Reference: Pharisees
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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 also said, "Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of separation.
"You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."
"And whatever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and streets, in order that men may praise them. In solemn truth I tell you they already have their reward in full.
"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the corners of the avenues, in order that men may see them. In solemn truth I tell you that they have their reward in full.
"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the corners of the avenues, in order that men may see them. In solemn truth I tell you that they have their reward in full.
When the Pharisees saw it, they kept saying to his disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with the tax-gatherers and sinners?"
But the Pharisees, when they perceived it, said to him. "Look! Your disciples are doing what it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"
The man stretched it out, and it had become sound like the other. But when the Pharisees came out, they consulted together how they might destroy him.
Presently some of the Pharisees came up to him, and made test of him by asking, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for every cause?"
"For they do all their good deeds to be gazed on of men. They widen their phylacteries,
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cummin, and neglect the weightier matters of the Law??ustice and mercy and good faith; these latter you ought to have done, and not to have left the former undone.
When it was eventide, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Josephus, who was himself a disciple of Jesus.
and when they come from the market-place they do not eat without bathing first. and they have many other customs which they have received and observe, such as the washing of cups and jugs and copper pans.
Now there was in Jerusalem a man whose name was Simeon. He was righteous and devout, and was waiting for the consolation of Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him.
Now the Pharisees who loved money listened to all this and they jeered at him.
Moreover he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves because they were righteous, and looked down upon the rest.
"'I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all my possessions.'
Now there was one of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler among the Jews.
"Has any one of the rulers believed on him, or of the Pharisees? "As for this mob who do not understand the Law, they are accursed!"
When they heard that, they went out one by one, beginning with the eldest. And Jesus was left behind alone??nd the woman in the middle of the court.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit; the Pharisees affirm them all.
"They know me of old, if they are willing to testify, how that according to the strict sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee.
and how in my zeal for Judaism I outstripped many of my own age and nation, in my special zeal for the traditions of my forefathers.
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/mnt'>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 when John saw that many of the Pharisees and Sadducees were coming for baptism, he said: "O brood of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
"For I assure you that unless your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not find entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
When the Pharisees saw it, they kept saying to his disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with the tax-gatherers and sinners?"
At that time the disciples of John came and asked him, "Why are we and the Pharisees always fasting, while your disciples are not?"
In reply Jesus told them. "An evil and faithless generation seeks a sign, and no sign will be given them except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
"For God said, Honor your father and mother, and, Let him who reviles father or mother be put to death;
This is a people that honors me with their lips, But their heart is far from me.
Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came to him, and in order to test him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. In answer he said: "In the evening you say, 'It will be fine weather, for the sky is red as fire'; read more. and at dawn you say, 'It will storm today, for the sky is red and lowering.' You know how to discern the look of the sky, but the signs of the times you cannot read. A wicked and faithless generation is seeking a sign, but no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonah." So he left them and went away.
"therefore do and observe whatever they bid you; but do not do as they do, for they preach, but do not practise.
OMITTED TEXT. "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you scour sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is gained, you make him twofold more a son of hell than you are, yourselves.
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cummin, and neglect the weightier matters of the Law??ustice and mercy and good faith; these latter you ought to have done, and not to have left the former undone.
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but within they are filled with extortion and excess.
When he noticed this the Pharisee, who had invited him, said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet he would have perceived who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, and would know that she is a sinner."
but the Lord said to him. "You Pharisee do cleanse the outside of your cup or plate, but your secret heart is full of extortion and wickedness.
"The Pharisee stood apart and thus began to pray by himself. "'O God, I thank thee that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax gatherer; "'I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all my possessions.'
"'I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all my possessions.'
"Has any one of the rulers believed on him, or of the Pharisees?
But Jesus stooped down, and began to write on the ground with his finger. When they continued to question him, he raised himself and said to them, "Let the innocent man among you be the first to throw the stone at her."
Then perceiving that half the Sanhedrin were Sadducees and the other half Pharisee, he cried out in the Sanhedrin. "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees! It is for the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!" When he said this, there arose a quarrel between the Pharisees and Sadducees; the meeting was divided. read more. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit; the Pharisees affirm them all.
