Pharisees in the Bible

Meaning: set apart

Exact Match

Jesus left there and went into their [i.e., the Pharisees'] synagogues,

Then spake Jesus to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying, The scribes and Pharisees sit in the chair of Moses:

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.

Likewise the chief priests also mocking, with the scribes, the Pharisees, and the elders, said,

And it happened that he was reclining at table in his house; and many publicans and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many, and scribes of the Pharisees were also following him.

The Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him [in the Jewish high court].

Then He said to the Pharisees, "Is it permissible by the law of Moses to do something good, or something harmful on the Sabbath day? To save a life or to kill it?" But they did not reply.

And they asked him, saying, How is it that the Pharisees and scribes say that Elijah must come first?

When he was come to the other disciples, he found a great crowd about them, and the Pharisees disputing with them.

the Scribes and Pharisees upon hearing this consulted together how to destroy him; but they stood in awe of him, because all the people were strangely affected with his doctrine.

As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, He responded [to some Pharisees. See Matt. 22:41] by asking, "How is it that the experts in the law of Moses can say that the Christ is the son of David?

And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

But the experts in the law of Moses and the Pharisees became furious and began discussing among themselves what they could do to Jesus.

And lo! a woman who was in the city, a sinner, learning that he was at table in the Pharisees house, brought an alabasterbottle of ointment,

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

Afterwards some of the Pharisees, who deny there is any resurrection, accosted him with this question,

Then certain of the Pharisees answered and said, "Master, thou hast well said."

And Jesus said to them [i.e., the Pharisees. See Matt. 22:41], "How is it that they [i.e., the experts in the law of Moses. See Mark 12:35] can say that the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one] is the son of David?

Then the officers returned to the chief priest and Pharisees,

Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.

But these Jews [i.e., Pharisees] did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight back until they called his parents

The Pharisees said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he restore your sight?"

The man replied, "Is not that strange! You do not know where he came from and yet he restored my sight! [Note: The next sentence may be the beggar stating the Pharisees' argument. See verse 24].

Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him.

Thematic Bible



Now the Pharisees who were lovers of money had been listening to all this, and they began to ridicule Him.


So they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, to say to Him, "Teacher, we know that you are in the habit of telling the truth and of teaching the way of God in honesty, and you do not care what anyone says, for you are not partial.


Meanwhile as the people had gathered in tens of thousands, so that they were trampling upon one another, He began to say, first of all, to His disciples: "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, hypocrisy.

"Also whenever you fast, you must not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they put on a gloomy countenance, to let people see them fasting. I solemnly say to you, they already have their reward. But whenever you, follower of mine, fast, perfume your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen, not by men but by your Father who is unseen, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

"Listen to another story. There was once an owner of an estate who planted a vineyard and built a fence around it, and hewed out a wine-vat in it, and built a tower, and rented it to tenant farmers, and then went abroad. But when the time for gathering grapes was near, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his rent. But the tenants took his slaves and beat the first one, killed the second, and stoned the third. read more.
Again he sent other slaves, and more than at first, and they treated them exactly the same way. At last he sent his son to them, for he said to himself, 'They will surely respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is his heir, come on, let us kill him, and get all that is coming to him!' So they took him and drove him out of the vineyard and murdered him. Now when the owner of the estate comes back, what will he do to these tenants?" They answered, "In vengeance he will put the scoundrels to death, and rent the vineyard to other tenants who will promptly pay him the rent." Then Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: 'That stone which the builders threw away has become the cornerstone; this is the work of the Lord and seems wonderful to us!' "This, I tell you, is why the kingdom will be taken away from you, and given to a people who will pay a fair rent for it. Who ever falls upon that stone will be broken to pieces, but whomever it falls upon will be crushed to powder." When the high priests and the Pharisees heard His stories, they knew that He was speaking about them, but although they were trying to have Him arrested, they were afraid of the people, for they considered Him a prophet.

