus' time this narrowness became intensified in opposition to the rationalistic compromises of many. The Sadducees succeeded to the latter, the Pharisees to the former (1Ma 1:13-15; 1Ma 1:41-49; 1Ma 1:62-63; 1Ma 2:42; 1Ma 7:13-17; 2Ma 14:6-38). They "resolved fully not to eat any unclean thing, choosing rather to die that they might not be defiled: and profame the holy covenant." in opposition to the Hellenizing faction.
So the beginning of the Pharisees was patriotism and faithfulness to the covenant. Jesus, the meek and loving One, so wholly free from harsh judgments, denounces with unusual severity their hypocrisy as a class. (Mt 15:7-8; 23:5,13-33), their ostentatious phylacteries and hems, their real love of preeminence; their pretended long prayers, while covetously defrauding the widow. They by their "traditions" made God's word of none effect; opposed bitterly the Lord Jesus, compassed His death, provoking Him to some "hasty words" (apostomatizein) which they might catch at and accuse Him; and hired Judas to betray Him; "strained out gnats, while swallowing camels" (image from filtrating wine); painfully punctilious about legal trifles and casuistries, while reckless of truth, righteousness, and the fear of God; cleansing the exterior man while full of iniquity within, like "whited sepulchres" (Mr 7:6-13; Lu 11:42-44,53-54; 16:14-15); lading men with grievous burdens, while themselves not touching them with one of their fingers. (See CORBAN .)
Paul's remembrance of his former bondage as a rigid Pharisee produced that reaction in his mind, upon his embracing the gospel, that led to his uncompromising maintenance, under the Spirit of God, of Christian liberty and justification by faith only, in opposition to the yoke of ceremonialism and the righteousness which is of the law (Galatians 4; 5). The Mishna or "second law," the first portion of the Talmud, is a digest of Jewish traditions and ritual, put in writing by rabbi Jehudah the Holy in the second century. The Gemara is a "supplement," or commentary on it; it is twofold, that of Jerusalem not later than the first half of the fourth century, and that of Babylon A.D. 500. The Mishna has six divisions (on seeds, feasts, women's marriage, etc., decreases and compacts, holy things, clean and unclean), and an introduction on blessings. Hillel and Shammai were leaders of two schools of the Pharisees, differing on slight points; the Mishna refers to both (living before Christ) and to Hillel's grandson, Paul's' teacher, Gamaliel.
An undesigned coincidence confirming genuineness is the fact that throughout the Gospels hostility to Christianity shows itself mainly from the Pharisees; but throughout Acts from the Sadducees. Doubtless because after Christ's resurrection the resurrection of the dead was a leading doctrine of Christians, which it was not before (Mr 9:10; Ac 1:22; 2:32; 4:10; 5:31; 10:40). The Pharisees therefore regarded Christians in this as their allies against the Sadducees, and so the less opposed Christianity (Joh 11:57; 18:3; Ac 4:1; 5:17; 23:6-9). The Mishna lays down the fundamental principle of the Pharisees. "Moses received the oral law from Sinai, and delivered it to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and these to the prophets, and these to the men of the great synagogue" (Pirke Aboth ("The Sayings of the [Jewish] Fathers"), 1). The absence of directions for prayer, and of mention of a future life, in the Pentateuch probably gave a pretext for the figment of a traditional oral law.
The great synagogue said, "make a fence for the law," i.e. carry the prohibitions beyond the written law to protect men from temptations to sin; so Ex 23:19 was by oral law made further to mean that no flesh was to be mixed with milk for food. The oral law defined the time before which in the evening a Jew must repeat the Shema, i.e. "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord," etc. (De 6:4-9.) So it defines the kind of wick and oil to be used for lighting the lamps which every Jew must burn on the Sabbath eve. An egg laid on a festival may be eaten according to the school of Shammai, but not according to that of Hillel; for Jehovah says in Ex 16:5, "on the sixth day they shall prepare that which, they bring in," therefore one must not prepare for the Sabbath on a feast day nor for a feast day on the Sabbath. An egg laid on a feast following the Sabbath was "prepared" the day before, and so involves a breach of the Sabbath (!); and though all feasts do not immediately follow the Sabbath yet "as a fence to the law" an egg laid on any feast must not be eaten.
Contrast Mic 6:8. A member of the society of Pharisees was called chaber; those not members were called "the people of the land"; compare Joh 7:49, "this people who knoweth not the law are cursed"; also the Pharisee standing and praying with himself, self righteous and despising the publican (Lu 18:9-14). Isaiah (Isa 65:5) foretells their characteristic formalism, pride of sanctimony, and hypocritical exclusiveness (Jg 1:18). Their scrupulous tithing (Mt 23:23; Lu 18:12) was based on the Mishna, "he who undertakes to be trustworthy (a pharisaic phrase) tithes whatever he eats, sells, buys, and does not eat and drink with the people of the land." The produce (tithes) reserved for the Levites and priests was "holy," and for anyone. else to eat it was deadly sin. So the Pharisee took all pains to know that his purchases had been duly tithed, and therefore shrank from "eating with" (Mt 9:11) those whose food might not be so. The treatise Cholin in the Mishna lays down a regulation as to "clean and unclean" (Le 20:25; 22:4-7; Nu 19:20) which severs the Jews socially from other peoples; "anything slaughtered by a pagan is unfit to be eaten, like the carcass of an animal that died of itself, and pollutes him who carries it."
An orthodox Jew still may not eat meat of any animal unless killed by a Jewish butcher; the latter searches for a blemish, and attaches to the approved a leaden seal stamped kashar, "lawful." (Disraeli, Genius. of Judaism.) The Mishna abounds in precepts illustrating Col 2:21, "touch not, taste not, handle not" (contrast Mt 15:11). Also it (6:480) has a separate treatise on washing of hands (Yadayim). Translated Mr 7:8, "except they wash their hands with the fist" (pugmee); the Mishna ordaining to pour water over the dosed hands raised so that it should flow down to the elbows, and then over the arms so as to flow over the fingers. Jesus, to confute the notion of its having moral value, did not wash before eating (Lu 11:37-40). Josephus (Ant. 18:1, section 3, 13:10, section 5) says the Pharisees lived frugally, like the Stoics, and hence had so much weight with the multitude that if they said aught against the king or the high-priest it was immediately believed, whereas the Sadducees could gain only the rich.
