Conflict with the authorities: SADDUCEES Flashcards
According to Mark’s chronology when do the Sadducees come into contact with Jesus
They don’t come into contact with him until the last week of his ministry in Jerusalem
The sauducees’ clash with J on the issue of resurrection and afterlife
they ask Jesus whose wife a woman who has been married many times (each time widowed) will be in the afterlife
From Mark 12:18 onwards: His answer cuts to the root of their question and not only answered it but exposed the theological flaws in their argument. They only hold certain scriptures in high esteem and reject others e.g. oral tradition. J says that God is only a God of the living - the patriarchs are either with God or will be and the belief in the afterlife does not correspond with scripture
what tradition did the sadducees reject
oral tradition
who were the sadducees
political and religious ruling class who disagreed with Jesus about resurrection and wanted to maintain the status quo
opinions on resurrection
didn’t believe in it - as Josephus writes, they believed that ‘the souls of men die with their bodies’
Did they make up a significant part of the Sanhedrin ?
Yes they occupied the majority of places in the sanhedrin and therefore summed a significant role in bringing about the death of Jesus
Why did they worry / care about the threat that Jesus posed
They were concerned with upholding / protecting the control of the Jews that was allowed by the Romans - they didn’t want a disruption to the stars quo as this could pose a threat to the amount of authority that the Romans allowed them
