[Previous parts of this series may be accessed as follows:
Part One: Why Did Jesus Appear?
Part Two: The Sermon on the Mount
Part Four: The Tyranny of the Pharisees
Part Five: The Parables of Jesus]
Parables enabled Jesus to bring His message to His followers without directly attacking the Pharisees. Jesus tried to avoid unnecessary conflicts with the Pharisees so he could have adequate time to educate His followers.
Many occasions occurred, though, when the Pharisees forced a confrontation with Jesus. These events often resulted in the Pharisees threatening to kill Jesus and/or Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees' betrayal of their responsibility as priests.
The confrontations do not seem to receive much mention in the Church today. Some of the encounters are mined for universal truths. But the entire three years of Jesus' ministry are filled with one confrontation after another between Jesus and the Pharisees. This rich history would seem to be a prime tool for educating the faithful, especially today in a world that increasingly follows Pharisaic/Talmudic precepts.
The Pharisees decided fairly early in Jesus' public life to kill Him. The confrontations that followed that decision were one long attempt by the Pharisees to trap Jesus into saying or doing something that the Pharisees could use to justify their murder of Christ. Jesus, however, parried all the Pharisees' thrusts until His time arrived.
The following descriptions of some of the encounters demonstrates the Pharisees' intent and Jesus' response.
Assassination Attempt. Followers of the Pharisees tried to kill Jesus in Nazareth early in His ministry. Jesus had read in the temple from Isaiah “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me…” and then told the temple attendees that the scripture had been fulfilled in their hearing that day. Luke describes the resulting tumult, “When they [Pharisees and temple attendees] heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But passing through the midst of them he went away.” (Luke 4:16-30)
Eating Grain on a Sabbath. The Pharisees being rigidly legalistic and without compassion criticized Jesus because his disciples plucked ears of grain and ate them on the Sabbath. Jesus pointed out the Pharisees' hypocrisy, reminding them that the priests ate on the Sabbath and were guiltless. He concluded by saying, “If you had known what this means, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless [his disciples]. For the Son of man is lord of the sabbath.” (Matthew 12:7-8) (Luke 6:1-5)
Disciples Don’t Wash Hands. The Pharisees complained that Jesus’ disciples did not wash their hands when they ate. Jesus in His reply is intended to show how the Pharisees' criticism stems from attaching greater importance to their man-made rules over the word of God, “And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” This confrontation involved the central issue between Jesus and the Pharisees: should one follow the commandment of God or the traditions of the Pharisees? Jesus went on to further warn the Pharisees, “…there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.” (Mark 7:1-24)
Pharisees Want a Sign. The Pharisees were always trying to catch Jesus in a difficult position. In this case they demanded a sign from Jesus. Attempting to butter Jesus up they said ingenuously , “Teacher [!!], we wish to see a sign from you.” Jesus answered sharply, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” He told how Nineveh repented after hearing Jonah, and “behold something greater than Jonah is here.” (Matthew 12:38-41) (Mark 7:11-13) (Luke 11:29-32)
On another occasion the Pharisees again asked for a sign (Matthew 16). In this instance Jesus mocked them by saying they can tell the weather by observing the sky, but they are unable to interpret the signs of the times. In other words, the Pharisees were unable to see the Son of God who stood right before them.
Does Jesus Pay Taxes? The Pharisees wanted to compromise Jesus by showing that He was beholden to tax collectors. They hoped to catch Peter in this trap by inveigling him to say that Jesus paid taxes. Jesus told Peter that the sons of the kings of the earth are free from toll or tribute. But, He stymied the Pharisees' trick by telling Peter find a coin in the mouth of a fish which could then be used for the tax.
