Back in the early days of movies the good guys always wore white hats. In that era of black-and-white film (before color was invented, I guess) it was otherwise too hard to tell one cowboy apart from another one. So we get the white-hat good guys, the black-hat bad guys.
Even though many of those movies were horrible (watch early movies with John Wayne - nauseating, to say the least), it was simple to tell them apart. Now it’s easier, mostly because the star of the movie is a well-known actor and the ultra-super-special-improved-flamin’-hot-OLED-HD shows that scar they picked up as a child star in that sitcom. Simple, right?
So we need to be aware of the era in which a movie was made to tell the good guys from the bad guys. At the risk of sounding old, kids these days don’t know what it was like to trying to keep track of which cowboy was which. Anyone ever notice that even when getting punched in the head their hats stayed on?
Similarly we need to keep in mind the culture around the time of Jesus to identify the good guys and bad guys. Like today there were two major political parties. The Pharisees and Sadducees were sort of like the Republicans and Democrats of today. Now, like then, neither was really on the side of God.
The Pharisees were generally considered the good guys. They were an outgrowth of the Maccabees, who managed to force a foreign power out of Israel. The Assyrians had another war going on, so couldn’t be bothered to swat the irritating Maccabees out of existence. The agreement reached was that the priesthood would be appointed by Assyria (a heavily Greek remnant of Alexander the Great’s empire). So the temple was controlled by folks who (basically) didn’t believe in anything other than the physical realm. For instance, no bodily resurrection for the afterlife.
Since foreigners now controlled the religious center of Israel, the Maccabees fought that influence the best they could - taking control of the synagogue system, where most of the religious training too place.
SIDEBAR:
The synagogues came about after the first temple was destroyed by Babylon and the Jews were sent into exile. Without a temple they needed somewhere to instruct the young.
Ever notice how a meeting of the Great Sanhedrin would devolve into chaos just by the mention of the resurrection? That was the defining issue of the day. Would a person ever get a physical body again after they died? Pharisees said yes, Sadducees said no. Get hauled before the religious council, and all someone needed to do was say “that word,” then slip out the side door while they argued.
Since the Pharisees were those who lived their lives by the Law of Moses, down to as much minutia as possible, they were the model of how to live. They were, in short, the good guys. If they had movies back then, the Pharisees would all be wearing white hats.
The problem came about when they insisted nobody else would get to paradise unless they lived up to those same rules. But those same “good guys” were wealthy enough they could afford to (for instance) keep the Sabbath rules, while making sure the “regular” guys were unable to do the same.
A “for instance” is a CEO who won’t work on Sunday. He’s rich enough to insist, “I don’t work on that day.” But then keeps his store/business open on Sunday and refuses to give folks the day off. That’s how the Pharisees were.
Back then there was a limited distance a person could travel from home during the Sabbath. But the Pharisees would do the equivalent of leaving a toothbrush at a friend’s house so they could claim “this is also my house,” and then travel far and wide while decrying the “regular” folks who had to walk for miles to get to the field they were forced to work on the Sabbath.
That’s why Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites. They followed the letter of the Law of Moses, while preventing everyone else from being able to follow the SPIRIT of that law.
When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus said it was to love God, and right behind it was to love others. Everything else followed from that. If you loved God, you’d naturally love others. Then you’d honor your parents, not spread gossip, not try to kill or steal, etc. Everything about the old testament law is simply an outgrowth of loving God.
Keep in mind, the Pharisees wore white hats. They were the counterbalance to foreign influence. People looked up to them, and aspired to BE like them.
Jesus called them a brood of vipers.
Like the Democrats and Republicans of today, neither side has your best interest at heart. Both sides only want more power and influence.
They’re both a brood of vipers.
