Priests Versus Pharisees in John 11
John 11:47 describes a pivotal moment in Jesus' ministry where "the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council" to discuss what to do about Jesus after He raised Lazarus from the dead. This verse highlights the distinct, yet often allied, roles of these two groups in opposing Jesus.
The Pharisees were a prominent religious party among the Jews, known for their meticulous observance of the Mosaic Law and their adherence to oral traditions [4, 5]. Their name, perushim in Hebrew, means "separated ones," reflecting their commitment to ritual purity and distinction from perceived unholiness [3, 4]. They emerged during the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, likely as successors to the Assideans, who resisted Hellenization [3]. By Jesus' time, they were the popular party among the Jewish people [3]. Jesus frequently critiqued the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and emphasis on outward observance over inner transformation, such as tithing herbs while neglecting justice and the love of God [7, 9, 10]. For instance, Matthew 9:11 records the Pharisees questioning Jesus' disciples about His association with "tax collectors and sinners" [1]. John Gill notes that the Pharisees were "the strictest observers of the Mosaic ritual" [5].
The chief priests, on the other hand, represented the priestly aristocracy, primarily Sadducees, who controlled the Temple and its sacrificial system. While the sources do not explicitly detail the chief priests' specific theological distinctives in John 11, their primary concern was the preservation of their authority and the stability of their relationship with Roman rule. The prophet Jeremiah condemned both prophets and priests for being "profane" and for wickedness found "in my house," indicating a long-standing issue with the religious leadership [2].
In John 11, the immediate context for their joint council is the resurrection of Lazarus. This miracle was so undeniable that "many of the Jews who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him" [John 11:45]. However, "some of them went their way to the Pharisees... and told them what things Jesus had done" [11]. This report spurred the religious leaders to action. John Gill observes that these informants were motivated by malice and envy, seeking to "irritate them, and put them upon schemes to destroy him" [11].
The council's concern, as articulated by Caiaphas, the high priest, was that if Jesus continued His miracles, "everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation" [John 11:48]. This statement reveals the political dimension of their opposition. The chief priests feared a popular uprising that would provoke Roman intervention, leading to the loss of their religious and political autonomy. John Calvin, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, points to this council as a "memorable example" where, despite external appearances of a legitimate assembly, the truth was condemned, and Jesus was judged [6].
While the Pharisees and chief priests often had different motivations—the Pharisees concerned with religious law and tradition, the chief priests with political power and Temple authority—they united in their opposition to Jesus. Their shared goal was to eliminate Jesus, whom they perceived as a threat to their respective spheres of influence. This alliance is also seen in other instances, such as when "the chief priests, Scribes, and elders" sent "certain of the Pharisees" to question Jesus in the temple [8]. The council ultimately concluded that it was "expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not" [John 11:50]. This decision, made by the combined authority of the chief priests and Pharisees, set in motion the events leading to Jesus' crucifixion.
Sources
- Matthew “Matthew 9:11 (LITV) — And seeing, the Pharisees said to His disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
- King James Version “[KJV] Jeremiah 23:11 — For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Pharisees — Separatists (Heb. persahin, from parash, "to separate"). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the "pious"), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt against his heathenizing policy. The first mention of them is in a description by Josephus of the three sects or schools into which the Jews were divided (B.C. 145). The other two sects were the Essenes and the Sadducees. In the time of our Lord they were the popular party (John 7:48). They were extremely accurate and minute in all matters appertaining to the l”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Pharisees — a religious party or school among the Jews at the time of Christ, so called from perishin, the Aramaic form of the Hebrew word perushim, "separated." The chief sects among the Jews were the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes, who may be described respectively as the Formalists, the Freethinkers and the Puritans. A knowledge of the opinions and practices of the Pharisees at the time of Christ is of great importance for entering deeply into the genius of the Christian religion. A cursory perusal of the Gospels is sufficient to show that Christ's teachi”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Pharisees, The — A sect of the Jews -- Ac 15:5. The strictest observers of the Mosaic ritual -- Ac 26:5. By descent, especially esteemed -- Ac 23:6. Character of Zealous of the law. -- Ac 15:5; Php 3:5. Zealous of tradition. -- Mr 7:3,5-8; Ga 1:14. Outwardly moral. -- Lu 18:11; Php 3:5,6. Rigid in fasting. -- Lu 5:33; 18:12. Active in proselytising. -- Mt 23:15. Self-righteous. -- Lu 16:15; 18:9. Avaricious. -- Mt 23:14; Lu 16:14. Ambitious of precedence. -- Mt 23:6. Fond of public salutations. -- Mt 23:7. Fond of distinguished titles. -- Mt 23:7-10. Particular in pa”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 91: present. But because they had met with no other intention than to flatter the impious king, Satan is sent by the Lord to be a lying spirit in all their mouths. The truth is there unanimously condemned. Micaiah is judged a heretic, is smitten, and cast into prison. So was it done to Jeremiah, and so to the other prophets. 7. But there is one memorable example which may suffice for all. In the council which the priests and Pharisees assembled at Jerusalem against Christ ( John 11:47 ), what is wanting, in so far as external appearanc”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 6: Augustine — Homilies on the Gospels — CHAP.LXXV.--OF THE PHARISEES WHO SIT IN (part 2): outside of the cup and platter."(1) And after this, Luke reports other utterances which were directed against the said Pharisees and scribes and teachers of the law, which are of a similar tenor to those which Matthew also recounts in this passage which we have taken in hand at present to consider.(2) Wherefore, although Matthew records these things in a manner which, while it is true indeed that the house of that Pharisee is not mentioned by name, yet does not specify as the scene where the wo”
- Mark (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Mark 12:11: And they send unto him,.... That is, the chief priests, Scribes, and elders, who had been with Jesus in the temple, and were silenced by his reasonings, and provoked by his parables; and therefore left him, and went together to consult what methods they should take to get him into their hands, and be revenged on him; the result of which was, they send to him certain of the Pharisees. The Syriac and Persic versions read "Scribes", who were the more skillful and learned part of that body of men, and scrupled paying tribute to Caesar, he being an Heathen prince, and the”
- Luke (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Luke 11:42: 11:42-52 What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! Woes are the opposite of blessings (see study note on 6:24-26). Jesus pronounced six woes, three against the Pharisees (11:42, 43, 44) and three against the teachers of religious law (11:46, 47, 52). 11:42 tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens: Tithing was required by the law (Lev 27:30-33; Num 18:21-32; Deut 14:22-29; 2 Chr 31:5-12). The Pharisees were meticulous in making sure that everything was properly tithed, but they ignored the more important issues—justice and the love of God.”
- Luke (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Luke 11:43: Then answered one of the lawyers,.... Or Scribes, as the Syriac and Persic versions read: and so the Ethiopic version calls him, "a Scribe of the city": the Scribes and lawyers were the same sort of persons who were interpreters of the law, and equally tenacious of the traditions of the elders Christ had referred to, as the Pharisees, and in general were Pharisees; though some of them might be of the sect of the Sadducees. This man observing that Christ, in his last words, joined the Scribes and Pharisees together, and charged them both with hypocrisy, and pronounced a”
- John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on John 11:46: But some of them went their way to the Pharisees,.... At Jerusalem, who were members of the sanhedrim; so far were some of them from receiving any advantage by this miracle, that they were the more hardened, and filled with malice and envy to Christ, and made the best of their way to acquaint his most inveterate enemies: and told them what things Jesus had done; at Bethany; not to soften their minds, and bring them to entertain a good opinion of him, but to irritate them, and put them upon schemes to destroy him; thus even miracles, as well as the doctrines of the Go”