First Century Lifefor the Jews

The Synagogue

• “The synagogue served as the center of the various Jewish communities….Life as a whole, and all of life was the subject of religion. Gatherings on the Sabbath for Torah study and prayer were especially sacred, but the educational and judicial functions of the synagogue belong also to an understanding of Jewish religion”

(Roy Bowen Ward, “Jewish Religion in the First Century,” The World of the New Testament, Abraham Malherbe, ed., Austin, Texas: R. B. Sweet Co., Inc., 1967, p. 77).

The Elders

• “The Jewish community was usually under the oversight of a council of elders (Luke 7:3; 8:41) who were especially concerned with judicial affairs within the Jewish community and represented that community before the Romans” (Ward, p. 77).

Scribes (Lawyers)

• While the Torah was first taught by the priests, by the first century “non-priestly teachers and scholars of the Torah, the scribes (lawyers: Heb. sopherim, ‘the men of the book’; see Matt. 7:29; Mark 2:16; Luke 10:25)” (Ward, p. 78).

• Scribes can be seen in Jerusalem, Judea and Galilee (Luke 5:17; Matthew 12:38; 15:1).

• In fact, they were vital in Babylon and throughout the dispersion (Edersheim, p. 46).

Scribes (Lawyers)

• While often seen in association with the Pharisees, the scribes held an office as learned students, exegetes and teachers of the law.

• Edersheim said they were “the ultimate authority on all questions of faith and practice” (p. 47).

• He also noted, they, along with the chief priests and elders, judged on ecclesiastical matters.”

Scribes (Lawyers)

• “The scribes were learned men who preserved, copied and expounded the law and the tradition (Ez. vii. 6, 12; Neh. vii. 1; Matt. xv. 1-6; xxiii. 2-4; Mark xii. 35; Luke xi. 52). They were also called ‘lawyers’ (Mark xii. 28; Matt. xxii. 35), and ‘doctors of the law’ (Luke v. 17-21).”

(J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel, Cincinnati: The Standard Publishing Foundation, n.d., p. 166).

Jesus and the Scribes

• Unlike the scribes, Jesus taught with authority (Matthew 7:29).– “They spoke on the authority of Moses or

the elders, but Jesus taught by his own authority. Their way was to quote minute precedents supported by endless authorities….Contrast with this the oft-repeated ‘I say unto you’ of Jesus—Matt. v. 18, 20, 22, 26, 28, 34” (McGarvey, pp. 166-167).

• Jesus said their traditions resulted in vain worship (Matthew 15:1-9).

Jesus and the Scribes

• Jesus’ death would, in part, be because of the scribes (Matthew 16:21; 20:18).

• Jesus condemned their hypocrisy.– He recognized their authority in expounding the

law, but not in their example (Matthew 23:1-3).– He said their traditions bound heavy burdens

on men (Matthew 23:4).– He said they loved attention from men (5-12).– The Lord said they made a mockery of the real

spirit of following God and led others in the same (Matthew 23:13-39).

Historical Background of the Pharisees

• “When Mattathias unfurled the banner of revolt against the heathenizing policy of Antiochus Epiphanes, …he was joined before long by a class calling themselves Assideans (1 Macc. ii. 42), who seem to have been already in existence as a distinct party, and bound by a vow to the strict observance of the law”

(G. F. Maclear, A Class-Book of New Testament History, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1952, pp. 115-116).

Antiochus ruled the Hellenist Seleucid Empire starting in 175 B.C.

Historical Background of the Pharisees

• They protested against their countrymen who were becoming increasingly infected by heathen customs, describing the Hellenizing faction as the impious, the lawless and the transgressors (1 Macc. 1:1; 3:6, 8; 4:21; 7:5; 9:23).

• The name Assideans means “the pious”, which well describes their strict observance of the Law (Maclear, p. 116).

Historical Background of the Pharisees

• After the Maccabees triumphed, “the tenets of the Assideans rapidly gained ground, and received their complete development in those of the Pharisees, from Perashin, to separate, the Separatists, who are also first distinctly mentioned during the time of the high-priest Jonathan, B.C. 145” (Maclear, p. 116).

Characterizing the Pharisees• “The New Testament, Josephus, and

rabbinic literature agree in characterizing the Pharisees as those most concerned with accurate interpretation of the law and with promoting their own tradition. Josephus gives their number in the first century as six thousand and attributes to them the greatest influence of any party on the common people”

(Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003, p. 515).

