PHARISEES THE SEPARATED ONES ETYMOLOGY The term Pharisee

PHARISEES THE SEPARATED ONES

ETYMOLOGY • The term Pharisee is derived from the Hebrew word parash whose verb is parad. • Parad means “to separate or to spread out. ” • The noun, parash therefore refers to the “separated ones”.

• In fact, some Pharisees saw themselves as a people separated from the others. • However, there are two things that are unclear. 1. The meaning of “separated ones. ” 2. Why Pharisees referred to themselves as “separated ones. ” • They withdrew from all association with evil. • They gave complete obedience to every precept, required of both written and oral law.

JOSEPHUS • Josephus, the Jewish historian provides hints as to the meaning of the word. • In one of his works he wrote “The Pharisees were a group of people who had a reputation of excelling the rest of the nation in the observances of religion and the exact interpretation of the law. ”

ORIGINS 1. It is not known. 2. Pharisees were the remnants and successors of the Hasidim. • The Hasidim was a group of Jewish puritans which originated shortly after the Maccabean Revolt. • By 135 BC the group was already established in Judaism.

BELIEFS • 1. They believed in predestination and fore-ordination and at the same time they also believed in free will. However, they did not see any contradiction in the two beliefs. According to them a person could be chosen to be a child of God and that is predestination, but it was up to that person to accept the call or not, and that is free will. • 2. They believed in eschatology which refers to the last things. These last things include: death, resurrection, hell, and life after death. They believed in bodily resurrection after which there would be judgment. According to them judgment would be two-dimensional. • (a) The righteous are going to be rewarded. • (b) The sinful would be punished. • 3. They expected the coming of the Messiah, a figure who Christians think came in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, but Jews still think is yet to come.

COSMOLOGY • -Their world view was dual, meaning that they believed that two kingdoms existed: the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of the devil. • -The kingdom of God was inhabited by God, angels and good spirits, but the kingdom of the devil was under the direct influence of Satan and was full of demons and evil spirits. • -They believed that these two forces were always at war and eventually the kingdom of God and its forces, under the leadership of the Messiah would win.

PHARISAIC INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE • -Their theology was founded upon the entire Hebrew canon, the TANAK. • -They believed that all Hebrew Scriptures were authoritative but the Torah had the supreme authority. • - On top of the Hebrew Scriptures, they also recognized other traditions such as the tradition of the elders. This refers to the explanations and elaborations of the Mosaic Law as we have it in the Pentateuch. Mark 7: 5 refers to these traditions.

INFLUENCE AND CONTROL • • • -They created extra biblical laws. -They ran synagogues. -Some of them were legal experts. -Some were teachers in schools. -Some were judges. -Some withdrew from public life and formed eating clubs.

RELATIONSHIP TO JESUS • The general belief is that Pharisees were hypocrites. • They were always at loggerheads with Jesus. • John the Baptist referred to them as the brood of vipers (Luke 3: 7). • They refused to covert. • They discouraged people to follow Jesus.

• Jesus denounced Pharisees in many passages, e. g. Matthew 23: 23 -35). • They wanted to see Jesus making mistakes so that they would condemn him. • Jesus called them white-washed tombs. • He warned people against their influence. • He challenged them all the time. • Christians have a negative attitude towards Pharisees.

SOME PHARISEES WERE GOOD • Many Pharisees had sincere and worth motives. 1. For example, Nichodemus came to Jesus in search of good counsel concerning how to be born again (John 19: 38). 2. A Pharisee organized a banquet for Jesus (Luke 7: 36 ff). 3. Jesus is sometimes found in the house of a pharisee (11: 37).

4. Pharisees warned Jesus about the evil intentions of king Herod (Luke 13: 31 ff). 5. They were custodians of their traditions. 6. Sometimes Jesus violated the laws which everyone believed to be true. 7. They did not know who Jesus was, even his disciples did not quite know him. 8. Jesus did not fulfill the messianic expectations of the Jewish people. 9. Jesus insulted them.

CONCLUSION • It appears that the relationship between Jesus and Pharisees was mixed. • Some scholars believe that there were many different types of Pharisees. • Some were good and others were hypocrites.