Truth Magazine

By Stan Cox

While the Son of God walked on earth, he expressed his love for all men. Jesus even loved the “unlovable.” A wonderful example of this compassion is seen in John’s record of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in John 4.  Despite a national disdain the Jew felt toward Samaritans, Jesus started a conversation with the woman by requesting of her a drink of water. The woman recognized the singular nature of this and said, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans” (v. 9).  Jesus was the Christ, and his saving work went beyond national boundaries and prejudices to include all men. “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He’” (vv. 25-26). The grace of God was extended even to the despised Samaritans, indeed to all men (cf. Acts 11:18).

A Despised People

To understand the animosity that existed between the Jew and the Samaritan, it is necessary to go back in history to the days of Israel’s judgment at the hands of Assyria. The event is recorded in 2 Kings 17. Israel had grieved God repeatedly with her rebellion. So, using the Assyrians as his instrument of judgment, he dealt with her. “Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight . . .” (v. 18). The king of Assyria took many of the Israelites into captivity, and settled the land with other peoples. “Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah (Samaritans are also known as Cuthaeans), Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities” (v. 24). The Jews who remained, already rebellious toward Jehovah, were further corrupted in their religion. It is generally accepted that intermarriage between the peoples took place.

The Samaritans’ religion was “syncretistic” (the combination of different forms of belief or practice, Websters). Shortly after inhabiting the land they began to suffer at God’s hand. 2 Kings 17:25 reveals “they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.” Chastened by the Lord’s punishment, they determined to serve Jehovah, and brought back a priest who taught them how to fear the Lord. However, while they embraced worship of Jehovah, they retained an adoration of their own deities. “They feared the Lord, yet served their own God’s — according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away” (v. 33).

Conflicting Religions

When the remnant of Israel returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and temple, the Samaritans approached them with an interesting proposal. “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here” (Ezra 4:2). Whether this request was made in good faith or not is irrelevant, it was completely unacceptable to the Jews. The Samaritans had a completely different concept of worship to Jehovah, which could not be reconciled with the Jew’s desire to restore pure worship before him. 2 Kings 17:41, “So these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.” In response, the Jews said, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us” (Ezra 4:3). The Jew’s disdain of this mongrel people, coupled with their rejection of the proposal, served to entrench the animosity between them and the inhabitants of Samaria. From that point on, “. . . the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building” (Ezra 4:4).

Subsequent History

Understanding the history of the Samaritan people helps us both to recognize why the tension between Jew and Samaritan existed, and why Jesus responded to the woman at the well as he did. The Samaritans, having been rejected by the Jews, determined to worship Jehovah in their own way. A short quote from Unger’s Bible Dictionary serves to encapsulate the conflict between Jews and Samaritans. 

The relation between Jew and Samaritan was one of hostility. The expulsion of Manasseh by Nehemiah for an unlawful marriage, and his building of the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim by permission of Darius Nothus, took place about 409 BC. The inhospitality (Luke 9:52, 53) and hostility of the Samaritans induced many pilgrims from the north to Jerusalem to go on the east of the Jordan . . . The Jews repaid hate with hate. They cast suspicion on the Samaritan copy of the law, and disallowed the steadfast claim of the Samaritans to Jewish birth (John 4:12). Social and commercial relations, though they could not be broken off (4:8), were reduced to the lowest possible figure (959).

Our Lord’s Response to the Samaritans

“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:21-24). In one act of sacrifice, Jesus swept aside the animosity and division which had existed between the peoples for hundreds of years. “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).

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By Carl A. Allen

“For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory,” Eph. 2:8-9. The writer of the Ephesian letter attributes salvation to two things — grace and faith. The first is what God has done for man, the latter is what God requires of man.

Grace, simply defined is “favor bestowed.” It includes his love (John 3:16), his power (1 Pet. 1:5), his mercy (Rom. 11:32), Christ’s life, and his death, and also, the blood that was shed. All that is listed has to do with that which God has done for man; hence, the grace of God.