So whenever you do your deeds of charity, never blow your own horn in public, as the hypocrites are in the habit of doing in the synagogues and on the street corners, to be praised by the people. I solemnly say to you, they already have their reward. But whenever you, a follower of mine, do a deed of charity, never let your own left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your deed of charity may be secret, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you. read more.
"Also, whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, to attract the attention of people. I solemnly say to you, they already have their reward. But whenever you, follower of mine, pray, you must go to your most private place, shut the door, and pray to your Father in secret, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you. And whenever you pray, you must not keep on repeating set phrases, as the heathen do, for they suppose that they will be heard in accordance with the length of their prayers, So then you must not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus, and asked Him, "Why do your disciples break the rules handed down by our forefathers? For they do not practice washing their hands when they take their meals." But He answered, "Why do you too break God's command for the sake of the rules that have been handed down to you? read more.
For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever tells his father or mother, "Everything I have that might be used for helping you, is devoted to God," is under no obligation at all to help his parent.' So you have set aside what God has said for the sake of what has been handed down to you. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied beautifully about you, when he said: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is an empty show; the things they teach are only men's precepts.'"

The Pharisees and the Sadducees came up, and to test Him asked Him to show them a spectacular sign from heaven. He answered, Omitted Text. read more.
"It is a wicked and immoral age that is hankering for a spectacular sign, so no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah." Then He left them and went away. When the disciples crossed the sea, they forgot to take any bread. And Jesus said to them, "Look out, and keep on guarding yourselves against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees!" Then they began to discuss it among themselves, and said, "It is because we did not take any bread." Jesus knew it and said, "Why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Have you so little faith? Do you not understand yet? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many basketfuls you took up? Nor the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many hamper-basketfuls you took up? How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you about bread, when I said, keep on guarding yourselves against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees?" Then they understood that He meant, guard yourselves not against yeast for bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

"The scribes and Pharisees have taken Moses' seat as teachers. So everything they tell you, do and practice, but stop doing what they do, for they preach but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens and fasten them on men's shoulders, but they refuse to lift a finger to help bear them. read more.
They do what they do to attract people's attention. They wear on their coats Scripture texts in big letters, and they wear large tassels, and they like the places of honor at feasts and the front seats in synagogues, to be greeted with honor in public places, and to have men call them 'Teacher.' But as for you, you must not seek for others to call you 'Teacher,' for you have but one who is 'Teacher,' and you are all brothers. And you must not call anyone on earth 'father,' for the Heavenly One is your Father. And you must not be called 'leaders,' for you have only one Leader, and that is Christ. Whoever is greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. "A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! For you bolt the doors of the kingdom of heaven in men's faces, for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you let those who are trying to do so go in. Omitted Text. A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! For you scour land and sea to win a single convert, and when he is won you make him twice as fit for the pit as you are. A curse on you, you blind leaders who say, 'Whoever swears by the sanctuary is not duty-bound, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is duty-bound.' You blind fools! which is greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that makes the gold sacred? You say, 'Whoever swears by the altar is not duty-bound, but whoever swears by the offering on the altar is duty-bound!' You blind men! which is greater, the offering, or the altar that makes the offering sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by everything on it; whoever swears by the sanctuary swears by it and by Him who dwells in it; whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. "A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! For you pay tithes on mint and dill and cummin, and yet leave out the more vital matters of the law, justice, love and fidelity. These latter especially you ought to have done, but ought not to have left out the former. You blind leaders, who are straining out the gnat but gulping down the camel! A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of your greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees! You must first clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may be clean too. "A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you are like white-washed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead people's bones and everything that is unclean! So you, too, on the outside seem to people to be upright, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. "A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you build tombs for the prophets, and decorate monuments for the upright, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have been sharers with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' So you are witnessing against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Then fill up to the brim the cup of your forefathers' guilt! You serpents! You brood of vipers! How can you escape a sentence to the pit!

