Difference Between Jesus and the Pharisees

10. Why is it profitable to consider the account of Jesus and the woman at Simon’s house?

¹⁰ What can we learn from this vivid account? It stirs our emotions, does it not? Imagine yourself in Simon’s home. How would you feel? Would you respond as did Jesus, or would you feel a bit like his Pharisee host? Jesus was the Son of God, so we cannot feel and act exactly as he did. On the other hand, we may not be eager to think of ourselves as being like Simon, the Pharisee. Few would take pride in being Pharisaic.

11. Why would we not want to be classed with the Pharisees?

¹¹ From a study of Biblical and secular evidence, we can conclude that the Pharisees thought highly of themselves as guardians of the public good and the national welfare. They were not satisfied that God’s Law was fundamentally clear and easily understood. Wherever the Law seemed to them to be unspecific, they sought to plug apparent gaps with defined applications to eliminate any need for conscience. These religious leaders attempted to devise a precept to govern conduct in all issues, even trivialities.a

12. What view did the Pharisees have of themselves?

¹² The first-century Jewish historian Josephus makes it obvious that the Pharisees considered themselves to be kind, gentle, just, and altogether right for their task. Doubtless, some of them came fairly close to that. Nicodemus might come to your mind. (John 3:1, 2; 7:50, 51) In time, some of them embraced the Christian way. (Acts 15:5) The Christian apostle Paul wrote about certain Jews, such as the Pharisees: “They have a zeal for God; but not according to accurate knowledge.” (Romans 10:2) However, the Gospels present them as they were seen by the common people​—proud, arrogant, self-righteous, faultfinding, judgmental, and demeaning.

Jesus’ View

13. What did Jesus have to say about the Pharisees?

¹³ Jesus castigated the scribes and Pharisees as hypocritical. “They bind up heavy loads and put them upon the shoulders of men, but they themselves are not willing to budge them with their finger.” Yes, the load was heavy, and the yoke imposed on the people was harsh. Jesus went on to call the scribes and Pharisees “fools.” A fool is a menace to the community. Jesus also called the scribes and Pharisees “blind guides” and asserted that they had “disregarded the weightier matters of the Law, namely, justice and mercy and faithfulness.” Who would want Jesus to think of him as Pharisaic?​—Matthew 23:1-4, 16, 17, 23.

14, 15. (a) Jesus’ dealings with Matthew Levi reveal what about the ways of the Pharisees? (b) What important lessons can we learn from this account?

¹⁴ Almost any reader of the Gospel accounts can see the critical nature of most Pharisees. After Jesus invited Matthew Levi, the tax collector, to become a disciple, Levi spread a big reception feast for him. The account says: “At this the Pharisees and their scribes began murmuring to his disciples, saying: ‘Why is it you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ In reply Jesus said to them: ‘. . . I have come to call, not righteous persons, but sinners to repentance.’”​—Luke 5:27-32.

¹⁵ Levi himself appreciated something else Jesus said on that occasion: “Go, then, and learn what this means, ‘I want mercy, and not sacrifice.’” (Matthew 9:13) Although the Pharisees claimed to believe in the writings of the Hebrew prophets, they did not embrace this saying from Hosea 6:6. If they were going to err, they made sure it would be on the side of obedience to tradition. Each of us could ask ourselves, ‘Do I have a reputation for being a stickler for certain rules, such as ones that reflect personal opinion or common approaches to a matter? Or do others think of me as being first of all merciful and good?’

16. What was the Pharisaic way, and how can we avoid being like them?

¹⁶ Pick, pick, pick. That was the Pharisaic way. The Pharisees looked for every flaw​—real or imagined. They kept people on the defensive and reminded them of their failures. The Pharisees prided themselves on tithing the tiniest herbs, like mint, dill, and cumin. They advertised their piety by their dress and tried to direct the nation. Surely, if our actions are to be in harmony with Jesus’ example, we must avoid the tendency of always looking for and highlighting the flaws in others.