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The Influence of the Pharisees
The Pharisees maintained an incredible influence among the people for many
generations, so that even Herod the Great, Rome’s puppet, was careful not to
offend them. He had no regard for their religious teachings but was well aware
of the power they had with the people and the threat they posed to the stability
of his kingdom if he were to attack them.
Josephus recorded that there were "above six thousand" strict Pharisees
(Josephus, Antiq. XVII. ii. 4) and some believe that nearly 5% of all of the
total population could be counted among the Pharisees. They also held an
important place in the Sanhedrin through the Maccabean period on into New
Testament times. They most likely did not control the Sanhedrin as the Talmud
suggests.
In the New Testament, the Pharisees seem to be the main enemies of Jesus,
probably because He had won a deeper influence among the people which they
formerly possessed. It was the Pharisees who were known as the "experts" in the
Law and so they took it upon themselves to scrutinize and ultimately condemn the
very words of Jesus, and attributed his miracles to Beelzebub, the ruler of the
demons.
More than once the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians had joined themselves
together to attempt to destroy Jesus (see Matt 22:15f.; Mark 3:6; 12 :13). These
passages reveal just how politically powerful the Pharisees really were and the
position that they held in the governing body of the Sanhedrin. More than once
the politically powerful Sadducees yielded to the opinion of the Pharisees.
According to Josephus, the Sadducees had to repeatedly submit to the dictates of
the Pharisees "since otherwise the masses would not tolerate them" (Josephus,
Antiq. XVIII. i. 4; remember the Sanhedrin's acceptance of Gamaliel's
recommendation in Acts 5: 34ff.).
The Mishnah, compiled by the Patriarch Judah (200 A.D.), which is the final work
of Pharisaic rabbis, began a final work in the history of Jewish scholarship. It
is a monument of Pharisaic scholarship and a testimony to the final triumph of
Pharisaism, which now is compiled into the Talmud which has become synonymous
with Judaism.