during Jesus’ time was no longer united. Due to many factors they were divided in a number of religious group or sect: A. ZEALOTS they had taken arms against the Romans on more than one occasion. Many of them had given up their lives after the liberation of their land.
B. ESSENES on the other hand were waiting for the right to wage war against the Romans.
both groups considered armed rebellion as solution to
the situation because of their religious conviction that God was their only king C. PHARISEES
the Pharisees formed a powerful minority
group during Jesus’ time. Their name means the separate ones. And indeed the Pharisees separated themselves from the rest of society and formed closed communities within the community. They considered themselves the holy ones of Israel. D. SCRIBES
Many Scribes belonged to the group of Pharisees.
They were the learned men of the community and the teachers of the law. The Scribes would gather a group of people around them, their disciples, and explain the law to them. They loved to called Rabbi or master. The law became an obsession with them. The letter of the law was applied to numerous situations and then put down in an equal number o prescriptions on which would guide man’s every act. During Jesus’ time the law had been broken down into so many prescriptions that no one could memorize or know it anymore. Therefore, some scribes had started to summarize these prescriptions and to reduce them to few principles, such as, “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind: and your neighbor as yourself.” –(Luke 10:27) E. SADUCEES The group of sadducees was mainly composed of the wealthy upper class. To this group belonged the chief priests, the elders and few scribes. They were called the leaders of the people. the chief priests were responsible for the organization and administration of the temple. Priesthood was hereditary from father to son. The elders were the rich laymen. the sadducees considered themselves broad-minded and had adopted much of Greek culture. However, in their religious belief they restricted themselves to the teachings of the Pentateuch and rejected later teachings, such as on the resurrection. they believe that man had to solve his own problems and should not always rely on the providence of God. No wonder then that they accommodated the Romans, because they thought that cooperation was the best way by which they could solve their political problems.
the sadducees were not much liked by the other people.
F. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Formalism (strict following to the law)
and hypocrisy had eroded the true religion and worship. Religion had become a source of division in the community. The law had been turned into an instrument of oppression of the simple people. People still worshipped God but did not show concern for their fellowmen. There was, therefore, a need for a change in religion.