Biblical Criticisms of the Pharisees
jesus provided an alternative system and temple was shut down
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Jesus was the first to say thePharisaic laws were too difficult for the general population follow. Judaism has also now splintered into different sects (for example Orthodox, Reform and Liberal) because most Jews today find the Oral Torah too difficult to follow as well. Laws affect behaviour and culture and the Rabbinic interpretations are often very different to what the Torah has said.
Christianity is based on the New Testament, which recounts the life of Jesus, a prophet. Jesus criticised the Pharisees and Oral Torah in ancient times.
Jesus' Criticisms of the Pharisees
Jesus raised several criticisms of the Pharisees.
Some of Jesus' major criticisms included:
- The fact that the Pharisees professed to teach the law to other people but did not follow the law themselves.
- The fact that the Pharisees made up lots of new laws, which made it difficult for people to follow the religion.
Woe to you Pharisees, experts in the law, you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men.
(The Pharisees) tie up burdens that are heavy and hard to bear and lay them on the shoulders of men.
Jesus also alleged more serious misconduct such as false appearances and evil intentions (Matthew Chapter 23). Indeed, it was the Pharisees who arranged the assassination of Jesus.
How Should We Judge the Pharisees?
The Pharisees made a vast quantity of new laws that changed the nature of the original religion.
The Oral Torah of the Pharisees contains thirty times the number laws as the Written Torah does.
While many of the laws are understandable and try to be fair, there was no system of checks and balances that evaluated the laws they made (unlike the system of Priests and Judge).
While many of the laws made by the Pharisees are highly virtuous, some do not fully make sense, some are in fact highly questionable and some are in contrast to the Written Torah.
Jesus Becomes the Basis of a New World Religion
It was in the time of the Pharisees that Jesus arose and and spoke of the need for a second Covenant.
Both Christianity and Islam believe the Jewish people broke their Covenant with HASHEM. When discussing what had gone wrong with the first Covenant, Hebrews 8:8-9 says:
HASHEM found fault with the people and said ... they did not remain faithful to My Covenant.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 talks about the time when a new Covenant would be made between HASHEM and the people.
The time is coming," declares HASHEM, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah ... No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know HASHEM,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
Jesus Wanted to Restore the Original Law
Jesus provided the people with a new way to follow HASHEM that did not require observance of the Oral Torah.
This led to the historic split between Judaism and Christianity, however, it is recognised that Jesus was himself a Jew from the Pharisaic tradition, who did not intend to start a new religion.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.