Every Christian is familiar with the terms “Pharisees” and “Sadducees.” These were the most powerful religious sects in Palestine at the time of Christ. But few of us really understand the distinctions that defined them, and how important those distinctions were.
Also, many Christians don’t realize that there was a third school of Jewish religious thought that also was influential at the time, the Essenes.
It’s not possible to understand the impact Jesus had and how radical His theology was without having at least a rudimentary understanding of these groups. So, in this week’s post we’ll begin to look at them and how they helped to shape Jewish society and religion.
Jewish society and culture at the time of Christ.
To help put these three important groups into perspective, let’s first take a quick look at the region and at three sources of influence on Jewish society at the time when Jesus conducted His ministry.
No differentiation between church and state.
The first major influence on Jewish society was that there was no differentiation between the Jewish government and religious leadership. As seen in many Islamic countries today, there was no “separation of church and state.” The ‘church’ was the ‘state.’ All civil laws were derived from religious laws or interpretation of those laws. And those laws were administered by the religious elite.
The primary governing body for the Jews was the Sanhedrin, a collection of 71 learned men selected by the body of the Sanhedrin itself. These were the most well-regarded religious or political leaders of their time. All three of the major religious sects (the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes) were represented in the body. Many members were priests or rabbis, but many were simply high-ranking members of Jewish society. They met in Jerusalem.
Rome retained ultimate authority over all things but ceded a measure of autonomy to the Sanhedrin. It allowed the Sanhedrin to manage and moderate civil or religious matters. The Sanhedrin was the supreme Jewish court, and all disputes unable to be resolved by lower Jewish courts were presented to it. It also managed the Jewish liturgical year.
Rome.
The second major influence in daily Jewish life was the Roman government. Rome had conquered Palestine in 63 BC and then installed provincial “kings” to administer and uphold Roman law.
Daily administration of Roman law was the province and responsibility of these local kings. Their primary duties included taxation, maintaining civil order and obedience to Roman law, and suppression of sedition or rebellion.
The Roman influence on Jewish society and culture permeated every aspect of Jewish life. It impacted the region’s trade, economy, philosophy, law, architecture, and even its religion. Everywhere a Jew looked, there was Rome.
The Jews zealously guarded their culture and deeply resented Rome’s influence in their society. Their feelings of helplessness and frustration due to the Roman occupation was a unifying influence, giving diverse groups a common enemy to rail against.
Trade.
The third major influence on Jewish life during Jesus’ time was Palestine’s location and its importance to trade. “Palestine” did not refer to a political entity, but rather to an area on the Eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It was roughly 140 miles long and 80 miles wide. At the time of Christ, the various “states” comprising Palestine were Judea, Samaria, Galilee, Perea, and Decapolis.
Palestine lay at the nexus of some of the most important trade routes of ancient times. This meant that it enjoyed much more economic and strategic importance than its relatively meagre geographic size might otherwise indicate. Palestine was a place where the Jewish culture and religion was met and influenced by numerous other cultures from across the then-known world.
Foreign ideas, philosophies, trade practices, methods of accounting, and writing all were present in Palestine. And they all affected the Jewish society and culture in profound ways.
This interaction with the foreign world produced a culturally rich and diverse society. Ideas were exchanged as much or more as the goods that passed through the territory. It was an ideal location from which the new Christian religion could be exported into the world.
Now let’s consider the three leading religious sects of the region at the time of Jesus.
The Pharisees.
The Pharisees first coalesced into a recognizable school of thought during the middle of the second century BC. They had their origin among the rabbis and scribes that inhabited the countryside. They were “of the people.” As such, they bitterly objected to the Roman occupation, and particularly any attempt to force their assimilation into the overarching Greco-Roman culture.
The Pharisees were the foremost proponents of Jewish purity laws and believed that individual and societal purity had to be maintained at all times and in all places.
They recognized and revered their Scripture but believed that these texts were open to interpretation. As a result, a large body of interpretative work (oral and written) was regarded as equally authoritative and as Scripture.
