Hebraic Musing – How do we know that Jesus was a Pharisee?
And how do we know
He was not a Sadducee, Essene, or one of the other sects? Let’s look at the four styles of Pharisaical
teachings. The Pharisees understood
their Biblical mandate was to urge parents to teach their children in the ways
of YHWH. “These are the commands,
decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the
land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your
children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you
live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you
may enjoy long life.” Deut. 6:1-3 NIV and stressed “on your hearts… talk
about… sitting… walking…lying down… getting up… tie symbols, etc.” And we
know Jesus was keeping that basic family-oriented command as He taught and
mingled. This was an educational mandate
to ensure righteousness from Pharisees’ leadership. And Jesus was born into a Pharisee family!
The Pharisees were
quite different from the Sadducees in belief and in practice. The Sadducees accepted only the first five
books of the Bible; and they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead,
angelic beings, Satan/demons, prophecy or a messiah. The Sadducees only believed that proper observance
of Temple Rites can impart righteousness!
Isn’t that like our “Sunday go to meeting Christians”? Observance of the Temple rites was all they thought
they needed to be considered righteous, blameless before God. They had no afterlife as a reward, so money
and political power became their focus in life; and possession of those things
was considered evidence of being favored y God. And the Sadducees had no messianic views or
perspective because their only messiah would be a national on because they
could not see any possibility of defeating Rome! Isn’t this like the politicians and others
today who claim to be Christians but not doing what Jesus taught?
Pharisees, by
contrast, felt observance of the traditions of the fathers to be
important. And thus, they tended to have
“fence” laws to avoid breaking the traditions and temple rules. Mark 7:2 is a classic example – “Now when
they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed
hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat
unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the
elders.”
In the first
century, Pharisees were the authority on matters of Scripture interpretation
and doctrine; Sadducee priests were focused on Temple matters. Meanwhile, the Pharisees were more eclectic,
popular, and more democratic.
Another
perspective, in the Sanhedrim, the Sadducees were the aristocratic monarchists;
most were political appointees of Rome!
Apostle Paul knew these significant differences and he used them to his
advantage in Acts 23:6-7 – “But when Paul perceived that one part were
Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, ‘Men and
brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and
resurrection of the dead I am being judged!’ And when he had said this, a
dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was
divided.” And the Commander had to take over!
There are many
examples of Jesus correcting the Pharisees around Him, but if we read
carefully, we see that He was condemning their actions and not their
personage. It is a very typical Rabbinic
style only used by the Pharisees. Jesus
was not concerned about the general teachings of the Pharisees, but only their
prioritizing traditions over the priority of Scripture.
Points to
Ponder
Jesus quoted
nothing from the Sadducees, Essenes or any other group, just the Pharisees!
Was Jesus in
favor of Home Schooling?
BTW – In which
group was the apostle, Paul?
Acts 23:6 “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee”
The Sadducees did not believe in an afterlife, that is why the
Sadducees were “sad you see”. (>:
Yosef a.k.a. Joe Brusherd February
3, 2026
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our
faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)” Weekly “Hebraic
Musings”
Note – Inspired by “Jesus, the
Pharisee Messiah” Chap. 3, by Blizzard III & John Ingle.
