If Jesus had apologized, He would have sent the wrong message that the lawyers were not like the Phari-sees. The first pericope (49–53) deals with the kind of conflict best described as persecution because of Jesus, whereas Watch what Jesus did. It is organized into four parts: the rise of the hăsīdīm and its apparent division into two parties, the nature of both groups according to the limited source material available, Jesus interaction with the Pharisees according the above background (Matthe