Everyone knows Jesus and the Pharisees had a complicated relationship.
If you could even call it a relationship!
Jesus loved them, absolutely.
The Pharisees–well, did they hate Jesus, fear him, wonder about him, or come to believe?
Let’s take another look at the scriptures pertinent to Jesus’ last week–also known as Holy Week.
(I wrote a blog post on this topic here.)
(You can view a timeline of events for that final week here).
(Dr. Eugenia Constantinou wrote a powerful book, The Cruxifiction of the King of Glory, which I discuss here.)
The teenage Jesus and the Pharisees
At the age of 12 as recounted in Luke 2:41-48, Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem at the Temple when his family returned to Nazareth.
On the second day of their walk home, Mary and Joseph couldn’t find their oldest son. They hurried back to Jerusalem for a feverish search.
Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”
And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.
Luke 2: 41-48 NKJV
As I’ve thought about these verses over the years, it always seems to me that if I had been one of those teachers at the Temple, wouldn’t I have “kept tabs” on that kid from Nazareth?
He regularly visited Jerusalem with his family for the feasts. Wouldn’t you have made inquiries over the years and watched to see what would happen to him?
Generally speaking, the “teachers of the Law” were scribes. Their jobs were to study the Law and interpret it for the Jews. They were experts on the Law.
Some may have been Pharisees, but they generally were a lower “rank” of expert in the Temple during these years. They were not rulers.
None the less, surely they talked about this kid from Galilee–who grew up to become a rabbi–and some may have followed him.
Lazarus’ death and it’s affect on Jesus and the Pharisees
While the Pharisees had been suspicious and angry with Jesus for a long time, Lazarus’ death raised the stakes.
They’d not been happy with Jesus’ disruptions (in their opinion) on the Temple Mount.
They were angry that “everyday” Jews flocked to see and hear him.
And the Romans threatened trouble for the Jews if any sort of disorder happened at Passover.
The Romans really controlled events in Jerusalem in AD 33 (give or take a few years).
Enough people, which would have included scribes and Pharisees, saw Lazarus’ resurrection, that the tide began to turn. Who? What kind of teacher could conquer death like that?
Worse, it appeared that some of the scribes/teachers who visited the Bethany household and witnessed Lazarus’ resurrection, became convinced Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah.
Witnessing that event is what sparked Palm Sunday in Jerusalem.
What about the fragrance of expensive perfume?
Six days before Passover (Passover was Good Friday–thus this event probaby took place on the eve of Palm Sunday), Jesus dined in Bethany at Simon the (former?) Leper’s home.
There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
John 12:1-7 NKJV
Mary used “spikenard oil.” Jesus further explained the extremely expensive oil annointed him for his burial.
The oil’s scent would have clung to Jesus for days. “Spikenard had a strong, distinctive aroma, similar to an essential oil, that clings to skin and hair and continues to give off its heady perfume.”
It would have been on his clothes that week in Jerusalem.
Would the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin, not to mention the crowds of people, not have noticed the scent?
Wouldn’t it have been another irritant between Jesus and the Pharisees, Sadduces, and the Sanhedrin?
Were the Pharisees simply clueless? Or defiant? And of whom?
Constantinou’s book well describes the political and religious events in Jerusalem that year.
The Pharisees were under a great deal of pressure as the people began to turn against them.
(The High Priest had been robbing the priests of their due “payment” for leading the Temple sacrifice. Some accounts even mention priests starving to death because they were not paid).
Note in John 12:10: “The chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.”
John 12 describes how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies, and then comes to this fateful line in verses 42-43:
“Even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
They may not have defied the Pharisees as Jesus did, but even the “rulers” saw the truth. Jesus was the Messiah.
All this was borne out later. Many scribes/teachers who knew the law became Christians following Jesus’ resurrection.
Acts 6:7: “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.”
Obviously, the Pharisees feared losing power more than they feared the Creator of the Universe.
What about love that last week?
Jesus and the Pharisees didn’t have to have such a difficult relationship.
He loved them.
He recognized their determination to be true to the Law. But Jesus also saw their fear of losing power.
Power. Control. Position. Money.
That’s what motivated the Pharisees, not to mention the High Priest.
But Jesus’ motivation was love. He didn’t want any of them to perish.
Jesus’ ministry during Holy Week was about reaching for those lost Pharisees day by day.
It’s the very same ministry Jesus is conducting this Holy Week as well.
Jesus loved the Pharisees, he loves them still–and that includes those still hectoring him today.
A blessed Holy Week and triumphant Easter Sunday coming soon.
Thanks be to God.
Tweetables
What was going on between Jesus and the Pharisees during Holy Week? Click to Tweet
Jesus and the Pharisees: Was it about power and control? Or simply love? Click to Tweet
Insightful commentary, Michelle.