The Pharisees from Jerusalem (Mt 15:1-15:1)

“Then Pharisees

And Scribes

Came to Jesus

From Jerusalem.

 

Τότε προσέρχονται τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων Φαρισαῖοι καὶ γραμματεῖς λέγοντες

 

There is something similar to this in Mark, chapter 7:1.  Once again, there will be a confrontation with the Pharisees and the Scribes (Φαρισαῖοι καὶ γραμματεῖς).  However, this time, these Pharisees will come to Jesus from Jerusalem (Τότε προσέρχονται τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων).  They wanted to speak with Jesus (λέγοντες).  These Scribes were religious experts who determined the traditions to be followed.  They were professional copiers of manuscript documents, although they had a wider role in Jewish society.  The Pharisees, on the other hand, were a political party, a social movement, and a religious school of thought that became the basis for later Rabbinic Judaism.  They had their own expert explanations of Jewish law that sometimes appeared to be hypocritical or arrogant, with the letter of the law above its spirit.  They had a form of Judaism that extended beyond the Temple.  These Pharisees in the New Testament, engaged in conflicts with Jesus and his disciples.