So I stumbled upon a video on YouTube by Sam Aronow looking at Jesus time and preaching through a Jewish point of view (I’ll link below). In the video he puts forth several theories but one I found particular interesting was his theory that Jesus was a Pharisee himself. Unfortunately, Sam doesn’t go into detail about why he thinks that. However, after doing some digging it’s seems that Sam is not alone in this theory and that others in the field have put this forth as well based on these points:
-Jesus teachings and preaching dealt with topics that were almost exclusively Pharisaic concerns. Pharisees taught resurrection of the dead. Pharisees taught end of times/judgment day. Pharisees taught that God cared (more) about the state of your heart/intentions than God cared about how perfectly you went through the legal motions.
-If you look at the Sermon on the Mount, and compare it to known Pharisaic teachings (for instance, in the tractate called Pirkei Avot, or Ethics of the Fathers) you will find a remarkable degree of overlap in themes.
-Who is present in his audiences? Who comes up to ask questions? Who wants to actively discuss his positions on Jewish law and practice? Always Pharisees.
-Who donated his own tomb for Jesus? A Pharisee. Who supported the apostles in the immediate period after Jesus? Pharisees.
So any thoughts to this theory?
