The Religious

Setting
Great Sanhedrin

From the greek sunedrion which means council, was the highest Jewish
council that primarily governed the religious affairs, preserved the
beliefs and teachings and safeguarded the practices and traditions of the
Jews.
Great Sanhedrin

It was composed of 72 members – from the Sadducees, the Pharisees

and the Scribes.
The High Priest, who was considered as the leader of the Sanhedrin,
originated from the Sadducean party.
Great Sanhedrin

Once enjoying full autonomy in its exercise of leadership at the time of

the Hasmonean rule, the Sanhedrin was eventually limited by the ruling
Romans.
While Rome acknowledged the decrees of the Sanhedrin, it reserved
upon itself the power to “sentence a person’s death”
 Eventually, Rome got involved
for the appointment of
Sanhedrin’s high priest – a
situation that aggravated the
insecurity and fear of the
Sadducees from losing the post,
thus, collaboration with Rome
became a political strategy.
Because of this, the Sadducees
were hated and looked upon as
traitors to their own people.

Great Sanhedrin
Sects and
Parties in
the
Sanhedrin
Sadducees
 They claimed to be the spiritual heirs of Zadok,
King David’s appointed chief priest (1 Kings 2:35)

 Their name was “derived from the Greek word

Saddoukaiou, and its hebrew equivalent zaddukim
or tsaddiqim which refers to the righteous ones.
Origin/
 However, not all Sadducees were priests but they
background
were generally regarded as belonging to the
wealthy aristocratic class of Jewish Society.
 They disappeared when the Temple was destroyed
in 70 AD.
Sadducees
 They only believed in the TORAH but refused to
recognize the oral tradition of the Jews – an action
Teachings and that revealed their conservative attitude towards
their religion.
Beliefs
 They rejected the existence of angels, the truth of
immortality, and resurrection (Matthew 22.23,
Mark 12.18, Luke 20.27, Acts 23.8)

 In Ezekiel 40.46, it was indicated that only the

Practices and priests, the Zadokites (the spiritual heirs of Zadok),
Traditions can approach the altar of the Lord. Then, the
Sadducees “emphasized their inherited right to this
role.”
Sadducees

 They were the intense rival group of the Pharisees.

 They sought to trap Jesus by demanding a sign from

heaven (Matthew 16.1)

Encounters  They approached Jesus, and told him that there is

no resurrection (Matthew 22.23)

 They were denounced by John the Baptist as

“brood of vipers” (Matthew 4.7), and by Jesus
himself (Matthew 16.6)
Pharisees

 Their emergence was traced from the religious

group known as the Hasidean (from the Hebrew
word Hasidim, the Pious One), who were noted for
their “uncompromising observance of Judaic Law.”

 The Pharisees (from the Hebrew word Perushim,

Origin / the Separated Ones) were laymen who “sought
Background above all to preserve the Jews from the
contamination of foreign religion, and to this end,
insisted the strict separation from the Gentiles.
Pharisees

 They were often referred in the Gospel accounts as

rabbi, teacher, due to their expertise in the
Origin / interpretation of Jewish law.
Background  They ensured the survival and community of
Judaism after the destruction of the temple in 70
AD through oral tradition.
Pharisees

 In contrast to the Sadducees, they “accepted as

scripture the Prophets and the Writings as well
as the Pentateuch (Torah); they had expectations
about the end of the present world age… and they
Teachings and possessed a highly developed belief in angels and
Beliefs demons.”

 They believed in the existence of angels and the

afterlife.
Pharisees
 They made the synagogue as their main venue for
the exposition, and preaching of the Scripture.
 Further, “they advocated and adhered to the strict
observance of the Sabbath rest, purity rituals,
tithing, and food restrictions based on the Hebrew
Practices and Scriptures and on later traditions.”
Traditions  Unlike the Sadducees, they revealed a liberal
attitude towards the Scripture “by including
Pharisaic oral tradition, which the Gospel of
Mark calls the “tradition of the elders.”
Pharisees

With an excessive emphasis on the observance of the

law, majority of the Pharisees, as mentioned in Gospel
narratives, fell into the trap of insincerity and
hypocrisy. In Matthew 25, Jesus strongly condemned
Encounters the Pharisees as “hypocrites” and “blind guides”.
Paul was once a Pharisee (Acts 26.3, 26.5,
Philippians 3.5)
Pharisees
While the Pharisees suffered the most criticism and
the stereotype as the foremost enemy of Jesus Christ
during his public ministry, particularly in the
interpretation of the Mosaic Law, and the nature of the
incoming Messiah, a few gospel accounts recount
Jesus’ friendly interaction with Simon the Pharisee,
Encounters who invited Jesus to dine in his house (Luke 7.36-50)

In addition, Acts 5.34 mentioned a Pharisee, named

Gamaliel, who protected the early group of Christians
during a trial by the Sanhedrin.
Scribes
“Scribe”is derived from the Greek word,
grammateis, nomodidaschaloi – teachers of the law.

