The Pharisees were a prominent group that often opposed Jesus throughout His ministry. Their leading questions frequently revealed their inability to grasp simple spiritual concepts, particularly the spirit of the law, leading Jesus to reprimand them harshly and expose their ignorance and distance from God. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, approached Jesus secretly with questions, displaying a literal misunderstanding of spiritual rebirth, which Jesus corrected with incredulity at his lack of insight despite his education in God's Word. Over time, the Pharisees deviated from their initial righteous intentions, as seen in their covenant in Nehemiah 10 to follow God's way. They lost balance, interpreting the law so rigidly that it became impossible to keep, placing unbearable burdens on the people without offering help, as noted in Matthew 23. Their dedication turned into legalism, prioritizing their own traditions over God's commandments, as evident in Matthew 15, rendering their religion ungodly and marked by hypocrisy and close-mindedness. In Matthew 3, John the Baptist confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees at the river, calling them a brood of vipers and questioning their motives for seeking baptism, insisting on seeing fruits of repentance rather than reliance on their descent from Abraham for salvation. Jesus also challenged their strict Sabbath interpretations, highlighting their failure to recognize exceptions for mercy and need in the law, as seen in scenarios involving His disciples and a man with a withered hand, emphasizing merciful love over rigid conformity. The leaven of the Pharisees, described in Matthew 16, symbolized their faithless teaching that demanded physical proof over spiritual insight, leading to a carnal focus that stifled the abundant life God intended. Their fear-driven, minute laws contrasted with living by faith, reducing God's law to burdensome regulations. In confrontations, such as over divorce, Jesus exposed the hardness of their hearts, noting their tendency to justify personal desires by selectively using scripture rather than adhering to God's intent. Additionally, in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, the Pharisee's self-righteous elitism contrasted with the humble sinner's plea for mercy, illustrating how their religion fostered pride and separation from others, ultimately leading to rejection by God.

The Pharisees, as described, were a corrupt, hypocritical, and haughty class of men, with few exceptions, who placed great value on vain traditions alongside the written law. They fasted twice a week on days tied to supposed events of Moses, seeking to appear righteous outwardly. Jesus spoke to the multitudes and His disciples, acknowledging that the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat with the authority to teach the law, instructing them to observe what the Pharisees say when consistent with the law, but not to follow their actions, for they do not practice what they preach. He criticized them for binding heavy burdens on others while refusing to bear them themselves, performing works to be seen by men, loving prestigious positions, and seeking titles like 'Rabbi.' Jesus warned against such titles, emphasizing that only He is the true Teacher and God the true Father, teaching that greatness comes through service and humility. Jesus further addressed the Pharisees directly, listing eight woes against them for their hypocrisy. They taught traditions over the doctrines of Christ, preventing others from coming to Him. They exploited the poor under the guise of managing finances, made lengthy prayers for show, sought proselytes for their own brand of religion rather than for God, valued material things over spiritual significance, meticulously tithed minor items while neglecting justice, mercy, and compassion, and appeared clean outwardly while being inwardly full of hypocrisy. They honored past prophets with tombs while denying their own guilt in continuing their fathers' sins, earning Jesus' condemnation as a brood of vipers unable to escape judgment. In a parable, Jesus contrasted a Pharisee's self-righteous prayer, boasting of fasting and tithing while despising others, with a humble tax collector's plea for mercy, showing that the latter was justified while the Pharisee's superficial righteousness was insufficient in God's sight. The Pharisees' righteousness was merely external, lacking the depth to live by the law's true intent. Jesus taught that exceeding their righteousness requires genuine living of the truth, amplifying the law's spirit over its letter. When questioned by a Pharisee lawyer on the greatest commandment, Jesus instructed them to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind, and to love their neighbor as themselves, presenting these as the foundation of all law, a concept foreign to their legalistic mindset. Unlike the Pharisees, who separated themselves from others and lacked love or concern for the people, Jesus emphasized fellowship, kindness, and mercy as essential, raising the standard far beyond what they could conceive.

The Pharisees, initially driven by admirable dedication to the law, sought to prevent the errors of idolatry and Sabbath-breaking that led to exile, as seen in the writings of Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Their early commitment, evident in Nehemiah 8, was to meticulously adhere to God's commands. However, over time, their human nature corrupted this pursuit, turning it into a vainglorious display of piety and a means to gain social prominence. Within 100 to 150 years, they had become a byword for hypocrisy in Judea and Galilee, portrayed by the gospel writers as self-seeking and play-acting posers. Their confrontations with Jesus often revolved around accusations of law-breaking, particularly concerning the Sabbath. These disputes typically ended with Jesus delivering stinging rebukes, condemning them for misinterpreting and misapplying God's law. Despite their role as supposed exemplars of law-keeping, Jesus repeatedly highlighted their errors, emphasizing the spirit of the law over their rigid interpretations. They viewed Him as a radical liberal undermining their efforts, failing to grasp His teaching of liberty under the law, as expressed in Luke 4:18, and His desire for mercy over sacrifice, as paraphrased from Micah 6:6-8 in Matthew 12. In Matthew 23, delivered near the end of Jesus' ministry in Jerusalem just before His crucifixion, He unleashes a severe judgment on the Pharisees in a public discourse likely given at the Temple. His words are direct and unambiguous, calling them hypocrites, blind guides, fools, serpents, and a brood of vipers. He criticizes their presumption in assuming authority not granted by God, sarcastically noting their self-seating in Moses' seat and urging the crowd not to mimic their actions, as they fail to practice what they preach. Jesus further denounces the Pharisees for imposing heavy burdens on others while exempting themselves, making life nearly unbearable without facilitating joyful worship. Their religion, full of restrictions and devoid of positive teachings, contrasts sharply with His message of liberty, growth, and joy. He accuses them of seeking acclaim through outward displays of piety, such as broad phylacteries and enlarged garment borders, desiring the best seats at feasts and synagogues, and craving recognition as authorities, all for human praise rather than to please God. In a series of woes in Matthew 23:13-36, Jesus outlines their failings: teaching false doctrine that shuts the kingdom of heaven to others, exploiting the weak for gain, fostering zealous partisanship that creates hypocritical followers, practicing sly deceit in oaths to defraud the unwary, neglecting weightier matters of justice, mercy, and faith for trivial tithing, harboring extortion and self-indulgence beneath a clean exterior, appearing righteous while being full of hypocrisy and lawlessness, and possessing a spirit of murder akin to their ancestors who killed the prophets. He predicts they will continue this pattern, ultimately facing condemnation. Despite this harsh judgment, Jesus expresses grief for Jerusalem, longing to gather its people as a hen gathers her chicks, though they reject Him. He foretells their desolation, affirming in Matthew 21:42-45 that the kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to others bearing fruit, a message the Pharisees recognize as directed at them, stirring their intent to seize Him.