The infamous Pharisees… Those who identified with this sect within Judaism appear all throughout the Gospels. Let’s learn a little bit about them so we can actually understand who they were, what they believed and what their issues were.
The word Pharisees, “Perushim” in Hebrew, means “those who separate themselves”. Their history goes back to before the first century and they were very concerned with separating themselves from ritual impurity so they could become more spiritual and closer to the God of Israel, hence their name. They desired to separate themselves from the other nations of the world, the Gentiles, as well in order to keep the Jewish people away from assimilation.
The Pharisees actually were closer in their beliefs to early Jewish Christians or Nazarenes than any other well-known sect of Judaism. They believed in the coming of a Messiah, traditional ways of following God’s laws, angels, demons, paradise, the whole Old Testament, the Judgement and the resurrection of the dead among other things. One interesting point to note about Pharisees is that there are places in the Jewish writings written from the perspective of Pharisees that preach against other Pharisees! Why is this? According to the sources, it was because of the hypocrisy of those individual types of Pharisees. Does that sound familiar?
Just as Judaism was not unified in the time of the New Testament, the Pharisees should not be completely grouped together. There were good people who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees and there were bad people who also did. That being said, the Pharisaic emphasis on personal piety and purity actually does lend itself to hypocrisy and should be a warning for every person who reads the Gospels to always emphasize what Jesus emphasized over “man-made religion” and self-righteousness.
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
The practice of baptism was actually nothing new to the “Judaisms” of the 1st Century. Rather, baptism (mikvah or immersion as it is more commonly known in Jewish circles) was instituted in the Law of Moses as a method of cleansing the body from ritual impurity. In this way, the physical act of immersing oneself in water cleansed the body so the person could come before God in his Temple. However, the use of baptism as a spiritually-oriented method of cleansing after repentance and as a sign of repentance and a life that has been turned back toward God was New.
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
Here, John the Baptist again establishes the difference between himself and the Divine Messiah, his relative, Jesus. Jesus had not yet revealed himself to the wider Jewish world at this time.
27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
The one who loosens the sandal of another is taking on the role of a servant. According to his own opinion, the great John the Baptist was not even worthy of being the servant of Jesus, the King of the Jews. This should give each of us some perspective on the greatness of our Savior, even in his humanity.
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
One interesting thing to note here is that the word for the Jordan river in Hebrew is “Yarden,” and it comes from the root word for descending, going in a downward direction. The very act of immersion or baptism in the Jordan river, or any body of water, is an act of humility and surrender. Only those who humble themselves before the presence of the Lord and surrender their own striving and their own burdens can come near to his throne.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I ask you to keep me in remembrance of those aspects of the Pharisees that your Son spoke against and keep me from pride, selfishness, self-righteousness and hypocrisy. I also ask you to keep me from judging others harshly and to remind me that no one “group” of people can really be grouped together for the purpose of hatred or judgement. Instead, remind me that each person is an individual and that no matter what, anyone can come to the saving knowledge of your Son. Cleanse me in your Living Waters and remind me of the importance of humility and the understanding that without you, nothing exists.
Amen
“For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.” – Proverbs 8:11
All Bible Verses are from the KJV Unless Otherwise Noted
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Great study! And a very good lesson to be drawn from it. I was wondering: have you ever done any study on who the Prophet is in verse 25?