This week I continue in The New Testament and the People of God with chapter 7 (pp 167-214) as Wright describes the rise and diversity of the strains of “Judaisms” in the first century. While all Jews were united around a set of common beliefs (one God, Torah, covenant people, etc.), the Maccabean revolution and following splintered the people into at least three groups that continued into the first century (as a parallel, think of Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant). Yet these Jewish groups “cherished the hope that the covenant god would again act in history, this time to restore the fortunes of his internally-exiled people.” (p 167) But—and this is the key point—“when Israel’s god finally acted to redeem his people, those who would benefit would be those who had in the mean time kept the covenant boundaries in tact.” (p 168) In other words, a distinguishing mark of these groups was what it meant to keep the covenant boundaries!
The big issue following the Maccabean revolt was that the offices of the king and priest were combined into one person. This ended up being a disaster! Thus you have a rise in diversity, especially as pressure from the outside increased, up to and following conquest by Rome.
Wright speaks of the constant state of revolt, with a number of these occurring between 63 BC and 66 AD. He notes that “revolution of one sort or another was in the air.” (p 176) It is likely that the zeal the Maccabees had shown set an example that later revolutionaries followed, in their attempts to maintain covenant faithfulness (p 180). Wright begins to describe the three main groups, starting with the Pharisees.
“The Pharisaic agenda [was]… to purify Israel by summoning her to return to the true ancestral traditions; to restore Israel to her independent theocratic status; and to be, as a pressure group, in the vanguard of such movements by the study and practice of Torah.” (p 189) In other words, they were both zealous and studious (p 190). Many of the revolts Wright describes were driven by, or at least involved, Pharisees! They went further than most in their attempts to “maintain a purity at a degree higher than prescribed in the Hebrew Bible for ordinary Jews.” (p 195) Ultimately, they believed “Israel’s god will act; but loyal Jews may well be required as the agents and instruments of that divine action.” (p 201)
The Essenes were a group who entirely separated themselves from the Jewish community and lived on their own in the desert at Qumran. They considered the current Jewish lifestyle and the pollution of the culture to require a complete withdrawal from it, including from the temple itself! Rather, “at least one branch [of Essenes] regarded itself not just as the true Israel but as the true temple.” (p 205) This group considered themselves to be true Israelites, truly faithful, and God is acting in and through them (p 206).
Lastly, the Sadducees, which includes the priests and aristocrats. This was the ruling class and most heavily compromised by the culture and Roman rule. Denying resurrection, this group “had no time for laws other than those in the Bible.” (p 211) For them, the temple was central. Maintaining power was a close second.
The ordinary Jew prayed, attended the annual feasts, and attempted to keep the biblical commands (p 214). It is unlikely that they had much time for the nuances of the debates between these groups.
To conclude with a focus on the Pharisees, this is a group who believed that in order to bring about the vindication of Israel and salvation of its people, they must exhibit covenant faithfulness to God by following the Torah and their traditions carefully. So imagine a man shows up and begins to speak as if the Torah should be interpreted and defined by him, one who speaks of vindication through death, and one who rejects the cherished belief that their traditions must be carefully followed. What is a Pharisee to do with such a man? What is a Sadducee to do with a man who redefines the temple to be himself and thus no need for the one in Jerusalem?! As we shall see as we dig deeper, their reaction to him is unsurprising.
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