Differences Of The Pharisees, The Sadducees And Herodians

In the New Testament, during the life of Christ, three religious sects are often referred too. These are the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians. These three sects were formed and mainly active during the Second temple period (530 BC and AD 70). These groups had acted in several roles, they were at times political parties, social movements, and represented different schools of thought. Jesus Christ, during his ministry on Earth, had several major confrontations with these groups. Although each of these three groups were Jewish, they held opposing views on several issues. The Pharisees, at the time “when all the people of the Jews gave assurance of their good-will to Caesar, and to the king's government”, prior to the First Jewish–Roman War, were estimated to be numbering approximately six thousand, according to Flavious Josephus.i Their members included many famous Jewish religious leaders. Gamaliel, a celebrated teacher who taught the
This is amply illustrated in the narrative in Luke 18. In this parable two men went up into the temple in order to pray, one man was a Pharisee, and the other was a publican. The self-righteous Pharisee “stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess”.xxxiii In stark contrast to this, the publican humbly stood “afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner”.xxxiv Jesus said, of the publican, that he “went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”.xxxv The Pharisee was trusting in himself but the publican recognised his sin and his need for