Now He was driving a dumb demon out of a man, and when the demon went out of him, the dumb man spoke. The crowds were astonished. But some of them said, "It is with the help of Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that He is driving the demons out." But others, to test Him, were demanding from Him a spectacular sign from heaven. read more.
But He knew what they were thinking, and so said to them, "Any kingdom that is not united is in the process of destruction, and one house falls after another. And if Satan is really disunited, how can his kingdom last? Yet you say that I am driving the demons out with Beelzebub's help. Now if I with Beelzebub's help am driving the demons out, with whose help do your sons drive them out? But if I by the finger of God am driving the demons out, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man well armed keeps guard over his dwelling, his property is secure. But when a man stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he strips him of all his arms on which he relied, and distributes his goods as spoils. Whoever is not in partnership with me is against me, and whoever does not gather in partnership with me, scatters. "When the foul spirit goes out of a man, it wanders about in deserts in search for rest, and since it finds none, it says, 'I will go back to my house which I left.' And it goes and finds it unoccupied, swept, and ready for use. Then it goes and gets seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there, and so the end of that man is worse than the beginning." Just as He was saying this, a woman in the crowd lifted her voice and said, "Blessed is the mother who bore you and nursed you!" But He said, "Yes, but better still, blessed are those who listen to God's message and practice it!" Now as the crowds continued to throng upon Him, He began to say: "This is a wicked age. It is looking for a spectacular sign, but none will be given it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this age. The queen of the south will rise at the judgment with the men of this age and will condemn them, for she came from the very ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom; and yet, One who is more than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise at the judgment with the men of this age and will condemn them, for they turned to the message preached by Jonah, and yet One who is more than Jonah is here. No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a peck-measure, but he puts it on the lampstand, that the people who come in may enjoy the light. Your eye is the very lamp of your body. When your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light. But if your eye is unsound, your body is full of darkness. So be on your guard that the very source of light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light with no part of it in darkness, it will all be as light for you as it is when a lamp makes it light for you by its shining." When He had said this, a Pharisee asked Him to lunch at his house, and He went in and took His place at table. The Pharisee noticed that He did not first wash before lunch, and was surprised. But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees have the habit of cleaning the outside of your cups and dishes, but inside you yourselves are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside too? But dedicate once for all your inner self, and at once you will have everything clean. But a curse on you Pharisees, because you pay tithes on mint, rue, and every tiny garden herb, but neglect justice and the love of God! These latter especially you ought to have done, but ought not to have neglected the former. A curse on you Pharisees, because you like to have the front seats in synagogues, and to be greeted with honor in public places! A curse on you, because you are like unmarked graves which men walk over without knowing it!" Then an expert in the law interrupted Him and said, "Teacher, in saying this you are insulting us, too." He said, "Yes, a curse on you experts in the law, too, because you load people down with loads too heavy to carry, and yet you do not touch the loads yourselves with one of your fingers! A curse on you, because you build monuments for the prophets, whom your forefathers killed! So you testify to what your forefathers did and approve it, because they killed them and you build monuments for them. This is why the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will persecute'; so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the creation of the world may be charged against the men of this age -- from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against the men of this age. A curse on you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to the door of knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you kept out those who tried to get in." After He left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be violently enraged against Him and to try to draw Him out on many subjects, plotting, as if in ambush, to entrap Him in something that might fall from His lips.

Now all the tax-collectors and notorious sinners were crowding around Him to listen to Him. And so the Pharisees and scribes continually grumbled, and said, "This fellow is welcoming notorious sinners, and even eating with them." So He told them the following story: read more.
"What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep, and if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and continue to look for the lost one until he finds it? And when he finds it, with joy he puts it on his shoulders, and when he reaches home he calls in his friends and neighbors, and says to them, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinful person who repents than over ninety-nine upright people who do not need any repentance. "Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them, does not light a lamp and sweep the house, and look carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls in her friends and neighbors, and says, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found the coin which I lost!'


Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him as follows: "Teacher, we would like to see a spectacular sign given by you." But He answered, "Only a wicked and treacherous age is hankering for a spectacular sign, and no sign will be given it but the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Then His disciples came up to Him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were knocked breathless to hear what you have just said?"

None of the authorities or of the Pharisees have believed in Him, have they?


"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up here in this city, and carefully educated under the teaching of Gamaliel in the law of our forefathers. I was zealous for God, as all of you are today.

Now there was a man named Nicodemus, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees and was a leader among the Jews.

But some members of the Pharisaic party, who had become believers, arose and said that such converts must be circumcised and told to keep the law of Moses.


Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus, and asked Him, "Why do your disciples break the rules handed down by our forefathers? For they do not practice washing their hands when they take their meals." But He answered, "Why do you too break God's command for the sake of the rules that have been handed down to you?

