Pharisees
If you lived in the time of the Pharisees, you were in big trouble if
you had a house fire on the Sabbath. Carrying your clothes out of the
burning building was strictly against the law. But putting your clothes
on before escaping was legal!
The Pharisees were the most influential Jewish leaders
while Jesus was on earth. They tried to perfectly uphold the law, and
they imposed that expectation on others. Yet as carefully as they defined
the law, they went one step too far and made it the epicenter of their
faith. Jesus was not impressed with their law - abiding ways; in fact
he harshly criticized them for burdening people with unnecessary rules
and forgetting how to love others.
The Pharisees passionately uphold the Mosaic
Law.
Matthew 9:10-11
Luke 11:38
Jesus criticizes the Pharisees and warns his disciples not to
follow their laws.
Matthew 16:6, 11-12; 23:13-29
Luke 11:42-43
The Pharisees plot Jesus Christ's death.
Matthew 12:14
Mark 3:6
John 7:32
Paul was a Pharisee
Acts 5:34
Acts 23:6
Philippians 3:5
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