On another occasion the Pharisees again tried to flatter Jesus by saying, “Teacher we know that you are true, [!!!!]…Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?” Jesus, fully aware of their malefic intent, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?” He asked for a coin, examined it, asked if the image was Caesars, and said, famously, “Render therefore to Caesar that things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” The Pharisees were speechless. (Matthew 22:15-22) (Luke 20:19-26)
Forgive Sins? When “a woman of the city, who was a sinner” anointed him with ointment at a Pharisee dinner party, the Pharisee host said, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” Jesus attacked him directly and told a parable about forgiveness. He then turned to the Pharisee and said, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Did this direct lesson have any effect on the Pharisees? Their response, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” In other words, they missed the point entirely. It should also be noted that the Pharisee committed gross and insulting violations of common courtesy in those times by not offering water, a kiss, and ointment. (Luke 7:36-50)
Eats with Tax Collectors and Sinners. When Jesus ate at Matthew’s (the tax collector) home, the Pharisees confronted His disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus’ subsequent reply is well known, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:10-13) (Luke 5:29-32)
On another occasion the Pharisees said, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” In reply Jesus told several parables including the prodigal son. Luke then relates, “The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they scoffed at him.” Jesus then said very directly, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” Jesus never minced words with the Pharisees; He told them exactly where they stood in the Kingdom of God. (Luke 15:1- 16:18)
Lawyers. In Luke’s version of the Matthew 23 a lawyer (Pharisee) said, “Teacher, in saying this you reproach us also.” Jesus replied, “Woe to you lawyers also! for you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers…Woe to you lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” (Luke 11:45-54)
Healing on the Sabbath. Jesus healed a withered hand on the Sabbath inside a synagogue. Inevitably the Pharisees asked him, “Is it lawful to heal of the Sabbath?” Jesus must have been weary of such foolishness, but he said to them that “…it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” He explained that even the Pharisees would probably save a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:9-14) (Luke 6:6-11)
In another healing episode in a synagogue on a sabbath Jesus healed a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years. The ruler of the synagogue, said the healing should not be done on a Sabbath. Jesus answered, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 13:10-17)
On another occasion Jesus healed a man with dropsy at the house of a Pharisee. First He asked them if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees were silent. After the healing He asked which of them would not pull an ox or an ass out of a well on a Sabbaath day. The Pharisees remained silent. (Luke 14:1-6)
John records that Jesus healed a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years. The Pharisees were unimpressed because the healing had a occurred on a Sabbath. Jesus answered, “My Father is working still [on the Sabbath], and I am working.” (John 5:2-18)
On another occasion John reports Jesus said, “If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well?” (John 7:14-24)
Divorce? The Pharisees, attempting once again to trap Jesus and to gain self-justification, asked Jesus, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” The Pharisees' tradition permitted such divorce. The question was designed to prove that Jesus was outside the law. Jesus trumped them by quoting scripture and concludes by saying, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” The Pharisees appealed to Moses, but Jesus told them that Moses allowed divorce because of the Pharisees' predecessors hardness of heart. (Matthew 19:3-9) (Mark 10:2-12)
By What Authority. The Pharisees, outraged by Jesus’ feats, including cleansing the temple, confronted Him and asked by what authority He was doing such things. The plan was to trap Him, hoping He would say ‘by the father’ so that they could charge Him with blasphemy. But Jesus was well aware of the Pharisees' incessant attempts to discredit Him. He simply asked the Pharisees a question about the baptisms performed by John (from heaven or men?). The Pharisees feared to answer one way or the other. Jesus told them that if they wouldn’t answer, He would not either. (Mark11:27-33) (Luke 20:1-8)
What is the Greatest Commandment? A scribe tried to catch Jesus in an error by asking Him which commandment is first of all. The Pharisees had hundreds of commandments and rules which the scribes recorded. The object was to beguile Jesus into picking the wrong one. Jesus however, said, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There are no other commandments greater than these.” His questioner was left with nothing to say except that Jesus was correct. (Mark 12:28-34)
Disciples Don’t Fast. John the Baptist’s followers reflected the Pharisees' accusations at one point by asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus explained to them and made a point to the Pharisees, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken from them, and then they will fast.” (Luke 5:33-39)
Miracles by Beezelbub. The Pharisees could not find a way to belittle Jesus when Jesus drove out demons. So they charged, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Jesus made fun of their ridiculous charge, by pointing out thatif Beelzebub is casting out his own demons how will his house stand? Then He pointed out to them that if it is by the Spirit of God that he is casting out demons, “… then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” He then gave the ultimate warning to the Pharisees by saying, “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven…either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:22-32) (Mark 3:22-27) If the Pharisees had any sense they would have trembled at such words, but they were adept at not seeing what was in front of them and in constructing fantastic rationalizations.
Invitees to a Banquet. Jesus counters the unctuousness of the Pharisees by explaining basic humility at a banquet to them. He told them that one should let others sit in the places of honor. And if they want to be blessed they should be generous and invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind to their banquets. To illustrate His point He told the parable about the man who gave a banquet but each of his friends made an excuse for not attending. The man then invited the downtrodden from the street to his banquet. (Luke 14:15-24)
Rich Questioner. Jesus answered a question from a ruler (Pharisee) that having fulfilled God’s commandments he should now sell all that he has, distribute his wealth to the poor, and follow Jesus. The questioner had the Pharisee weakness of loving money. Dejected that he would have to give up his wealth to fulfill what Jesus asked of him, he went away. (Luke 18:18-30)
Zacchaeus. This cordial encounter had a forceful lesson for the Pharisees. Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house. Zacchaeus received Him joyfully. The Pharisees complained that Jesus was in a house of a sinner. Zachaeus declared at the banquet that he would give half his goods to the poor. Moreover, he said that if he had defrauded anyone he would restore it fourfold. Jesus said salvation had come to Zachaeus’ house. The Pharisees and everyone else could not have missed the lesson of the prerequisites of salvation that eluded the Pharisees.
The morale of Jesus’ observation of the Widow’s pence had a similar lesson for the Pharisees.
