What did the Pharisees believe? (continued)High degree of dedication to law and prophetsHeld oral traditions as equally importantInterpretations by noted rabbisGiven and relayed by word of mouthCommitted to writing around 70 AD and afterPharisees developed many purity rituals that went far beyond the law. They taught that purity rituals the law required of priests must be followed by all in case a priest ate with someone who had not purified themselves and became unclean.Matthew 15:1-11; 23:25-26I Peter 2:4-5 – The priesthood is no longer physical. Holiness is not outward but inward.Positions developed in schools of lawHillel – humane and lenientShammai – strict and severeGood motivation, misguided methodsTalmud: seven kinds of PhariseesShouldering Pharisee – wears good deeds on shoulder (Matthew 6:5)Delaying Pharisee – makes everyone wait while he does a good deedBruised Pharisee – walks into a wall to keep from looking at a womanPestle Pharisee – walks head down in false humilityEver-reckoning Pharisee – keeps mental balance sheet of good and bad deeds he has doneFearful Pharisee – in constant fear of GodLoving Pharisee – loves God and seeks to keep His commandmentsSome specific beliefsPurification applies to all – Mark 7:1InterpretationResurrection of the deadDivine interventionHellenismFree will of manInspiration of oral Torah, Talmud, MishnahSpiritual beings – Colossians 2:18-19EssenesPharisees on steroidsBelieved in spiritual afterlife, but no resurrectionConsidered temple eternally impure – did not eat meatMost lived communally – I Timothy 4:1-5 could be referring to EssenesBest-known community was by Red SeaDead Sea Scrolls believed to have been written by EssenesRefused to recognize proselytes and descendantsMarriageSome groups practiced celibacySome required 3-year engagement before marriageCommunal lifeNo ownership or property or servantsThree-year probation period for new membersShared many beliefs with the PhariseesMore meticulous about purification ritualsHeld to the Torah, Talmud, and MishnahSimilar groups in behavior, but not in beliefNazareans – law and prophets were fraudulentOssaeans – much like NazareansSadduceesProbably named for ZadokUpper-tier priests – Acts 4:1-2; 5:17-18; John 1:19-24Ruling classFirst appearance as political forceSupporters for Onias IIIMuch of the priesthood joined inPharisees often prevailed in public matters
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