The defect in the Pharisees which Christ stigmatized by the parable of the two debtors was not immorality but want of love, from unconsciousness of forgiveness or of the need of it. Christ recognizes Simon's superiority to the woman in the relative amounts of sin needing forgiveness, but shows both were on a level in inability to cancel their sin as a debt. Had he realized this, he would not have thought Jesus no prophet for suffering her to touch Him with her kisses of adoring love for His forgiveness of her, realized by her (Lu 7:36-50; 15:2). Tradition set aside moral duties, as a child's to his parents by" Corban"; a debtor's to his creditors by the Mishna treatise, Avodah Zarah (1:1) which forbade payment to a pagan three days before any pagan fest
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And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall settle what they shall bring in, - and it shall be twice as much as they gather day by day.
The beginning of the firstfruits of thy ground, shalt thou bring into the house of Yahweh thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of its dam.
Thou shalt not take vengeance neither shalt thou cherish anger against the sons of thy people, So shalt thou love thy neighbour as thyself, - I, am Yahweh.
Therefore shall ye make a distinction - Between the clean beasts, and the unclean, - And between the unclean birds and the clean, - So shall ye not make your persons abominable with beast, or with bird or with anything which creepeth upon the ground, which I have distinguished for you, as unclean.
No man soever of the seed of Aaron who is a leper, or hath a flux, shall eat of the holy things, until he be clean, - And as for him who toucheth anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him; or a man who toucheth any creeping thing, which is unclean to him, - or toucheth any human being who hath uncleanness, to the extent of any thing that maketh him unclean, read more. any person who toucheth any such, shall then be unclean until the evening, - and shall not eat of the hallowed things, unless he bathe his flesh in water. When the sun tooth in, then is he clean, - and thereafter, he may eat of the hallowed things, for, his food, it is.
But in the ease of the man who shall be unclean and shall not cleanse himself from sin, that person shall be cut off, out of the midst of the convocation, - for, the sanctuary of Yahweh, hath he made unclean, the water of separation, hath not been dashed upon him unclean, he is.
Hear, O Israel: Yahweh, is our God, - Yahweh alone. Thou shalt therefore love Yahweh thy God, - with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy might; read more. so shall these words which I am commanding thee to-day, be upon thy heart; and thou shalt impress them upon thy sons, and shalt speak of them, - when thou sittest in thy house and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up; and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, - and they shall serve for bands between thine eyes; and thou shalt write them upon the pests of thy house and within thy gates.
And Judah captured Gaza with the boundaries thereof, and Ashkelon, with the boundaries thereof, - and Ekron, with the boundaries thereof.
Thy dead, shall come to life again, My dead body, they shall arise, - Awake and shout for joy, ye that dwell in the dust For, a dew of light, is thy dew, And, earth, to the shades shall give birth.
Who say - Draw near by thyself, Do not approach with me, For I am holier than thou! These, are A smoke in my nostrils, A fire, burning all the day.
For, behold me! Creating new heavens, and a new earth, - And the former shall not be mentioned, neither shall they come up on the heart, But joy ye and exult, perpetually, in what I am about to create, - For, behold me! Creating Jerusalem an exultation and Her People a joy; read more. Therefore will I Exult in Jerusalem, and Joy in my People, - And there shall be heard in her, no more The sound of weeping, or the sound of a cry: There shall be thenceforward, no more, A suckling of a few days, or an elder Who filleth not up his days, - But, a youth a hundred years old, may die, Yea a sinner a hundred years old, shall he accursed, Then shall they build houses and dwell in them, - And plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them; They shall not build, and another, dwell, They shall not plant, and, another, eat, - For as the days of a tree, shall be the days of ray people, And, the work of their own hands, shall my chosen ones, use to the full:
He hath told thee, O son of earth, what is good, - what then is, Yahweh, seeking of thee, but, to do justice, to delight in lovingkindness, and humbly to walk with thy God?
Ye have heard, that it was said, to them of olden time, - Thou shalt not commit murder, and, whosoever shall commit murder, shall be, liable, to judgment. But, I, say unto you, that, every one who is angry with his brother, shall be, liable, to judgment, - and, whosoever shall say to his brother, Worthless one!, shall be, liable, to the high council; and, whosoever shall say, Rebel!, shall be, liable, unto the fiery gehenna.
Ye have heard, that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
It was said, moreover, Whosoever shall divorce his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement; But, I, say unto you, that, Everyone who divorceth his wife - saving for unfaithfulness, causeth her to be made an adulteress, - and, whosoever shall marry a divorced woman, committeth adultery.
Ye have heard, that it was said, - Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.
For this cause, I say unto you: Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, - or for your body, what ye shall put on: Is not, the life, more than, the food? And, the body, than, the raiment? Observe intently, the birds of the heaven, - that they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet, your heavenly Father, feedeth, them: Are no, ye, much better than, they? read more. But who from among you, being anxious, can add to his stature one cubit? And, about clothing, why are ye anxious? Consider well the lilies of the field, how they grow, - they toil not neither do they spin; And yet, I say unto you, not even Solomon, in all his glory, was arrayed like, one of these! Now, if the grass of the field - which to-day, is, and, to-morrow, into an oven, is cast - God thus adorneth, not much rather, you, little of faith? Do not then be anxious saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be arrayed? For, all these things, the nations, seek after, - for your heavenly Father, knoweth, that ye are needing, all these things. But be seeking first, the kingdom and its righteousness, - and, all these things, shall be added unto you. Do not, then, be anxious for the morrow; for the morrow, will be anxious, for itself: Sufficient for the day, is the evil thereof.
And, the Pharisees, observing it, began to say unto his disciples, - Wherefore, with tax-collectors and sinners, doth your Teacher eat?
Are not, two sparrows, for a farthing, sold? And, one from among them, shall not fall upon the ground, without your Father; But, even the hairs of, your, head, have all been numbered.
and he said unto his servants - This, is John the Immerser, - he hath arisen from the dead, for this cause, are the powers working mightily within him.
Hypocrites! well prophesied concerning you, Isaiah, saying - This people, with the lips, do, honour, me, while, their heart, far off, holdeth from me;
Not that which entereth into the mouth, defileth the man, but, that which proceedeth out of the mouth, the same, defileth the man,
saying - Upon Moses' seat, have sat down, the Scribes and the Pharisees: All things, therefore, whatsoever they tell you, do and observe, - but, according to their works, do ye not, for they, say, and do not, perform.
