In the New Testament, Sadducees are members of a Jewish faction that opposed Jesus during His ministry. Unlike the Sadducees, the Pharisees did believe in the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees came from the leading families of the nation-the priests, merchants, and aristocrats. On this point, the Pharisees were on common ground with the early Christians.

Now Paul was well aware that one section was made up of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, so he called out in the Sanhedrin, 'Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.'.......Next night, the Lord appeared to him and said, 'Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome'. - Acts 23:6-11 -

The Pharisees and their scribes enjoyed a good deal of popular support. In one way this is surprising, since the Pharisees kept apart from other Jews. They always seemed to be ready to criticize others for not keeping the laws, and they often looked down on 'sinners' who showed no interest in God's law. - Mark 2:16; Luke 7:39, 15:2, 18:11 -

Still, unlike the Sadducees, who were mostly rich landowners and powerful priests, many Pharisees were ordinary people. And even though other Jews could not be bothered with observing all the details of the law, they respected the Pharisees for making the effort. Even Saint Paul credited unbelieving Jews with having a 'zeal for God' - Rom 10:2 - even though it was misguided. He probably was thinking primarily of the Pharisees when he wrote these words.

In the New Testament, the Pharisees appear frequently in the accounts of Jesus' ministry and the history of the early Church. In these passages a number of the typical failings of the Pharisees are evident. Of course, not all Pharisees failed in all these points - and the same failings can be found among religious people of any age. Pharisees observed the Law carefully as far as appearances went, but their hearts were far from God. Their motives were wrong because they wanted the praise of men. They also had evil desires that were hidden by their pious show. That is why Pharisees are often called hypocrites: their hearts did not match their outward appearance.

Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win men admiration. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. When you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they pull long faces to let men know they are fasting. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. - Matt. 6:1-2, 5, 16 -

Then addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said: The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on peoples shoulder, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention. - Matt. 23:1-5, 25-28 -

The Pharisees thought they could match God's standards by keeping all the outward rules. Saint Luke 18:9 says they trusted in themselves that they were righteous [self-righteous] This can easily happen when people think God's will is the same things as their list of what they can and cannot do. God is infinite, but human being is finite. This is explicit, that is.

The scribes and the Pharisees desire to keep all of God's laws was commendable, but sometimes they put the emphasis on the wrong places. Minor details became a major preoccupation, and they forgot the more important things. Finally, because of the scribes and the Pharisees self-righteousness, self-glorification, and thought that they were doing their best to keep God's laws while others were not, they often looked down on such 'sinners' - people like tax collectors and prostitutes. Religious peoples need to remember that they too, are sinners in God's eyes, and that Jesus Christ died for everyone.

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -