The Pharisees and Sadducees

The Pharisees and Sadducees were the two major religious groups in Israel at the time of Christ. The Pharisees were more religiously minded, while the Sadducees were more politically minded. Although the groups dislike and distrusted each other, they became allies in their common hatred for Jesus

Name

Positive Characteristics

Negative Characteristics

Pharisees

Were committed to obeying all of God’s commands were admired by the common people for their apparent piety

Believed in a bodily resurrection and eternal life

Believed in angles and demons

Behaved as though their own religious were just as important as God’s rules for living

Their piety was often hypocritical, and their efforts often forced others to try to live up to standards they themselves could not live up to

Believed that salvation came from perfect obedience to the law and was not based on forgiveness of sins

Became so obsessed with obeying the legal interpretations in every detail that they complete ignored God’s message of mercy and grace

Were more concerned with appearing to be good than obeying God

Sadducees

Believed strongly in the Mosaic law and in Levitical purity

Were more practically minded the Pharisees

Relied on logic while placing little importance on faith

Did not believe all the Old Testament was God’s Word

Did not believe in a bodily resurrection or eternal life

Did not believe in angels or demons

Were often willing to compromise their values with the Romans and others in order to maintain their status and influential positions