Pharisees and their level of liablility towards Christ

[wkek]

When the Pharisees wanted Christ crucified, their argument went along the lines of Jesus committing blasphemy against God, as well as attributed his works of healing and miracles to the devil.

At the same time, many other people believed Jesus was the the son of God and accepted him as such.

I have been thinking a bit about the Pharisees liability, and as much as I hate to ask it, my question is this: It it somehow justifiable that the Pharisees acted hostile towards Jesus? How could they know for certain whether Jesus did God’s work or whether his supernatural qualities was from the devil?

This also leads me to another question along those same lines: Will the coming anti-Christ heal people and to seemingly good acts of charity? In that case, how will we be able to distinguish the evil anti-Christ from the true son of God when he comes?

Thank you for your insight and help with clearing this up for me.
God bless.

 

[mikekle]

Im not sure on the first part, but I do believe when the AC comes, he will want as many people as possible to think he is actually Jesus returned, he will claim to be the messiah, so it stands to reason, he will likely do many acts of good, in fact, he will probably be viewed as a very good and decent person by most people.

I had a good thread on this topic awhile back, it seems most people think its going to be extremely tough to spot the true AC when he comes, and likely 99.9% will believe he actually is Jesus returned.

Im not so sure on this though, the one thing I keep coming back to is, the bible is very clear on how the real Jesus will return, (he will NOT be born from a women and grow to adulthood), he will come down from the sky as he is, in great glory, so unless the AC comes in the same fashion, it seem like it will be easy to spot him, in other words, he will be the ONLY person claiming to be Jesus and able to back it up with supernatural abilities, BUT he will have been born and grown to be an adult.

 

[CRATUS]

When the Pharisees wanted Christ crucified, their argument went along the lines of Jesus committing blasphemy against God, as well as attributed his works of healing and miracles to the devil.

At the same time, many other people believed Jesus was the the son of God and accepted him as such.

I have been thinking a bit about the Pharisees liability, and as much as I hate to ask it, my question is this: It it somehow justifiable that the Pharisees acted hostile towards Jesus? How could they know for certain whether Jesus did God’s work or whether his supernatural qualities was from the devil?

This also leads me to another question along those same lines: Will the coming anti-Christ heal people and to seemingly good acts of charity? In that case, how will we be able to distinguish the evil anti-Christ from the true son of God when he comes?

Thank you for your insight and help with clearing this up for me.
God bless.

Can Satan cast out Satan? Jesus was the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law. Maybe I should not say that. I am not sure if I am right. The Pharisees and Thomas had the right to their skepticism. There are some sins I struggle to see as wrong, such as doubt. If Christ saw into their hearts, their wickedness - what else is there to know. The devil is the father of all lies. He always comes to deceive. I am sure the antiChrist will seem like a lovely bunch. What is that we say about a wolf in sheep’s clothing? The devil is master of manipulation and deception. Christ warns his followed to be alert and on guard. Discerning the spirits is difficult. I guess the only answer is prayer.

 

[JimG]

It seems to me that some of Jesus followers were Pharisees, so I imagine they were not all opposed to him. And of the various divisions of the Jewish rabbinical teachers, Jesus himself may have been a Pharisee rather than a Sadducee or Essene, for classification purposes.

 

[fisherman_carl]

Jesus did miracles, claimed to forgive sins, claimed to be God in the flesh. These were all astounding things. Jesus said that the Pharisees did not believe in him because he pointed out their sins to them. Jesus taught against the Pharisees. They did not believe for the simple reason that they did not want to. Their hearts were hard to the things of God. How many people do you know that refuse to believe no matter what you tell them? You could give examples of miracles, etc. But, they still will not believe. Their hearts are hard.

The Pharisees considered law to be more important than mercy. For instance, the Pharisees took Jesus to task over healing a man on the Sabbath. Jesus pointed out their hypocrisy by saying, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a sabbath day?”

The Pharisees also took a woman who had been convicted of adultery to him saying that the law of Moses commands us to stone her. Again, they put law over mercy. Jesus turns the tables and says let the one who has never sinned cast the first stone. Jesus himself did not condemn her because he had mercy on her.

After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead the Pharisees not only sought to kill Jesus but also Lazarus because everyone was coming to believe in Jesus because of him.

Jesus says to them: "“I go away, and you will seek me and die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” And he continues, "I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.” (John 8:24)

Jesus says the Pharisees would persevere and die in their state of sin and infidelity and stubborn refusal to believe in him.

Also, the Pharisees were the religious leaders. And, so represented religious corruption in Jerusalem, written about in the prophets. The whole history of Israel was one of turning away from God, being exiled in punishment, and having a remnant survive. Jesus’ desire is to nurture Jerusalem like a mother, but Jerusalem would not have any of it.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 38*¶ Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate. 39*¶ For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’*” (Mt 23:37-39)

Finally, when Jesus rose from the dead the Pharisees instead of investigating themselves bribed the guards to lie about what happened.