The Pharisees met about Him, and also some scribes who had come from Jerusalem. They had noticed that some of His disciples were in the habit of eating their meals without first giving their hands a ceremonial washing to make them clean. For the Pharisees and all the Jews practice the customs handed down to them from their forefathers, read more.
and will never eat until they have carefully washed their hands, and they never eat anything brought from the market until they wash it; and they have many other religious practices which they got from their forefathers, as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pans. And so the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why is it that your disciples do not practice the customs handed down from our forefathers, but eat their meals without purifying their hands?" But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death,' but you say if a man tells his father or mother, 'Everything I have that may be of use to you is Corban,' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother; and so you set aside what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many other practices like these." Again He called the people to Him and said, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from the outside can make him foul, but the things that come from the inside of a man are the things that make him foul."


One Sabbath, when He went to take a meal at the house of a Pharisee who was a member of the council, they continued to watch Him closely.

Now one of the Pharisees invited Him to take dinner with him. So He came to the Pharisee's house and took His place at the table.

When He had said this, a Pharisee asked Him to lunch at his house, and He went in and took His place at table.


Then John's disciples went up to Him, and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees practice fasting, but your disciples do not?"

I fast two days in the week. I pay a tithe on everything I get.'


And some Pharisees came up to Him, to try Him out with the question, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?"

Then the Pharisees went and made a plot to trap Him in argument. So they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, to say to Him, "Teacher, we know that you are in the habit of telling the truth and of teaching the way of God in honesty, and you do not care what anyone says, for you are not partial. So give us your opinion on the question: Is it right to pay Caesar the poll-tax, or not?" read more.
But Jesus saw their malicious plot, and so asked, "Why are you testing me so, you hypocrites? Show me a poll-tax coin." And He asked them, "Whose likeness and title is this?" They answered, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Pay Caesar, therefore, what belongs to Caesar, and pay God what belongs to God." And when they heard it, they were dumbfounded; and they left Him and went away.


Because Paul knew that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, he began to cry out in the council chamber, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a Pharisee's son, and now I am on trial for the hope of the resurrection of the dead."

for they have known all along from the first, if they would but testify to it, that I as a Pharisee have lived by the standard of the strictest sect of our religion.


And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax-collectors and notorious sinners?" And when He heard it, He said, "It is not well, but sick people that have to send for a doctor. Go, learn what this means, 'It is mercy and not sacrifice that I want.' It is not upright but sinful people that I have come to invite."


For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever tells his father or mother, "Everything I have that might be used for helping you, is devoted to God," is under no obligation at all to help his parent.' So you have set aside what God has said for the sake of what has been handed down to you. read more.
You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied beautifully about you, when he said: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is an empty show; the things they teach are only men's precepts.'"


And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Just look! Your disciples are doing something that it is against the law to do on the sabbath!" But He said to them, "Did you never read what David did, when he and his soldiers became hungry? How he went into the house of God, and they ate the sacred loaves, which it was against the law for him or his soldiers to eat, or for anyone except the priests? read more.
Or, did you never read in the law that the priests in the temple break the sabbath, and yet are not guilty? But I tell you, there is something greater than the temple here! If you only knew what that saying means, 'It is mercy and not sacrifice that I want,' you would not have condemned men who are not guilty. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."


But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming? Produce, then, fruit that is consistent with the repentance you profess, and do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather? For I tell you, God can raise up descendants for Abraham even out of these stones. read more.
Now the axe is already lying at the roots of the trees. Every tree then that fails to bear good fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire.


Because Paul knew that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, he began to cry out in the council chamber, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a Pharisee's son, and now I am on trial for the hope of the resurrection of the dead."

For the Sadducees hold that there is no resurrection, and no such thing as an angel or spirit, but the Pharisees believe in all of them.


but the Pharisees and experts in the law thwarted God's purpose for themselves by refusing to be baptized by him.


Their worship of me is an empty show; the things they teach are only men's precepts.'"


But some members of the Pharisaic party, who had become believers, arose and said that such converts must be circumcised and told to keep the law of Moses.


but although they were trying to have Him arrested, they were afraid of the people, for they considered Him a prophet.

But the Pharisees went out and held a consultation against Him, to put Him to death.

So the high priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and began to say, "What are we to do? For this man is certainly performing many wonder-works.

So from that day they plotted to kill Jesus.

Now the high priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone should learn where He was, he should let it be known so that they might arrest Him.


And some Pharisees came up to Him, to try Him out with the question, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?"

