THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL STATE OF

ISRAEL
PRIESTS
The priesthood was an Old Testament institution, established in the time of Moses.
Priests were required to be descendants of Aaron, Moses' brother. These priests were the only
ones authorized to offer sacrifices, and were to instruct the people in the meaning of the divine
Law. While the priesthood was originally a religious office, by the time of Jesus some priests
also exerted political influence. The high priest was the president of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish
governing body), giving him both religious and political power. The "chief priests" were
temple officers with scats on the Sanhedrin, who also had significant political influence. They
should be distinguished from the ordinary priests, like Zechariah (Luke 1:5) who simply
carried out their religious function. The high priest and chief priests, and the aristocratic
families from which they came, generally opposed Jesus and later the Apostles.
RULERS
This word, used a number of times in the Gospels, usually indicates members of the
Sanhedrin or others with political influence.
PHARISEES
While this party arose in the time of Maccabees, its members liked to trace the origin of
their teachings to the time of Moses. The name means "separated." It may have been used first
in mockery of their resolve to separate themselves from the political parties in their nation. It
also surely reflected their determination to separate themselves from sinful practices and to
zealously follow God's Law. The Pharisees were the conservatives of Jesus' day. They held to
the authority of the written Law, but also to the authority of the oral traditions that interpreted
Mosaic Law and taught how it should be applied. While the Pharisees were truly the orthodox
of Judaism in Jesus' day, theirs was a sterile faith. Again and again Jesus had to confront
them, showing that their piety was legalistic and hypocritical. In their eagerness to exalt the
written Law they missed the love for and mercy toward others the Law was intended to
establish.
Tragically, these first-century conservatives would not respond to Jesus. He did not fit their
preconceived notions of how the Messiah should behave, and His interpretations of Scripture,
which cut through human tradition to original meaning, were not in harmony with their rigid
beliefs.
SADDUCEES
This was the liberal party of Jesus' time. It may have had close links with the priesthood,
and was solidly represented in the Sanhedrin. The Sadducees acknowledged only the Books of
Moses as Scripture, denied the existence of angels, and believed in neither resurrection nor the
immortality of the soul. They owed their place to their ability to fit in with the pagan power
structure, and were not against secularizing their nation and Judaism. They were in accord
with the Pharisees only in their dislike of Jesus, and plotted with them to have Christ killed.
SCRIBES
 The scribes were the scholars of both the Pharisean and Sadducean parties. They were
simply authorities on the Law, who were highly respected by the people for their devotion to
the study and interpretation of the Old Testament. However, Jesus came in conflict with them
as He attacked, not the Law, but accepted scribal interpretations of it.
HERODIANS
This party was political rather than religious in character. It was linked with the ruling
family of Herod, and supported Roman rule. The Herodians were against any political change
which might threaten them and their collaboration. They opposed Jesus not so much on
religious grounds but because they feared Him as a revolutionary. They saw His claim to be
the Messiah as a political threat.
GALILEANS
This was a political party, as well as a geographical designation. The "Galileans" were
what we would call today "freedom fighters," who opposed the Romans and the Hellenization
of their land. Jesus came from Galilee, as did His closest followers. But only, Simon the
Zealot had been previously associated with the revolutionary "Galilean party."
SAMARITANS
These inhabitants of the district of Samaria, were descendants of peoples imported after
the Assyrians defeated the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. Most of the Jewish people
then had been removed, and mixed races had been settled there from many parts of the
Assyrian Empire. These people adopted the God of the new land, Yahweh, but continued to
worship their old gods as well. Much later, when a small group returned from Babylonian
Captivity to resettle Judea, the Samaritans wanted to participate in rebuilding the Jerusalem
temple. Their offer was rejected. By the time of Jesus, a deep hostility existed between the
Jews and Samaritans. Often people traveling between Judea and Galilee would take a much
longer route rather than travel through Samaria.