1. Romans and Jews

2.  In first century Palestine the Romans were in charge and conquered the country in 63BC  The Romans were harsh rulers.  The Jews were ruled by local ‘kings’ the most famous being Herod the Great who ruled from 37BC until his death in AD4.  After his death the kingdom was divided between three of Herod’s sons who proved to be poor rulers. Consequently the Romans stepped in and ruled Judea directly.

3.  The men who wielded ultimate power were the Procurators (Governors), the most famous being Pontius Pilate.  The Jews responded to this new form of direct Roman authority in different ways....

4.  THE PEOPLE’S RELIGIOUS PARTY:  Obeyed the Jewish religious laws and kept themselves apart from ordinary people who were not as devout.  Added their oral (spoken) teachings to the written Law.  The Pharisees hoped for a Messiah – a leader specially chosen and empowered by God to set their country free from foreign rule.  They thought this special leader would be like

5.  King David of old and descended from his family.  They believed in a future Kingdom of God and the resurrection of the dead.  The Pharisees were laymen, not priests, and the defended the Law fiercely when the priests forgot it.  The Pharisees were exclusive and powerful but they were the people’s religious party and kept the Jewish faith alive in the towns and villages of first century Palestine.

6.  THE PRIVILEGED PARTY:  The Sadducees were a party of wealthy property owners living in Jerusalem.  Some were priests and some laymen.  They supported the status quo and worked in cooperation with the Romans.  Centred on the great Temple in Jerusalem and all the influence that went with it, they were anxious not to upset the Romans who allowed them such power.

7.  The Sadducees were enemies of the Pharisees and disagreed with them violently.  They were not expecting a Messiah to deliver them form Roman rule.  They did not accept the oral Law which had been added to the written law (the Torah).  They rejected the belief in a resurrection form the dead and did not believe in angels.  They were content with the services of the Jerusalem Temple.

8.  THE DESERT PARTY:  The Essenes were not mentioned in the Bible but have become well known since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947.  These scrolls belonged to the Essene community who were monks at Qumran near the Dead Sea.  The scrolls were hidden when the Romans invaded Judea in AD66 and remained a secret for almost 19 centuries.

9.  The community was founded at Qumran after the Maccabean wars.  Some Jews felt religious life was being corrupted, with people preferring winning wars and gaining fame rather than obeying God’s Laws.  The community’s aim was to prepare for the coming of God’s Messiah.  They believed that by living in their monastery in the desert they were obeying the word of the prophet Isaiah:

10.  “Prepare in the wilderness a road for the Lord! Clear the way in the desert for our God” (Isaiah 40:3).

11.  THE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY:  The Zealots opposed Roman rule totally.  They believed that Israel should be free of the Romans, and carried out terrorist attacks on the Roman troops.  Because the Jewish establishment (the Sadducees, the priests and the wealthy) worked with the Romans, the Zealots hated them.  They desired freedom from Roman rule.