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  • Writer's pictureBible Brian

Stop hijacking the Pharisees


Everyone who knows the New Testament knows who the Pharisees were, but everyone who knows the New Testament well knows who the Pharisees really were. At some point, we've all been called a Pharisee, but far too often, the reason for this is highly flawed.


The Pharisees, for lack of better term, are the "bad guys" in the New Testament. With the exception of a few (e.g. Nicodemus), they were constantly antagonistic towards Jesus, and of course ultimately, were among those who had Him crucified. But of all the arguments Jesus had with the Pharisees, a grand total of 0 of these were because the Pharisees were too committed to the word of God.


Yet, all too often, those who throw the word "Pharisee" around do so because the one they are accusing is dedicated to the word of God. "The Bible says this, therefore we, as Christians, must believe this". "Stop being such a Pharisee!" This is, in no way, what the Pharisees were like.


In fact, the overwhelming majority of disputes, without exception that I am aware of, occurred precisely because the Pharisees weren't committed to the word of God. "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." (John 5:39-40). "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition." (Mark 7:9). "“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone." (Matthew 23:23).


Need I continue? It's endless. Jesus didn't rebuke the Pharisees for being too committed to the word of God, but not being committed enough. When they studied Scripture, they did it for their own ends. They followed their own traditions more than the word of God, even to the point of rejecting it. They read "thou shalt", and added "unless". They read "thou shalt not", yet circumvented it in many ways. They searched the Scriptures day and night, yet when their very Author walked among them, they nailed Him to a tree!


You are not a Pharisee if you care so much what the Bible says that you correct others who use it wrong. You are a Pharisee if you care so little that you would accuse such people of being a Pharisee. It will never be a bad thing to love the Lord enough to love His word, but those who reject it may as well walk into Hades and make their bed with the Pharisees.

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