“Watch Out for the Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees”

WHEN Jesus Christ uttered those words over 19 centuries ago, he was alerting his disciples to harmful religious teachings and practices. (Matthew 16:6, 12) The account at Mark 8:15 specifies: “Look out for the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” Why was Herod mentioned? Because some of the Sadducees were Herodians, a political group.

Why was such a special warning necessary? Were not both the Pharisees and the Sadducees outright opposers of Jesus? (Matthew 16:21; John 11:45-50) Yes, they were. Yet, some of them would later accept Christianity and then try to impose their ideas on the Christian congregation.​—Acts 15:5.

There was also the danger that the disciples themselves might imitate those religious leaders under whose influence they had been raised. At times, just coming from such a background proved to be an obstacle to their getting the sense of Jesus’ teachings.

What made Pharisaism and Sadduceeism so dangerous? A look at the religious conditions in Jesus’ day will give us an idea.

Religious Disunity

Concerning the Jewish community during the first century C.E., historian Max Radin wrote: “The independence of the Jewish congregations of one another was quite real, and was even insisted upon. . . . Often, when the reverence for the temple and the holy city was most strongly emphasized, intense contempt might be manifested for those who were at the moment the holders of the supreme authority in the mother-country.”

A sad spiritual state of affairs indeed! What were some contributing factors? Not all Jews lived in Palestine. The influence of Greek culture, in which priests were not community leaders, had played its part in undermining respect for Jehovah’s arrangement of the priesthood. (Exodus 28:29; 40:12-15) And not to be overlooked were the educated laymen and scribes.

The Sadducees

The name Sadducees was taken possibly from Zadok, high priest in the days of Solomon. (1 Kings 2:35, footnote) The Sadducees formed a conservative party representing the interests of the temple and priesthood. Unlike the Pharisees, who claimed authority by virtue of learning and piety, the Sadducees based their prerogative on genealogy and position. They opposed Pharisaic innovations down to the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E.

In addition to rejecting predestination, the Sadducees refused to accept any teaching not mentioned explicitly in the Pentateuch, even if it was stated elsewhere in God’s Word. In fact, they “considered it a virtue to dispute” these matters. (The Jewish Encyclopedia) This calls to mind the occasion when they challenged Jesus concerning the resurrection.

Using the illustration of the widow of seven husbands, the Sadducees asked: “In the resurrection, to which of the seven will she be wife?” Of course, that hypothetical widow of theirs might just as well have had 14 or 21 husbands. Jesus explained: “In the resurrection neither do men marry nor are women given in marriage.”​—Matthew 22:23-30.

Aware of Sadducean rejection of inspired writers other than Moses, Jesus proved His point by quoting from the Pentateuch. He said: “Concerning the dead, that they are raised up, did you not read in the book of Moses, in the account about the thornbush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob’? He is a God, not of the dead, but of the living.”​—Mark 12:26, 27.

Persecutors of Jesus and His Followers

The Sadducees believed in using statecraft in dealing with other nations rather than waiting for the Messiah​—if they believed in his coming at all. Under an agreement with Rome, they were to operate the temple and did not want any Messiah appearing on the scene, disturbing matters. Viewing Jesus as a threat to their position, they joined forces with the Pharisees to plot his death.​—Matthew 26:59-66; John 11:45-50.

Being politically oriented, the Sadducees logically made an issue of loyalty to Rome and shouted: “We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19:6, 12-15) After Jesus’ death and resurrection, it was the Sadducees who took the lead in trying to stop the spread of Christianity. (Acts 4:1-23; 5:17-42; 9:14) After the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E., this group ceased to exist.

The Need to Remain on Guard

How appropriate Jesus’ warning has proved to be! Yes, we need to “watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” One has only to observe its bad fruitage in both Jewry and Christendom today.

In stark contrast, however, qualified Christian elders in more than 75,500 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world ‘pay constant attention to themselves and to their teaching.’ (1 Timothy 4:16) They accept the entire Bible as inspired of God. (2 Timothy 3:16) Rather than being innovative and promoting their own religious procedures, they work unitedly under the direction of a Bible-based organization that uses this magazine as its principal instrument of instruction.​—Matthew 24:45-47.

The result? Millions of people around the world are being elevated spiritually as they come to understand the Bible, apply it to their lives, and teach it to others. To see how this is being accomplished, why not visit the nearest congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses or write to the publishers of this magazine?

On another occasion, many took offense when Jesus spoke of ‘eating his flesh and drinking his blood.’ (John 6:48-55) However, Lightfoot points out that “there was nothing more common in the schools of the Jews than the phrases of ‘eating and drinking’ in a metaphorical sense.” He also noted that the Talmud mentioned “eating the Messiah.”

So it was that the views of the Pharisees and the Sadducees had quite an effect on first-century Jewish thinking. Appropriately, however, Jesus always took into account the knowledge and experience of his audience. This was one of many factors that made him the Great Teacher.