What comes to mind when you think of a Pharisee? A self-righteous finger-wagger? An arrogant rule follower?
Jesus was a Pharisee.
There were two major Jewish groups during Jesus’ time: the Pharisees and the Sadducees (a smaller number of Jews were part of the Essenes, a separatist group). The Pharisees and Sadducees both emerged after the Hasmonean dynasty (The Jewish rulers who gained independence after the Maccabean revolt (167-160 BC) were known as the Hasmoneans).
The Sadducees controlled the Temple and had political favor with the Romans. They accepted only the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and rejected oral tradition. They emphasized free will and denied the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees affirmed the written Torah, as well as the other books that are part of the Jewish canon today. They emphasized divine providence and believed in the resurrection of the dead.
Jesus, without a doubt, was a Pharisee. He agreed with the Pharisees that there was resurrection after death (see John 6, for instance). His understanding of marriage and divorce (Matt. 19:1-12; 22:23-33) aligned with the Pharisees as did his critique of the manner in which the Sadducees ran the Temple (Matt. 21:12-17).
Why, then, was Jesus’ harshest criticism directed at the Pharisees? There are more than twenty-five times in the gospels where Jesus directly criticizes Pharisees (for instance, see Matt. 23:16, 24; 23:5-7, 25, 33; Lk. 12:1). Meanwhile, there are only two times Jesus directly critiques the Sadducees (Matt. 16:1-12; Matt. 22:23-33) and a handful of times Jesus indirectly critiques the Sadducees (Matt. 21:12-17; Mk. 11:15-18; Lk. 19:45-48; Jn. 2:13-22).
The reason Jesus critiqued the Pharisees more harshly than any other group was because he was a Pharisee.
Many Christians today direct their harshest criticism to those “out there.” At the progressive seminary I attended, evangelicals were the punching bag. For many evangelicals (of whom I am one), progressives are the target of their strongest critique.
From time to time I get feedback from members of our (evangelical) church, confused or frustrated that I am not harsher toward the world. Why do I focus most of my critique on the church and not the world? Because that is what Jesus did.
Have you ever noticed how Jesus rarely critiques the Roman Empire? Isn’t that odd? It certainly wasn’t because he approved of the corrupt, self-seeking, perverse, and idolatrous empire. It was because he didn’t expect anything else of the authorities and powers of the world (Eph. 6:12). In response to Pilate’s befuddlement that his own people would turn him over as “the King of the Jews” (Jn. 18:33), Jesus responds, “My kingdom is not of this world” (Jn. 18:36).
Jesus’ critique of the Sadducees is stronger because they are within his larger tribe. But he reserves his sharpest criticism for his own.
Our culture has an inverted proportionality of critique. We protect those who are our own at all costs. Look no further than the latest political scandal, and you’ll see one tribe safeguarding its own, while the other side is in attack mode. It won’t take the discerning observer long to recall an occasion when the same party defending their own was attacking someone from the other party for a similar offense.
Cable news, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram are stuffed with those mocking their opponents. We straw man our adversary, caricaturing their arguments.
Jesus, on the other hand, tells us to take the log out of our own eye before we examine our brother’s eye (Matt. 7:3-5). He urges us not to live as white washed tombs, “which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones” (Matt. 23:27).
Christians shouldn’t behave like cable news hosts. A godly Christian might not have much negative to say about politicians not because she agrees, but because she’s praying for them (1 Tim. 2:2). A pastor who doesn’t blast ungodly legislation might do so not because he is soft or cowardly. It might not be that they are lukewarm. It might be because their hearts are first for the people of God.
Jesus, after all said, “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?” (Matt. 5:13), and “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:14). In a world in need of preservation, let’s stay salty, brothers and sisters. In a dark world, let’s shine brightly. And let’s spend our critique on those who are salt and light.
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