Who are the Pharisees Today – The Modern Day Pharisee in 2020

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Anyone who has read the Bible has read about the Pharisees and their seemingly never-ending run-ins with Jesus. In this post we will look at who the Pharisees were, what the definition of Pharisee is, and ask ourselves who are the Pharisees today!

Who Are the Pharisees Today? -Pharisee Definition

The Pharisees or Perushim in Hebrew, were an elite, ancient group of religious Jews who were strict adherers to the Law and esteemed themselves more highly than others. 

These were the most educated of Jews and spent their lives in the study of Torah Law. They not only studied Law, they taught it. They believed the Law was the only way to God.

According to Learn Religions:

The Pharisees formed the largest and most influential religious-political party in New Testament times.

They are consistently depicted in the Gospels as antagonists or opponents of Jesus Christ and the early Christians.

Who Are the Pharisees Today? – Characteristics of Pharisees

We know the Pharisees were very religious and adhered to the Law above all else. But they also believed that oral law and its interpretation was just as authoritative as the Law of Moses.

Much like we see justices of our Supreme Court deciding on matters of constitutional law and handing down opinions that would be precedent, they had sort of the oral equivalent (which would later be written).

Some believed themselves to be loftier than all others, including the Sadducees. 

Those who did. judged others and their observance of Law and often put themselves in the position of judge and jury, as we see in the New Testament story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:3-11)

The Torah scholars and Pharisees bring in a woman who had been caught in adultery. After putting her in the middle, they say to Yeshua, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of committing adultery. 

In the Torah, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?” Now they were saying this to trap Him, so that they would have grounds to accuse Him.

But Yeshua knelt down and started writing in the dirt with His finger. When they kept asking Him, He stood up and said, “The sinless one among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He knelt down again and continued writing on the ground.

Now when they heard, they began to leave, one by one, the oldest ones first, until Yeshua was left alone with the woman in the middle. Straightening up, Yeshua said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

“No one, Sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Yeshua said. “Go, and sin no more.” TLV

Interestingly enough, Jesus NEVER called into question the punishment prescribed by the Law. He knew the Pharisees were in fact correct. Stoning WAS called for by the Law of Moses. 

But Jesus had grace and mercy on His mind, not condemnation. This was something these Pharisees just could not wrap their heads around. Mercy was not something they were familiar with because religious people will always go by rules, rather than relationship.

But the Pharisees weren’t all bad and no good. In fact many Pharisees were similar to us. They believed in many of the things we do, such as the Messiah (although they differ on who He is), the resurrection of the dead, the world to come, etc. 

Who Are the Pharisees – Two Schools

There were really two different sects of the Pharisees and they were very different from each other. There was the more temperate Beit Hillel (School of Hillel) and the more stringent Beit Shammai (School of Shammai), which is the one Yeshua often encountered and referred to as hypocrites. You can often see these two going back and forth on issues in the Mishna.

Overall, many Pharisees were different than the ones we often see depicted in arguments with Yeshua or in dramatizations and they are responsible for the institution of the synagogue and, especially in the case of Beit Hillel, were key in preserving and fostering Judaism through the years. 

To summarize, SOME Pharisees believed themselves to be holier than thou and it appeared as though they thought their opinions and traditions better than others. Those are the ones this article will be speaking of when discussing who the Pharisees are today. It would be wrong to lump all Pharisees into the same boat as most were very reverent and genuine, but, for simplicity, I will use the broad name of Pharisee in this article since that is what people are most familiar with. 

But please keep in mind, I am only speaking about the Pharisees that Yeshua experienced these negative encounters with.

We see in Luke 18:9-14:

And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’

But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’  I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” NASB

Who Are the Pharisees Today? -What is a Pharisee Spirit and Who Are Modern Day Pharisees?