And one of their number, an expert in the law, to tempt Him, asked,

Then the Pharisees went and made a plot to trap Him in argument. So they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, to say to Him, "Teacher, we know that you are in the habit of telling the truth and of teaching the way of God in honesty, and you do not care what anyone says, for you are not partial.


Now the Pharisees who were lovers of money had been listening to all this, and they began to ridicule Him.

When the high priests and the Pharisees heard His stories, they knew that He was speaking about them,

Then His disciples came up to Him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were knocked breathless to hear what you have just said?"


For the Pharisees and all the Jews practice the customs handed down to them from their forefathers,

and how I outstripped many of my own age among my people in my devotion to the Jewish religion, because I surpassed all others in my zeal for the traditions handed down by my forefathers.

And so the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why is it that your disciples do not practice the customs handed down from our forefathers, but eat their meals without purifying their hands?" But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' read more.
"You give up what God has commanded,


So when the Pharisee who invited Him saw it, he said to himself, "If He were really a prophet, He would know who and of what character the woman is who is clinging to Him -- that she is a social outcast."

And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax-collectors and notorious sinners?"

Now all the tax-collectors and notorious sinners were crowding around Him to listen to Him. And so the Pharisees and scribes continually grumbled, and said, "This fellow is welcoming notorious sinners, and even eating with them."


And Jesus said to them, "Look out, and keep on guarding yourselves against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees!"

How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you about bread, when I said, keep on guarding yourselves against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees?" Then they understood that He meant, guard yourselves not against yeast for bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.


But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, highly respected by all the people, got up in the council and gave orders to put the men out of the council a little while;

So there was a vociferous yelling until some of the scribes, belonging to the party of the Pharisees, got up and fiercely contended, "We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit or angel has really spoken to him!"

Now there was a man named Nicodemus, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees and was a leader among the Jews.


The Pharisee stood and said this self-centered prayer, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men, robbers, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector.

circumcised when I was a week old; a descendant of Israel; a member of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew, a son of Hebrews. Measured by the law, I was a Pharisee; by the standard set by zeal, I was a persecutor of the church, and measured by the uprightness reached by keeping the law, I was faultless.


You blind leaders, who are straining out the gnat but gulping down the camel!

You blind fools! which is greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that makes the gold sacred?


The Pharisees and the Sadducees came up, and to test Him asked Him to show them a spectacular sign from heaven.

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him as follows: "Teacher, we would like to see a spectacular sign given by you."


But the Pharisees kept on saying, "It is by the help of the prince of the demons that He drives them out."

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man is not driving out demons except by the help of Beelzebub, the prince of the demons."


circumcised when I was a week old; a descendant of Israel; a member of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew, a son of Hebrews. Measured by the law, I was a Pharisee;

But some members of the Pharisaic party, who had become believers, arose and said that such converts must be circumcised and told to keep the law of Moses.


Now the Pharisees who were lovers of money had been listening to all this, and they began to ridicule Him.

Omitted Text.


After that they said to Him, "John's disciples rigidly practice fasting and offering up prayers; so do the Pharisees, but your disciples keep right on eating and drinking."

I fast two days in the week. I pay a tithe on everything I get.'


To some people who were confident that they themselves were upright, but who scorned everybody else, He told the following story:

Then He said to them, "You are the men who exhibit your uprightness before the public, but God knows your hearts. For what stands high in the sight of men is detestable in the sight of God.


Now one of the Pharisees invited Him to take dinner with him. So He came to the Pharisee's house and took His place at the table.

When He had said this, a Pharisee asked Him to lunch at his house, and He went in and took His place at table.


The Pharisees heard the people whispering this about Him, and so the high priests and Pharisees sent some officers to arrest Him.

So the officers went back to the high priests and Pharisees. The latter asked the officers, "Why have you not brought Him?"


Now this is the testimony which John gave when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem, to ask him, "Who are you?"

Now the messengers belonged to the party of the Pharisees;


"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up here in this city, and carefully educated under the teaching of Gamaliel in the law of our forefathers. I was zealous for God, as all of you are today.

After that they said to Him, "John's disciples rigidly practice fasting and offering up prayers; so do the Pharisees, but your disciples keep right on eating and drinking."