They were very much against fraternization and mixture with non-Jews (the Gentiles) and stressed the importance of maintaining the “pure” Jewish race. It was possible for a Gentile to convert to the Jewish faith, but that their subsequent actions would be bound in all respects by and subject to that faith. This included the requirement that male converts be circumcised.
Their beliefs included life after death (resurrection) and free will. They believed that while God knew which persons were going to live righteous lives thereby deserving resurrection, He did not pre-determine who those persons were. Each person was free to choose their own spiritual path.
Pharisee beliefs and ideas were prominent among the rabbis and teachers of the common people. As a result, the Pharisee system of belief was more commonly popular than the other two major systems.
Their antipathy toward “outside” ideas and culture contributed greatly to the volatile political climate that culminated in “Great Revolt” 66 AD. That war lasted until 74 AD and resulted in the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem as well as the dissolution of the Pharisees as a viable political or religious party.
However, Pharisee ideas survived and continued to evolve. Much of the Jewish belief system that is practiced today is derived from and retains many of the basic beliefs of the Pharisees of that earlier time.
That same system of belief also impacts and continues to influence Christian beliefs today. The Apostle Paul was an avowed Pharisee prior to his conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus. And while he accepted all Christ subsequently taught him, he retained much of his Pharisaic training and his former attitudes that had been shaped by that training.
Paul wrote over one-half of our New Testament, and his writings are obviously influenced by his former association with the Pharisees.
So, although the Pharisees as a religious or political school are consigned to the annals of history, they are still very much with us today, and continue to shape our religious culture.
The Sadducees.
The Sadducees were contemporary with the Pharisees. They also exerted significant sway over Jewish religious and civil life. They traced their origins back to Zadok, the first High Priest of Israel, who had served both David and Solomon when the first Temple in Jerusalem was constructed (roughly 1000 BC). Throughout the subsequent centuries his descendants continued to serve as the priests of the Temple. Their duties included maintenance of the Temple, overseeing Jewish religious celebrations and festivals, and performing the sacrifices required by Jewish law and tradition.
Unlike the Pharisees whose adherents were found throughout Palestine and wherever else Jewish communities had sprung up (Paul was from Tarsus in southern Turkey), the Sadducees were confined to Jerusalem and its environs. Their duties to maintain the Temple and to perform ritual sacrifices kept them there.
Because of their long association with the Temple and with Jerusalem, the Sadducees had accumulated wealth and political power to accompany their religious influence. Like most people who have attained an elevated degree of wealth and status, they were loath to do anything to disrupt or threaten their position.
Therefore, when the Romans took control of Palestine (including Jerusalem) the Sadducees did not resist the incursion. Rather they managed to establish a close working relationship with their new overlords. This collusion with the Romans only served to strengthen the common perception of them as corrupt, disdainful of their fellow Jews, and as collaborators with the hated Romans.
They saw themselves as and were seen by all who weren’t Sadducees as “upper class.” They were the aristocrats of Jewish society. And while respected for their knowledge of the Law and their positions as priests of the Temple, they were not well-regarded by the common Jew.
Their beliefs also placed them outside of the commonly held Jewish belief system.
They did not believe in life after death. They believed instead that when a person died, their soul died with them. And, because of this they maintained that there was no punishment or reward for the soul after physical death.
They believed in free will and that God did not impose His will on mankind.
Also, they believed that only the Torah was the only revealed word of God and regarded all other subsequent Jewish writings or Oral Traditions as without value.
They attempted to interpret the Torah as literally as possible.
The Sadducees held the majority of the seats in the Sanhedrin. And, their Chief Priest of the Temple was the ex officio head of that body.
Like the Pharisees, the Sadducees ceased to exist as an identified sect after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Because their beliefs had been so unpopular with the majority of the Jews, few of those ideas survived sect’s demise. However, a small remnant of their beliefs has survived into modern times and are practiced by the followers of Karaite Judaism. So, in a manner of speaking the Sadducees are with us today.
Next week.
Next week we’ll resume our review of these three influential groups and discuss their impact for our Christian faith today.
Until then,
God’s Good Blessings on You All.
Richard
February 8, 2019