The Pharisees

• “Originally these men were genuine patriots and reformers, but afterwards the majority of them became mere formalists.”– The Zealots were the extreme of this group.

• The Pharisees “believed (1) in the resurrection of the dead; (2) a future state with rewards and punishments; (3) angels and spirits; and (4) a special providence of God carried out by angels and spirits” (McGarvey, p. 72).

The Pharisees

• While they had a great zeal for Moses’ Law, they were especially known for “their rigorous interpretation of its precepts and doctrines…mainly guided by Oral Tradition, the traditions of the Elders (Mtt. xv. 2; Mk. vii. 3).”

• This supplementary written material was supposed to have been received by Moses on Sinai and passed on to Joshua, then the elders, followed by the prophets and, then, the men of the Great Synagogue (Maclear, pp. 116-117).

The Pharisees

• “As exponents of the Law, (i) they attached an undue importance to the outward act as compared with the inward spirit and motive; (ii) they were rigorous in exacting every external ceremonial, especially in reference to washings, fastings, tithes and alms; and (iii) were noted for pride and austerity” (Maclear, p. 117).

Pharisees in the New Testament

• They placed a heavy emphasis on externals (Matthew 12:1-2).

• Their tradition was more important to them than Moses’ Law (Matthew 15:1-14; Mark 7:1-13).

• They stressed keeping the law in the smallest things while neglecting the weightier things (Matthew 23:23-24).

Jesus and the Pharisees

• Luke 6:6-11 Jesus believed human need superseded ritual requirements.

• Matthew 12:22-32; Mark 3 The Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub, prince of the demons.

• John 9:13-34 The Pharisees struggled to find a way to explain the restoration of the blind man’s sight.

Jesus and the Pharisees

• Matthew 19:1-9 The Pharisees tested Jesus on the question of divorce.

• “Hillel allowed divorce for any cause, whereas Shammai limited it to sexual immorality and immodest behavior” (Ferguson, p. 518).

• Jesus stressed God’s original marriage design (purpose).

The Sadducees

• “The Sadducees were the party of the wealthy priests…and their friends in the aristocracy (Acts 5:17). They combined conservative religious attitudes with power politics. They rejected the Pharisees’ innovations, and their interpretations were stricter than those of the Pharisees” (Ferguson, p. 519).

The Sadducees

• The “Sadducees controlled the temple ritual.”

• “They may be characterized as both conservative and compliant. After the coming of Rome, they encouraged collaboration with the ruling power and were interested in maintaining the status quo, which preserved the peace and their power and influence. Their center of strength was the temple” (Ferguson, p. 519).

The Sadducees’ Beliefs• The Sadducees accepted only the written

law of Moses as authoritative and rejected the oral law of the Pharisees.”

• Even the prophets and writings, although not rejected, were not treated as a source of doctrine” (Ferguson, p. 520).

• “They believed that there was a God, but denied that he had any special supervision of human affairs (Matt. xxii. 23; Acts xxiii. 8). They were the materialists of that day” (McGarvey, p. 73).

The Sadducees and John• Matthew 3:1-12 They came to John when he

was preaching and baptizing in the wilderness.– Vipers – extremely poisonous snake–Who warned you to flee? – reference to

escaping destruction, however, it could not be accomplished by a ritualistic baptism.

– Instead, their lives must bear the fruit of the change such submission suggests.

– Apparently, they relied on their being children of Abraham and getting an automatic entrance into the Messianic kingdom.

– God was ready to cut down fruitless trees.

The Sadducees and Jesus

• Matthew 16:1-4 They came seeking a sign. – Jesus indicated they could read the signs

in the weather very well.– He said the only sign they would be given

would be that of the prophet Jonah.

• Matthew 16:5-12 Jesus warned of the leaven of their teaching.

The Sadducees and Jesus

• Matthew 22:23-33; Luke 20:27-40 Jesus cited a passage from the Pentateuch (Exodus 3:6) in support of the resurrection.

• Acts 23:8 indicates they did not believe in angels or spirits, but angels were active in the Pentateuch. It might be they did not go along with the extensive beliefs of the Pharisees about angels and demons.

The Sadducees and the Apostles

• Acts 4:1-4 They took Peter and John into custody following the healing of the lame man and preaching about Jesus’ resurrection.

• Acts 5:12-42 They seized all the apostles because of jealousy.

• Acts 22:30-23:10 Turmoil arose between the Sadducees and Pharisees when Paul said he was on trial because of his belief in the resurrection.