[griffin]

"The Pharisees fixated on their practice. "

No, the Pharisees were fixated on traditions and laws of men. They lost track of the intent of God's Laws and they blinded themselves to scripture in doing so. SAME as the catholic church.

[Aquinasfan]

No, the Pharisees were fixated on traditions and laws of men.

They were, which makes this command of Jesus' so intriguing:

Matthew 23

1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

Why would Jesus command obedience to Pharasaical teachings? And what is "Moses' seat"?

[TradicalRC]

Christ did not say to ignore what the Pharisses did but to surpass them in holiness. He granted that they were following the letter of the law and that is fine AS LONG AS you do not neglect the weightier matters of law. The Pharisees were narrowly focused on a single aspect of God's word which strikes many Catholics the same as Protestants repeating the "Christ as personal savior " mantra. Not that that is untrue, merely unbalanced.