But, all their works, they do, to be gazed at, by men, - for they make broad their amulets, and make large their fringes,
But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye are locking up the kingdom of the heavens before men, - for, ye, are not entering, neither, them who are entering, suffer ye to enter. Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because ye compass sea and dry land, to make one convert - and, when it is done, ye make him a son of gehenna, twofold more than ye.
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because ye compass sea and dry land, to make one convert - and, when it is done, ye make him a son of gehenna, twofold more than ye. Alas for you, blind guides! that say - Whosoever shall swear by the Temple, it is, nothing, but, whosoever shall swear by the gold of the Temple, is bound: read more. Foolish and blind! for which is, greater, The gold, or the Temple that hath hallowed the gold? And, whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is, nothing, but, whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, is bound: Blind! for which is greater, The gift, or the altar that halloweth the gift? He therefore that hath sworn by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all that is upon it; And, he that hath sworn by the Temple, sweareth by it, and by him who dwelleth therein; And, he that hath sworn by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him who sitteth thereupon. Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye tithe the mint and the anise and the cummin, - and have dismissed the weightier matters of the law - the justice, the mercy, and the faith; whereas, these, it was binding, to do, and, those, not to, dismiss.
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye tithe the mint and the anise and the cummin, - and have dismissed the weightier matters of the law - the justice, the mercy, and the faith; whereas, these, it was binding, to do, and, those, not to, dismiss. Blind guides! Straining out the gnat, but, the camel, swallowing. read more. Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, - while, within, they are full of plunder and intemperance. Blind Pharisee! cleanse, first, the inside, of the cup and of the dish, that, the outside thereof, may become, clean. Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye make yourselves like sepulchres whitewashed, which, outside, indeed, appear, beautiful, but, within, are full, of dead men's bones and all uncleanness, - Thus, ye also, outside, indeed, appear to men, righteous, but, within, are full, of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say - If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their partners in the blood of the prophets: So that ye bear witness against yourselves, that ye are, sons, of them who murdered the prophets. And, ye, fill ye up the measure of your fathers! Serpents! broods of vipers! how should ye flee from the judgment of gehenna?
But, he, said unto them - Well, prophesied Isaiah concerning you, ye hypocrites, as it is written - This people, with the lips do honour me, while, their heart, far off, holdeth from me, - But, in vain, do they pay devotions unto me, teaching for teachings, the commandments of men; read more. Having, dismissed, the commandment, of God, ye, hold fast, the tradition, of men.
Having, dismissed, the commandment, of God, ye, hold fast, the tradition, of men. And he was saying to them - Well, do ye set aside the commandment of God, that, your own tradition, ye may observe; read more. For, Moses, said - Honour thy father and thy mother, and - He that revileth father or mother, let him, surely die, - But, ye, say - If a man shall say to his father or his mother, Korban! that is, A gift, whatsoever, out of me, thou mightest be profited, no longer, do ye suffer him to do, aught, for his father or his mother, - cancelling the word of God by your tradition which ye have delivered. And, many such similar things, are ye doing!
And, the word, they held fast unto themselves, discussing what was, the rising from among the dead.
who shall not receive a hundredfold, now, in this season, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, - with persecutions, and, in the age that is coming, life age-abiding.
And a certain one of the Pharisees was requesting him, that he would eat with him; and, entering into the house of the Pharisee, he reclined. And, 1o! a woman, who indeed was in the city a sinner; and, when she found out that he was reclining in the house of the Pharisee, providing an alabaster-jar of perfume, read more. and standing behind, near his feet, weeping, with the tears, began she to be wetting his feet, and, with the hair of her head, was wiping off the tears , and was tenderly kissing his feet, and anointing them with the perfume. But the Pharisee who had invited him, seeing it, spake within himself, saying, This one, if he were the prophet, would have been taking note, who and of what sort, is the woman, who is even touching him, that she is, a sinner. And, making answer, Jesus said unto him - Simon! I have, unto thee, something to say. He, then - Teacher, speak! - saith he. Two debtors, there were, to a certain creditor, - the one, owed five hundred denaries, and, the other, fifty. they not having wherewith to pay, he forgave, both. Which of them, therefore, will love him, more? Making answer, Simon said - I suppose, that he to whom, the more, he forgave. And, he, said unto him - Rightly, hast thou judged. And, turning towards the woman, unto Simon, he said - Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house: water to me, on my feet, thou didst not give, - but, she, with her tears, hath wetted my feet, and, with her hair, wiped off the tears . A kiss, to me, thou didst not give, - but, she, from the time I came in, hath not ceased tenderly kissing my feet. With oil, my head, thou didst not anoint, - but, she, with perfume, hath anointed, my feet. For which cause, I say unto thee - Her many sins, have been forgiven, because she hath loved, much: but, he to whom little is forgiven, little, loveth. And he said unto her - Thy sins have been forgiven. And they who were reclining together, began to be saying within themselves - Who is, this, that, even forgiveth sins? But he said unto the woman - Thy faith, hath saved thee, - Go thy way into peace.
And, he, answering, said - Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, out of all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might, and with all thine intention; and thy neighbour, as thyself? And he said unto him - Rightly, hast thou answered: This, do, and thou shalt live. read more. But, he, wishing to justify himself, said unto Jesus - And, who is, my, neighbour?
And, when he had spoken, a Pharisee was requesting him that he would dine with him; and, entering, he reclined. And, the Pharisee, beholding, marvelled that he was not, first, immersed, before the dinner. read more. And the Lord said unto him: Now, ye, the Pharisees, the outside of the cup and of the tray, do make pure; but, your inward part, is full of plunder and wickedness. Simple ones! Did not, he who made the outside, the inside also, make?
But alas for you, the Pharisees! because ye tithe the mint, and the rue, and every garden herb, and pass by justice, and the love of God. But, these things, it was biding to do, and, those, not to pass by. Alas for you, the Pharisees! because ye love the first seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the market-places! read more. Alas for you! because ye are as the secret tombs: even the men that are walking above them, know it not.
And, when, from thence, he came out, the Scribes and the Pharisees began, with vehemence, to be hemming him in, and trying to make him speak off-hand concerning many things, - lying in wait for him, to catch something out of his mouth.
and both the Pharisees and the Scribes were murmuring, saying, This man, unto sinners, giveth welcome, and eateth with them.
Now the Pharisees, who were, lovers of money, were hearing all these things, and were openly sneering at him. And he said unto them - Ye, are they who justify themselves before men, but, God, knoweth your hearts; because, that which amongst men is lofty, is an abomination before God.
And he spake, even unto certain who were confident in themselves that they were righteous, and were despising the rest, this parable: - Two men, went up into the temple to pray, one, a Pharisee, and, the other, a tax-collector. read more. The Pharisee, taking his stand, these things unto himself was praying: O God! I thank thee, that I am not like the rest of men, - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or, even as this tax-collector; I fast twice in the week, I give a tenth of whatsoever things I gain!
I fast twice in the week, I give a tenth of whatsoever things I gain! But, the tax-collector, afar off, standing, - would not so much as lift up, his eyes, unto heaven, but kept smiting his own breast saying - O God! be propitiated unto me, the sinner! read more. I tell you - This one went down justified, unto his house, rather than that one; because, every one who exalteth himself, shall be abased, but, he that abaseth himself, shall be exalted?
who shall in anywise not receive manifold in this season, and, in the age that is coming, life age-abiding.
But, this multitude, that take no note of the law, are, laid under a curse.
And his disciples questioned him, saying - Rabbi! who sinned, this man or his parents, that, blind, he should be born?
They answered and said unto him - In sins, wast, thou, born, altogether; and art, thou, teaching, us? And they cast him out.
Now the High-priests and the Pharisees had given commands, that, if anyone came to know where he was, he should inform them , so that they might seize him.
Nevertheless, however, even from among the rulers, many believed on him; but, because of the Pharisees, they were not confessing him, lest, excommunicants from the synagogue, they should be made;
Judas, therefore, receiving the band, and officers, from among the High-priests and from amongthe Pharisees, cometh thither, with lights and torches and weapons.
Beginning from the immersion by John until the day when he was taken up from us, that, a witness of his resurrection along with us, should one of these become.
The same Jesus, hath God raised up, whereof, all we, are witnesses!
But, as they were speaking unto the people, the High-priests and the Captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
Be it known unto you all, and unto all the people of Israel: that, in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, - whom, ye, crucified, whom, God, raised from among the dead, in him, doth, this man stand by, in your presence, whole.
But the High-priest, arising, and all who were with him, - being the sect of the Sadducees, - were filled with jealousy,
Him, as Princely-leader and Saviour, hath God exalted unto his right hand, - to give repentance unto Israel, and remission of sins.
The same, God raised up on the third day, and gave him to become, manifest,
But there had stood forth some of those who, from the sect of Pharisees, had believed, saying - It is needful to be circumcising them, also to charge them to be keeping the law of Moses.
But Paul, getting to know that, the one part, were Sadducees and, the other, Pharisees, began to cry aloud in the council - Brethren! I, am, a Pharisee, son of Pharisees: - Concerning a hope, even of a rising again of the dead, am I to be judged.
But Paul, getting to know that, the one part, were Sadducees and, the other, Pharisees, began to cry aloud in the council - Brethren! I, am, a Pharisee, son of Pharisees: - Concerning a hope, even of a rising again of the dead, am I to be judged. And, as this he was saying, there arose a dissension of the Pharisees and Sadducees; and rent asunder was the throng.
And, as this he was saying, there arose a dissension of the Pharisees and Sadducees; and rent asunder was the throng. For, Sadducees, say, there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, whereas, Pharisees, confess them both.
For, Sadducees, say, there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, whereas, Pharisees, confess them both. And there arose a great outcry, and certain of the Scribes of the party of the Pharisees, standing up, began to strive, saying - Nothing bad, find we in this man; - but, if a spirit hath spoken unto him, or a messenger --
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, separated unto the glad-message of God -
But, when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me through his favour, was well-pleased
Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch; -
Hastings
A study of the four centuries before Christ supplies a striking illustration of the law that the deepest movements of history advance without the men, who in God's plan are their agents, being clearly aware of what is going on. The answer to the question
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Now, therefore, make confession unto Yahweh God of your fathers, and do his pleasure, - and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.
But, seeing, many of the Pharisees and Sadducees, coming unto his immersion, he said to them, - Broods of vipers! who suggested to you, to be fleeing from the coming wrath?
Then, Jesus spake unto the multitudes and unto his disciples, saying - Upon Moses' seat, have sat down, the Scribes and the Pharisees:
saying - Upon Moses' seat, have sat down, the Scribes and the Pharisees: All things, therefore, whatsoever they tell you, do and observe, - but, according to their works, do ye not, for they, say, and do not, perform. read more. But they bind together heavy burdens, and lay upon men's shoulders, whereas, they, with their finger, are not willing to move them.
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye tithe the mint and the anise and the cummin, - and have dismissed the weightier matters of the law - the justice, the mercy, and the faith; whereas, these, it was binding, to do, and, those, not to, dismiss.
And, this, is the witness of John, when the Jews sent forth unto him, out of Jerusalem, priests and Levites, - that they might question him - Who art, thou?
For, before that certain came from James, with them of the nations, used he to eat; whereas, when they came, he used to withdraw, and keep himself separate, fearing them of the circumcision;
There cannot be Jew or Greek, there cannot be bond or free, there cannot be male and female, for, all ye, are one, in Christ Jesus:
Wherein there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, foreigner, Scythian, bond, free, - but, all things and in all, Christ:
Morish
This name was given to a religious school among the Jews; it is supposed to have been derived from the Hebrew word parash, signifying 'to separate'; it was given to them by others, their chosen name being chasidim, 'pious ones.' Josephus speaks of them as early as the reign of Jonathan (B.C. 161-144). They prided themselves on their superior sanctity of life, devotion to God, and their study of the law. The Pharisee in the parable thanked God that he was 'not as other men.' Lu 18:11. Paul, when before Agrippa, spoke of them as 'the most straitest sect.' The Pharisees included all classes of men, rich and poor: they were numerous, and at times had great influence. In the council before which Paul was arraigned they were well represented. Ac 23:6-9. They were the great advocates of tradition, and were punctilious in paying tithes. In many respects the ritualists of modern days resemble them.
The Lord severely rebuked all their pretensions, and laid bare their wickedness as well as their hypocrisy. It may have been that because of the great laxity of the Jews generally, some at first devoutly sought for greater sanctity. Others, not sincere, may have joined themselves to the sect, and it thus degenerated from its original design, until its moral state became such as was exposed and denounced by the Lord. The very name has become a synonym for bigotry and formalism. Probably such men as Gamaliel, Nicodemus, and Saul were men of a different stamp, though all needed the regenerating power of grace to give them what they professed to seek.
