Judaism during Jesus’ time

Judaism during Jesus’ time was fractured into competing movements, each interpreting Jewish law and identity differently. Four main sects dominated: the Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, and Essenes.[1]

The Pharisees pursued spiritual purity through strict observance of Old Testament law and their own religious traditions.[1] Though numbering only about six thousand, they wielded enormous influence among ordinary people.[1] Their distinctive practice involved treating oral law—interpretive traditions—with authority nearly equal to the Torah itself, a position the Sadducees rejected.[2] They embraced belief in angels, spirits, and resurrection of the dead.[1]

The Sadducees represented a fundamentally different approach. Drawn from the Jewish aristocracy and powerful priestly families,[1] they dominated the Sanhedrin, the ruling council.[1] They recognized only the five books of Moses as authoritative, rejected Pharisaic traditions, and consequently denied beliefs in resurrection, final judgment, angels, and spirits.[1] Their cooperative stance toward Roman authorities reflected their dependence on Rome for local power.[1]

The Zealots held beliefs similar to the Pharisees but were passionately committed to human freedom, recognizing only God as their sovereign.[1] They were revolutionaries dedicated to overthrowing Roman rule and refused to pay Roman taxes.[3]

The Essenes were ascetic separatists and the most radical religiously, viewing both the Jerusalem temple and the Pharisees as corrupt.[1] The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered at Qumran, likely originated from an Essene community.[1]

Underlying these divisions was a shared foundation: the written Torah functioned as foundational mythology, legal charter, and framework for Jewish identity and social organization.[4] Yet the Torah’s multiple interpretations generated the varieties of Judaism during the first century.[4] What united them—devotion to Jewish law—simultaneously divided them through competing visions of how that law should be lived.

[1] Thomas R. Shepherd, “Mark,” in Andrews Bible Commentary: New Testament, ed. Ángel Manuel Rodríguez (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2022), 1289–1290.
[2] J. Gordon McConville, “Biblical History,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 38.
[3] Thomas D. Lea and David Alan Black, The New Testament: Its Background and Message (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003), 58.
[4] Burton L. Mack, A Myth of Innocence: Mark and Christian Origins (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2006), 34.