Will the Real Pharisees Please Stand Up!

It is commonly thought that the Pharisees were people who knew the Bible very well, and that God did not approve of how they diligently sought to live according to the Bible. Because of this misconception about the Pharisees, people sometimes say things like, “We should not be like the Pharisees, always trying to be biblical about everything!”

However, when we actually read the Bible, we find that Jesus never rebuked the Pharisees for “always trying to be biblical about everything”. Rather, he often rebuked them for doing the exact opposite! Let us take a look at some of the things that Jesus said to the Pharisees:

• Matthew 15:3, “Why do you also violate the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”
• Mark 7:8, “Having forsaken the commandment of God, you are holding on to the tradition of men!”
• Mark 7:9, “Well do you set aside the commandment of God so that you could keep your tradition!”
• Mark 7:13, “[You are] unauthorizing the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down, and you do many such similar things!”

Therefore, contrary to popular belief, the Pharisees were not Bible scholars who kept God’s law very carefully. Rather, according to Jesus himself, they were religiously following non-biblical man-made traditions which caused them to violate, forsake, set aside, and unauthorize God’s word in the Bible. Therefore, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees—not because they were “always trying to be biblical about everything,” but precisely because they were not being biblical!

So actually, biblically speaking, who are the real “Pharisees”? Those who are “always trying to be biblical about everything”, or those who call them “Pharisees” for seeking to live according to God’s law?