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The Pharisee, taking his stand, these things unto himself was praying: O God! I thank thee, that I am not like the rest of men, - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or, even as this tax-collector;
But Paul, getting to know that, the one part, were Sadducees and, the other, Pharisees, began to cry aloud in the council - Brethren! I, am, a Pharisee, son of Pharisees: - Concerning a hope, even of a rising again of the dead, am I to be judged. And, as this he was saying, there arose a dissension of the Pharisees and Sadducees; and rent asunder was the throng. read more. For, Sadducees, say, there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, whereas, Pharisees, confess them both. And there arose a great outcry, and certain of the Scribes of the party of the Pharisees, standing up, began to strive, saying - Nothing bad, find we in this man; - but, if a spirit hath spoken unto him, or a messenger --
Smith
Phar'isees,
a religious party or school among the Jews at the time of Christ, so called from perishin, the Aramaic form of the Hebrew word perushim, "separated." The chief sects among the Jews were the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes, who may be described respectively as the Formalists, the Freethinkers and the Puritans. A knowledge of the opinions and practices of the Pharisees at the time of Christ is of great importance for entering deeply into the genius of the Christian religion. A cursory perusal of the Gospels is sufficient to show that Christ's teaching was in some respects thoroughly antagonistic to theirs. He denounced them in the bitterest language; see
15/7/type/emb'>Mt 15:7-8; 23/5/type/emb'>23:5,13-14,15,23; Mr 7:6; Lu 11:42-44
and compare
Mr 7:1-5; 11:29; 12:19-20; Lu 6:28,37-42
To understand the Pharisees is by contrast an aid toward understanding the spirit of uncorrupted Christianity.
1. The fundamental principle all of the of the Pharisees, common to them with all orthodox modern Jews, is that by the side of the written law regarded as a summary of the principles and general laws of the Hebrew people there was on oral law to complete and to explain the written law, given to Moses on Mount Sinai and transmitted by him by word of mouth. The first portion of the Talmud, called the Mishna or "second law," contains this oral law. It is a digest of the Jewish traditions and a compendium of the whole ritual law, and it came at length to be esteemed far above the sacred text.
2. While it was the aim of Jesus to call men to the law of God itself as the supreme guide of life, the Pharisees, upon the Pretence of maintaining it intact, multiplied minute precepts and distinctions to such an extent that the whole life of the Israelite was hemmed in and burdened on every side by instructions so numerous and trifling that the law was almost if not wholly lost sight of. These "traditions" as they were called, had long been gradually accumulating. Of the trifling character of these regulations innumerable instances are to be found in the Mishna. Such were their washings before they could eat bread, and the special minuteness with which the forms of this washing were prescribed; their bathing when they returned from the market; their washing of cups, pots, brazen vessels, etc.; their fastings twice in the week,
Lu 18:12
were their tithing;
and such, finally, were those minute and vexatious extensions of the law of the Sabbath, which must have converted God's gracious ordinance of the Sabbath's rest into a burden and a pain.
Mt 12:1-13; Mr 3:1-6; Lu 18:10-17
3. It was a leading aim of the Redeemer to teach men that true piety consisted not in forms, but in substance, not in outward observances, but in an inward spirit. The whole system of Pharisaic piety led to exactly opposite conclusions. The lowliness of piety was, according to the teaching of Jesus, an inseparable concomitant of its reality; but the Pharisees sought mainly to attract the attention and to excite the admiration of men.
6/2/type/emb'>Mt 6:2,6,16; 23:5-6; Lu 14:7
Indeed the whole spirit of their religion was summed up not in confession of sin and in humility, but in a proud self righteousness at variance with any true conception of man's relation to either God or his fellow creatures.
4. With all their pretences to piety they were in reality avaricious, sensual and dissolute.
Mt 23:25; Joh 13:7
They looked with contempt upon every nation but their own.
Lu 10:29
Finally, instead of endeavoring to fulfill the great end of the dispensation whose truths they professed to teach, and thus bringing men to the Hope of Israel, they devoted their energies to making converts to their own narrow views, who with all the zeal of proselytes were more exclusive and more bitterly opposed to the truth than they were themselves.
5. The Pharisees at an early day secured the popular favor and thereby acquired considerable political influence. This influence was greatly increased by the extension of the Pharisees over the whole land and the majority which they obtained in the Sanhedrin. Their number reached more than six thousand under the Herods. Many of them must have suffered death for political agitation. In the time of Christ they were divided doctrinally into several schools, among which those of Hillel and Shammai were most noted. --McClintock and Strong.
6. One of the fundamental doctrines of the Pharisees was a belief in a future state. They appear to have believed in a resurrection of the dead, very much in the same sense: as the early Christians. They also believed in "a divine Providence acting side by side with the free will of man." --Schaff.
7. It is proper to add that it would be a great mistake to suppose that the Pharisees were wealthy and luxurious much more that they had degenerated into the vices which were imputed to some of the Roman popes and cardinals during the two hundred years preceding the Reformation. Josephus compared the Pharisees to the sect of the Stoics. He says that they lived frugally, in no respect giving in to luxury. We are not to suppose that there were not many individuals among them who were upright and pure, for there were such men as Nicodemus, Gamaliel, Joseph of Arimathea and Paul.
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When, therefore, thou mayest be doing an alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, just as, the hypocrites, do in the synagogues and in the streets - that they may be glorified by men, - Verily, I say unto you, they are getting back their reward.
But, thou, when thou wouldest pray, enter into thy closet, and, fastening thy door, pray unto thy Father who is in secret, - and, thy Father who seeth in secret, will reward thee.
And, when ye may he fasting, become not ye, as the hypocrites, of sullen countenance, - for they darken their looks, that they may appear, unto men, to be fasting: Verily, I say unto you, they are getting back their reward.
In that season, went Jesus, on, the sabbath, through the cornfields, - and, his disciples, hungered, and began to pluck ears of corn, and to eat. But, the Pharisees, observing it, said unto him, Lo! thy disciples, are doing what is not allowed to do, on sabbath. read more. And he said unto them, have ye never read what, David, did, when he hungered, and they who were with him? how he entered into the house of God and, the presence-bread, did eat, which it was not, allowable, for him to eat, nor for them who were with him, - save for the priests, alone? Or have ye not read, in the law, that, on the sabbaths, the priests, in the temple, the sabbath, profane, and are, blameless? But I say unto you, - Something greater than the Temple, is here! If, however, ye had known what this meaneth - Mercy, I desire, and not, sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the blameless; For, the Son of Man, is, Lord of the Sabbath. And, passing on from thence, he came into their synagogue; and lo! a man having, a withered hand, and they questioned him, saying, Is it allowable, on the sabbath, to heal? that they might accuse him. And said unto them, What man, from among yourselves, shall there be, - Who shall have one sheep, and, if this should fall, on the sabbath, into a pit, will not lay hold of it, and raise it? How much better, then, a man, than, a sheep? So that it is allowable, on the sabbath, nobly, to act. Then saith he unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand! And he stretched it forth, - and it was restored, whole, as the other.
Hypocrites! well prophesied concerning you, Isaiah, saying - This people, with the lips, do, honour, me, while, their heart, far off, holdeth from me;
Then, went the Pharisees and took, counsel, that they might ensnare him, in discourse.
But, all their works, they do, to be gazed at, by men, - for they make broad their amulets, and make large their fringes,
But, all their works, they do, to be gazed at, by men, - for they make broad their amulets, and make large their fringes, And dearly love the first couch in the chief meals, and the first seats in the synagogues,
But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye are locking up the kingdom of the heavens before men, - for, ye, are not entering, neither, them who are entering, suffer ye to enter. Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because ye compass sea and dry land, to make one convert - and, when it is done, ye make him a son of gehenna, twofold more than ye.
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye tithe the mint and the anise and the cummin, - and have dismissed the weightier matters of the law - the justice, the mercy, and the faith; whereas, these, it was binding, to do, and, those, not to, dismiss.
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye tithe the mint and the anise and the cummin, - and have dismissed the weightier matters of the law - the justice, the mercy, and the faith; whereas, these, it was binding, to do, and, those, not to, dismiss.
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, - while, within, they are full of plunder and intemperance.
And he entered again into a synagogue, and there-was there, a man having, his hand, withered; and they were narrowly watching him, whether, on the Sabbath, he would cure him, that they might accuse him. read more. And he saith unto the man who hath his hand withered, Arise into the midst! and saith unto them - Is it allowed, on the Sabbath, to do good, or to do evil? To, save, life, or, to slay? but they remained silent. And, looking round upon them with anger, being at the same time grieved on account of the hardening of their heart, he saith unto the man - Stretch forth thy hand! and he stretched it forth, and his hand, was restored. And, the Pharisees, going out straightway with the Herodians, were giving counsel against him, that they should, destroy, him.
And the Pharisees and certain of the Scribes who have come from Jerusalem gather themselves together unto him; and, observing certain of his disciples, that, with defiled hands, that is unwashed, they are eating bread, - - read more. For, the Pharisees, and all the Jews, unless with care they wash their hands, eat not, holding fast the tradition of the elders; and coming from market, unless they sprinkle themselves, they eat not, - and, many other things, there are, which they have accepted to hold fast - immersions of cups and measures and copper vessels - - and so the Pharisees and the Scribes, question, him - For what cause do thy disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but, with defiled hands, eat bread? But, he, said unto them - Well, prophesied Isaiah concerning you, ye hypocrites, as it is written - This people, with the lips do honour me, while, their heart, far off, holdeth from me, -
But, Jesus, said unto them - I will question you, as to one matter, and answer me, - and I will tell you, by what authority, these things, I am doing:
Teacher! Moses, wrote for us, that - If one's brother die, and leave behind a wife, and leave no child, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Seven brethren, there were: and, the first, took a wife, and, dying, left no seed, -
Be blessing them that curse you; be praying for them that wantonly insult you.
And do not judge, and in nowise shall ye be judged; and do not condemn, and in nowise shall ye be condemned; release, and ye shall be released; Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will they give into your lap; for, with what measure ye mete, shall it be measured back unto you. read more. He spake, moreover, a parable also, unto them: Can, the blind, guide, the blind? will not, both, fall into, a ditch? A disciple is not above the teacher; but, when trained, every one shall be as his teacher. But why beholdest thou the mote that is in the eye of thy brother, while, the beam that is in thine own eye, thou dost not consider? How canst thou say to thy brother - Brother! let me cast out the mote that is in thine eye, - thyself, the beam in thine own eye, not beholding? Hypocrite! cast out, first, the beam out of thine own eye, and, then, shalt thou see clearly, to cast out, the mote that is in the eye of thy brother.
But, he, wishing to justify himself, said unto Jesus - And, who is, my, neighbour?
But alas for you, the Pharisees! because ye tithe the mint, and the rue, and every garden herb, and pass by justice, and the love of God. But, these things, it was biding to do, and, those, not to pass by. Alas for you, the Pharisees! because ye love the first seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the market-places! read more. Alas for you! because ye are as the secret tombs: even the men that are walking above them, know it not.
And he went on to speak, unto the invited, a parable, - observing how, the first couches, they were choosing; saying unto them -
Two men, went up into the temple to pray, one, a Pharisee, and, the other, a tax-collector. The Pharisee, taking his stand, these things unto himself was praying: O God! I thank thee, that I am not like the rest of men, - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or, even as this tax-collector; read more. I fast twice in the week, I give a tenth of whatsoever things I gain!
I fast twice in the week, I give a tenth of whatsoever things I gain! But, the tax-collector, afar off, standing, - would not so much as lift up, his eyes, unto heaven, but kept smiting his own breast saying - O God! be propitiated unto me, the sinner! read more. I tell you - This one went down justified, unto his house, rather than that one; because, every one who exalteth himself, shall be abased, but, he that abaseth himself, shall be exalted? And they were bringing unto him, even the babes, that he might touch, them; but the disciples, seeing it, began to rebuke them. But, Jesus, called them near, saying - Suffer, the children, to be coming unto me, and do not hinder them; for, of such, is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you - Whosoever shall not welcome the kingdom of God, as a child, in nowise shall enter thereinto.
Jesus answered, and said unto him - What, I, am doing, thou, knowest not, as yet; howbeit, thou shalt got to know, hereafter.