Nicodemus. Nicodemus, a prominent Pharisee, was sympathetic to Jesus, but his encounter with Jesus indicated the lack of understanding among the Pharisees. First of all, Jesus was not impressed that Nicodemus came to see Him at night when few would see Nicodemus arrive or leave. Jesus tried to explain being born in the holy spirit, but Nicodemus could not comprehend what Jesus was saying. Jesus finally said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen; but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things.” (John 3:1-15)
Eat My Flesh. The Pharisees also had no idea what Jesus was talking about when he said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” The Pharisees were so focused on the worldly that they seemed to be incapable of spiritual, abstract or symbolic thought. Thus they could only see what Jesus said in its surface meaning. The only meaning they could give to Jesus' words was literal. One almost suspects that Jesus deliberately tried to provoke the Pharisees in this incident. (John 6:35-71)
Adulteress. In this prominent confrontation the Pharisees brought an adulteress before Jesus with the intent of forcing Him to condemn her to stoning as the Pharisees' laws required. Jesus stopped the Pharisees’ maneuver by saying that anyone without sin should cast the first stone. No one qualified, and the crowd dispersed. Jesus' words had underlined their tyranny and lack of forgiveness. (John 8:1-11)
Witness to Self. The Pharisees accused Jesus of bearing witness to himself making his testimony untrue. Jesus’ response, “I bear witness to myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness to me.” Exhibiting no understanding of what Jesus said they asked, “Where is your Father?” Did Jesus laugh at them? It is not recorded. (John 8:12-20)
The confrontation continued when Jesus told the Pharisees that they do what they heard from their father (meaning the devil). The reply, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus pointed out, “If your were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did.” Again the Pharisees missed the point in their response. Jesus finally said (in exasperation?) the following, which is worth quoting at length because it provides His fundamental assessment of what had happened to those who had been chosen to be God's priests.
“Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot hear my word. Your are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But, because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convict me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? He, who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (!!!) (John 8:31-47)
Before Abraham, I Am. The next stage of this confrontation proceeds from the Pharisees' disbelief when Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.” Their response was that Abraham died and is Jesus therefore greater than Abraham? Jesus' answer brought them to the point of trying to stone Him when He stated, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw and was glad…Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:48-59)
Blind Man Healed on the Sabbath. Chapter 9 of John details a prolonged and often risible confrontation between the Pharisees and a blind man healed by Jesus on the Sabbath. Jesus concluded the event by saying so that the Pharisees could hear, “For judgment I came into the world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” John reports the Pharisees response: “The Jews took up stones again to stone him.”. (John 9:1-41)
I Am the Good Sheppard. Jesus told the Pharisees that the sheep would not follow the voice of a stranger (the Pharisees), but would only respond to the voice of their sheppard. “I am the good Sheppard. I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father…”. (John 10:1-30)
Attempt at Stoning. The Pharisees tried to stone him for his good sheppard remarks. Jesus asked, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?” The Pharisees said the stoning was because of the blasphemy of making himself out to be God. Jesus then stumped them by saying, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’?” He elaborated by pointing out, “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” This remark led the Pharisees to try to arrest Him, but He escaped. (John 10:22-39)
Arrest. The Pharisees sent an armed detachment with Judas to arrest Jesus. Jesus acted with compassion and circumspection throughout the encounter. He readily identified himself and offered no resistance. He made the point that he had been preaching everyday in the temple, yet they choose to come after him with clubs and swords at night, as if going after a robber. When one of his disciples drew his sword and cut off the ear of the slave of the high Pharisee priest, Jesus ordered a stop to the struggle. (Matthew 26:36-56) (Mark 14:32-52) (Luke 22:47-71)
Trial. The trial of Jesus was a farce. It was not even a show trial, a form perfected in the Soviet Union 1900 years later. The Pharisees tried to bring evidence against Jesus but the witnesses’ stories did not confirm one another. Finally, Jesus, who had remained non-responsive to their taunts and provocations, admitted that He is the Son of God. Jesus knew that the Pharisees would accuse him of blasphemy because of His declaration, and they did. (John 10:18)
Crucifixion. Even on the cross Jesus still had a confrontation with the Pharisees, who came to the scene to say, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it up in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” The Pharisees joked among themselves with short-sighted delight, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Of course when Jesus did save Himself and built up the temple of His body in three days, it did not make believers of the Pharisees. They only invented new rationalizations and promoted their fabricated story to explain the empty tomb.
On the cross Jesus made his famous compassionate statement, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” This statement appears to be mainly for the benefit of the Roman executioners and the people of Jerusalem. Forgiveness was undoubtedly available to the Pharisees if they repented. Jesus’ request for forgiveness however does not seem to be for the Pharisees because the Pharisees surely did know what they were doing. Their comments in the previous paragraph so indicate. (Matthew 27:32-54) (Mark 15:21-39)
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