At the time of Christ there were two major religious groups in Israel. They were the Pharisees & the Sadducees. The former group were more religiously minded, while the latter group were more politically minded. These two groups not only disliked one another but distrusted one another as well. In fact the only thing they ever agreed on was their common hatred for Jesus. Let’s list both the positive & negative characteristics of each group to reach a greater understanding of what they were all about.
PHARISEES:
Positive ...
* They were committed to obeying all of God’s commands.
* They were admired by the commoners in Israel for their apparent piety.
* They believed in bodily resurrection & eternal life.
* They believed in angels & demons.
Negative ...
* They acted as though their own religious rules 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.
* They believed salvation came from perfect obedience to the law & was not based on the forgiveness of sins.
* They became so obsessed with obeying their legal interpretations in every detail that they completely ignored God’s message of mercy & grace.
* They were more concerned with appearing to be good than obeying God.
SADDUCEES:
Positive ...
* They believed strongly in the law of Moses & in Levitical purity.
* They were more practically minded than the Pharisees.
Negative ...
* They relied on logic while placing little importance on faith.
* They didn’t believe ALL of the OT was God’s Word.
* They didn’t believe in a bodily resurrection or eternal life.
* They didn’t believe in angels & demons.
* They were often willing to compromise their values with the Romans and others in order to maintain their status & influential positions.
Up next is Jesus’ temptation in the Wilderness by Satan. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In His name & for His glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Resource: The Life Application Study Bible
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