In OT, scribes were “professional copyists who

recorded commercial, royal and religious texts and
Origin / served as clerks, secretaries and archivists at
Background Israel’s royal court, and Temple (2 Kings 12. 10,
19.2, Ezra 4.8, 2 Chronicles 34.8, Jeremiah 36.18).

In NT, they referred to an educated group of people

who had the capacity to read, and interpret the
Jewish law – both oral and written. Some members
of the Scribes were Pharisees.
Scribes

Teachings and They were opposed to the belief of the Sadducees but
Beliefs upheld the Pharisaic teachings.

They taught at the synagogue – preaching and

Practices and teaching the Mosaic law and its interpretation.
Traditions

They were also rejected by Jesus Christ for their

hypocrisy, pride and contradiction of Christ
Encounters (Matthew 23.2ff, Mark 12.28-30, Luke 20.46,
Matthew 9.3)
Religious
Factions Outside
the Sanhedrin
Essenes
They were not mentioned in the New
Testament but the discovery of the Dead
Sea Scrolls in Qumran led scholars to
Origin / recognize the Essenes whose existence can
Background be traced as early as the 2 BC to 1 AD.

Their writings revealed that they originated

from what they called as the “Teacher of
Righteousness.”
Essenes
They criticized the Sadducees as false
descendants of the priest named Zadok, thus,
illegitimate personnel of the temple duties once
Teachings and performed by the Zadokites.
Beliefs
They anticipated a cosmic war between good and
evil; between the sons of light against the sons of
darkness – an allusion to the apocalypse.

They expected two messiahs – a priestly and a

kingly messiah.
Essenes
Practices and They emphasized strong community life, observance of
the Mosaic law, prayer, and strict ritual on purity.
Traditions
There was an indication that they practiced celibacy.

There were no records in the entire NT that Jesus

interacted with the Essenes but few modern theories
Encounters insisted that Jesus must have encountered the Essenes
because of their similar emphasis on the end of time.
Baptists
Origin/
Background
They were followers of John the Baptists.

Just like John, the Baptists called people to metanoia

Teachings and (change of heart), or repentance as a preparation for the
Beliefs coming of the prophesied messiah.

They used water for the baptism of people as a symbol

Practices and of cleansing from the sins.
Traditions

There was not much indication that Jesus interacted with

Encounters the Baptists.
Samaritans
During the Assyrian invasion of Northern Israel in 722 BC,
King Sargon “deported the population of the City of Samaria
and the surrounding region and settled new colonists in their
place. The result was a religious and cultural syncretism,
and intermarriages as well: the inhabitants continued to
worship their native gods, but they also worshipped the Lord
as their local god (2 Kings 17.26-28)

Origin/
Background It was believed that there were poor families left behind when
Judah was carried off to Babylon (2Kings 25.12), and those
may have mixed with the already mixed Samaritan
population.

The mainline Jews at the time of Jesus, hated them as

idolatrous for their worship of pagan gods, and considered
them as ritually unclean due to an inter-marriage with
persons of pagan blood.
Samaritans
They only considered the five books of Moses as the
Teachings and Sacred Scripture.
Beliefs
They rejected Jewish law and precepts

Unlike the Jews who considered the Temple of

Practices Jerusalem as central and holy to their faith, the
Samaritans worshipped in Mt. Gerizim.
and Traditions

They believed that their holy mountain has a better

claim than Mt. Zion, since it was a worship site long
before King David conquered Jerusalem
(Deuteronomy 27.12)
Samaritans
In John, Jesus encountered a Samaritan woman, talked
to her, and asked water from her – an incident that
shocked the Samaritan woman (Jn 4.9): “How can
you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”

In contrast to the hypocrisy of the priest and Levite of

the temple, Jesus spoke about the story of the Good
Encounter Samaritan (Luke 10.30-37)

Jesus narrated the story of the Samaritan leper, the

only one among the ten healed by Jesus who returned
and thanked him (Lk 17.16)
Samaritans

Scott Hann commentary:

In Jesus teaching, the Samaritans were a powerful

means of expressing the truly radical call he was
making in the Gospel. The gospel belongs to the
Encounter
Samaritans as well, and Christianity lays aside long
standing enmity and reaches out to all… Jesus made
the stunning demand that love of neighbour meant
loving the Samaritan, and brotherhood included such
a bitter enemy.
Religious
Places
 Temple
 Sacred to Judaism
 central place of worship
 Locus of offering sacrifice
 House of prayer for the
Jews.

The “first temple was built by Solomon in 967 to 964 BC but was destroyed by
the Chaldeans in 586 BC.
The Second was erected by Zerubbabel in 515 BC, but was profaned in 167
BC by the Syrians. Herod the Great began a magnificent restoration of this
temple.
When the Jewish rebellion broke out in 66 AD, the great temple of Jerusalem
was eventually destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD – an event that Jesus
himself prophesied (Mt 24.1-51, Mk 13.1ff, Lk 21.1ff)
 Temple
Considered as to be “the most
impressive of all Herod’s
achievements… and one of the
most magnificent religious
buildings in the Roman world.

