Pharisees And Sadducees

The time of the Pharisees and Sadducees are long gone. There is no longer a need for them anymore. The fall of Jerusalem, became the fall for these two groups as well. What are the Pharisees and Sadducees you say? Well, actually, there were three groups, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes, but the Essenes were not as important during these times, so there is no need to share about this group. Though, I will begin to share with you the history of the two holy groups (Pharisees and Sadducees) from the Old Testament Biblical times.

The name of the Pharisees comes from the Hebrew and Aramaic parush or perushi, which means “one who is separated”. But there isn’t a clear definition on whether it means separation from the gentiles, from ritual

Though the Pharisees held themselves to a higher standard than the normal Jews. During Herod’s kingship, Herod found favor in few Pharisees, but others he executed for opposing him. Zadok was a leading priest in the time of David and Solomon. The high priest Ananus who assembled the Sanhedrin to condemn Jesus’ brother James, followed the school of the Sadducee, VanderKam 187-189. The Sanhedrin were the supreme Jewish council, the body which governed the Jews after the monarchy had been destroyed.

We know that after the exile of the Jews, the community of those who returned to the land of Israel, the elders of the Jews seemed to have gained more influence in all areas of Jewish life. An example would be some who became experts in the interpretation of the law (including priests). The gathers caused lots of disputes between the Pharisees and Sadducees.

As you can see, the Pharisees and Sadducees were important long ago, but are not present today because of the fall of Jerusalem. Pharisees believed in the resurrection, but Sadducees did not. This was just one of the many difference, but there was one similarity of these two groups, and that was that their main goal was to kill and destroy