The Sadducees

Who the Sadducees were

A Jewish party linked with the priestly families who ran the Temple. They accepted only the written Law and denied the resurrection, and they tested Jesus with a question about a woman married seven times.

Origins

A party within Judaism known from the second century BC onwards, close to the high priests HistoryJosephus, Antiquities 13.10.6; 18.1.4

Afterwards

They disappear from history after the Temple was destroyed in AD 70 History

1. They say there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit.

   ScriptureActs 23:8

2. With the Pharisees they ask Jesus for a sign from heaven.

   ScriptureMatthew 16:1

3. Jesus warns his disciples against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

   ScriptureMatthew 16:6, 12

4. They ask about a woman married to seven brothers; Jesus answers that God is the God of the living, not of the dead.

   ScriptureMark 12:18–27

5. The high priest and the Sadducees arrest the apostles, but an angel opens the prison.

   ScriptureActs 5:17–19

6. According to Josephus they accepted only the written law, not the traditions of the elders.

   HistoryJosephus, Antiquities 13.10.6

Sources: The Holy Bible (World English Bible); Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews.

Drafted from the Bible and Church tradition. Each line says where it comes from; anything marked Tradition or History is not in Scripture itself. Waiting for review by a priest or editor.

Sundays with The Sadducees

1. 26 September 2027

   Second Sunday after Holy Cross

   Gospel: Matthew 16:5–12

   A priestly party that denied the resurrection.

   In the story

   • Beware the yeast Matthew 16:6–7
   • Not about bread Matthew 16:11
   • Then they understood Matthew 16:12

Also in these readings

• The Phariseesപരീശന്മാർ5 Sundays