"The kind of life I have lived from my youth upward among my own nation and at Jerusalem, all that early life of mine, is well known to all the Jews. "They know me of old, if they are willing to testify, how that according to the strict sect of our 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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"You have heard that it was said to the ancients, "Thou shall not commit murder, and "He who commits murder shall be liable to condemnation by the court; but I say to you that he who becomes angry with his brother shall be liable to condemnation by the court; and he who says to his brother 'Raca,' shall be liable to condemnation by the Sanhedrin, while he who curses his brother shall be liable to the Gehenna of Fire.
"You have heard that it was said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery.
"It was also said, "Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of separation. But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress, and whoever marries her when so divorced, commits adultery.
"You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
"For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, inquiring what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, inquiring what you shall wear. Is not your life more than its food, and your body than its clothing? "Behold! the birds in the sky! They neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them; and are not you worth more than they? read more. "Which one of you by being anxious is able to add even one cubit to his stature? "Why be anxious then about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin. "But I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was robed like one of these. "If God then so clothes the grass of the field, which blooms today, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? "Then do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'" "For all these are things that the Gentiles are eagerly seeking; for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of them all. "But continue to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. "Do not then be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own anxieties. Enough for each day are its own troubles."
When the Pharisees saw it, they kept saying to his disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with the tax-gatherers and sinners?"
"Are not two sparrows sold for a half-penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your father. "The very hairs on your head are all numbered.
"This man is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead. That is why miraculous powers are working through him."
Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, saying. This is a people that honors me with their lips, But their heart is far from me.
"Listen, and pay attention. It is not what goes into a man's mouth that defiles him, but what comes out of it, that defiles the man."
"The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat; "therefore do and observe whatever they bid you; but do not do as they do, for they preach, but do not practise.
"For they do all their good deeds to be gazed on of men. They widen their phylacteries,
"But woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces; for you do not enter, yourselves, nor do you permit those who are about to come in, to enter. OMITTED TEXT. read more. "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you scour sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is gained, you make him twofold more a son of hell than you are, yourselves.
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you scour sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is gained, you make him twofold more a son of hell than you are, yourselves. "Woe unto you, blind guides, who say, If any one swears by the Sanctuary, it is nothing, but if any one swears by the gold of the Sanctuary, the oath is binding. read more. "You fools and blind; for which is greater, the gold, or the Sanctuary which hallows the gold? "You say, too, that whoever swears by the offering that is upon it, his oath is binding. "You blind! Which is greater, the offering or the altar which hallows the offering? "He then, who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; "and he who swears by the Sanctuary swears by it and by Him who dwells therein; "and he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits thereon. "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cummin, and neglect the weightier matters of the Law??ustice and mercy and good faith; these latter you ought to have done, and not to have left the former undone.
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cummin, and neglect the weightier matters of the Law??ustice and mercy and good faith; these latter you ought to have done, and not to have left the former undone. "You blind guides! who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! read more. "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but within they are filled with extortion and excess. "You blind Pharisees, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside of it may be clean also. "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like white-washed sepulchers. They look beautiful without, but within they are filled with dead men's bones and all rottenness. "Just so you also outwardly appear to men, just, but within you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You rebuild the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, "'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their comrades in the murder of the prophets.' "So you bear witness against yourselves, that you are the descendants of those who slew the prophets! "Fill up then the measure of your fathers! "You serpents! You vipers brood! How shall you escape the judgment of hell?
"Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, hypocrites," he answered. "As it is written, 'This people honor me with their lips, While their hearts are far from me; But in vain do they worship me, For their teaching is only human precepts.'" read more. "You neglect the commandment of God, and hold fast the traditions of men."
"You neglect the commandment of God, and hold fast the traditions of men." "It is praiseworthy, is it," he exclaimed, "to reject the command of God that you may keep your tradition! read more. For although Moses said, Honor your father and mother, and Let him who curses father or mother suffer death, you say that if a man tells his father or mother, 'This money which otherwise you would have received from me, is Korban' (that is, a thing devoted to God), you exempt him from doing any service for his father or mother. Thus by your tradition which you have handed down you set at naught the word of God; and you do many other things like that."
