SOTM 13-Pharisees

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/som-13-pharisees/" target="_blank"><strong>website.</strong></a></p><p><strong>"For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20).</strong></p><p> </p><p>Jesus' words would probably have been shocking to many, as the Pharisees were quite respected. The Sadducees, and the priestly class (many of whom were Sadducees) on the other hand, were more resented by the common people. Not all Pharisees were bad people—consider Nicodemus (<strong>John 3:1ff</strong>.) Overall they were greatly respected among those who loved Scripture. They strove for religious revival, where every home became a sort of "temple," where God was honored. Holiness was not just for priests (many of whom were Sadducees), but for all people.</p><p>Thus it is not surprising that the Pharisees believed <i>they</i> were the ones properly fulfilling the Law. Jesus disagrees. There are three faults Jesus identifies in his teaching.</p><p><strong>Hypocrisy</strong></p><ul><li>Many of Pharisees only played at holiness.</li><li>Pretense, pomp characterized their prayer on street corners (<strong>Matt 6:5</strong>), which was more for public approbation than to honor God.</li><li>They tended to look down on others who did not maintain the same set of roles—whether <i>biblical, </i>like giving a tithe during OT times, or nonbiblical, like fasting twice a week (<strong>Luke 18:9-14</strong>).</li></ul><p><strong>Manmade laws</strong></p><ul><li>They claimed Moses received <i>two</i> sets of law on the mountain: the Torah itself (Exodus 20-Deut 33) <i>plus</i> the oral Torah (their traditions).</li><li>The Mishnah (c.200 AD) put the regulations of the oral Torah into written form.</li><li>They tried to build a "fence" around the Law, so that no one would even come close to violating it. Yet they ended up taking their guidelines far too seriously—as though they had the same