Word In Life Study Bible
PARTY POLITICS OF JESUS’ DAY
Matt.16:1
In the end, it would be difficult if not impossible to determine any satisfactory answers. Jesus seemed acutely aware of the power brokers in His society. He also showed remarkable skill at political gamesmanship. But He never addressed or practiced politics in any formal sense. And He lived in a system completely different from our own.
However, even if we cannot know precisely what Jesus’ affiliations were, we can at least understand some of the political dynamics at work in Palestine in the first half of the first century. For example, we know that there were at least five major political parties among the Hebrews of that day.
The Herodians—Loyal
Defenders of the Status Quo
• Took
their name from Herod the Great (37–4 a.d.) and his supporters. (See “The
Herods” at Acts 12:1–2.)
• Supported the adoption of Graeco-Roman culture and policies in Palestine.
• Like the Pharisees, favored local political autonomy. Fearing military
intervention by Rome, they stridently resisted challengers to the status quo,
such as the Zealots, John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles.
• Joined forces with other parties in the plot to eliminate Jesus (Matt.
22:16; Mark 3:6; 12:13).
The Pharisees—Religious
Legalists
• Probably derived from a group of the faithful called the Hasidim.
• Name means “to separate.”
• Shared similar views with the Essenes, but chose to stay within the larger
society. Nevertheless, many chose to study the Law on their own, having lost
respect for the priesthood as a result of its corruption.
• Many served on the council (see Acts 6:12).
• Considered the doctors of the Law; scribes were considered laymen.
• Collected and preserved the Talmud and the Mishnah, voluminous products
of oral tradition and Old Testament commentary.
• By reputation, legalistic and fanatically devoted to rabbinic tradition.
Some even refused to eat with non-Pharisees for fear of being contaminated by
food not rendered ritually clean.
• Like the Herodians, favored local political autonomy.
• Differed with the Sadducees over the doctrine of the resurrection.
• Understood the coming kingdom as a literal fulfillment of the promise
to David for a King to reign over Israel forever.
• Maintained an elaborate theology of angels, believing them to intervene
in human affairs.
The Sadducees—The
Urban Elite
• May have derived from Zadok, high priest under King David.
• Tended to represent the aristocrats, priests, merchants, and urban elite
in Jerusalem and other cities in Judea.
• Hostile to Jesus and His followers.
• Many served on the council. Most of the high priests in the days of Jesus
and the apostles were Sadducees.
• Denied the resurrection or life after death, along with the doctrines
of everlasting punishment and a literal kingdom.
• Denied that God controls history, insisting on free will and the responsibility
of humans to make wise choices according to the Law.
• Held only to the Law of Moses (the first five books of the Old Testament)
as supremely authoritative.
• Denied the existence of angels.
The Zealots—Firebrands
of Revolution
• Ardent nationalists who awaited an opportunity to revolt against Rome.
• Resisted paying taxes to Rome or to the temple.
• One particular tax revolt against Rome, led by Judas the Galilean (6
a.d.), secured Galilee’s reputation as a seedbed of revolutionaries.
• Blamed by some for the collapse of Judea to Rome in the war of a.d. 66–70.
Josephus, a Jewish historian, claimed that they degenerated into mere assassins
or sicarii (“dagger-men”).
• Sided with the Pharisees in supporting Jewish Law.
• Opposed the Herodians and Sadducees, who tried to maintain the political
status quo.
• Intolerant of the Essenes and later the Christians for their tendencies
toward nonviolence.
• Two recruited by Jesus were Judas Iscariot and Simon the Cananite.
The Essenes—Detached
Purists
• A sect of ascetics that thrived between the middle of the second century
a.d. until the Jewish-Roman war in a.d. 66–70.
• Once members of the Hasidim, but, unlike the Pharisees, separated from
society, withdrawing into monastic communities like Qumran where the Dead Sea
scrolls were found.
• Known today mostly through secondary sources.
• Lived in societies that held property in common.
• Believed in the immortality of the soul, angels, and an elaborate scheme
of end-times prophecies. Some were looking for as many as three different Messiahs.
• Known for celibacy, pacifism, opposition to slavery, caring for their
own sick and elderly, trading only within their own sect, simplicity in meals
and dress, and the rejection of all ostentatious display.
• Paid more attention to ceremonial purity than did even the Pharisees,
and carefully guarded the Sabbath.
• Practiced ritual baptism and a communal dinner called the messianic banquet.
• May have influenced some early Christian practices and rituals.
Print
Email