This order they faithfully kept, questioning among themselves what "rising again from the dead" meant.
but shall receive a hundred times as much, now in this present world, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, lands??nd persecutions with them??nd in the world to come eternal life.
One of the Pharisees kept urging him to dine, so he entered the house and reclined at table. Now there was a woman who was in the city, a sinner and when she knew that that Jesus was reclining at meat in the Pharisees house, she brought an alabaster vase of perfume, read more. and standing behind, at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and to wipe them with her hair, while she tenderly kissed his feet, and poured the perfume over them. When he noticed this the Pharisee, who had invited him, said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet he would have perceived who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, and would know that she is a sinner." Jesus then spoke to him. "Simon, I have a word to say to you." "Rabbi, say on," he replied. "There were once to men," said Jesus, "in debt to one money-lender. One owed him fifty pounds; the other five. "When they had nothing pay he forgave them with such charm. "Tell me, then, which of these will love him most?" "I take it," said Simon, "the one he forgave the most." "You have rightly judged." answered Jesus, and turning to the woman, he said to Simon. "Do you see this woman? When I came into your house you gave me no water for my feet; but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. "You gave me no kiss; but she, since she came in, has never ceased tenderly kissing my feet; "you never anointed my head with oil; but she has anointed my feet with my feet with perfume. "This is why I tell you that her sins, many as they are, are forgiven, for her love is great; but he who is forgiven little, loves but little. "Your sins are forgiven," he said to her. Then the other guest began to say among themselves, "Who is this even to forgive sins?" But he said to the woman. "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
"You must love the Lord your God," he answered, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." "You have answered right," said Jesus "do that and you shall live." read more. But he, determined to justify himself, said to Jesus, "But who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered.
When he had finished speaking a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he went in with him and reclined. And the Pharisee noticed, to his amazement, that he did not wash his hands before eating, read more. but the Lord said to him. "You Pharisee do cleanse the outside of your cup or plate, but your secret heart is full of extortion and wickedness. "Foolish men! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?
"But woe unto you Pharisee! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and disregard justice and the love of God; but these you ought to have done, and not leave the other undone. "Woe unto you Pharisee! for you delight in the best seats in the synagogue, and in the salutation in the market-places. read more. "Woe unto you! for you are like the tombs which are hidden, and men walk over them unsuspecting."
After he had gone away, the Scribes and the Pharisee began to set themselves vehemently against him, and to cross-question him upon many points, laying in wait for him, in order to catch a word from his lips.
And the Pharisees and Scribes began to complain, saying, "He is welcoming sinners and eating with them!"
Now the Pharisees who loved money listened to all this and they jeered at him. He said to them. "You are those that justify themselves in the eyes of men; but God knows you hearts; for that which is lofty in the eyes of men is abomination in the eyes of God.
Moreover he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves because they were righteous, and looked down upon the rest. "Two men are going up to the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, the other a tax-gatherer. read more. "The Pharisee stood apart and thus began to pray by himself. "'O God, I thank thee that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax gatherer; "'I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all my possessions.'
"'I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all my possessions.' "But the tax-gatherer, standing far back, would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but kept beating his breast and saying, "'O God be merciful to me, the sinner!' read more. "I tell you that this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself shall be humbled; but he who humbles himself shall be exalted."
"who shall not certainly receive many times as much in this time, and in the age to come eternal."
"As for this mob who do not understand the Law, they are accursed!"
"Rabbi," his disciples asked him, "who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
They answered, "You were wholly born in sins, and do you teach us?" Then they cast him out.
Now the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if any one knew where he was. he should give information, so that they might arrest him.
Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed on him, but did not confess in on account of the Pharisees, for fear lest they be put out of the Synagogue.
So after getting troops and some Temple police from the chief priests and Pharisees, Judas came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
from his baptism by John down to the day on which he was taken up from us, one should join us a witness to his resurrection."
This Jesus God has raised up, of this we are all witnesses.
