Matthew 5:17-20
The Fulfillment of the Law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 11:37-54
Woes to the Pharisees
37When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised.
39Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
42"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
43"Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
44"Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it."
45One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also."
46Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
47"Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. 48So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' 50Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.
52"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."
53When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54waiting to catch him in something he might say.
The Pharisees were often opposing Jesus...The Pharisees were a Jewish sect, who had a strict observance of the traditional and written law, and commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity...The Pharisees were the ones who in Jesus' time who followed the Jewish traditions and Jewish religious practices very closely...The Pharisees believed in the Bible, and also believed in these Jewish traditions and old Jewish religious practices...Jesus spent time in the gospels to teaching and debating the Pharisees...Jesus tried to teach them and did some like Nicodemus that the Scripture is God's Word, but also there is justice with mercy and love with forgiveness...Paul was also a Pharisee...
Jesus tried to teach them that helping the poor was more important than the washing of one's hands...The Pharisees believed in the Jewish tradition of washing their hands before they ate...Once Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so He went in and reclined at the table...But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised...Then the LORD said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness...You foolish people!...Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?...But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you."...
So the Pharisees knew the Old Testament and followed it in their ways...The Pharisees appear to have faith in God, but not in Jesus...Yet, they believed that a Messiah would someday come...But the Pharisees did not recognize Him as the Messiah...
One might think with the group of Pharisees and their knowledge of the Old Testament, faith might thrive and they would teach those the Scripture they needed...Yet, Jesus tells us of the woes of the Pharisees...Author Philip Yancey wrote, “A curious law of reversal seems to be at work in the Gospels: faith appears where least expected and falters where it should be thriving.”...
After a period of time the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose Jesus fiercely and did besiege Him with many questions, waiting to catch Him in something He might say...But Jesus always knew the right thing to say...