This group is mentioned dozens of times in the New Testament—usually with disapproval. They were the most religious of the Jews, striving to follow Israel’s law to the letter.
But they could be self-righteous and hypocritical, and on many occasions Jesus preached against them (see 398 [the seven woes]).
Jesus’ concern was that they had created a religion of rules and had forgotten the goal: loving God and one’s neighbors. He told His followers that, in this respect, they had to be more righteous than the Pharisees (Matt. 5:20).
Though most Pharisees despised Jesus and worked to bring about His execution, some invited Him to their homes. The most famous Pharisee of all, one who originally persecuted Christians, was Paul, who became Christianity’s greatest apostle.