Faith, is a term used to show man’s part in salvation. Belief only is not taught in the Bible and when we read that man must have faith, it is a mistake to add the word only. The Bible teaches that man must hear the word of God (Rom. 10:17), he must believe (Rom. 10:10), he must repent (Acts 2:38), he must confess (Rom. 10:10) and he must be baptized in water, unto the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). Paul says that when one has done this, he walks in “newness of life” — he is born again, or has the remission of sins (Rom. 6:3-4). The word faith stands for man’s part and what is expected of him to obtain salvation.

“Not of works lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:9). If this passage excludes all works, we are in trouble. Peter says one must “work righteousness” (Acts 10:34-35). Paul uses the expression “good works” (Tit. 3:8-14), and Jesus said that faith was a “work of God” (John 6:28). Now if all works are excluded, then Peter was wrong when he said we must work righteousness (Acts 10:34-35). It is true there are some works we are not to do — “works of the Law” (Gal. 2:16), “works of darkness” (Eph. 5:11), “works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19), “works of the devil” (1 John 3:8), and “works of man” (Tit. 3:5). There is no one that can do these works and go to heaven.

We must conclude that there are works that are included and works that are excluded. The works that are simply what God has commanded us to do. When we do this, we are working righteousness (Acts 10:34-35). When a man conforms to God’s will it can then be said: “We are saved by grace through faith.”

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By Daniel K. Williams

The test had come. Four godly young men, who were hundreds of miles away from their homeland, had to decide whether they would give in to the worldly culture around them or would remain faithful to the Lord. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego made the right choice. At the risk of their lives, they refused to eat the king’s food, and instead served God in Babylon.

For the next 600 years, faithful men and women of God faced a similar choice. After Cyrus conquered Babylon, the Persians ruled Judea for over 200 years, and infused the Jewish people with near Eastern culture and language. In 330 B.C., the Greeks conquered the Persians, and the Jews became part of a Greek-speaking empire. For the next four centuries, God’s people struggled to remain holy in the midst of a Hellenistic culture. Some gave in to the temptations around them, while others kept themselves pure.

When Alexander the Great conquered the Persians in the late fourth century, Greek generals replaced the Persians as governors of Palestine. Centuries earlier, Daniel had predicted that Alexander’s successors would fight for control of his kingdom, and would involve the Jews in their struggle (Dan. 8, 11). In the twenty-two years following Alexander’s death, Greek armies passed through Palestine at least seven times.

Greek rule was not a completely negative experience for the Jews, though. After 301, the Ptolemies ruled Judea for a century, and the Jews benefitted from the new technology and economic impetus that these Greek-speaking kings of Egypt brought to Palestine. Artificial irrigation, a more efficient oil lamp, a new coinage standard, and a foot-powered potter’s wheel were only a few of the innovations that the Greeks gave the Jews. Under the Ptolemies, many Jews moved to Alexandria and other Greek-speaking cities, and they soon began to adopt Greek modes of thought. Nearly all of the Jews who moved abroad, and even many of those who remained in Palestine, learned to speak Greek. Some Greek-educated Alexandrian Jews wrote theological works that defended the Mosaic law using Platonic arguments.

A few Greeks who encountered the Jewish people were intrigued by their faith. One Ptolemaic king of the third century B.C. authorized a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Known as the Septuagint, this translation remained the primary Bible of the Greek-speaking Jews and Christians for over five hundred years.

