Many times throughout the gospel we read of Jesus condemning the Pharisees. With the exception of Nicodemus, the Pharisees were envious and jealous of Jesus ministry and sought to kill him constantly. The Pharisee's received condemnation after condemnation and woe after woe from Jesus. Jesus said that the Pharisees were the biggest hypocrites in town and often referred to them as vipers.

Throughout the Gospels Jesus many times tells his followers to beware of the leaven of Pharisee's, and he tells them that the Pharisee's are blind guides leading people astray.

We find numerous passages in the Bible that show the Pharisees and Scribes plotting to kill Jesus, "And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching."(Mark 11:1) I really see the Pharisee's as being negative figures in this scripture.

Jesus himself said the prostitutes and tax collectors would enter heaven before the Pharisees. "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you."(Matthew 21:31)

Jesus also accused the Pharisee's of being sons of hell and spawning sons of Hell, ""Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."(Matt 23:15)

The Pharisee's were the main people who interacted with Jesus, but most of the time Jesus was rebuking and condemning them. In Matthew 23 alone we see much woe's against the Pharisees, including Jesus accusing them of devouring widow's homes and also says they will receive the greatest condemnation. The woes against the Pharisee's were certainly consistent, and the Pharisee's seemed to be the most condemned people in the gospel. They hatched some wicked plots, including paying off Judas to betray Jesus and getting Christ hung on a cross.

One thing that does disturb me about the Pharisee's is that they read those scriptures everyday, yet they didn't recognize Jesus for who is was and ended up killing him. This really shows me the Pharisee's didn't seem to have any relationship with God despite their consistent reading of the scriptures. And according to Jesus most of the Pharisee's were on their way to hell. As we read through the New Testament, it seems very few of the Pharisees's turned to Christ. It was the Pharisee's who continuously stirred up trouble against the Jesus and the Apostles.

The Pharisee's even saw Jesus do miracles in their very synagogues, they watched him heal a man's withered hand and then condemned him for doing it on the Sabbath. The Pharisee's seemed to be entrenched in their own philosophy of the scriptures, they knew the scriptures very well, but their hearts were too hard to be penetrated by the spirit behind the scriptures.

There is a spirit behind the scriptures of the Holy Bible, and unless your heart is penetrated by that spirit and there is a noticeable change in your behaviour and perspective, talking about the scriptures won't profit you anything. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."(John 6:63). Discussing the scriptures in a philosophical and fleshy manner won't profit anything, unless you allow yourself to be penetrated by the spirit behind the message it's futile.

It's futile because you cannot know God or see what is behind the scriptures unless you allow that spirit to penetrate you. The Pharisee's read those scriptures everyday and had them memorized. They knew every prophecy about Jesus from the Old Testament, yet they rejected and murdered him, because although they knew the scriptures they didn't know the spirit of God behind the scriptures. If the Pharisee's knew the spirit behind the scriptures, they would have recognized Jesus for who he was, because Jesus spirit would have matched the spirit they knew that was behind the scriptures (You can read the scriptures but if you don't let the spirit behind them penetrate you, you can never feel that spirit or know it). Jesus spirit is behind all the scriptures, because He is the living word of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."(John 1:1).

The Pharisee's knew the scriptures, but they never had the experience of being touched by the living spirit or living word who wrote the scriptures. The Pharisee's never went below the surface of the scriptures, they didn't want to know the living word behind them, they oppressed and resisted the living word that tried to penetrate their hearts when they read it. Their hearts were so hard that they had built a wall around their hearts, and would not allow the spirit of the Lord to enter them. The Pharisee's were immune from the spirit that wrote the scriptures, they interpreted the scriptures into doctrines of man and used them for their own agenda.

The Pharisee's used the scriptures to manipulate people and gain control, they used the scriptures as a smorgasbord, they took what they liked and hid what they didn't like. The scriptures in the Old Testament had a purpose, and it's the spirit behind the scriptures that knows what the true purpose of the scriptures are, but if your operating in the flesh like the Pharisee's were you interpret the scriptures into a doctrine of man. The Pharisee's interpreted the scriptures into what they wanted them to be, they interpreted the scriptures to mean that they were to be obeyed and followed at all costs, and that everyone had to do what they said, because they were the ultimate authority over God's people on earth.