 Considered as to be “the most impressive of all Herod’s

achievements… and one of the most magnificent religious buildings
in the Roman world.

 Most important to the Jews due to its claim “to be the only place
where Jews could offer sacrifices to God.

 Also a home for a lot of busy people during their services (the High
priest and the levites)
 Played a
significant part
of Jesus life:
 Forty days after his birth he was dedicated to God in the Temple (Lk
2.22-38)
 his family made routine trips to the Temple for the main Jewish feasts
(Lk 2.41ff).
 Jesus presumably took part in the liturgists of Temple worship (Jn 2.13,
5.1, 7.14)
 Like every Jew, he also paid the annual Temple tax (Mt. 17.24)
 his reverence for the sanctuary made clearest when he saw others
profaning the sacredness of the Temple.
The Temple Courts

Holy of Holies The most sacred space of the Temple where the stone of the Ark of
the Covenant is placed, and the presence of the Lord is believed to
reside.

Court of Priests It is where the Jewish priests make their ritual at the altar of
sacrifice.

Court of Israelites The place where lay Jewish male can assist the priest at the services.

place only intended for Jewish women.

Court of Women
15 steps of the staircase away from the court for women lies the
court for Gentiles. Such portion of the Temple is meant for buying
Court of the Gentiles and selling (Mk 11.15)
Synagogue
 Not a place of offering sacrifices.

 A place of prayer and instruction every sabbath rest.

 Served as venues for settling disputes and imposing
disciplinary measures in order to ensure order and fidelity to
Jewish tradition and teaching.
Government was in the hands of the synagogue elders. They had the duty
to enforce discipline by lashing and even by expulsion (Scott Hann)

 When the Temple was ruined on 70AD, the synagogues

became instrumental for the ongoing faith-life of the Jewish
people.
Important Jewish
Days and Festivals
Sabbath Rest
 A weekly observance.
 Exodus 20:8-11 – the Sabbath law was made, and became
part of the covenant between God and Israel
“Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days you may labor and
do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your
God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son, or your
daughter, or your male or your female slave or your beast, or by the
alien who lives with you. In six days the Lord made the heavens and
the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but ont the seventh day he
rested. That is why the Lord has blessed the Sabbath day and made it
holy.”
 Strictly prohibits all forms of work for it is a time to rest and
prayer.
Sabbath Rest
 Strictly prohibits all forms of work for it is a time to rest and
prayer.

Various specific regulations addressed cooking, plowing and reaping,

gathering of wood, lighting a fire, trading and bartering, carrying loads
and loading animals. Since work was prohibited, food had to be
prepared on the day before the Sabbath; the preceding day became
known as the day of preparation (Matthew 27.62, Mk 15.42)

 In several occasions when Jesus cured the sick and exorcised

demons and didn’t remain indifferent to those who were ill,
suffering and possessed, the authorities accused him of breaking
the Sabbath law, of disrespecting the divine precept, and of
blaspheming God, particularly when he claimed to be “Lord of
the Sabbath” (Matthew 12.8, Mk 2.28)
Feast of the Passover or Pesah
 From the Hebrew word pasha.
 Deut. 16.2-4
You shall offer the Passover sacrifice from
your flock or your herd to the Lord,
your God in the place which he chooses
as the dwelling place of his name. You
shall not eat any leavened bread with it.
For seven days you shall eat with it
only unleavened bread, the bread of
affliction, that you may remember as
Thus, this passage specifies long as you live the day of your
the duties during the departure from the land of Egypt; for in
frightened haste you left the land of
Passover feast. It is in this Egypt.
view that the feast is held
as the holiest among all the
Jewish feasts.
Feast of the Passover or Pesah
 An annual commemoration of the
liberation of the Hebrew people
from the bondage of slavery in
Egypt when the angel of death
passed over the Israelite household
and spared their firstborn from
death (Ex 12, 23,27)
 Today, the feast is celebrated by all
Jews from all over the world either
in March or April.
Significance
 According to the gospel of John, Jesus died on the
day of the Passover- an event symbolically and
theologically embodied Jesus as the “Paschal
lamb” who was sacrificed for the atonement of
sins.
Feast of the Dedication or Pentecost
 Originally known as the
Feast of Weeks (Deut.
16.10) or the Feast of
Harvest (Ex. 23.16) and
the Day of the First Fruits
(Nm. 28.26).
 A Celebration fifty days
after the feast of Passover.
 An annual
commemoration of the
giving of the Law on Mt.
Sinai.
Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah
 It commemorates the
rededication of the Temple in
164 BC after it was desecrated
by the Syrian Greeks.
 It is also known as the Feast of
Lights.
Calendar of Jewish Festivities
Conclusion

With the diversity of religious affiliations and the rich

religious culture of Palestine, Jesus must have been aware
of the lively faith-life of the Jewish people. But as he
embarked on his public ministry, he began to discover the
failure, and hypocrisy of some of its religious leaders in
the observance of the law. Later on his life, he inevitably
confronted and condemned their actions while he
prudently upheld the spirit of the law.