While they were addressing the people the priests, the commander of the Temple, and the Sadducees came upon them,
"be it known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in him does this man stand before you strong and well.
This aroused bitter indignation among the high priest and his followers who were of the sect of the Sadducees,
"Him God has exalted at his right hand as Prince and Saviour, to give Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.
"But him God raised up on the third day, and permitted him to be made manifest,
But certain men who had belonged to the sect of the Pharisees, but were now believers, stood up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise Gentile, and to order them to keep the Law of Moses."
Then perceiving that half the Sanhedrin were Sadducees and the other half Pharisee, he cried out in the Sanhedrin. "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees! It is for the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!"
Then perceiving that half the Sanhedrin were Sadducees and the other half Pharisee, he cried out in the Sanhedrin. "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees! It is for the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!" When he said this, there arose a quarrel between the Pharisees and Sadducees; the meeting was divided.
When he said this, there arose a quarrel between the Pharisees and Sadducees; the meeting was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit; the Pharisees affirm them all.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit; the Pharisees affirm them all. Then a great clamor arose; some of the scribes who belonged to the Pharisaic party stood up, and contended. "We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?"
From Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for a gospel of God,
But when God who had set me apart from my very birth,
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
See Verses Found in Dictionary
But when John saw that many of the Pharisees and Sadducees were coming for baptism, he said: "O brood of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples. "The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat;
"The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat; "therefore do and observe whatever they bid you; but do not do as they do, for they preach, but do not practise. read more. "For they bind heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger to move them.
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cummin, and neglect the weightier matters of the Law??ustice and mercy and good faith; these latter you ought to have done, and not to have left the former undone.
Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent some priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
For until certain men came from James he used to eat with the Gentile Christians, but when they came, he began to draw back and to separate himself, because he was afraid of the circumcision party.
In him there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
In it that new creation there is no "Greek and Jew," "circumcised and uncircumcised," "barbarian," "Scythian," "slave," "free man," but Christ is all, and in us all.
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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
"The Pharisee stood apart and thus began to pray by himself. "'O God, I thank thee that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax gatherer;
Then perceiving that half the Sanhedrin were Sadducees and the other half Pharisee, he cried out in the Sanhedrin. "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees! It is for the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!" When he said this, there arose a quarrel between the Pharisees and Sadducees; the meeting was divided. read more. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit; the Pharisees affirm them all. Then a great clamor arose; some of the scribes who belonged to the Pharisaic party stood up, and contended. "We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?"
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/mnt'>Mt 15:7-8; 23/5/type/mnt'>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/mnt'>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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
"And whatever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and streets, in order that men may praise them. In solemn truth I tell you they already have their reward in full.
"But you, when you pray, go into your own room and shut your door; pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
"When you fast, do not look downcast like the hypocrites; for they disfigure their faces so that it may be apparent to men that they are fasting. In solemn truth I tell you, they already have received their reward.
At that time Jesus walked through the wheat fields one Sabbath Day; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck some ears of wheat and to eat them. But the Pharisees, when they perceived it, said to him. "Look! Your disciples are doing what it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!" read more. "Have you not read," answered Jesus, "what David did when he was hungry, and his men, too? "How he went into the House of God, and there they ate the loaves of the Presence, which neither he nor his men were permitted to eat, but the priests only? "Have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the Temple break the Sabbath and are guiltless? "But I tell you that One is here who is greater than the temple. "And if you knew what this means, "It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice, "you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath." As he passed along he went into their synagogue, and there he saw a man with a withered hand. And in order to get a charge against him they asked him, "Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?" (So that they might have something to accuse him.) "Is there a man of you," he replied, "who has but a single sheep, who will not lay hold of it and lift it out, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath Day? "And how much more is a man worth than a sheep? Therefore it is right to do good on the Sabbath." Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, saying. This is a people that honors me with their lips, But their heart is far from me.
Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might ensnare him during conversation.
"For they do all their good deeds to be gazed on of men. They widen their phylacteries,
"For they do all their good deeds to be gazed on of men. They widen their phylacteries, "and lengthen the tassels, and are fond of the best places at banquets, and the front seats in the synagogues.
