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Jesus' Outlook on Pharisees
 

by Anti-missionary groups
USA

"[Thou] Blind Pharisee, cleanse first that within the cup and platter, that
the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead [men's] bones, and all
uncleanness." (Matthew 23:26-27)

The above verses tell Jesus' own view on Jewish pharisees in which he
declares them blind, hypocritical, and filthy. Now view the nineteenth
chapter of Leviticus, verse 17:

"You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman but
incur no guilt cause of him." (Leviticus 19:17)


Jesus' own action of disdain towards the Jewish pharisees shows that he did,
in fact, publicly show disdain for his kinsman. Not only that, he also failed
to abide by the laws against embarrassing a fellow Jew in public.

"While he (Jesus) was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he
went in and sat at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not
at first wash before dinner. And the Jesus said to him, 'Now you Pharisees
cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of
extortion and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the
inside also? woe to you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb,
and neglect justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done'."
(Luke 11:37-44)

Jesus showed rudeness, crudeness, and insensitivity. Imagine talking like
this to someone in his house after he invited you to dine with him. Even if
it were true, common decency dictated a more refined approach.

Moving on, I ask you to contemplate Mark 7:9-13:

"And he said to them: 'You nicely set aside the commandments of God, in order
that you may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and
mother,' and 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.'
But you say, 'If a man says to his father or his mother, anything of mine you
might have been helped by Corban (given to God),' You no longer permit him to
do anything for his father or his mother; that invalidating the word of God
by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as
that."

Jesus, seeking to discredit the Pharisees, accuses them of negating the law
of God and following an invalid tradition of their own making. According to
Jesus' explanation of this alleged man-made Pharisaic tradition, a man who
had devoted all of his property to God is, in effect, prohibited by them from
providing for his parents. But, apparently Mark's Jesus was not well-versed
in the laws of the Torah. For there it is written:

"But any devoted thing which a man may devote to the Lord of all that he has,
whether of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall not be
sold, nor redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord." (Leviticus
27:28)

In fact, Jesus' quarrel is not with the Pharisees, but with the word of God
as given in the Torah. He is criticizing the Pharisees for their obedience to
God's commandments, not for following a man-made commandment. Jesus' attack
is totally unjustified and is a perfect illustration of early Christian
polemics against God's eternal Torah Law.

*Summation
Fulfillment of Leviticus 19:17: Failed
Fulfillment of Leviticus 27:28: Failed
Jury Decision: Sentenced