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Was Yeshua a Pharisee?

Beliefs about Yeshua are like channels on a TV. Depending on what one believes about him determines what they see when they read their Bibles. None of the Christian belief systems people view him through today existed in the early first century when he lived and taught. So, what belief systems did they view him through?

The four popular belief systems (religious sects or parties) in Israel at that time were the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Herodians.

(1) The Sadducees represented an older establishment of priests, aristocrats, and wealthier merchants. They exerted less influence on the religious views of the larger community, but dominated the Temple worship and the Sanhedrin, the central religious council based in the Temple.

(2) The Essenes were a pious brotherhood of separatists who lived in isolated monastic communities in the desert.

(3) The Herodians were a religious party allied to Herod the Great. (Hillel p. 9-10)

For many Christians, “Pharisee” is a dirty word. A sentence that is repeated multiple times in Matthew 23 has branded the Pharisees as the “bad guys” in Christian minds -- But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (Matthew 23:13)

However, during the time of Yeshua, the Pharisees were the most popular sect by far and they represented the huge mass of the people. The main focus of the Pharisees was on the primacy of the Torah, and their leaders were the expert interpreters of Torah. (Hillel p. 10)

Are you ready for a surprise?

Yeshua spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do . . .” (Matthew 23:1-3)

Thanks to the work of archaeologists we now know that the phrase “Moses’s seat” refers to a literal seat. It was a special chair of honor in synagogues where recognized teachers of the Torah sat while teaching and interpreting the words of the Torah. Below is a picture below of a “seat of Moses” unearthed at the synagogue in the city Chorazim. 

(http://lighthousebc.com/beacon/category/pastors-corner/page/3/)

Yeshua’s problem with the Pharisees concerned their actions, not their interpretations of the Scriptures:

“. . . but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” (Matthew 23:3b-4)

On the other hand, the Pharisees’ primary problem with Yeshua was his interpretations of the Scriptures. We know this from one of his very famous teachings.  

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Amen!
(Matthew 5:17-18a)

Sadly, most Christians do not understand what he said because they have not been taught the correct meanings of the underlined words. Many people have been taught that this meant that “Jesus did away with the Law.” He and the Pharisees would be very upset with that!

Apparently Yeshua had been accused of “abolishing the Law or Prophets” and he was responding to that charge. An account is recorded of a teaching by Rabbi Gamaliel, the grandson of the great Jewish teacher Hillel the Elder, in which he unlocks the meaning of the phrases:

(1) “Abolish” means “misinterpret.”

(2) “Fulfilled” means “to interpret correctly.” Talmud (Shabbat 116a-b)

Now let’s update the translation:

Do not think that I have come to misinterpret the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish them but to interpret them correctly.
Amen!

These words make it very clear that Yeshua viewed himself as a teacher and interpreter of the Torah, not someone who came to do away it. Therefore, Jewish audiences that heard the words of Yeshua above would most likely view him as a Pharisee, not Sadducee, Essene or Herodian.

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