"But woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces; for you do not enter, yourselves, nor do you permit those who are about to come in, to enter. OMITTED TEXT. read more. "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you scour sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is gained, you make him twofold more a son of hell than you are, yourselves.
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cummin, and neglect the weightier matters of the Law??ustice and mercy and good faith; these latter you ought to have done, and not to have left the former undone.
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cummin, and neglect the weightier matters of the Law??ustice and mercy and good faith; these latter you ought to have done, and not to have left the former undone.
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but within they are filled with extortion and excess.
Again he went into a synagogue where there was a man with his hand withered. And they kept watching Jesus to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath; so as to have some charge to bring against him. read more. "Stand up," Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, "and come forward." Then he asked them. "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath Day, or to do harm? to save a life, or to destroy it?" They were silent. Then looking around upon them with anger, and deeply grieved by the hardening of their hearts, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!" He stretched it out, and the hand was at once completely restored. As soon as they came out, the Pharisees plotted against him with the Herodians, in order to destroy him.
One day the Pharisees came to him in a body with some Scribes who had come from Jerusalem. They had noticed that some of his disciples were eating with "common," that is to say, unwashed hands. read more. For the Pharisees and all of the Jews do not eat until they have ceremoniously washed their hands in obedience to the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market-place they do not eat without bathing first. and they have many other customs which they have received and observe, such as the washing of cups and jugs and copper pans. So the Pharisees and Scribes asked him. "Why do your disciples not follow the traditions of the elders? Why do they eat with 'common' unwashed hands?" "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, hypocrites," he answered. "As it is written, 'This people honor me with their lips, While their hearts are far from me;
"And I will put one question to you," replied Jesus. "Answer this, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
"Teacher, Moses taught us that if a man's brother die, and leave a wife behind him, but no child, that his brother is to marry the widow and to raise up a family for his brother. There were once seven brothers, the eldest of whom married a wife, and died leaving no family.
Bless those who curse you, pray for those who calumniate you.
"Do not judge, and you shall not be judged; Do not condemn, and you shall not be condemned; "Pardon, and you shall be pardoned; Give, and gifts shall be given to you; Full measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they shall pour into your bosom. For with what measure you measure, they will measure back to you." read more. He also told them a parable. "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? "There is no disciple who is above his master; But every one when he is completely trained will be like his master. "And why do you look at the splinter that is in your brother's eye, but never consider the beam that is in your own eye? "Or how can you say to your brother. "Brother, allow me to pull that splinter out of your eye," when you do not see the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite! Take out first the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the splinter from your brother's eye.
But he, determined to justify himself, said to Jesus, "But who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered.
"But woe unto you Pharisee! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and disregard justice and the love of God; but these you ought to have done, and not leave the other undone. "Woe unto you Pharisee! for you delight in the best seats in the synagogue, and in the salutation in the market-places. read more. "Woe unto you! for you are like the tombs which are hidden, and men walk over them unsuspecting."
He told a parable to the guests when he noticed how they began choosing the best seats. He said to them.
"Two men are going up to the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, the other a tax-gatherer. "The Pharisee stood apart and thus began to pray by himself. "'O God, I thank thee that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax gatherer; read more. "'I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all my possessions.'
"'I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all my possessions.' "But the tax-gatherer, standing far back, would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but kept beating his breast and saying, "'O God be merciful to me, the sinner!' read more. "I tell you that this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself shall be humbled; but he who humbles himself shall be exalted." And they kept bringing their babies for him to touch them; but when his disciples saw it they began to rebuke them. But Jesus called for the babies. "Let the little children come to me," he said, "do not hinder them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. "I tell you in solemn truth that whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child, he will never get into it."
Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will understand it later."
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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When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and when he had seated himself, his disciples came to him, and opening his lips he began to teach them, saying. read more. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth." "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness, for they shall be completely satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted in the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my name's sake. "Rejoice and exult in it, because your reward was great in the heavens; for so did they persecute the prophets before you.