The peace of the early third century B.C. soon gave way to continued warfare between the Ptolemies and their rivals, the Greek Seleucids. Shortly after the Seleucids gained control of Palestine, Antiochus IV, a Seleucid monarch, attempted to hellenize the Jews by force. In 168 B.C., he converted the Jewish temple into a sanctuary of Zeus, and forced the Jews to abandon their religious rites. Many Jews were only too ready to comply. A few years before, the high priest Jason had already built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, where Jewish youths, who had tried to surgically reverse their circumcision in an effort to conform to Greek norms, competed naked in athletic events. As Daniel prophesied (Dan. 11:32), there were Jews who refused to tolerate these pagan practices. The Maccabeans led a revolt that drove the Greeks out of Jerusalem. They established their own Jewish Hasmonean dynasty, which soon became as corrupt as the pagan rulers had been. When the Romans conquered Judaea a century later, they deposed the Hasmoneans, and ruled the Jews themselves, first through the Herodian dynasty, and then through Roman governors. The Romans imposed their own military rule on Palestine, but they did not attempt to Latinize the Hellenic influence that had been present for centuries. The Jews, as well nearly everyone else in the eastern half of the Roman empire, continued to speak Greek. The Romans adopted many facets of Greek religion, art, architecture, and literature, so that the new Greco-Roman culture differed little from the Hellenistic culture that had previously pervaded the area. Faithful Jews, and subsequently Christians, continued to struggle against pagan influences as they tried to worship God in the midst of a Greek world.

There were many aspects of Hellenistic culture that all but the most ascetic Jews accepted. The Greek style of architecture dominated the Palestinian landscape. From the outside, a synagogue could be mistaken for a pagan temple, because the architectural styles were identical. Even Pharisaic Jews, who prided themselves on a strict observance of the law, read Greek literature. When Paul dealt with Gentiles, he quoted Greek poets (Acts 17:28; Tit. 1:12). Most Jews, except for some who lived in rural Palestine, spoke Greek. There were many educational, economic, and technological advantages to hellenization that were not sinful. As long as adaptation to Greek custom did not involve pagan practices, Paul said that he tried to fit into the culture around him for the sake of the gospel (1 Cor. 9:21).

Despite hellenization’s benign features, many sinful aspects of Greek culture caused problems for faithful Jews. The two greatest dangers lay in the area of religion and sexuality, as James suggested when he said that Gentile Christians needed to “abstain from the pollutions of idols and from fornication” (Acts 15:20).

The Greeks worshiped a pantheon of impotent, immoral, and competing deities. There were twelve gods and goddesses in the original pantheon, but each city honored its own patron deity above the others. Thus, Athens honored Athena as its patron goddess, while Ephesus worshiped Artemis (the Roman Diana). A number of intellectuals had already abandoned faith in these traditional gods by the first century A.D., but they continued to attend their city’s sacrifices out of a sense of civic duty. Everyone knew that temple sacrifices were not a display of faith, but a ritual obligation. People who wanted more from religion usually joined a mystery cult, where they could engage in a more fervent form of devotion that sometimes involved orgies, sexual immorality, or charismatic phenomena. Others turned to philosophy, which promised to offer atheistic, rational explanations for the questions of life. Athens was the philosophic center of the ancient world, and intellectuals throughout the Roman empire congregated in the city to enroll in one of the academies there. Both Plato and Aristotle founded schools in Athens, and other philosophers followed suit. Greek philosophers differed widely on a number of subjects, but nearly all of them continued to worship the traditional Greek gods, even though they doubted the veracity of Homeric myth. Although a few earlier Hellenistic rulers had tried to quell Judaism, the Romans of the early first century tolerated Jewish religion, because they considered it a local ancestral cult of Palestine that was analagous to the Ephesian devotion to Artemis. They could not, however, understand why a pagan who converted to Christianity would no longer be willing to worship the traditional gods, since they viewed such sacrifices as expressions of civic duty and loyalty to the authorities. The early Roman persecutions usually targeted Christians who refused to engage in public sacrifices.

Even those who truly believed in the traditional pantheon did not make worship the central aspect of their lives. Pagan religion treated devotion to the gods solely as a negotiation for beneficence, since they believed that humans could merit divine favors through service to the deities. They knew that humans could err, but they had no real concept of sin. The Greeks thought that a few sacrifices and offerings could usually make a person right with the gods. In contrast, the Lord’s people knew that humans could not offer anything to merit God’s favor; they could only be saved by accepting God’s grace (Acts 17:25; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8).