The Pharisee's interpreted the scriptures into the imaginations of their own hearts; they used the scriptures as a way to put themselves on a pedestal in the community so they could live a luxurious life. The Pharisee's loved their reputation; they used the scriptures to create their own reputation in the community of being above everyone else. When Jesus came along they were jealous and at enmity with his spirit, because they never knew the spirit of God behind the scriptures they constantly read. The Pharisee's were following the flesh despite knowing the scriptures; because they follow their own hearts instead of the true spirit. They resisted the true meaning of the scriptures that God's spirit was trying to speak into their hearts, because they didn't like the true meaning of the scriptures. They preferred to use the scriptures for their own selfish ambitions. "Now the works of the flesh are evident...selfish ambitions (Galatians 5:19-20)

When you read the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-20, it lists all the works of the flesh which include murder, fornication and adultery amongst others. The spirit of the enemy works through the flesh, that's why we need to walk in the spirit and not the flesh so the enemy cannot influence us. The Pharisee's were clearly being influenced and used by the enemy, because they were walking in the flesh after selfish ambitions.

There's a lot of modern day Pharisee's out there today. They read the scriptures over and over to their congregations, and they know the scriptures just as well as the Pharisee's but I really question whether they are following the spirit of God. You walk into these places to hear the word of God, and it's like they've thrown the spirit of Christ outside the church even though they read his word. Jesus seems missing from the building even though they are preaching his words.

In the book of Luke 4:17-29, we see Jesus in the synagogue and reading aloud a scripture from Isaiah . Jesus spirit (the living word of God) was behind the scripture he was reading in the synagogue, yet the Pharisee's and congregation kicked him out of the synagogue and sought to throw him off a cliff!

Many congregations and Pharisee preachers today, kick the spirit of Christ out of their churches everyday, they refuse to allow God's spirit to interpret the scriptures and work in their church. They are hell bent on using the scriptures for their own agenda and personal ambitions, they refuse to allow the spirit behind the scriptures to dictate their ministry, because they are more interested in the ministry they want to create just like the Pharisee's were. Unfortunately some churches today have become the synagogues of Jesus time, they refuse to allow Jesus to read and interpret the scriptures in their church, because they want to follow their own ambitions instead of the Holy Spirits ambitions.

Today we have the doctrines of men being preached by modern day Pharisee's in our churches, they love the best greetings in the market places, and wear flamboyant garments just as the Pharisees in Jesus time. "They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces...But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments (Matthew 23:5-6) Today's modern day Pharisee's are leading their churches into their man made ambitions and not the ambition of God. They are blind guides leading the blind into a doctrine of pleasing men to gain popularity, they seek the popularity of all men speaking well of them over: justice, mercy and faith. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith."(Matthew 23:23)

The Pharisee's are still here, and Jesus told us to be careful of the leaven of the Pharisees. The Pharisee's are the church leaders who read the scriptures everyday, but have never been penetrated by the spirit nor know the spirit, because they are a stiff necked people who desire to follow the ambitions of their own hearts. They have memorized Jesus words, but they have kicked the spirit of Christ out of their church, they interpret the scriptures to comply with their own agenda instead of the Holy Spirits.

You walk into their churches and you hear the scriptures being resited from the pulpit, but there is emptiness behind the pulpit, and there is emptiness in the church. You hear the words from the Bible being quoted, but the person quoting them doesn't seem to have the spirit of Christ flowing through him. I guess that's how it must have been when Jesus was kicked out of the synagogue after he read from the book of Isaiah, after Jesus was kicked out of the synagogue they would have continued reading the very words the Lord's spirit inspired. Many churches today are quoting what Jesus said, but I'm afraid Jesus is not in those churches, because the Pharisee's in there deny His spirit from entering.

I'm sure many times Jesus would have wanted to come into the synagogues and preach on the scriptures, but the Pharisee's would have denied him entry and preached the scriptures themselves with their own interpretations. Many preachers today are denying Jesus access to their churches, because they want to preach the scriptures on their own terms and how they interpret it.

Today's modern day Pharisee's call Jesus Lord and qoute his word in their synagogues but, "Many will say to Jesus in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then He will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"(Matthew 7:22-23)