"So whoever breaks one of these least commandments, and teaches others to break them, will be least in the kingdom of heaven. But he who keeps them and teaches them, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
"You have heard that it was said to the ancients, "Thou shall not commit murder, and "He who commits murder shall be liable to condemnation by the court; but I say to you that he who becomes angry with his brother shall be liable to condemnation by the court; and he who says to his brother 'Raca,' shall be liable to condemnation by the Sanhedrin, while he who curses his brother shall be liable to the Gehenna of Fire.
"You have heard that it was said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart. read more. And if your eye, your right eye, entices you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to lose one of your bodily organs, than to have your whole body go down into the pit. And if your right hand entices you into sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of your bodily organs, than to have your whole body go down into the pit. "It was also said, "Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of separation.
"Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You must not forswear yourselves, but must perform your vows to the Lord.
"You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."
"And whatever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and streets, in order that men may praise them. In solemn truth I tell you they already have their reward in full. "But when you give alms, do not let your right hand know what your left is doing, read more. "so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the corners of the avenues, in order that men may see them. In solemn truth I tell you that they have their reward in full.
"When you fast, do not look downcast like the hypocrites; for they disfigure their faces so that it may be apparent to men that they are fasting. In solemn truth I tell you, they already have received their reward.
"Why do your disciples keep transgressing the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands before eating?"
"For God said, Honor your father and mother, and, Let him who reviles father or mother be put to death;
"For they do all their good deeds to be gazed on of men. They widen their phylacteries,
"For they do all their good deeds to be gazed on of men. They widen their phylacteries,
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you scour sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is gained, you make him twofold more a son of hell than you are, yourselves.
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cummin, and neglect the weightier matters of the Law??ustice and mercy and good faith; these latter you ought to have done, and not to have left the former undone.
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cummin, and neglect the weightier matters of the Law??ustice and mercy and good faith; these latter you ought to have done, and not to have left the former undone.
"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You rebuild the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say,
For the Pharisees and all of the Jews do not eat until they have ceremoniously washed their hands in obedience to the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market-place they do not eat without bathing first. and they have many other customs which they have received and observe, such as the washing of cups and jugs and copper pans.
On another Sabbath he went into a synagogue and was teaching; and there was there a man whose right hand was withered.
When he noticed this the Pharisee, who had invited him, said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet he would have perceived who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, and would know that she is a sinner."
"Now a certain priest chanced to be going down that way, but on seeing him he passed on the other side. "In like manner also a Levite who came to the spot, came and looked at him, and passed on the other side. read more. "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him was moved with compassion.
"Woe to you lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge!' You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who are trying to enter."
Now all the tax-gatherers and sinners continued to draw near him, and to listen to him.
Now the Pharisees who loved money listened to all this and they jeered at him.
Moreover he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves because they were righteous, and looked down upon the rest.
"The Pharisee stood apart and thus began to pray by himself. "'O God, I thank thee that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax gatherer;
"The Pharisee stood apart and thus began to pray by himself. "'O God, I thank thee that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax gatherer; "'I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all my possessions.'
"'I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all my possessions.'
Now there were six stone water-jars standing there, according to the Jewish rites of purification, each holding about twenty gallons.
"As for this mob who do not understand the Law, they are accursed!"
"And now, I say to you, hold aloof from these men. Let them alone; for if this scheme or work be of human origin it will come to nothing; "but if it is from God, you cannot put it down; you may even find yourselves fighting against God."
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit; the Pharisees affirm them all.
"They know me of old, if they are willing to testify, how that according to the strict sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee.
My brothers, do not hold the faith of the Lord Jesus, the Lord of Glory, in a spirit of caste. Suppose a man comes into your synagogue with a gold ring and dazzling clothes, and suppose a poor man comes in, also, in shabby clothes, read more. and you look up to him who wears the fine clothing, and say to him, "Sit here in this fine place!" and to the poor man you say, "Stand there!" or "Sit on the floor at my feet!" are you not drawing distinctions among yourselves, and have you not become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers, has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and to inherit the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you to court? Are they not blaspheming that glorious Name by which you are called? If you are keeping the royal law, which says, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thou dost thyself, you are doing well.