"A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! For you bolt the doors of the kingdom of heaven in men's faces, for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you let those who are trying to do so go in. Omitted Text. A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! For you scour land and sea to win a single convert, and when he is won you make him twice as fit for the pit as you are. read more.
A curse on you, you blind leaders who say, 'Whoever swears by the sanctuary is not duty-bound, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is duty-bound.' You blind fools! which is greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that makes the gold sacred? You say, 'Whoever swears by the altar is not duty-bound, but whoever swears by the offering on the altar is duty-bound!' You blind men! which is greater, the offering, or the altar that makes the offering sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by everything on it; whoever swears by the sanctuary swears by it and by Him who dwells in it; whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. "A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! For you pay tithes on mint and dill and cummin, and yet leave out the more vital matters of the law, justice, love and fidelity. These latter especially you ought to have done, but ought not to have left out the former. You blind leaders, who are straining out the gnat but gulping down the camel! A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of your greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees! You must first clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may be clean too. "A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you are like white-washed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead people's bones and everything that is unclean! So you, too, on the outside seem to people to be upright, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. "A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you build tombs for the prophets, and decorate monuments for the upright, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have been sharers with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' So you are witnessing against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Then fill up to the brim the cup of your forefathers' guilt! You serpents! You brood of vipers! How can you escape a sentence to the pit!


to be greeted with honor in public places, and to have men call them 'Teacher.' But as for you, you must not seek for others to call you 'Teacher,' for you have but one who is 'Teacher,' and you are all brothers. And you must not call anyone on earth 'father,' for the Heavenly One is your Father. read more.
And you must not be called 'leaders,' for you have only one Leader, and that is Christ.


"A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! For you pay tithes on mint and dill and cummin, and yet leave out the more vital matters of the law, justice, love and fidelity. These latter especially you ought to have done, but ought not to have left out the former.


A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! For you scour land and sea to win a single convert, and when he is won you make him twice as fit for the pit as you are.


But He answered, "Only a wicked and treacherous age is hankering for a spectacular sign, and no sign will be given it but the sign of the prophet Jonah.


You serpents! You brood of vipers! How can you escape a sentence to the pit!


"A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you are like white-washed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead people's bones and everything that is unclean!


to be greeted with honor in public places, and to have men call them 'Teacher.'


and they like the places of honor at feasts and the front seats in synagogues,


They tie up heavy burdens and fasten them on men's shoulders, but they refuse to lift a finger to help bear them.


For I tell you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven at all.


They do what they do to attract people's attention. They wear on their coats Scripture texts in big letters, and they wear large tassels,


But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming?


Now Saul, as he was still breathing threats of murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that if he found any men or women belonging to The Way he might bring them in chains to Jerusalem.


Now when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had heard that He was winning and baptizing more disciples than John -- though Jesus Himself was not baptizing, it was His disciples -- He left Judea and went back again to Galilee.


A curse on you, because you are like unmarked graves which men walk over without knowing it!"


for they have known all along from the first, if they would but testify to it, that I as a Pharisee have lived by the standard of the strictest sect of our religion.


None of the authorities or of the Pharisees have believed in Him, have they?


but the Pharisees and experts in the law thwarted God's purpose for themselves by refusing to be baptized by him.


For the Sadducees hold that there is no resurrection, and no such thing as an angel or spirit, but the Pharisees believe in all of them.


Because Paul knew that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, he began to cry out in the council chamber, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a Pharisee's son, and now I am on trial for the hope of the resurrection of the dead."


And the scribes and the Pharisees were closely watching Him to see whether He would cure him on the Sabbath, in order to get a charge against Him.


Now the Pharisees who were lovers of money had been listening to all this, and they began to ridicule Him.


"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax-collector.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees came up, and to test Him asked Him to show them a spectacular sign from heaven.

And some Pharisees came up to Him, to try Him out with the question, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?"

but the Pharisees and experts in the law thwarted God's purpose for themselves by refusing to be baptized by him.

Because Paul knew that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, he began to cry out in the council chamber, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a Pharisee's son, and now I am on trial for the hope of the resurrection of the dead."

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, highly respected by all the people, got up in the council and gave orders to put the men out of the council a little while;

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming?

"The scribes and Pharisees have taken Moses' seat as teachers.

Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus, and asked Him,


No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a peck-measure, but he puts it on the lampstand, that the people who come in may enjoy the light. Your eye is the very lamp of your body. When your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light. But if your eye is unsound, your body is full of darkness. So be on your guard that the very source of light in you is not darkness. read more.
If then your whole body is full of light with no part of it in darkness, it will all be as light for you as it is when a lamp makes it light for you by its shining." When He had said this, a Pharisee asked Him to lunch at his house, and He went in and took His place at table. The Pharisee noticed that He did not first wash before lunch, and was surprised. But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees have the habit of cleaning the outside of your cups and dishes, but inside you yourselves are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside too? But dedicate once for all your inner self, and at once you will have everything clean. But a curse on you Pharisees, because you pay tithes on mint, rue, and every tiny garden herb, but neglect justice and the love of God! These latter especially you ought to have done, but ought not to have neglected the former. A curse on you Pharisees, because you like to have the front seats in synagogues, and to be greeted with honor in public places! A curse on you, because you are like unmarked graves which men walk over without knowing it!" Then an expert in the law interrupted Him and said, "Teacher, in saying this you are insulting us, too." He said, "Yes, a curse on you experts in the law, too, because you load people down with loads too heavy to carry, and yet you do not touch the loads yourselves with one of your fingers! A curse on you, because you build monuments for the prophets, whom your forefathers killed! So you testify to what your forefathers did and approve it, because they killed them and you build monuments for them. This is why the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will persecute'; so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the creation of the world may be charged against the men of this age -- from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against the men of this age. A curse on you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to the door of knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you kept out those who tried to get in." After He left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be violently enraged against Him and to try to draw Him out on many subjects, plotting, as if in ambush, to entrap Him in something that might fall from His lips.

They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and we never have been anybody's slaves. How can you say to us, 'You will be set free'?" Jesus answered them, "I most solemnly say to you, everyone who lives in sin is a slave of sin. Now a slave does not live permanently in a household, but a son does. read more.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be really free. I know that you are Abraham's descendants, and yet you are trying to kill me, because there is no room in you for my teaching. I am telling you what I have seen in my Father's presence, and you are practicing what you have learned from your father." They answered Him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, you must be practicing what Abraham did. But right now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that He has learned from God. Abraham never did that. You are practicing what your real father does." They said to Him, "We are not illegitimate children; we have one Father, even God." Then Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. No, indeed, I have not come on my own authority, but He has sent me. Why is it that you misunderstand what I say? It is because you cannot listen to what I teach. You sprang from the devil, your real father, and you want to practice your father's wishes. He was a murderer from the very start, and he does not stand by the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks out of his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me. Who of you can prove me guilty of sin? But if I do tell you the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is sprung from God listens to what God says. This is why you do not listen to me: you are not sprung from God." Then the Jews answered Him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and are under the power of a demon?" Jesus answered: "I am not under the power of a demon; on the other hand, I am honoring my Father, but you are dishonoring me. However, I am not seeking honor for myself; there is One who is seeking it for me, and He is judge. I most solemnly say to you, if anyone follows my teaching, he will never experience death." Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that you are under the power of a demon. Abraham is dead; the prophets too, and yet you say, 'If anyone follows my teaching, he will never experience death.' You are not greater than our forefather Abraham, are you? He is dead and the prophets are dead. Who do you claim to be?" Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, such glory amounts to nothing. It is the Father who glorifies me; and you claim that He is your God. And yet you have not learned to know Him; but I know Him, and if I say I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you. On the other hand, I do know Him and I do follow His teaching. Your forefather Abraham exulted in the hope of seeing my day. He has seen it and is glad of it." The Jews then said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Then Jesus said to them, "I most solemnly say to you, I existed before Abraham was born." At this the Jews took up stones to stone Him, but Jesus made His way out of the temple unperceived.

Then they jeered him, and said, "You are a disciple of His yourself, but we are disciples of Moses. We do know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this fellow comes from." The man answered them, "Well, there is something strange about this! You do not know where He comes from! And yet He has made my eyes to see! read more.
We know that God does not listen to sinful men, but He does listen to anyone who worships God and lives to do His will. It has never been heard of in this world that anyone ever made the eyes of a man who was born blind to see. If this man had not come from God, He could not have done anything like this." Then they retorted, "You were born in total depravity, and yet you are trying to teach us!" And so they turned him out of the synagogue.


References

Hastings

Easton

American

Fausets

Morish

Smith

Watsons