In many ways, the Pharisees were the worst people in the world. They were cold and legalistic. At the same time, the Pharisees were the best people in the whole country. They were the holy men who kept the law; they pursued purity with a passion and wanted nothing more than to live lives that pleased God. They were sincere, albeit sincerely misguided.
There were never any more than six thousand Pharisees in the country. They were known as the �chaburah,� or �the brotherhood.� They entered into this brotherhood by taking a pledge, in front of three witnesses, that they would spend all their lives observing every detail of the scribal law.
That was the problem! The scribes had created the Mishnah, the writings that codified scribal law. Then there was the Talmud, which is the commentary on the Mishnah. I have read of a Rabbi who spent nearly three years studying one chapter from the Mishnah.
A perfect illustration is seen in the simple Sabbath law. The Bible clearly told the Israelite, �Do not work, do not bear burdens, but rest and keep it a holy day.�
Well, work had to be defined; carrying burdens had to be defined. For example, one could
get milk enough for one swallow, and
carry a spoon weighing no more than one fig.
It was the scribes and Pharisees who were embroiled over the discussion as to whether or not, on the Sabbath, a woman could wear a brooch, a mother could pick up her child, or a man could wear his wooden leg. These were burdens.
Article Shared ~ get milk enough for one swallow, and
carry a spoon weighing no more than one fig.
*** Wow!!!..:laugh:..Its funny to the core however very serious...:glow:
Shared ~ It was the scribes and Pharisees who were embroiled over the discussion as to whether or not, on the Sabbath, a woman could wear a brooch, a mother could pick up her child, or a man could wear his wooden leg. These were burdens.
*** Adding more Burdens is what people do that have no clue they are doing that...
Jesus says much about this in Mat 23�
23 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
***
13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
*** What were they �Teaching� ?
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
*** Ouch!!!...
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
*** Hummm�Jesus sure isn�t happy about what they were doing�and it still goes on to this day�obviously�
***
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
*** They were Teaching them about the commandments of Men and not THE �Commands of GOD� that lead to �Salvation� and �Eternal� life�
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
*** !!!
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
*** They were more concerned with what others Did or Didn�t do instead of Confronting their own motives and reasons !!!
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
*** Yup !!! Best to look at ones self before atempting to remove the plank from the eye of another...
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
*** Yup !!! Dead in Sin and Tresspasses and Seperated from GOD by their Iniquity.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
*** Yup !!! There is none righteous...no not one!
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
*** YUP !!!...Jesus sure doesn�t like it this type of Teaching or Behavior...We can Truely Learn by Reading HIS Word daily and applying it in our own lives as well as sharing the Gospel with the lost...
Thank s for sharing this...GOD's continued Grace and Blessings... X <>< O
Not all Pharisees were legalistic but the ones who were are no different than from some people who "call" themselves Christians today. The Jewish leaders came to Jesus one day and asked, By who's authority do you do these miracles? Jesus answered, I will also ask you one thing and if you answer, I will answer your question, By whose authority does John the Baptist baptize men in water. The Jewish leaders replied, We can not tell., knowing that the people respected John the Baptist as a prophet of God and if they answered of God, Jesus would have asked them, Then why didn't you believe him when he told you that I was the Son of God. The point here is that when people refuse to have a relationship with Jesus, they also deny His authority as the Son of God and they merely have a form of godliness that is governed by religious legalistic rules that has no other purpose than to rule over someone. This can be seen in "clothes line" churches that are more concerned about one's outer appearance than the salvation of one's soul. I hope this answer brings clarity on the subject of being sincere with God instead of just being superficial in one's religious lifestyle and actions.
Thank you for your input. I already have clarity on the subject and scripture has provided me the truth.
The "clothes line" christian is quite another topic. Ive not heard that term before,interesting.
I tend to call those whom keep on sinning and their repentance does not show in their life ie no evidence of the old man falling off > >> greasy gracers perhaps false conversion. Doesnt matter what terms we use but the fact remains that the lukewarm,apostate,emergent church is abundant. Its a sad thing and very frustrating.
May we all strive to plant seed for God harvest wherever we go. Gospel tracts,street witnessing, etc... There are lost souls that need to hear the true gospel and be saved. Amen!