Watsons
PHARISEES, a sect of the Jews. The earliest mention of them is by Josephus, who tells us that they were a sect of considerable weight when John Hyrcanus was high priest, B.C. 108. They were the most numerous, distinguished, and popular sect among the Jews; the time when they first appeared is not known, but it is supposed to have been not long after the institution of the Sadducees, if, indeed, the two sects did not gradually spring up together. They derived their name from the Hebrew word pharash, which signifies "separated," or "set apart;" because they separated themselves from the rest of the Jews to superior strictness in religious observances. They boasted that, from their accurate knowledge of religion, they were the favourites of Heaven; and thus, trusting in themselves that they were righteous, despised others, Lu 11:52;
18:9, 11. Among the tenets inculcated by this sect, we may enumerate the following: namely, they ascribed all things to fate or providence; yet not so absolutely as to take away the free will of man; for fate does not cooperate in every action, Ac 5:38-39. They also believed in the existence of angels and spirits, and in the resurrection of the dead; Ac 23:8. Lastly: the Pharisees contended that God stood engaged to bless the Jews, to make them all partakers of the terrestrial kingdom of the Messiah, to justify them, and make them eternally happy. The cause of their justification they derived from the merits of Abraham, from their knowledge of God, from their practising the right of circumcision, and from the sacrifices they offered. And as they conceived works to be meritorious, they had invented a great number of supererogatory ones, to which they attached greater merit than to the observance of the law itself. To this notion St. Paul has some allusions in those parts of his Epistle to the Romans, in which he combats the erroneous suppositions of the Jews, Romans 1-11.
The Pharisees were the strictest of the three principal sects that divided the Jewish nation, Ac 26:5, and affected a singular probity of manners according to their system; which, however, was, for the most part, both lax and corrupt. Thus many things which Moses had tolerated in civil life, in order to avoid a greater evil, the Pharisees determined to be morally right: for instance, the law of divorce from a wife for any cause, Mt 5:31, &c; 19:3-12. (See Divorce.) Farther: they interpreted certain of the Mosaic laws most literally, and distorted their meaning so as to favour their own selfish system. Thus, the law of loving their neighbour, they expounded solely of the love of their friends, that is, of the whole Jewish race; all other persons being considered by them as natural enemies, whom they were in no respect bound to assist, Mt 5:43; Lu 10:31-33. They also trifled with oaths. Dr. Lightfoot has cited a striking illustration of this from Maimonides. An oath, in which the name of God was not distinctly specified, they taught was not binding, Mt 5:33; maintaining that a man might even swear with his lips, and at the same time annul it in his heart! And yet so rigorously did they understand the command of observing the Sabbath day, that they accounted it unlawful to pluck ears of corn, and heal the sick, &c, Mt 12; Lu 6:6, &c; 14. Many moral rules they accounted inferior to the ceremonial laws, to the total neglect of mercy and fidelity, Mt 5:19; 15:4; 23:23. Hence they accounted causeless anger and impure desires as trifles of no moment, Mt 5:21-22,27-30; they compassed sea and land to make proselytes to the Jewish religion from among the Gentiles, that they might rule over their consciences and wealth; and these proselytes, through the influence of their own scandalous examples and characters, they soon rendered more profligate and abandoned than ever they were before their conversion, Mt 23:15. Esteeming temporal happiness and riches as the highest good, they scrupled not to accumulate wealth by every means, legal or illegal, Mt 5:1-12; 23:5; Lu 16:14; Jas 2:1-8; vain and ambitious of popular applause, they offered up long prayers in public places, but not without self-complacency in their own holiness, Mt 6:2-5; Lu 18:11; under a sanctimonious appearance of respect for the memories of the prophets whom their ancestors had slain, they repaired and beautified their sepulchres, Mt 23:29; and such was their idea of their own sanctity, that they thought themselves defiled if they but touched or conversed with sinners, that is, with publicans or tax-gatherers, and persons of loose and irregular lives, Lu 7:39; 15:1.
But, above all their other tenets, the Pharisees were conspicuous for their reverential observance of the traditions or decrees of the elders: these traditions, they pretended, had been handed down from Moses through every generation, but were not committed to writing; and they were not merely considered as of equal authority with the divine law, but even preferable to it. "The words of the scribes," said they, "are lovely above the words of the law; for the words of the law are weighty and light, but the words of the scribes are all weighty." Among the traditions thus sanctimoniously observed by the Pharisees, we may briefly notice the following: the washing of hands up to the wrist before and after meat, Mt 15:2; Mr 7:3; which they accounted not merely a religious duty, but considered its omission as a crime equal to fornication, and punishable by excommunication: the purification of the cups, vessels, and couches used at their meals by ablutions or washings, Mr 7:4; for which purpose the six large water pots mentioned by St. Joh 2:6, were destined: their fasting twice a week with great appearance of austerity, Lu 18:12; Mt 6:16; thus converting that exercise into religion which is only a help toward the performance of its hallowed duties: their punctilious payment of tithes, (temple-offerings,) even of the most trifling things, Lu 18:12; Mt 23:23. And their wearing broader phylacteries and larger fringes to their garments than the rest of the Jews, Mt 23:5. See PHYLACTERIES.
With all their pretensions to piety, the Pharisees entertained the most sovereign contempt for the people; whom, being ignorant of the law, they pronounced to be accursed, Joh 7:49. Yet such was the esteem and veneration in which they were held by the populace, that they may almost be said to have given what direction they pleased to public affairs; and hence the great men dreaded their power and authority. It is unquestionable, as Mosheim has well remarked, that the religion of the Pharisees was, for the most part, founded in consummate hypocrisy; and that, at the bottom, they were generally the slaves of every vicious appetite, proud, arrogant, and avaricious, consulting only the gratification of their lusts, even at the very moment when they professed themselves to be engaged in the service of their Maker. These odious features in the character of the Pharisees caused them to be reprehended by our Saviour with the utmost severity, even more so than the Sadducees; who, although they had departed widely from the genuine principles of religion, yet did not impose on mankind by a pretended sanctity, or devote themselves with insatiate greediness to the acquisition of honours and riches. A few, and a few only, of the sect of the Pharisees, in those times, might be of better character,
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But, seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, - and, when he had taken a seat, his disciples came unto him; and, opening his mouth, he began teaching them, saying: - read more. Happy, the destitute, in spirit; for, theirs, is the kingdom of the heavens; Happy, they who mourn; for, they, shall be comforted: Happy, the meek; for, they, shall inherit the earth: Happy, they who hunger and thirst for righteousness; for, they, shall be filled: Happy, the merciful; for, they, shall receive mercy: Happy, the pure, in heart; for, they, shall, see God: Happy, the peacemakers; for, they, shall be, called sons of God: Happy, they who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake; for, theirs, is the kingdom of the heavens. Happy, are ye, whensoever they may reproach you and persecute you, and say every evil thing against you, falsely, for my sake: Rejoice and exult, because, your reward, is great in the heavens; for, so, persecuted they the prophets who were before you.
