The Pharisees, like most Jews in that period, hoped for the kingdom to be restored by a messiah who bore godlike qualities. The Pharisees may have disputed and rejected Jesus’ self-identification as ...

The premise of an "us-versus-Pharisees" dichotomy is further undermined by the Book of Acts, where Pharisees appear as both members and allies of the nascent church.

Yet, in Mark's Gospel, "when the Pharisees ask Jesus why His followers do not obey the laws on handwashing, Jesus rebukes them and says their hearts are far from God," he said.

The Pharisees in Jesus’s day are no different to modern day Pharisees who are quick to point out people’s sin and demand they live disciplined and holy lives. Keep Reading.

No one wants to be like the scribes and Pharisees. When Jesus talks about these people in the Gospels, it’s almost never in a positive light. In fact, they normally serve as a warning, as a ...

The Pharisees were the same way about certain of the laws of Moses. They desperately wanted people to obey the law of the Sabbath and so instituted dire penalties for those who broke the Sabbath.

Giles Fraser and guests hear from Jonathan Aitken, notoriously labelled a hypocrite, to explore how the Pharisees became a byword for hypocrisy. Show more The word hypocrite gets used with such ...