The term Pharisee is often used nowadays to correlate someone with legalism. We know the Pharisees were a group of over-zealous religious people who opposed Jesus and His claims to being the Son of God.
But who exactly were the Pharisees? They were leaders of the synagogue who took charge of the spiritual matters of the Jews during Jesus' time. They were known to be very prominent in Jews' theistic culture- much like priests and pastors have a certain level of popularity and influence today.
But many of the Pharisees abused that influence and used it at various occasions for personal gain. Being a Pharisee did not only mean spiritual leadership but even political. Being a strong influencer amongst the Jewish people, Roman government would often have a political agenda be coursed through groups of Pharisees in exchange for some favors given to them.
But the Pharisees weren't the only religious group during Jesus' time. There was another group called the Sadducees. Though similar to the Pharisees in many ways, the Sadducees were also different in other aspects.
The Sadducees, for instance, had more direct participation in politics and governance whereas Pharisees would often use the voice of the masses to manipulate government to their own bidding. Sadducees were almost always from a high-end class. Most of the seventy seats held by the Sandherin were held by Sadducees.
Pharisees were more financially better-off than most of the common people but they weren't as rich as the Sadducees. This made them more "relatable" to common folk and gave them more popularity than most.
Pharisees and Sadducees had this in common- they were experts in the law and very scholarly in their approach to cultivating a relationship with God. Sadly, many times they would miss the point and focus too much on works and ritual than they did on growing a loving relationship with a God who desires covenant relationship.
This is where the idea of Pharisaical mindsets being linked strongly to legalism came from. Pharisees and Sadducees would often distort God's Word and try to convince us that salvation and favor from the Lord could only be earned, not freely received.
However, not all Pharisees were bad. The Bible does account the conversion of some Pharisees from legalistic doctrine to more grace and faith-lead living. One of them was Nicodemus who met privately with Jesus and was taught the concept of being born again through the regeneration power that comes only through Christ. Another notable Pharisee is Joseph of Arimathea who was most well known for being the kind donor of Jesus' tomb.
Overall, Pharisees held an important role in Jewish culture and many of their actions influenced the move of God in His people both good and bad.
