The true issue with the Pharisees

The word "Pharisee" is thrown around far too loosely in the modern Church, but it is very rarely used by those who know who the Pharisees were. Rather, the majority of people who use the term use it to describe people who care about accurate theology.

One verse these people likely don't know is Matthew 23:1-3, which says "Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not." Here we see the seemingly strange idea that the Pharisees actually had authority. Jesus affirmed that the disciples were to observe and do that which the Pharisees told them to, because "they sit in Moses' seat".

This high praise for the Pharisees is probably the nicest thing Jesus ever said about them, but it will seem very confusing to those who throw out the word "Pharisee" as a farmer sows his seeds. See, it is assumed that Jesus' problem with the Pharisees is that they were too serious about their religion. The truth, however, is that what Jesus didn't like about the Pharisees is that they weren't serious enough. "“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). "He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition."" (Mark 7:9). You see, then, that the issue Christ had with the Pharisees is that they only obeyed God when they felt like it, but they cared more about their own, man-made religion. They cared about the elements they had added to Judaism, but in doing so, they often ended up contradicting God.

What we see, then, is that those who use the word "Pharisee" are very often guilty of the Pharisaical sins. It is absurd to think that Jesus would condemn a man for taking His words seriously, for not only did He, Himself, repeatedly affirm the importance of Scripture, but He is also the very God who inspired them. The real Pharisees are those who, for whatever reason, trust in their own religion. Your traditions, your good works, these mean nothing to God, yet these are what the Pharisees made the error of trusting in, and what we, today, also believe will make us right with God. But what really makes us right with God is our faith, and faith does not diminish zeal for Him, it increases it. Therefore, beware, lest while you call people Pharisees, you become one yourself.