The Pharisees and the Sadducees

Matthew 23:23

“Woe to you, teachers if the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices- mint, dill and cumin. But you reject the more important matters of the law- justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without rejecting the former.”

Matthew 23:15

“ Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much the child of hell as you are.”

Acts 22: 8

“For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, not spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.”

Matthew 21: 12 – 17

12 Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written,

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’;

    but you are making it a den of robbers.”

14 The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard  the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry 16 and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,

‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies

    you have prepared praise for yourself’?”

17 He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

When I think of Jesus going into the temple and driving out the merchants and money changers I imagine a Jerusalem that is without any spirituality, without any care or concern for any God or any number of  God’s other than that of God money. In ways though, this would be a complete misconception. Before I get started, let me paint a quick picture of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. 

This point in history is what is considered the second temple period. The Jewish people first came under Persian rule, then Greek, Babylonian rule for a short time and then Roman. They were often uprooted in large numbers and deported to other lands, separated from the God of Abraham as well as each other for generations.

Jerusalem, at the time that Christ was born. was under Roman rule and served as an epicenter for trade. Hebrew, the native language of the Israelites, was a dead language by then and most people in the city spoke Greek or Aramaic. The Levites were the only tribe still intact at this time and they alone kept the Hebrew language alive. The rest of the Jews of the time, spiritually and philosophically speaking were divided into sects so that Israel/Judea were no longer the military state under direction of the one true God of Abraham.

The temples in this time doubled as markets. If you found yourself in great need to atone for sins through a blood sacrifice then you would go to the temple to purchase the animal being sacrificed then have the ritual performed right there. It was a one stop shop and the priests would take there part of the animal. This of course was not the first example of corruption among the priests. Samuels own sons grew greedy which lead to the anointment and kingship of David. 

Outside of the corrupt practices of there temples there were five main sects, as mentioned before that carried the spiritual light of the Jews. 

The Torah written by Moses was a living document  and it is said that one who studies Torah will be blessed. David is recorded as waking in the wee hours to study Torah is what brought to life many volumes of apocrypha 

The first of these sects was “the Pharisees.” The word Pharisee itself means separatist. At one time,  particularly the second temple period, the Pharisaic beliefs were the foundation of Judaism.

The Pharisees believed wholly and fully in the law of the Torah, both written and oral, and that the law should be interpreted into everyday life meticulously through Oral Torah which is the laws and statutes that the rabbinical Jews used to interpret the law. This was key to the Pharisaic doctrine that the Sadducees rejected. 

The Sadducees, during the second temple period usually occupied the roles of politicians, or priests and one of their primary roles was to maintain the temples.

The Sadducees saw only the written law as the divine authority, which would be very true to anyone whose duties were of an earthly nature. They didn’t believe in an afterlife or the presence of angels.

Though the differences of these two sects separated them by conflict it would seem that the two completed each other in the whole of Judaism, each by filling the role that the other did not.

Complimentary to these where other sects which included the Essenes who were a charitable sect that practiced self poverty and celibacy. It is believed that they may have been responsible for the care of or authorship of the dead Sea scrolls.

The Zealots, however, though considered the fourth philosophy of this time period were militant and rejected the rule of both the Roman Empire as well as the priestly families that ran the temples and were responsible for uprisings against the rule of either. 

If you were an outside observer in the second temple period feeling that vibe of social hierarchy that existed then for all it’s good or bad, then you would probably see the Christian movement as just another sect in this time period. Historically speaking, because Christianity came later, it acted as a final piece to the puzzle that brought it all together in completion drawing an end to that season under heaven. 

The Christian’s practiced the self poverty as well as celibacy and charitable inclinations of the Essenes. Christ himself was spirited with the rebellious nature of a Zealot.

Christianity was the passive aggressive answer to a dysfunctional society that lacked harmony., swelling with stagnation that prompted no growth. 

The conflict between the Pharisees and the Sadducees can be summed up, signed, sealed and delivered in the words of Christ 

when he said….  “Don’t think that I have come to destroy the law, or the prophets, but to fulfil.” Matthew 5:17.

Salutation pending 

Johnny R Draper