Israelites, Pharisees & Sadducees In The 21st Century Church

Throughout the Second Temple Period, Jerusalem saw several shifts in
rule. Alexander's conquest of the Mediterranean world brought an end to Persian control
of Jerusalem (539 BCE–334/333 BCE) and ushered in the Hellenistic period. The
Hellenistic period, which extended from 334/333 BCE to 63 BCE, is known today for the
spread of Hellenistic influence. This included an expansion of culture, including an
appreciation of Greek theater, and admiration of the human body. After the death of
Alexander in 323 BCE, his generals divided the empire among themselves and for the
next 30 years, they fought for control of the empire. Judea was first controlled by
the Ptolemies of Egypt (r. 301–200 BCE) and later by the Seleucids of Syria (r. 200–
167). King Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria, a Seleucid, disrupted whatever peace there
had been in Judea when he desecrated the temple in Jerusalem and forced Jews to
violate the Torah. Most prominent of the rebel groups were the Maccabees, led
by Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son Judah the Maccabee. Though the
Maccabees rebelled against the Seleucids in 164 BCE, Seleucid rule did not end for
another 20 years. The Maccabean (a.k.a. Hasmonean) rule lasted until 63 BCE, when
the Roman general Pompey conquered Jerusalem.
Thus began the Roman period of Judea, leading to the creation of the province
of Roman Judea in 6 CE and extending into the 7th century CE, well beyond the end of
the Second Temple Period. Cooperation between the Romans and the Jews was
strongest during the reigns of Herod and his grandson, Herod Agrippa I. However, the
Romans moved power out of the hands of vassal kings and into the hands of Roman
administrators, beginning with the Census of Quirinius in 6 CE. The First Jewish–
Roman War broke out in 66 CE. After a few years of conflict, the Romans retook
Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, bringing an end to the Second Temple Period in
70 CE.
Role of the Temple
During the Persian period, the Temple became more than the center of worship in
Judea after its reconstruction in 516 BCE; it served as the center of society. It makes
sense, then, that priests held important positions as official leaders outside of the
Temple. The democratizing forces of the Hellenistic period lessened and shifted the
focus of Judaism away from the Temple and in the 3rd century BCE, a scribal class
began to emerge.
New organizations and "social elites," according to Shaye Cohen, appeared. It was also
during this time that the high priesthood—the members of which often identified as
Sadducees—was developing a reputation for corruption. Questions about the legitimacy
of the Second Temple and its Sadducaic leadership freely circulated within Judean
society. Sects began to form during the Maccabean reign (see Jewish
Sectarianism below). The Temple in Jerusalem was the formal center of political and
governmental leadership in ancient Israel, although its power was often contested and
disputed by fringe groups.
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