 

[Leo714]

you can get the best explanation from the Bible itself on this, but basically the Pharisees weren’t worried about whether or not Jesus was the son of God, they were worried about their positions. They placed all or most of the importance on following rules, rather than following God which is why their hearts were so hard when God appeared to them. They were so bent on following rules that they lost the understanding of why those rules were set in place to begin with, it’s like they put those rules on a pedestal rather than God and therefore weren’t able to realize Jesus was God because of how lost they became. They saw him as a threat to their livelyhood. Imagine, here is a man who says that God cares more about what’s in a persons heart than them following certain rules ( obviously following those rules was a good thing before the coming of Christ but afterwards those rules weren’t needed anymore). The pharisees understanding became so twisted that rules were more important than the lives of people, which is why they crucified Jesus. And since they were profitable from those rules, the threat of someone coming along and saying that people no longer needed them was unimaginable. ALSO lots of people thought Jesus was going to be some kind of revolutionary, that he’d lead everyone to take over Rome or something like that.

 

[fisherman_carl]

Also, this passage in John 11 is revealing about what the Pharisees were thinking.

"Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him; but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council, and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, every one will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” "

The Pharisees were worried that everyone would believe in him somehow provoking the wrath of the Romans. They feared men more than God.

“But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all; you do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.”* He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, ¶ and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they took counsel about how to put him to death.”

 

[JimG]

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and also a member of the Sanhedrin, and he was a believer in Christ. Joseph of Arimathea may or may not have been a Pharisee but seems also to have been on the Sanhedrin, and he was also a follower of Christ.

 

[patrick457]

It seems to me that some of Jesus followers were Pharisees, so I imagine they were not all opposed to him. And of the various divisions of the Jewish rabbinical teachers, Jesus himself may have been a Pharisee rather than a Sadducee or Essene, for classification purposes.

That’s correct. If anything, Jesus was in many ways close to the Pharisees - that a few scholars even thought that He might have been a Pharisee Himself. (Now that’s a bit of an unlikely idea, but let’s slide that off for now.) In fact, quite a number of His disagreements with Pharisees are on stuff that even fellow Pharisees would debate each other on.

Also, this passage in John 11 is revealing about what the Pharisees were thinking.

"Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him; but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council, and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, every one will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” "

The Pharisees were worried that everyone would believe in him somehow provoking the wrath of the Romans. They feared men more than God.

“But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all; you do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.”* He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, ¶ and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they took counsel about how to put him to death.”

I should just point out this: the Pharisees are not the same group as “the chief priests.” Historically, at the time of Jesus, the Pharisees were highly-respected lay teachers, but they didn’t have political authority. The high priesthood and a good deal of the chief priests would have actually been Sadducees or supporters of the Sadducees.

Now in part, the gospels themselves (specifically, Matthew and John) are to blame for the confusion, since they sometimes lump the Pharisees together with the Temple priests, and they sometimes speak of “the Pharisees” plotting to kill Jesus. But even when Matthew and John do, it’s really just a token gesture: the Pharisees completely drop out of the scene during the Passion. It is “the chief priests, the scribes and the elders” - i.e. the high priest and the ruling aristocracy of Jerusalem - who actually orchestrate to kill Jesus.

 

[Vico]

When the Pharisees wanted Christ crucified, their argument went along the lines of Jesus committing blasphemy against God, as well as attributed his works of healing and miracles to the devil.

At the same time, many other people believed Jesus was the the son of God and accepted him as such.

I have been thinking a bit about the Pharisees liability, and as much as I hate to ask it, my question is this: It it somehow justifiable that the Pharisees acted hostile towards Jesus? How could they know for certain whether Jesus did God’s work or whether his supernatural qualities was from the devil?

This also leads me to another question along those same lines: Will the coming anti-Christ heal people and to seemingly good acts of charity? In that case, how will we be able to distinguish the evil anti-Christ from the true son of God when he comes?

Thank you for your insight and help with clearing this up for me.
God bless.

Matthew 5
17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 He therefore that shall break one of these least commandments, and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I tell you, that unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

John 831 Then Jesus said to those Jews, who believed him: If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. …

34 Jesus answered them: Amen, amen I say unto you: that whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin…

39 They answered, and said to him: Abraham is our father. Jesus saith to them: If you be the children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham.
40 But now you seek to kill me, a man who have spoken the truth to you, which I have heard of God. This Abraham did not.
41 You do the works of your father. They said therefore to him: We are not born of fornication: we have one Father, even God. 42 Jesus therefore said to them: If God were your Father, you would indeed love me. For from God I proceeded, and came; for I came not of myself, but he sent me: 43 Why do you not know my speech? Because you cannot hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. 45 But if I say the truth, you believe me not. 46 Which of you shall convince me of sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me? 47 He that is of God, heareth the words of God. Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God.

Matthew 2313 But woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men, for you yourselves do not enter in; and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter.
14 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because you devour the houses of widows, praying long prayers. For this you shall receive the greater judgment.
15 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you go round about the sea and the land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, you make him the child of hell twofold more than yourselves.
16 Woe to you blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but he that shall swear by the gold of the temple, is a debtor.