Pharisees and Sadducees

The Pharisees and Sadducees were Jewish religious parties of Jesus' day who disagreed over the resurrection, angels, and spirits. This page lists verses on what each group believed and practiced, their questions to Jesus, Jesus' answers and warnings to them, and Pharisees named in the New Testament.

What the two groups believed

• Acts 23:6-8
  ⁶But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” ⁷And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.As soon as he had said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.For the Sadducees say that there is neither a resurrection, nor angels, nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
  Show context · Read Acts 23 →
• Acts 4:1-2
  ¹And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, ²Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.greatly disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
  Show context · Read Acts 4 →
• Acts 26:5
  Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.
  Show context · Read Acts 26 →

Practices of the Pharisees

• Mark 7:3-5
  ³For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially. ⁴And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining. ⁵Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.”
  Show context · Read Mark 7 →
• Luke 18:10-12
  ¹⁰Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’
  Show context · Read Luke 18 →
• Mark 2:18
  And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were often fasting. So people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t Your disciples fast like John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees?”
  Show context · Read Mark 2 →
• Matthew 23:5
  But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
  Show context · Read Matthew 23 →
• Matthew 23:23
  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
  Show context · Read Matthew 23 →

Questioning and opposing Jesus

• Matthew 16:1
  The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.
  Show context · Read Matthew 16 →
• Matthew 19:3
  The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
  Show context · Read Matthew 19 →
• Matthew 22:15-17
  ¹⁵Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words. ¹⁶And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance. ¹⁷Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cesar, or not?So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
  Show context · Read Matthew 22 →
• Matthew 22:34-36
  ³⁴But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together. ³⁵Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question: ³⁶Master, which is the great commandment in the law?“Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”
  Show context · Read Matthew 22 →
• Luke 6:7
  And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.
  Show context · Read Luke 6 →
• Matthew 12:14
  Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
  Show context · Read Matthew 12 →

Jesus answers the Sadducees on the resurrection

• Matthew 22:23-28
  ²³The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him. ²⁴Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.“Teacher,” they said, “Moses declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. ²⁵Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died without having children. So he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.The same thing happened to the second and third brothers, down to the seventh. ²⁷And last of all the woman died also.And last of all, the woman died. ²⁸Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For all of them were married to her.”
  Show context · Read Matthew 22 →
• Matthew 22:29-32
  ²⁹Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: ³²I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
  Show context · Read Matthew 22 →
• Luke 20:34-38
  ³⁴And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. ³⁶Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God. ³⁷Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ ³⁸For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”
  Show context · Read Luke 20 →

Jesus' warnings and rebukes

• Matthew 5:20
  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
  Show context · Read Matthew 5 →
• Matthew 16:6
  Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.“Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
  Show context · Read Matthew 16 →
• Matthew 16:12
  Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
  Show context · Read Matthew 16 →
• Luke 12:1
  In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
  Show context · Read Luke 12 →
• Matthew 23:13
  But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
  Show context · Read Matthew 23 →
• Matthew 23:25-28
  ²⁵Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. ²⁷Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. ²⁸Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
  Show context · Read Matthew 23 →

Pharisees named in the New Testament

• John 3:1-2
  ¹There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ²The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”
  Show context · Read John 3 →
• John 7:50-51
  ⁵⁰Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who himself was one of them, asked, ⁵¹Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?“Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”
  Show context · Read John 7 →
• John 19:39
  And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
  Show context · Read John 19 →
• Acts 5:34-39
  ³⁴Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time. ³⁵And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.“Men of Israel,” he said, “consider carefully what you are about to do to these men. ³⁶For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. ³⁷After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all his followers were scattered. ³⁸And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
  Show context · Read Acts 5 →
• Acts 22:3
  I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as any of you here today.
  Show context · Read Acts 22 →
• Philippians 3:5-6
  ⁵Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.
  Show context · Read Philippians 3 →
• Acts 15:5
  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
  Show context · Read Acts 15 →

See also

• Jesus Christ
• Paul
• Hypocrisy
• Resurrection of the dead
• Law of Moses
• Self-righteousness

Notes

1. Verses are quoted in the translation chosen in the Translation menu at the top of the page. See Translations for sources and copyright notices.
2. Each reference links to the full chapter so the verse can be read in context.