The Pharisees did not appear until the second century B.C. They are the spiritual descendants of the Hasideams, noted for their piety, earnest prayer and careful observance of the commandments and the Sabbath. Furthering this religious heritage, the Pharisees' desire was to give the Jewish people a sense of God in their daily lives by developing a series of rules to interpret the Law of Moses in the context of changing situations. They developed a clear cut norm for every situation of life. Jesus' contention with the Pharisees was that their many rules, and demand for strict adherence, ruined the spirit of the law. That resulted in them being no more than hypocrites and pretenders.

The Pharisees were a progressive party. They believed that religion must move forward and not stand idle. They were not like the Sadducees, who tried to set themselves up as the only interpreters of religion. The Pharisees preached religious tolerance and insisted on the right to interpret and explain the teachings of Judaism, so that all the common people could understand. They believed in the resurrection of the dead, be it in an immortal soul; divine punishment of sin; free will reconciliation; predestination; and the existence of angels and spirits. All of these were vigorously denied by the Sadducees, but paved a path for similar beliefs that Christianity would develop.

After the organization of the Christian church, the Pharisees withdrew even more. The destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, quickly saw the fading away of the Pharisees from history, but their influence on modern Judaism is still evident in today's rabbinic scholars and their admiration for the Pharisees as transmitters of Jewish religious tradition. (William Benton, Pub., The New Encyclopedia Britannica in 30 Volumes, S.V. "Pharisee". George A. Buttrick, ed. Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, 1962. S.V. "Pharisee" by Matthew Black.)