The Sadducees
Another major group within Judaism at this time were the Sadducees. Even though the members in this sect were fewer than the Pharisees, they could command attention because they were in influential political positions in Jerusalem. Actually, many of the Sadducees were priests who ministered in the Temple in Jerusalem. Performing these functions was about the only religious service that the priests were doing at this time.
In the distant past, it had been the job of the priests, along with the Levites, to be the religious leaders in Israel. But, by the time of Christ, the Pharisees, who were not priests, had been allowed by Queen Alexandra (79 B.C) to take this leadership to themselves, while the priests were relegated to the place of performing only the rituals at the Temple. Jesus recognized the Pharisees' authority, however (Mat. 23:2-3).
Because the Pharisees had deprived the priests of their rightful position as teachers of the people, we can see one reason why the priests did not favor the Pharisees nor what they taught. This is why the majority of priests were Sadducees! They had a spite for the Pharisees, so they joined themselves to the sect which disapproved of the Pharisees the most.
The Sadducees had no set religious creed except that they all disbelieved in the resurrection from the dead, in angels, and spirits (Acts 23:8). They claimed to believe explicitly in the Scriptures, but even in their fundamental doctrines just quoted, it is clearly obvious that they rejected much of the Scripture, for the Word of God plainly teaches the resurrection, the existence of angels and spirits (Job 14:14; Eze. 37:1-14; Dan. 12:1-3; Ex. 14:19; Dan. 6:22; I Sam. 18:10). Probably they rejected such essential and basic doctrines because the Pharisees held all of these as indispensable doctrines of the Scriptures. Perhaps it was out of spite that the Sadducees rejected them. They certainly had no Scripture proof for doing so. It is known that the Sadducees detested the Pharisees so much that they would counter almost every belief the Pharisees would teach.
These doctrines of the Sadducees were not popular with the people. Very few of the Common People ever joined with them. And, the Sadducees made no attempt to proselyte. They also had no synagogues in which to worship (Her-ford, Judaism in the New Testament Period, p. 122). Nor did they have any real centralized authority among themselves. The individual members of this group could believe whatever he pleased, and there was "a considerable variety of type among the Sadducees," declares Herford.
Their real prominence was mainly political. During the time of Christ, the Sadducees were in control of the civil Supreme Court of the Jews (the Sanhedrin). Because of their being majority leaders in this powerful judicial organization, they had recognizable respect from the people. The Sanhedrin was the high civil court, allowed under the Romans to try legal disputes which would arise between Jews. It even had power, in some instances, to give capital punishment. And, by the Sadducees having the majority vote in this court (called "the council" in the New Testament — Luke 22:66), they could command certain political esteem from the people — even at times from the Pharisees. Religiously speaking, however, very few of the Jews were Sadducees. Their materialistic concept of Scripture and the fact that they were mainly priests plus some rich and influential men, caused this sect not to be in any way popular. "The priestly and aristocratic Sadducees were rigidly exclusive, and insignificant in numbers" (The Cambridge Companion to the Bible, p. 134).
The Essenes
The last major group of Judaisers to be considered as representing Judaism, and having about 4,000 members, were the Essenes. This sect is not mentioned in the New Testament, although they were in existence at the time.
Because Jesus never directly by name condemned this group, as He did the Pharisees and Sadducees, some modern scholars have been led to assume that perhaps Jesus was a member of this sect! Nothing could be further from the truth!
Members of this group were ascetics who lived in the desert near the Dead Sea. They were anti-social in the extreme, withdrawing from society altogether, having no social intercourse with any except members of their own sect. They practiced celibacy (repudiating marriage entirely), drank no wine, did not attend Temple services, nor did they sacrifice (Cyclo. Bib., T hes. & Ecc. Lit., vol. iii, p. 302). Their order was similar to the practices in monasteries and nunneries of the Catholic Church with which we are familiar (Herford, Judaism in the New Testament Period, p. 63). They even had their own synagogues in which to practice their ascetic customs.
Christ practiced none of their basic tenets! Simple reference to the New Testament shows us that He was certainly not an ascetic. He came eating and drinking wine (Matt. 11:19). He went out into the highways (Matt. 22:9) and even ate with the Common People of the land, called sinners by the Pharisees (Matt. 9:11). He attended the annual Holy Days ordained of God (John 2:23; 5:1; 7:14). All these things the Essenes would not do!
The Apostle Paul condemns asceticsm as a way of life (Col. 2:21-23), while the Essenes believed in it as a fundamental doctrine. Neither Paul nor Christ was in any way connected with this sect of the Jews nor did they propound any of this sect's peculiar doctrines. Even the most skeptical of scholars must admit this fact (Abington Bib. Com., p. 842). Most of the doctrines adhered to by the Essenes actually came from heathen influences, not from the Bible.
The Qumran
Another sect — or perhaps sects — connected directly with the Essenes, were the Qumran group. Before 1947, no one knew that this sect existed in Palestine. In that year, however, some scrolls were found by an Arab in a cave near the Dead Sea. It was found that these scrolls were hidden by this sect now known as the Qumran.
Subsequent archeological discoveries revealed that this group were like the Essenes in many ways. They preferred a life of asceticism and lived in monastery-like institutions (Thompson, Archaeology and the-Pre-Christian Centuries, p. 107). However, a study of their writings indicated that they may have been a splinter group of the Essenes. Their own writings tell us that there were differences of opinions among themselves and that there were different sections within the group (ibid., p. 115).
