Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots

We read about them in the Bible or Christian books but who exactly are they and how do they differ?

Well, most simply, they are the 4 main groups within the religion of Judaism. In brief...

Pharisees
The Phatisees believed happiness was found in tradition or legalism. They were hot on the past. To them, real happiness came through obeying the traditions of the fathers.

Sadducees
The Sadducees believed happiness was found in the present, in modernism and liberalism. "We're here," they would say;"We've got to interpret things according to modern standards." Theirs was an updated religion, a brand new liberalism. Chuck the old stuff.

(In a sense, both the Pharisees and Sadducees had a little bit of the truth. True religion has to be based on the past. And true religion has to work in the present.)

Essenes
The Essenes said, "No, happiness is in seperation from the world." Oooh, that sounds good, doesn't it? Only they were stressing geographical seperation. They just moved out of town, into the wilderness.

Zealots
Finally, the Zealots said, "Happiness is found in political revolution, in knocking off Rome.

So..
The Pharisees were saying Go Back.
The Sadducees were saying Go Ahead.
The Essenes were saying Go Out; and
The Zealots were saying Go Against.

Pharisees were Nostalgia buffs.
Sadducees were Modernists.
Essenes were Isolationists.
Zealots were Social Activists.

What a mess!

In fact, it sounds just like today!

Extracted from: The Beattitudes,
The Only Way to Happiness,
John MacArthur.

Hahaha~ Hope you found that helpful, dear reader =)




This is Mi, signing off.