As I read through the gospels over the last few months, I
decided that I would go back on do more research on the groups which are
discussed during Jesus’s ministry. The Pharisees, teachers of the law and the
Sadducees are the three main groups who opposed Jesus and sought to end his
influence over the people of Israel. These groups would make up the Sanhedrin,
the Jewish council, composed of 70 members with the high priest serving as a
leader. It is this council in which Jesus would have his trials before being
handed over to Roman officials. The Sanhedrin also judge the apostles and
members of the early church as they spread the message of Jesus.
First, the Pharisees are often the most widely known and
most often mentioned in the gospels. They were a strict group of religious Jews
who advocated minute obedience to Jewish law and traditions. The origin of the
group is shrouded in some obscurity, but it is believed to have been organized
out of the Maccabean Revolt (165 BCE). The Pharisees had three distinct
characteristics. First, they had deep respect for the Law. Second, they were
more a fraternity than a sect. To be a member, one must have a strict adherence
to the Law, oral or written. Third, the Pharisees despised those they did not
consider to be equals and were arrogant as they believe to be the only
interpreter of God and his Word. The Pharisees saw the Jewish faith as a
religion of works rather than heart as they believed God’s grace came through
the Law. The Pharisees believed in predestination, the teaching of special
divine providence. They stressed so much on the immortality of the soul that
they often clashed with the Sadducees over this belief. They believed the
reward for good works and wicked souls were under the earth. Only the souls of
the virtuous would rise again. They also believed heavily in the existence of
angels and spirits. They accepted the Old Testament scriptures and fostered the
messianic hope which they gave a material and nationalistic twist. The picture
painted in the New Testament and by teachers of the Bible, is almost entirely
negative; however, not everything about the Pharisees was bad. Not all of them
were self-righteous and hypocritical. Some tried to promote true piety. Some
joined the Christian movement in the beginning. Some of the great men in the
New Testament were Pharisees. Nicodemus (John 3:1-21) who met with Jesus to
discuss his miraculous signs. He would later boldly defend Jesus as a member of
the Sanhedrin (John 7:50-51).
Second, teachers of the law were religious scholars and professional
interpreters of the law who especially emphasized the traditions. They are
often seen together with the Pharisees in the gospels. They were an important
element of the Sanhedrin as they often served as judges. In the application of
the Law, the oral teachings of these men were a greater authority than the
written law itself. They were described as the most watchful and determined opponents
of Jesus as they disagreed with association with tax collectors and other
sinners (Mark 2:16, Luke 15:2). They agreed with Jesus on respect for the law
and commitment to the obedience of the law. However, they disagreed with Jesus
in respect as they denied his authority to interpret the law. They also
rejected Jesus as the Messiah because he did not obey all their traditions. It
is mentioned throughout the gospels on multiple occasions, they believed that
Jesus forgiving sins was blasphemous (i.e. Matthew 9:3, Mark 2:16). But not all
the teachers of the law were confrontational. In Matthew 8:19-20, a teacher of
the law told Jesus he would follow him wherever he will go where Jesus teaches
him the cost to follow him. Some teachers of the law even agreed with Jesus
when he says that God is the God of the living when he was questioned about the
resurrection (Luke 20:39).
Lastly, the Sadducees were a wealthy, upper class Jewish
priestly party, while many of the Sadducees were priests, not all priests were
Sadducees. They often profited from business in the temple. The origin of this
group is uncertain, but it is thought to be from the period of Jewish history
between the restoration of the Jews to their own land (536 BCE) to the
Christian era. They held to distinctive beliefs. First, they rejected the
authority of the Bible beyond the five books of Moses and held only to the
written law. They rejected all the traditions of the Pharisees. Second, they
denied the existence of the resurrection of the body. They believed souls died
with the body. Third, they denied the existence of angels and spirits according
to Acts 23:8. Although the existence of angels and spirits was accepted in the
Old Testament and especially in the five books of Moses, it is hard to
understand why they would deny it. Scholars have thought of possible reasons as
to general indifference to religion and their own rationalistic temper and the
wild extravagances of the angelology and demonology of the Pharisees. Lastly,
the Sadducees did not believe in predestination. There was no need for divine
providence to order their lives and human beings were entirely masters of their
own lives. Doing good or evil was a matter of free choice. With the destruction
of Jerusalem in 70 BC, the Sadducees seem to disappear from history.
In conclusion, these three groups display the both the good
and bad of knowledge. To be so sure of themselves in what they know, they
rejected anything which didn’t fit in their box of understanding including God
himself. In today’s church, the term, Pharisee, is often used as an insult for
someone who focuses too much on rules and regulations than on grace and mercy. They
are a lesson to be mindful how one’s acts and sees themselves in relation to
their knowledge. We may be well read in the Bible; however, we must not forget
we are dealing with children of God and a God who is more powerful than we can
imagine.
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