Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.
Pharisees
We began this series with the priest of the second Temple Ezra, Looking Back at times preceding the fall of Jerusalem and the first Temple. Continuing with contrasts of Looking Back in real time from our 21st century, we examined a recent history of the Sadducees, whose auspicious beginnings were relatively new in the time of Jesus.
The question of the preceding centuries before Christ addressed who is in charge in a captive Israel, rather than that those in charge must first serve God.
We learned that the Sadducees had only been around since only about 175 years at the time of Christ’s teachings. In fact, the Essenes, like John the Baptist, and also the Pharisees could only trace their roots back to this same time.
Again, think of it in terms of today as looking back to the time of the American Civil War between the divided 33 states of the U.S. Yet the larger question to all generations is: should we look to our leaders for morality?
Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” – Matthew 16:6
Sadducees had it wrong, because they did not believe the evidence of the resurrection. They filtered scriptural knowledge of others by their own strict literal Hebrew translation, which may or may not have been accurate. The other two parties of Jewish belief were the Pharisees and the Essenes.
Pharisees and the Essenes
John the Baptist had withdrawn from the towns ruled by Romans and the religious controversies of power. He believed as the Essenes in a continuing spiritual life after death if we forsake our worldly ways in this mortal life.
Matthew 3:
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” …
5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Even though the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, they also believed more in intellectual wisdom than in following the foolishness of the Lord. The Essenes on the other hand were seeking the Messiah of Scripture, the promised Teacher of All Righteousness. This is why John sent his disciples to Jesus and asked, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” – Matthew 11:3b – NKJV
Pharisees would have seen Jesus agreeing with them on the resurrection as a victory. Yet Jesus cautioned the crowds against their hypocrisy even more than opposing practices of Sadducees, Scribes or other political leaders.
Pharisees had likely been complicite in the elimination of their popular Essene rival, the prophet John, who Herod beheaded. Now the most popular opposition in Israel (which was, of course, a nation no more) was Jesus of Nazareth. Perhaps this charismatic itinerant rabbi is no more knowledgeable of Scripture than a common carpenter’s son. He cannot have done the miracles to which the multitudes give witness. They should easily be able to convince the crowds against this Jesus.
Matthew 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying,
“Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?”
Not real complementary of these religious leaders of Jerusalem. Jesus did not speak against Herod with the prior intensity of John the Baptist or against their Roman governors. Now the Lord shows the Pharisees a Roman coin and tells them to pay their taxes and ‘give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” – v.21a
Jesus also reminds us: ‘and (give) to God the things that are God’s.” – v.21b
Matthew, the gospel writer, Disciple and former tax collector records the reaction of the Pharisees to Jesus’ answer to the question Pharisees had carefully crafted to trip Him up.
When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. –Matthew 22:22
Thriving on Controversy
Pharisees were common people just like you and me, but ambitious to many faults.
In many ways Pharisees are no different than the politicians and self-absorbed religious leaders of today. They argued amongst themselves endlessly about subtleties of religion and culture they thought most applied in these changed times. They legislated their own interpretations of the Law of Moses to educate their disciples to obey as equal to written Scripture and the Torah.
Pharisees interpreted Law written for Priests and worship into laws forced upon all Jews by additional strict rules of interpretation. These oral laws given to fill in the gaps of what the Law does not prescribe required their own scholarly interpretation, as well as obedient application in everyday life by followers of the Pharisees. A few centuries later these new oral traditions would evolve into various versions of modern judaism.
Jesus challenged the elevation of Pharisees and other religious participants into authority and glory reserved for Almighty God. The Pharisees sought to dethrone Jesus the Nazarene by catching the Lord off guard in His exclusive claims to powers reserved for God. Even the Scribes agreed of His blasphemy. For no man, after all, can forgive sins; but many have witnessed that Jesus spoke these words to those He healed:
Your sins are forgiven…
To be continued…
5 And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
10 Then he said to them, 
12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness.