4 Powerful Jewish Groups At the Time of Christ

Here is a brief overview of four powerful Jewish groups Jesus dealt with. Understanding the four groups may help you understand some of Jesus’s comments in the New Testament.

Jesus was born into a world deeply embedded with Greek philosophy. The Greek worldview pervaded both Jewish life and worship. Jewish society was divided into four major groups: Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and Zealots.

These four powerful Jewish groups developed because they disagreed with how Judaism should be practiced. They formed drastically divergent views concerning their religious beliefs and practices.

#1 First Powerful Jewish Group, Sadducees

Jewish history tells us the Sadducees were the wealthy upper class who had charge of the temple service. Their lives revolved around the temple. They were caught up in the things of the world. Sadducees promoted a warm accommodation with the Greeks and later with their Roman rulers, adopting many of their ways. They made sure their friends were appointed to the best positions of power and authority.

Religiously they concentrated on the five books of Moses. The Sadducees ignored the other prophets believing they had no validity.

They denied the existence of spirits or angels. They did not believe in an afterlife nor in a physical resurrection. They denied God’s responsiveness to prayer. They believed God was not involved in any way with the affairs of men. These ideas came from Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato.

In Mark chapter 12 the Sadducees pose a question about marriage in the resurrection. Jesus tells them they “do greatly err.” Jesus knew the Sadducees were trying to trick Him because they did not believe in the resurrection.

After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD this Jewish sect disappeared.

#2 Second Powerful Jewish Group, Pharisees

The Pharisees believed the Word of God was more important than the Temple. They resisted Greek influence. Most Jewish commoners and much of Jesus’s audience were Pharisees. This made the Pharisees one of the most powerful Jewish groups.

They were adamant about obeying God’s law with exactness. They created hundreds of cultural laws that were not in the Bible. As an example, instead of just keeping the Sabbath holy they prescribed how far you could walk and how much you could carry on the Sabbath.

As an example: Jesus healed a lame man on the Sabbath and told him to stand up and carry his bed. The Pharisees accused Jesus of breaking their laws concerning sabbath observance. (Mark 2)

Pharisees differed from the Sadducees in their religious beliefs. They believed in immortality and the existence of spirits and angels. The Pharisees acknowledged the validity of all the prophets. They also believed God was involved in the personal affairs of men.

The title Pharisee means “set apart”. They considered themselves Orthodox Jews and considered the Sadducee’s atheists. They promoted the idea of worship in synagogues. As Jews were dispersed throughout the world this became the major Jewish sect.

The Pharisees and Sadducees made up the Sanhedrin which was the ruling body in Judea.

#3 Powerful Jewish Group, Essenes

Essenes were the “Puritans” of Jewish society. They fled the corruption of the cities to form separate communities. They lived an austere lifestyle in the desert. They ate in a communal setting, sitting on the ground. They ate only enough to satisfy their hunger. Their food was unseasoned. They only had one set of clothes.

Essenes spent their entire time reading, memorizing, and copying scriptures, waiting for the Messiah to come. John the Baptist may have spent time with the Essenes.

We must thank the Essenes for leaving us the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls were written between 300 BC and 70 A.D. The Essenes hid the scrolls in caves around the Dead Sea to keep them safe from Roman destruction. The Dead Sea Scrolls constitute some of the most ancient scriptural records in existence. Because their writings still exist today, this is also one of the most powerful Jewish groups.

#4 Fouth Powerful Jewish Group, Zealots

The Zealots believed themselves to be the means for the Messiah to overthrow all the other kingdoms of the world. They felt it was their job to fulfill God’s prophecy.

Zealots believed they could force God to save Israel and declare the house of Judah the ruler of the world because of what they read in the Book of Daniel.

They were so certain that God would save Jerusalem from the Romans, they destroyed the food stores in Jerusalem during the siege of the Roman general, Titus. This act eventually caused starvation and the complete destruction of Jerusalem.

Even after Jerusalem’s destruction, The Zealots continued to create havoc, causing thousands of deaths with their military exploits. In 132 AD a zealot named Simon started another conflict against Rome. The Rulers of Judea declared him to be the Messiah until his endeavor failed.

Therefore they must be considered one of the most powerful Jewish groups.

Lesson For Us Today

Today we too must navigate life in a mixture of diverse cultural philosophies. Jesus did not fully agree with any specific group, but He acknowledged elements of truth in each group.

He attempted to correct the errors he found in the different groups.

We too must acknowledge there is truth in every religion. We should not become overly fixated on our own particular group or denomination. We are all children of God. We must strive not to create boundaries that exclude others.

Unless we are able to enjoy an open dialog with those who have different ideas we will never have a chance to bring them to Christ.

We should hold our identities with a specific group a little less rigidly. Our major identity should be as Disciples of Christ. Jesus loved all the people in every group. We can follow his example.