The Greeks’ view of sex differed radically from God’s moral standards. Most Greek literary creations focused on illicit sexual relations, whether they were between gods or between humans. Greek and Latin authors were fascinated with sex in its many forms, including married love, adultery, premarital sex, rape, homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, necrophilia, pedophilia, prostitution, and narcissism. The Greeks did not practice all of these forms of sex on a regular basis, but they did write about them. The most common premarital sexual sins in the first-century Greek world were prostitution and homosexuality, while adultery and divorce were common marital problems. The Greeks expected women who did not become prostitutes to remain virgins until marriage, but they encouraged men to engage in homosexual acts, which they perhaps supplemented with visits to a heterosexual brothel, until they married, which was usually not until they were nearly thirty. Greeks considered it honorable for a male teacher to have sex with a male teenage student. After marriage, Greek males sometimes carried on homosexual relationships with young men, and there were a few who committed adultery, although this sin constituted legal grounds for divorce. Although women could sue for divorce, they had few other rights, since the Greeks thought that women were mentally and socially inferior to men. The apostles taught that Christians needed to reject the selfish view of sex that Greek males had, and to treat women and marriage as honorable in the sight of God (Rom. 1:24-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-20; Gal. 3:28; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:7).

The Greeks also differed from Jews and Christians in their view of nudity and the body. Greek males wore no clothing when they competed in athletic games, and Greek artists usually portrayed their heroes and gods in the nude. Some male spectators expressed homosexual admiration for the naked bodies of the youths who competed in the athletic events. Sculptors rarely depicted females in the nude, but  they commonly portrayed women in tight garments that clearly revealed their voluptuousness.

Thus, Jews and Christians in the first-century Greco-Roman world faced the same challenge that Daniel and his three friends faced when they tried to live godly lives in a pagan society. There were certain customs of that society that they could adopt without violating their consciences, but they had to eschew sinful practices. The Jews used the architecture, money, literature, language, and technology of the Greeks without sinning, but the faithful had to refuse the idolatry, pagan philosophy, and sexual behavior of the Gentiles. Christians of the second and third centuries condemned all of the entertainment practices of the Greek world, including the music, theater performances, and athletic competitions of the day. They knew that in order to live godly, they had to reject the practices of the world. Most importantly, they knew that the Greeks, just as much as anyone else, needed a Savior. In Jesus Christ, both Greeks and Jews could be regenerated and become one church (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 3:26-29). At that moment, even Greeks could begin living as God’s people in the midst of a wicked world.

By Steve Willis

From the Scriptures and from history we learn of many Jewish sects that would have been present in New Testament times. The Pharisees and Sadducees are covered elsewhere in this issue. A few others are: the Hellenes (see Acts 6), the Diaspora (Acts 18:1-2), the various “messianic” movements (Acts 5:36; 21:38ff; Matt. 24:24), and the “half-Jewish” Samaritans (John 4). For some of these groups, some information comes from the Scriptures while for others, information comes from historical records, such as accounts from Flavius Josephus (A.D. 37 to circa 101), a Pharisee of Galilee, and Philo of Alexandria, Egypt (circa 20 B.C. to A.D. 50). Since the 1950s, an attempt has been made to associate the Dead Sea Scrolls with a variety of these sects, particularly the Essenes. In this article we will cover three more: the Essenes, the Herodians and the Zealots. 

The Essenes

Today the major working hypothesis is that the Essenes lived in the wilderness near the Dead Sea and produced the scrolls found in several caves there. However, all do not accept that view, proffering instead that the scrolls are collections of a variety of Jewish writings that were taken out of Jerusalem and hidden before the Temple fell. Norman Golb makes the case that if the scrolls had been found in a reverse order, that no one would have developed the Essene-Qumran Sect Hypothesis (see Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?). For this reason, I will cover what was known of the Essenes from earlier writings then note what may be drawn from the Dead Sea Scrolls separately.

