Jesus and the Pharisees: First-Century Power Players, Part 4

To help you better understand the historical-cultural context of the Acts of Faith series (The Centurion's Wife, The Hidden Flame, and The Damascus Way), I'd like to introduce you to the primary Judean authorities at the early part of Acts. This is Part 4 of 10.

Jesus and the Pharisees

The Pharisees were by far the closer of these two dominant forces to the lowly, the oppressed, the voiceless, the lost. They were connected to the very people Jesus came to save. They also were vitally interested in the center point of Jesus' teaching—the kingdom of heaven. The issues surrounding the end times were the most important single component of their biblical studies.

And, ironically, it was toward this group that Jesus aimed his fiercest criticisms. He called them whitewashed tombs, swallowers of camels, blind fools, filth, goats, trumpeters, dirty plates, mumblers on street corners, and the like.

What was even worse, he flaunted their rules—healing on the Sabbath, allowing his disciples to pick wheat on a holy day, casting out demons. This, according to the Pharisees, revealed that he was in league with unclean spirits. Worse, this son of a Nazarene carpenter dared call himself a king.

But the deed the Pharisees could never forgive was this: Jesus publicly accused them of getting God's message all wrong. In return they accused Jesus of destroying the Scriptures, though he had stated that not one comma in the Holy Book was ever to be altered. What Jesus was denying them was the power of interpretation, their reason for being.

Here are links to each of the books in the Acts of Faith Series. I believe it will enhance your understanding of first-century power players to read the novels as we progress through this series.

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Coming next: The Scribes