Sermon Tone Analysis

Who were the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, Essenes and Zealots?

When reading the Bible we must keep in mind that the books therein were written 1000’s of years ago in a different culture than our own.

Jesus arrived on the scene during a time of great confusion in religious and political turmoil.

Going back about 700 years before Christ, the northern part of the Hebrew nation was conquered and integrated into their culture by the Assyrians (721 BC), then the southern part fell to Babylon (Persia) in 586 BC, then all of it to the Greek Empire in 331.

In 166 BC the Maccabean Revolt occurred and the Jews took back their sovereignty for about 100 years.

Around 61 BC Judea, along with all of the Greek Empire was conquered by Rome.

Rome would not allow the Jews to reestablish their kingdom monarchy, but did allow them to rebuild their temple and worship their own God.

Within that religion, they were allowed to form a government of sorts to rule the religious side of the people.

This kept the peace, at least on the surface, so that most of Judea would accept Roman rule as long as they could keep their religious roots and methods of worship.

During the time in which Jesus Christ lived, there were many religious and political factions abounding.

There were four primary sects.

They were the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and the Zealots.

We’ll add Scribes into this study as well because they are mentioned several times in the Gospels.

Keep in mind Scribes were not a sect, they were a profession.

We’ll get to that in a little while.

The Pharisees

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The Pharisees (meaning “set apart”) Although popular and respected, they had no power.

They were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews beginning around 150 BC in the wake of the Maccabean Revolt.

The Pharisees, primarily scholars and educators, were politically inactive, and studied, taught, and worshipped in their own way.

They accept the written Law of Moses known as the Torah, the written Tanakh (all other books in the OT) and in oral traditions and teachings.

The Pharisees were a group that practiced a form of extreme Judaism that extended beyond the Temple, applying Jewish law to everything, even mundane activities in order to sanctify (set apart as holy) the every day world.

This was a more personal participatory form of Judaism, in which rituals were not performed only by an inherited priesthood (the Levites) but rather could be performed by all adult Jews individually or collectively; whose leaders were not determined by birth but by scholarly achievement.

They were like a religious social club of their time.

Therefore, although they were comprised of religious extremists, they were a highly educated, well spoken and widely respected group among main stream Jewish culture.

Their belief in personal acts of worship put them at direct odds with the Law of Moses where God set up the Levites to be His holy priests.

The Levites were set apart by God and sanctified for His service in the Temple.

Aside from their heretical views on worship and priestly service, in general, the Pharisees emphasized a commitment to social justice, belief in the brotherhood of mankind, and a faith in the redemption of the Jewish nation and, ultimately, humanity.

Moreover, they believed that these ends would be achieved through halakha ("the walk, or how to walk"), a large collection of laws derived from a close reading of sacred texts.

This belief entailed both a commitment to relate religion to ordinary concerns and daily life, and a commitment to study and scholarly debate.

Appearing overall as a rather peaceful and pious group when viewed from the outside, in contrast their confrontational actions, public austere and arrogant “better than thou” attitudes and their “behind closed doors” hatred of their perceived enemies spoke volumes concerning the spiritual darkness within their hearts.

This explains a lot about how they were frequently confrontational with Christ and his disciples then ultimately sought to bear false witness in framing him and have him put to death.

After the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD Pharisaic beliefs became the basis for Rabbinic Judaism, which ultimately produced the basis for all contemporary forms of Judaism with what is known today as modern Hasidic Judaism being the oldest core foundational belief.

Were all the Pharisees unbelievers and haters of Jesus?

Were all the Pharisees unbelievers and haters of Jesus?

The Bible does not broadbrush any group of people and make them all evil or put halos on their head.

It tells us that there were even believers among the Pharisees.

For the most part the Pharisees stuck together as a group, as did the Sadducees but there were a few independent thinkers that questioned the masses opinion of Jesus and did not participate in plotting his death.

The Pharisees came from the scribes.

They were a particular sect of Judaism that was ardent students of the law, they took the position as the teachers of the law (an assignment God gave the Levites).

They were known as “the separatists.”

They called themselves Haberim in the language of the Mishna it means one who is associated with the law, observe it strictly in opposition to Hellenism.

They kept all the written and oral laws and added 1500 more laws.

They used the Hebrew and Aramaic writings.

They believed in the supernatural, angels and demons, an afterlife and a bodily resurrection ().

They were first were sent out with the Sadducees () to question John the baptizer in the wilderness.

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers!

Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

“Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.”

Jesus’ famous sermon on the Mount relayed to the people the difference the ways the Pharisees taught and practiced and what Moses taught in the law.

The people realized the Pharisees were wrong.

It was not long before the Pharisees became the main antagonizers of Jesus as he challenged their religious leadership.

They would often come out to question Jesus about what he and his followers were doing eating on the Sabbath.

: “And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

Or ask his disciples why “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”().

The Pharisees considered tax collectors as the lowest of low(things have not changed much) but anyone who was not a Pharisee and did not obey their laws was considered a sinner.

They would ask why they weren’t fasting The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.

Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

Despite the animosity Jesus was willing to reach out to them “A certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.

So He went in and sat down to eat” (.)

They tested Jesus on the law-Matt 22:34-40: “But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him,” 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' “This is the first and great commandment.

“And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

“On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets”

This did not sit well because the Sabbath was the highest law to them, the Sabbath became their main area of questioning Jesus.

This was the largest area of contention, since this was the crown of all laws to them and if one did not obey it like they did they were not considered a Jew ().

The Pharisees made the Sabbath the barometer of obedience.

Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath” ().

“Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.”

The Pharisees accused him of his witness not being true (.)

The majority of the Pharisees intent as a group was to influence the people in not believing and following Jesus.

They continually asked for signs from Jesus but did not care what the signs proved.

They wanted to catch him in something wrong “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

(; ) They persisted in this that Jesus had to react “Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.

But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign?

Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation”().

Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

In other words do not eat what they teach.

V12: ‘Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Though the Pharisees were a separate group than the Sadducees they did unite together in their overthrow of Jesus.

“But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.”

Jesus gave one final challenge openly to their hypocrisy in showing that their religiosity was not honest truthful or Biblical.

It was not obeying the law Moses gave.

Finally they were fed up with his answers and challenges to their religious monopoly over the people.

“Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.

And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.

()

Though a number of them plotted his death from the beginning with the Herodians ()

Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

They continually tried to trap Jesus “Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.

And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.

“Tell us, therefore, what do You think?

Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? ()

We know of at least two men mentioned of the religious Jews that believed.

One was Nicodemus that spoke similar words, but Jesus knew his heart.

: “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

: “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue”

: The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived?

“Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? “But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”