That Jesus had nothing to do with them is apparent! Professor Thompson says that the teaching of these Qumran sects differed from that of Christ in a thousand ways (ibid., p. 118).
The Zealots
The Zealots were a religious group (Herford, Judaism in the New Testament Period, p. 66), who had as their basic philosophy — the defense of the Law of Moses. At least, this was their supposition. In their religious beliefs they sided with the Sadducees in one respect: they rejected the authority of the Pharisaic teachings (ibid., p. 68). But they were not Sadducees! They held that the Law of Moses was sufficient to guide the religious life, and that it did not need the extra teachings of the Pharisees or any other group to make it clear. It is not known just how fervent they really were in adhering to this religious conception.
Their main point of doctrine, and the one which gave them their name, was their zealousness for the Law. They were supposedly willing to fight or even to die for the Law if necessary. However, we find that this seemingly good quality was actually a tool by which they could get the Common People to come to their aid in order to accomplish their own nationalistic desires of driving all foreigners from the land of Palestine. It was the overthrow of the Roman yoke more than anything else that gave them impetus for zealousness.
We often meet with this sect in the New Testament only because one of the Apostles was once a member of it before becoming a Christian (Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13).
Their importance was not overly great during the time of Christ, but their influence grew, after the crucifixion, to the extent that much of the blame for the rebellion against Rome, that caused the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D., is to be accorded directly to them. Their fundamental doctrine of rebellion against all foreign domination (using the pretext of fighting for the Law of God) brought much of the misery the Jews suffered during the destruction of Jerusalem nearly 40 years after the crucifixion. This sect was extinguished from Judaism after that destruction.
The Herodians
During the time of Christ there was another minor group represented in Judaism called the Herodians. They are mentioned twice in the New Testament (Matt. 22:16; Mark 12:13), and are in both cases aligned with the Pharisees against Christ. Little is known of them except that they had independent doctrines of their own. It has been conjectured by some that they were endeavoring to proclaim Herod the Great as the King and Messiah. The Jews were well aware that the Messiah was to come at about this time because of the prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27. It is possible — say some scholars — that the Herodians were proclaiming Herod as their coming King. However, this is entirely conjecture.
It is not known how many members were in this minor group, nor is it really known what they taught.
Other Sects in Judaism
Other than the sects and divisions already mentioned, there were many other minor religious groups in Judaism. That these sects existed is readily recognized because they wrote many erroneous and fantastic apocryphal books which show that they were people who believed doctrines totally different from the common sects. These books express different opinions among themselves as well, and in every case endeavor to teach what the Bible clearly does not teach.
The name that has been applied to many of these small and independent groups, or perhaps they represent nothing more than a few individuals, is Apocalyptists. The word means "the revealing-ones" or those who purport to give secret doctrines or prophecies never heard before.
Many of the writers of these books claimed the names of famous Old Testament personalities, such as Enoch and Moses, as the supposed authors of their books. However, it is well known that these books were written about one to two hundred years before Christ. See R. H. Charles', Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, Oxford University Press, page 123, for the evidence of this.
Instead of revealing many hidden truths, these books reveal only the errors that some of the Jews had foolishly come to believe. The important point to realize is the fact that these false books are at variance with the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. They do not belong in the Bible! They were all rejected by the Jews of Palestine. In a future chapter we will see just what books really belong in the Old Testament and who had the authority to decide it. It is important to know!
Points to Remember
Let us summarize the religious condition of the Jews during the time of Christ.
Out of a total population of about 3,000,000 Jews in Palestine, there were only about 6,000 Pharisees, about 3,000 Sadducees, 4,000 Essenes, and a few thousand representing the other sects of Judaism. Those belonging to the religious sects represented only a mere fragment of the population — less than 5% of the total population.
The evidence shows that, relatively speaking, very few of the Jews attended the synagogues each Sabbath. The synagogues were just too small or there were not enough of them to allow all to attend.
Of the sects themselves, the Pharisees, the major group, were divided into many opposing divisions. Nor were the Sadducees a unified group, for there were many varieties of beliefs among them. The Essenes and Qumran, by their own writings, were not a uniform group, but were divided into various elements of belief. The rest of the sects were minor in importance. Even the writings of the Apocalyptics show a variety of opinions. They certainly did not agree with one another — and especially they did not agree with the Bible.
Among all these differing sects we find some keeping the traditions of the elders. Some believed in asceticism; others repudiated it. There was disagreement over the rituals, marriage, the Sacred Calendar, the correct observance of the Holy Days, etc. In fact, the points of disagreement were virtually innumerable.
About the only things held in common by them all were some kind of observance of the Sabbath, the rite of circumcision, the calling of Israel "a chosen people" and the expectancy of the Messiah. However, even in these fundamental doctrines there were countless shades of interpretations.
The condition of the Jews in New Testament times can best be described by the statement in the Bible: "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).
There is no question but that the religion of the Jews, as taught by the differing sects, was not the religion that God gave Moses. In truth, the message that Christ brought re-emphasized the religion of Moses in its true spiritual intent, and to give it to a people who had forgotten the true spiritual application of the Law!
In the next chapter we shall see how the Jews originally departed from the Mosaic faith; how they instituted the commandments of men which Christ condemned (Mark 7:7); how the religious sects first arose; and why the Jews came to such a state of religious confusion during Christ's time.