Friday, April 4, 2008

PHARISEE VS. SADDUCEE

Somebody asked me the other day if I thought I was closer to a Pharisee or a Sadducee. I wasn't sure what they were getting at AT ALL - and I didn't ask. Frankly, I wasn't sure I knew the difference between the two. And I'm not convinced THEY knew the difference either. But when I got home, you can be sure I did a little research to find out which I WAS closer to. Or maybe more importantly, which I thought THEY thought I was closer to.

I knew that the two groups - Pharisees and Sadducees - were the two main religious parties in the New Testament that made Jesus' life difficult and eventually banded together to crucify Him.

Evidently, the Pharisees ADDED to the Scriptures all kinds of human laws which were passed down the line to future generations - and these 'add-ons' became as important as Scripture itself to them.

The Sadducees did the opposite. They took away whole sections of Scripture and basically said it was only the Law of Moses that should be observed.

So when Jesus came into the picture, He didn't fit at all. Neither religious group liked Him and both were supsicious of Him and hostile toward Him.

And it's not that different today really, is it? Like the Pharisees, WE'VE added to the Scriptures, haven't we? Added our own traditions and beliefs and twisted the Bible to make it say what we want it to. And like the Sadducees, WE'VE taken away many of the things that made the first-century church the first-century church and created our own ways to worship and live.

And so - to answer the original question - "Which am I more like - the Pharisee or the Sadducee?" I cannot truly say. All I know is that my DESIRE is to be like NEITHER -- but to be like JESUS.

7 comments:

Marcia said...

Exactly--good post.

Nice blog--I just wandered in here from your church site; my daughters and I are heading there for the Hawk Nelson concert.

Marcia said...

P.S. Any dinner recommendations for us?

PK's BLOG said...

Hey thanks!
Hope you enjoy HAWK. Kenosha has the standard fare for food, if you want that ... Chili's, Applebee's, Famous Dave's - the BIG THREE, all located on the same street as the church - all three are east of the church between 1/2 mile and 2 miles away.
If you want to get more exciting, try Mangias down on Sheridan Road (Italian and pricey, but great!) ENJOY!

Marcia said...

Awesome--we'll probably try the Italian. We're from Columbus, Ohio, and we have all the chains.

Right now we're in Chicago, and looking forward to tomorrow. Thanks!

LA Nickers said...

Great post!

An old pastor friend (actually, he's about my age, but we go way-ay back), used to differential the Sadducees this way. He said, "Because the Sadducees did not believe in eternal life, they were sad, you see?"

No, it was not P-Dan. Good guess, though. ;-)

LR
http://themanepoint.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Great post! And a Greater Answer! I am new here and am starting to read your posts from the beginning.. Thank you for sharing. I too would like to be like Jesus!
Sincerely, Theresa

PK's BLOG said...

Welcome !! Thanks for reading. Blessings.