The Pharisees were a Jewish religious sect and political group who were powerful leaders of the Jews during Jesus’ lifetime and through the time of the book of Acts. They are consistently shown in the gospel accounts and the book of Acts to be opponents of Jesus and His disciples. They were known for their rigid observance of the law, and also for adding many of their own rules to God’s law and imposing them on the people (Matthew 23:1-39). Jesus regularly challenges them on their self-righteousness, and so they hate Him and plot to bring about His death (Luke 18:9-14, Matthew 12:14, John 18:3). Some Pharisees later became believers in Jesus, for example Nicodemus (John 3:1, John 19:39) and the apostle Paul (Acts 26:5).