Whosoever, therefore, shall relax one of these commandments, the least, and teach men so, shall be called, least, in the kingdom of the heavens; but, whosoever shall do and teach, the same, shall be called, great, in the kingdom of the heavens.
Ye have heard, that it was said, to them of olden time, - Thou shalt not commit murder, and, whosoever shall commit murder, shall be, liable, to judgment. But, I, say unto you, that, every one who is angry with his brother, shall be, liable, to judgment, - and, whosoever shall say to his brother, Worthless one!, shall be, liable, to the high council; and, whosoever shall say, Rebel!, shall be, liable, unto the fiery gehenna.
Ye have heard, that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But, I, say unto you, that, Every one who looketh on a woman so as to covet her, already, hath committed adultery with her, in his heart. read more. And, if, thy right eye, is causing thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee, - for it profiteth thee, that, one of thy members, should perish, and not, thy whole body, be cast into gehenna. And, if, thy right hand, is causing thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee, - for it profiteth thee, that, one of thy members, should perish, and not, thy whole body, into gehenna, depart. It was said, moreover, Whosoever shall divorce his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement;
Again, ye have heard that it was said, to them of olden time, Thou shalt not swear falsely, - but shalt render unto the Lord, thine oaths.
Ye have heard, that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
When, therefore, thou mayest be doing an alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, just as, the hypocrites, do in the synagogues and in the streets - that they may be glorified by men, - Verily, I say unto you, they are getting back their reward. But, thou, when doing an alms, let not, thy left hand, know what thy right hand is doing; read more. that thine alms may be in secret, - and, thy Father, who seeth in secret, will give it back to thee. And, when ye may be praying, ye shall not be as the hypocrites, because they love, in the synagogues, and at the corners of the broad ways, to take their stand and pray, that they may shine before men; Verily, I say unto you, they are getting back their reward.
And, when ye may he fasting, become not ye, as the hypocrites, of sullen countenance, - for they darken their looks, that they may appear, unto men, to be fasting: Verily, I say unto you, they are getting back their reward.
Wherefore do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands, when they eat bread!
For, God, said - Honour thy father and thy mother, and - He that revileth father or mother, let him, surely die!
But, all their works, they do, to be gazed at, by men, - for they make broad their amulets, and make large their fringes,
But, all their works, they do, to be gazed at, by men, - for they make broad their amulets, and make large their fringes,
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because ye compass sea and dry land, to make one convert - and, when it is done, ye make him a son of gehenna, twofold more than ye.
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye tithe the mint and the anise and the cummin, - and have dismissed the weightier matters of the law - the justice, the mercy, and the faith; whereas, these, it was binding, to do, and, those, not to, dismiss.
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye tithe the mint and the anise and the cummin, - and have dismissed the weightier matters of the law - the justice, the mercy, and the faith; whereas, these, it was binding, to do, and, those, not to, dismiss.
Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
For, the Pharisees, and all the Jews, unless with care they wash their hands, eat not, holding fast the tradition of the elders; and coming from market, unless they sprinkle themselves, they eat not, - and, many other things, there are, which they have accepted to hold fast - immersions of cups and measures and copper vessels - -
And it came to pass, on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue, and was teaching, and there was a man there, and, his right hand, was withered.
But the Pharisee who had invited him, seeing it, spake within himself, saying, This one, if he were the prophet, would have been taking note, who and of what sort, is the woman, who is even touching him, that she is, a sinner.
And, by chance, a certain priest, was coming down by that road, and, seeing him, passed by, on the opposite side. And, in like manner, a Levite also, coming down to the place, and seeing him, passed by, on the opposite side. read more. But, a certain Samaritan, going on his journey, came down to him, and, seeing him, was moved with compassion;
Alas for you, the lawyers! because ye took away the key of knowledge: yourselves, entered not, and, them who were entering, ye hindered.
But all the tax-collectors and the sinners were, unto him, drawing near, to be hearkening unto him;
Now the Pharisees, who were, lovers of money, were hearing all these things, and were openly sneering at him.
And he spake, even unto certain who were confident in themselves that they were righteous, and were despising the rest, this parable: -
The Pharisee, taking his stand, these things unto himself was praying: O God! I thank thee, that I am not like the rest of men, - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or, even as this tax-collector;
The Pharisee, taking his stand, these things unto himself was praying: O God! I thank thee, that I am not like the rest of men, - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or, even as this tax-collector; I fast twice in the week, I give a tenth of whatsoever things I gain!
I fast twice in the week, I give a tenth of whatsoever things I gain!
Now there were there, six stone water-vessels, placed, according to the purification of the Jews; holding each, two or three measures.
But, this multitude, that take no note of the law, are, laid under a curse.
Now, therefore, I say unto you - stand aloof from these men, and let them alone; because if, of men, be this project or this work, it will be overthrown, - But, if it is, of God, ye will not be able to overthrow them: lest once, even fighters against God, ye be found.
For, Sadducees, say, there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, whereas, Pharisees, confess them both.
inasmuch as they were aforetime observing me, from the outset, - if they please to bear witness, - that, according to the strictest sect of our own religion, I lived, a Pharisee.
My brethren, do not, with respect for persons, be holding the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For, if there enter into your synagogue a man wearing gold rings in gay clothing, and there enter a destitute man also, in soiled clothing, - read more. And ye eye him that hath on the gay clothing, and say, Thou, be sitting here, pleasantly, - and, unto the destitute man, say - Thou, stand, or sit there under my footstool, Would ye not have been led to make distinctions among yourselves, and have become judges with wicked reasonings? Hearken! my brethren beloved: - Hath not, God, chosen the destitute in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? Whereas, ye, have dishonoured the destitute man! Do not, the rich, oppress you? and, themselves, drag you into courts of justice? Do not, they, defame the noble name which hath been invoked upon you? If ye are, indeed, fulfilling, a royal law, according to the scripture - Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, nobly, are ye doing;