Behold what paragons of religion were the Pharisees!
They were noted for their steadfastness. The name Pharisee in its Semitic form means "separated one, separatist." Pharisees were known also as the Hasidim, meaning "loved of God" or "loyal to God." Of all the Jewish sects (including also Sadducees, Herodians, Zealots, Essenes, et.al.), this was acknowledged as the most separated and steadfast to God, the "strictest sect" of the Jewish religion (Acts 26:5).
They were noted for their knowledge. The Jewish historian Josephus acknowledged them as "the most accurate exegetes of the law." They were associated with the scribes, "teachers of the law" (e.g. Luke 5:17). Christ said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do" (Matthew 23:2f).
They were noted for their exactness. They would even "pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin" (Matthew 23:23), stringently ascertaining that their tithing extended even to the leaves grown in their herb gardens.
They were noted for their soul-winning. Christ acknowledged that "you travel land and sea to win one proselyte" (Matthew 23:15). They were noted for their works. Their charitable deeds, prayers, fastings, and all other religious duties were highly lauded by their countrymen (Matthew 6:1ff).
They were noted for their righteousness. When Saul of Tarsus exemplified them, he was "concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" (Philippians 3:5f). They had well earned the honor of being distinguished as the most righteous people in their religion.
Jesus Christ nevertheless warns us to "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees" (Matthew 16:6). The "leaven" of the Pharisees was their "doctrine" (v.12). Jesus Christ here used "leaven" as an emblem of an impurity which permeates and makes unacceptable all with which it comes in contact (as in Exodus 12:15, 19). As we have already observed (as in Matthew 23:2f), the doctrine of the Pharisees was in many ways orthodox. But it erred with regard to what they believed about free will and personal righteousness. They were foremost among those of whom it is written, "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:3). Christ therefore warns us that "unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). Pharisees would acknowledge that God's Word teaches native depravity and unrighteousness (Psalm 51:5; Ecclesiastes 7:20). (But the doctrine of total depravity they would never acknowledge.) They would acknowledge also that it teaches that the only righteousness is of Jehovah alone (Jeremiah 23:6; Isaiah 54:17).
But they erred in believing that His righteousness had been imparted or infused into themselves, and that this enabled themselves in their "zeal for God" to keep His law and thereby "establish their own righteousness" - a personal and/or self-righteousness through God. This accounted for their "holier than thou" attitude (Isaiah 65:5), as Pharisees were "the holiest of the holiers." To such persons Paul the apostle declares, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4). We cannot keep the law of God (Romans 3:10-20). But Christ did (Matthew 5:17). Through faith in Him, His righteousness is imputed unto us in an act of forensic justification (Romans 3:21-4:8). Christ's imputed righteousness is therefore the only righteousness which entitles sinners to the benefits of salvation and to entrance into glory and eternal bliss (Philippians 3:7-9; Revelation 19:8; 1 Corinthians 1:30f).
The justified therefore confess that "all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6), and of being in and of themselves "chief of sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15), a "wretched man" (Romans 7:24), "a maggot" and "a worm" (Job 25:6). And they confess to God, "I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only" (Psalm 71:16). But this confession would never be uttered from the lips of self-righteous Pharisees. They must boast of at least some degree of personal righteousness. But even this little degree is damning. As the tiny bit of yeast eventually permeates the whole loaf, a tiny bit of self-righteousness permeates the whole of one's religion, thereby polluting it in its entirety. (Now read the contexts of all the texts formerly cited which named the traits for which Pharisees were noted.) Therefore, in spite of being such paragons of religion, Christ in Matthew 23 calls the Pharisees "hypocrites," "sons of hell," "blind guides," "fools and blind," "whitewashed tombs," "sons of those who murdered the prophets," and "serpents, brood of vipers." It is with good reason that Christ admonishes us to "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees." The only righteousness ascribed to the saints in Holy Scriptures is the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Take heed and beware of him who speaks of any other.
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