A Pharisee spirit (when looking at those particular Pharisees) is a spirit of haughtiness, self-righteousness, pride and, yes, hypocrisy. Yeshua Himself said in Matthew 16:6:

“Watch out,” Yeshua said to them, “and beware of the hametz of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” TLV (Hametz is Hebrew for “leaven”)

 

He also said in Matthew 23:1-12:

Then Yeshua spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying, “The Torah scholars and Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses. So whatever they tell you, do and observe. But don’t do what they do; for what they say, they do not do. 

They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them. All their works they do to be noticed by men. They make their tefillin wide and their tzitziyot long. 

They love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called rabbi by men.

“But you are not to be called rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man on earth your father; for One is your Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Messiah. 

But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. TLV

Jesus was essentially saying ‘do as they say not as they do’. You see they taught the Law well. They just weren’t that great at keeping it when it concerned themselves. 

They look at what other people do and are critical of it but yet they turn around and do the same themselves.

They believed the rules did not apply to themselves because they were better and more learned than everyone else.

They were offended by everyone and everything!

They were so full of themselves that they could not recognize the Messiah when He stood right in front of them because He didn’t fit THEIR vision of who He would be!

Who are the Pharisees today? A Pharisee spirit is one who believes they somehow do Christian life better than others. They judge people for what they wear, what they drive, what church they go to, how often they pray, what version of the Bible they read, who they associate with. 

They will criticize others for not reading the Bible as much as they do or praying as long as they do.

Offended

Jesus was not many Pharisees’ picture of a victorious, conquering Messiah. They weren’t interested in God’s definition of a Messiah, they cared about their own.

They ignored the words of the Prophet Isaiah:

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

 

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.

Isaiah 53: 2-6 NASB

Many Pharisees will form their own version of truth based on what suits them. 

They did this even to the Law of Moses, by adding to it with their oral traditions or oral law.

The rules that apply to others, do not apply to them.

They had a picture of who the Messiah would be and Jesus just didn’t fit the bill. A lowly carpenter? Joseph’s Son? How could THIS be the Messiah? He isn’t as lofty as we are! How on earth could we EVER dare worship a Messiah lower than we are?

He’s the carpenter’s son! He is not a High Priest or a Scribe! It can’t be!

Doubt this is the case? Well, let’s see their own words in Matthew 13:55-57:

“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” NASB

They were “offended”. They couldn’t possibly acknowledge a Messiah who was ‘common’. 

They failed to see the WHY of a Messiah and chose to see the WHAT instead. They couldn’t possibly comprehend, in spite of the prophecies, that a Messiah came to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world and not a conqueror of Rome.

He just didn’t fit their mold. 

Who are the Pharisees today? They can be people who look at you and form opinions about your ministry or your calling because you fail to fit their “image”.

Who Are the Pharisees Today? – Modern Day Pharisees

Well, we have modern day Pharisees in our own circles. We may even BE one (gasp!!).

Do you ever look at someone God is using and think you could do it better or that you are more deserving?

Do you ever look at someone’s church attendance and make judgments about their walk?

Have you ever gotten offended because someone dared take your seat at church or YOUR parking spot near the door to the lobby and now you have to walk?

Have you thought of yourself better than someone else because you were in a higher tax bracket or had a certain skin color?

Do you discount someone’s gifting because they just got saved like yesterday and you’ve been at this a long time?

Do you think if a church sings contemporary worship and not good old time hymns they are somehow not as close to God?

Do you think someone is less knowledgeable about Scripture because they choose to read the NIV and not the KJV or ESV?

If people DO Christianity differently than you do, do you judge their salvation?

Are you a modern day Pharisee?

Who are the Pharisees today? WE are much of the time. 

We have all done it. I’ve done it and I can bet you have. And if you’re sitting there thinking “Well! I’ve never done THAT!” then you just proved my point.

None of us is perfect. ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Let me say that again….ALL fall SHORT!

As a church, we need to do better.

We need to stop creating and fostering division in the body of Christ. We need to stop judging with an overly critical eye.

We need to stop creating enemies out of each other and work together.

NASB – “Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation“

Tree of Life (TLV) – Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*. Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society.  Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.