What the Community say bout the Messiah?

a.

Pharisees

The word Pharisee means pure, or separated, and was an

apt term for this group of ultra-Orthodox men who distanced
themselves from the unrighteous while they established many
extraneous commandments in connection with their pursuit of
holiness. In the time of Jesus, there were several thousand
Pharisees in Israel led by two main schools of philosophy:
-The House of Shammai
-The House of Hillel
Sanhedrin (99a):
Rabbi Hillel said: There is no messiah for Israel for he
was consumed in the time of Hezekiah. Rav Yosef said: May
Rabbi Hillels Master forgive him. Hezekiah lived during
the First Temple while Zechariah prophecied during the
Second Temple.
Sixteenth-century kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari)
said that not only are both the words of the House of
Shammai and the House of Hillel enduring on the conceptual
level, but each has its time and place on the pragmatic
level as well. In our present world, we follow the rulings
of the House of Hillel, but in the era of Messiah, the
majority opinion will shift in favor of the House of
Shammai, and their rulings will then be implemented.
Nicodemus. 1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a
ruler of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said to
him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come
from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing
unless God is with him.
(John 3:16)
b.

The Sadducees

The Sadducees take their name from the priest Zadok who
supported Solomon against Adonijah when he attempted to
appoint himself King of Israel. (See the 1st chapter of 1st
Chronicles.) Unlike the Pharisees, who were made up of both
rabbis and influential lay people, the Sadducees were
priests who controlled the Temple in Jerusalem, the heart
of Jewish worship. They rejected the oral traditions of the
Pharisees, and had a number of odd religious beliefs that
included denying the reality of spirits, the Resurrection,
the existence of Satan, the supernatural, miracles, and a
coming Messiah.
23 On that day Sadducees approached him, (saying that there
is no resurrection). They put this question to him,
24 saying, Teacher, Moses said, If a man dies[b] without
children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up
descendants for his brother. Now at the resurrection, of

the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had been
married to her.
29 Jesus said to them in reply, You are misled because you
do not know the scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the
resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage
but are like the angels in heaven. 31 And concerning the
resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said
to you[d] by God, 32 I am the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead
but of the living.
(Matthew 22:23-32)
c.

Essenes

They were an ascetic and mystical group devoted to strict

discipline. They lived in isolation from the world. The
Dead Sea Scrolls are believed to be the product of an
Essene sect. Some scholars believe that early Christianity
was influenced by the mystical and hermetical teachings of
the Essenes.
It has been popular among some scholars to claim that John
the Baptist was an Essene. There are some similarities
between John and the Essenes:
1. John was in the desert (Luke 1:80). The Essenes were
in the desert.
2. Both John and the Essenes used Isaiah 40:3 to
describe themselves as the voice in the wilderness.
3. The baptism (or washing) practiced by John and the
Essenes required a change of heart.
19 And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews[n]
from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites [to him] to ask
him, Who are you? 20 [o]he admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, I am not the Messiah. 21 So they asked him,
What are you then? Are you Elijah?[p] And he said, I am
not. Are you the Prophet? He answered, No. 22 So they
said to him, Who are you, so we can give an answer to
those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?
23 He said: I am the voice of one crying out in the
desert, Make straight the way of the Lord,
(John 1:19-23)
d.

The Herodians

They favored submitting to the Herods, and therefore to

Rome, for political expediency. This support of Herod
compromised Jewish independence in the minds of the
Pharisees, making it difficult for the Herodians and
Pharisees to unite and agree on anything. But one thing did
unite themopposing Jesus. Herod himself wanted Jesus dead
16 They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians,
saying, Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and
that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

And you are not concerned with anyones opinion, for you do
not regard a persons status. 17 Tell us, then, what is
your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar
or not? 18 Knowing their malice, Jesus said, Why are you
testing me, you hypocrites?
1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of
King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in
Jerusalem, 2 saying, Where is the newborn king of the
Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him
homage. 3 When King Herod heard this, he was greatly
troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Assembling all the
chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of
them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him,
In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written
through the prophet:6
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,are by no means
least among the rulers of Judah; since from you
shall come a ruler,who is to shepherd my people
Israel.
Matthew 2:1-6)
e.

Zealots

The Zealots were members of a first-century political

movement among Judean Jews who sought to overthrow the
occupying Roman government. The word zealot derives from
the Greek zelotes, meaning emulator or (zealous)
follower.
In the New Testament, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ
was named Simon the Zealot (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18; Luke
6:15; Acts 1:13).
"Now there was a certain man named Simon, who formerly was
practicing magic in the city, and astonishing the people of
Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from
smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying
This man is what is called the Great Power of God. And
they were giving him attention because he had for a long
time astonished them with his magic arts" (Acts 8:9-11).
Non-biblical sources have quoted Simon as saying, "I am the
Word of God, I am the Comforter, I am Almighty, I am all
there is of God."
f.

Samaritans

The Samaritans occupied the country formerly belonging to

the tribe of Ephraim and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The
capital of the country was Samaria, formerly a large and
splendid city. When the ten tribes were carried away into
captivity to Assyria, the king of Assyria sent people from
Cutha, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim to inhabit Samaria. (2
Kings 17:24; Ezra 4:2-11). These foreigners intermarried

with the Israelite population that was still in and around

Samaria.
The Samaritans embraced a religion that was a mixture of
Judaism and idolatry (2 Kings 17:26-28)
The Samaritans built a temple for themselves on Mount
Gerizim, which the Samaritans insisted was designated by
Moses as the place where the nation should worship.
Sanballat, the leader of the Samaritans, established his
son-in-law, Manasses, as high priest. The idolatrous
religion of the Samaritans thus became perpetuated
The Samaritans received only the five books of Moses and
rejected the writings of the prophets and all the Jewish
traditions.
22 You people worship what you do not understand; we
worship what we understand, because salvation is from the
Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true
worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;[i]
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in
Spirit and truth. 25 The woman said to him, I know that
the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he
comes, he will tell us everything. 26 Jesus said to her,
I am he ] the one who is speaking with you.
(John 4:22-26)