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The Pharisees and Sadducees |
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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 |
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Name |
Positive Characteristics |
Negative Characteristics |
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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 |
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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 |
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Pharisees This name was given to a religious school among the Jews; it is supposed to have been derived from the Hebrew word parash, signifying ‘to separate’; it was given to them by others, their chosen name being chasidim, ‘pious ones.’ Josephus speaks of them as early as the reign of Jonathan (B.C. 161-144). They prided themselves on their superior sanctity of life, devotion to God, and their study of the law. The Pharisee in the parable thanked God that he was ‘not as other men.’ #Lu 18:11. Paul, when before Agrippa, spoke of them as ‘the most straitest sect.’ The Pharisees included all classes of men, rich and poor: they were numerous, and at times had great influence. In the council before which Paul was arraigned they were well represented. #Ac 23:6-9. They were the great advocates of tradition, and were punctilious in paying tithes. In many respects the ritualists of modern days resemble them. The Lord severely rebuked all their pretensions, and laid bare their wickedness as well as their hypocrisy. It may have been that because of the great laxity of the Jews generally, some at first devoutly sought for greater sanctity. Others, not sincere, may have joined themselves to the sect, and it thus degenerated from its original design, until its moral state became such as was exposed and denounced by the Lord. The very name has become a synonym for bigotry and formalism. Probably such men as Gamaliel, Nicodemus, and Saul were men of a different stamp, though all needed the regenerating power of grace to give them what they professed to seek. Pharisees: Separatists (Heb. persahin, from parash, "to separate"). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the "pious"), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt against his heathenizing policy. The first mention of them is in a description by Josephus of the three sects or schools into which the Jews were divided (B.C. 145) The other two sects were the Essenes and the Sadducees. In the time of our Lord they were the popular party #Joh 7:48 They were extremely accurate and minute in all matters appertaining to the law of Moses #Mt 9:14 23:15 Lu 11:39 #Lu 18:12 Paul, when brought before the council of Jerusalem, professed himself a Pharisee #Ac 23:6-8 26:4,5 There was much that was sound in their creed, yet their system of religion was a form and nothing more. Theirs was a very lax morality #Mt 5:20 15:4,8 #Mt 23:3,14,23,25 Joh 8:7 On the first notice of them in the New Testament #Mt 3:7 they are ranked by our Lord with the Sadducees as a "generation of vipers." They were noted for their self-righteousness and their pride #Mt 9:11 Lu 7:39 18:11,12 They were frequently rebuked by our Lord #Mt 12:39 16:1-4 From the very beginning of his ministry the Pharisees showed themselves bitter and persistent enemies of our Lord. They could not bear his doctrines, and they sought by every Sadducees Next to the Pharisees, the Sadducees were the most prominent sect of the Jews. The Pharisees made proselytes, but the Sadducees were much more exclusive, and therefore remained fewer in number. They did not believe in the resurrection, nor in angels, nor in spirits: they held that the soul perished with the body. #Mt 22:23 Ac 4:1,2 23:8. Though strict in regard to the written law of Moses, they repudiated the traditions of the elders, or what is called the oral law. They believed that God punished a man’s sins during his life, and that man’s will was free, and he had power to restrain his passions. In consequence of this they were severe judges. The Lord Jesus warned His disciples against their doctrines, and denounced them as the ‘offspring of vipers.’ The tenets of the modern rationalists have much in common with the Sadducees. Sadducees: The origin of this Jewish sect cannot definitely be traced. It was probably the outcome of the influence of Grecian customs and philosophy during the period of Greek domination. The first time they are met with is in connection with John the Baptist’s ministry. They came out to him when on the banks of the Jordan, and he said to them, "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" #Mt 3:7 The next time they are spoken of they are represented as coming to our Lord tempting him. He calls them "hypocrites" and "a wicked and adulterous generation" #Mt 16:1-4 #Mt 22:23 The only reference to them in the Gospels of Mark #Mr 12:18-27 and Luke #Lu 20:27-38 is their attempting to ridicule the doctrine of the resurrection, which they denied, as they also denied the existence of angels. They are never mentioned in John’s Gospel. There were many Sadducees among the "elders" of the Sanhedrin. They seem, indeed, to have been as numerous as the Pharisees #Ac 23:6 They showed their hatred of Jesus in taking part in his condemnation #Mt 16:21 26:1-3,59 Mr 8:31 15:1 #Lu 9:22 22:66 They endeavoured to prohibit the apostles from preaching the resurrection of Christ #Ac 2:24,31,32 4:1,2 5:17,24-28 They were the deists or sceptics of that age. They do not appear as a | ||||