Who does not know the sins of the Pharisees? (Especially the accuser of the brothers?). But does that mean that the truths they teach, even if they don’t live them, are no longer true? It reminds me of James 1:22 encouraging Christians to be doers of the Word and not just hearers; from Ezekiel 33:31 where it shows the “People of God” listening to the Word but not implementing it; and from Romans 2: 17-23 where the Jews are proud to know God’s Word, but miserably fail to put it into perfect practice, even though they demand it from others!
You could substitute the Jews for the “Church of God” and receive the same message! How many of us know God’s truth and yet are not exactly models of virtue? Do our personal faults in any way deny God’s truth? As a general rule, in spite of ourselves, doesn’t the Church of God have more truth than any other religion? And Jesus said that “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).
Could this be the WHY while Jesus recognized (and the Church of God should too!) That the Pharisees are the elect that GOD has ordained to sit in Moses’ seat of authority (to execute judgments and make binding NATIONAL decisions ), that He said to follow His teachings but not His bad examples? (Matthew 23: 1-3). In other words, do what they say and not what they do. However, some are so overwhelmed with the real and imagined sins of the Pharisees that they are blind to God’s purpose at work through them. We must be very careful not to throw the baby with the bath water!
Paul, like Rabbi Yashua, also recognized that God has chosen the Pharisees from among all Jewish groups, and called himself a Pharisee “without spot in the law” (Philippians 3: 5-6). Paul, under divine inspiration, declared that God has ordained the Jews to preserve “the oracles of God” (Romans 3: 1-4).
What if the Jews, specifically the Pharisees whom God has chosen, are less than perfect? Does God’s purpose for them null and void? Paul responds: “GOD FORBIDDEN!” Read and believe Romans 3: 1-4. There is no need for controversy. The scriptures are pretty clear!
What about the authority that Jesus gave his disciples? There is no contradiction. They must base their decisions of the CHURCH ON THE fundamental NATIONAL LAW that is preserved by the Jewish Pharisees, not apart from them! Otherwise, they would be among those who “think about changing times and seasons.” The Church of God is built on the Law and the Prophets and is not intended to tear down or destroy (Ephesians 2:20).
The biblical traditions of the Pharisees continue to this day among Jews as Rabbinic Judaism. The Sadducees and Samaritans are history! If and whenever the Pharisees or the Church of God try to enforce doctrines contrary to Scripture, then we must obey God and not man. The government of God, as revealed in His Word, His Constitution, takes precedence over any law of the Church or the State. And note well this important fact: Paul wrote that God has given it to the Jews to preserve “the oracles of God” (the Word of God, the sacred calendar, the holy days) even AFTER Jesus gave authority to his disciples. He did not say, “Now the Church of God has taken control of everything!” That is a Catholic doctrine of demons!
As for the Pharisees, we must be careful to remember that Paul called himself a Pharisee (Acts 23: 6) and would have taught the traditions of the Pharisees, such as the BIBLICAL dates for Passover and Pentecost (2 Thessalonians 2:15). that they disagreed with the Sadducees; that the wise Gamaliel was a Pharisee (Acts 5:34); that many of the brothers remained Pharisees, although they had to grow up and learn that Gentiles did not have to become Jews first and then Christians (Acts 15: 5); and that Nicodemus, who originally met Jesus at night, then went with Joseph of Arimathea, in broad daylight, to give Jesus a proper Jewish burial with spices (John 3: 1, 19: 39-42), was a Pharisee! Not every Pharisee was bad or rejected Christ!
In conclusion: the question is not whether the Jewish group that GOD has ordained to preserve the Bible and determine and proclaim the Sabbath and holy days is without sin (Leviticus 23: 2), but whether or not we accept the biblical record that God has only authorized the Pharisees to preside over the “throne of Moses” and judge with their authority.
Those who tried to usurp his God-given position would do well to remember Gamaliel’s advice about fighting God! God has clearly given certain responsibilities to his Jewish servants to fulfill and that is what they will continue to do until the King of the Jews reigns in Jerusalem with these honors! (Genesis 49:10).