The gospels are filled with stories in which Jesus faces off with the Pharisees. They are his most consistent foils, which is odd, considering that Jesus and the Pharisees had a lot in common. In fact, they had so much in common that some scholars have suggested that Jesus was a Pharisee.
The story of the Pharisees starts hundreds of years before Jesus, just after the end of the Babylonian Exile. The Persian King Xerxes conquered the Babylonians and, in doing so, set the captives free. He encouraged the Jews to return to Jerusalem, to restore their city, and to build a new temple. He did not, however, allow them to establish a new king.
Without a king on the throne, the new temple and its priests became the most powerful force in Jewish culture. Not everyone supported the priestly leaders, however. The Jewish people had managed to keep the faith alive for decades, even without a temple. The Jews left behind in Judea focused on gatherings in local houses of prayer (which later became synagogues). The Jews in exile kept the faith alive by emphasizing adherence to the law.
Without a system of temple sacrifices, every child of Abraham could be a sort of living temple, offering their own heart in sacrifice to God. When the exile ended, there were those who wanted to hold onto this idea of the priesthood of all believers.
In time, two major parties emerged: the Sadducees (who represented the ruling elite and the temple priests) and the Pharisees (who were closer to the common people and emphasized the Law). The Pharisees and Sadducees were often hostile to each other, and they had bitter disagreements about important points of Jewish belief. Jesus, as far as we can tell, mostly sided with the Pharisees.
For example, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead, while the Sadducees did not. The Sadducees were defenders of the temple system, while Jesus criticized the corruption of the temple leaders. We also see that Jesus had followers among the Pharisees, including Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.
Why, then, did so many Pharisees oppose Jesus? The answer might lie in the meaning of the word “Pharisee.” Most scholars believe that “Pharisee” comes from the Hebrew word parush, meaning “separated, set apart.” Many Pharisees set themselves apart from Gentiles (unlike the ruling elite, who embraced the Hellenistic culture of the Roman Empire).
Jesus said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent…The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against Jesus and plotted how to destroy Him.
Mark 3:1-6
They set themselves apart from unclean things and from Jews who did not strictly practice the Law. And this idea of separation, apartness, and purity would put the Pharisees on a collision course with Jesus.
Jesus refused to set himself apart. In Mark 2, the first recorded conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees happens when they object to his practice of eating with sinners and tax collectors. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus demonstrates that a desire to avoid unclean people and things can cause us to stumble in following the law of love and compassion.
By the time we get to Matthew 12, some of the Pharisees are already looking for an opportunity to undermine Jesus and end his ministry. They plan to do this by accusing Jesus of violating the law of the Sabbath.
Jesus sees what they are up to and exposes their plot with a pointed question: “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” The silence of the Pharisees reveals that they know the correct answer, but their hearts are so hardened that they no longer care about the Law for its own sake.
The Law at this moment is only a means to an end, a tool they can use to condemn Jesus – why? Because they believe He is wrong. They believe He is loving the wrong people, they believe He is living his faith in the wrong way, they believe he is interpreting Scripture wrongly, and that idea of Jesus’ wrongness is so powerful and so upsetting that it makes the Pharisees want to kill him.
If that response on the part of the Pharisees seems extreme – if it’s hard to believe that people might want to kill somebody for the crime of being wrong – then consider how much of social media consists of people saying to one another, “I believe you’re wrong and that makes me angry.”
Consider how many wars have happened (and are happening), how many schisms have splintered the church, and how many friendships have ended because people said, “If that’s the way you see it, then there is no place for you in my heart.”
Consider how we would feel if Jesus were to stand in the pulpit today and say, “When I said, ‘Love your neighbor,’ I especially meant the ones who are wrong, the ones who don’t get it, the ones who stubbornly refuse to see the light. For the sake of the kingdom, are you willing to let go of your need to always be right?”
Rev Jeremy Peters
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Pastor Tommy
Our series was inspired by The Reverend Jeremey Peters of Court Street United Methodist Church, Flint, Michigan in collaboration with several United Methodist Pastors serving the Flint area.