The earliest reference in history to the Essene sect was made by Josephus. He wrote that, at the time of one the Maccabees, specifically Jonathan (died 142? B.C.), there were three sects of the Jews, one being the Essenes. However, the name “Essene” was not mentioned in either book of the Maccabees. It may well be that in that time they were called “Hasidaeans” (from Heb. hasidim, pious ones), identified as “valiant Israelites, all of them devout followers of the law” (1 Maccabees 2:42). The Hasidaeans later deserted the Maccabees when an alliance was made with Rome. It appears that the Essenes lived separately from the other sects of Judaism. Several meanings for “Essenes” have been offered based on or related to a variety of Hebrew or Aramaic words: ones who were “pious,” or had “holiness” (as per Philo), “healers,” “do” (i.e., doers of the Law), or “trust.” Josephus offered yet another word which was identified with the priest’s breastplate, therefore signifying “oracles” or prophets for God. 

Of the Essenes, Merrill Tenney wrote, “The absence from the New Testament of any direct allusion to these people may mean that they had little influence on the main current of Jewish life” (New Testament Times, 102). Still, they may have been present at some of the teachings and miracles of Jesus or the apostles. J.E.H. Thomson wrote, “. . . they may appear in the Gospels under another name. There is a class of persons three times referred to — those ‘that waited for the consolation of Israel’ (Lk 2 45 AV), ‘looking for the redemption’ (2 38), ‘waited for the kingdom of God’ (Mk 15 43 AV; Lk 23 51 AV)” (“The Essenes” in International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia 1005). It is hard to say how many Essenes there were. Hippolytus (circa 170 to c. 235) wrote that besides the Pharisees and Sadducees, the “rest are Essenes” (Refutation of All Heresies). That could be a large number. Eusebius, said to be quoting from Philo, numbers the Essenes in the 10,000s. Present versions of Philo and Josephus both number the Essenes at 4,000. In one passage, Philo wrote: “They dwell in many cities of Judea, and in many villages, and in great populous communities” (Hypothetica 11ff). Yet in another text, he wrote that they avoided the lawless cities preferring only to live in villages (Quod Omnis Probus Liber). Josephus recorded that they lived and traveled among cities. Pliny wrote that they lived near the Dead Sea — thus making them the prime  candidates for writing the Dead Sea Scrolls.  

The Essenes lived in communes. Philo wrote that the Essenes “. . . have every thing in common, their expenses, their garments, their food. When they work for wages they do not retain these for themselves, but bring it into the common stock” (Quod Omnis Probus Liber). They would share all things and work for the commune. Each one would not even own two cloaks or two pairs of shoes. The Essene commune was led by “overseers” (Gr. epimeletai), a president, and priests. When traveling from one community to another, they would seek out the Essenes in the new town and stay with them. Apparently some renounced (“despised” acc. to Josephus) marriage, being suspicious that women were harmful to one’s spiritual standing. Others would be given in marriage, but only to procreate children. Since there were few children, most new converts often would come from without. It took a candidate two to three years of study and devotion as well as “baptisms” or ritual washings before he was fully admitted to the community. As a teen, Josephus, himself, entered into such study, but apparently not for long. Once admitted, the individual was to keep Essene doctrines secret.  

For the Essenes, each day would begin at sunrise with prayers and ritual washings in cold water. Then, while dressed in white linen, they would eat breakfast together in silence. A priest would pray before and after the meal, as in Jewish custom. The meal was followed by hymns. They were dismissed to their various jobs until later in the day, near sunset, when they would again do washings, put on white clothing and enter together to eat. One who committed heinous sins was excommunicated — a sentence viewed by some as amounting to a death sentence. One so expelled might even starve himself to death.

The Essenes carefully observed the Sabbath and met in synagogues. They were taught to do what is right and avoid what is wrong, using a three-fold criterion: Love of God, Love of Virtue, and Love of Man. Guided by these principles, they carefully studied Scriptures. They did not keep slaves. They did not lay up treasures of gold or silver for themselves. They avoided oaths and falsehoods. They took care of the sick and the elderly. Josephus told of at least two Essenes who were considered “prophets” and recorded that were called to predict or interpret dreams for kings. There was a Gate of the Essenes in Jerusalem so it appears that the Essenes went to the Temple on occasions, but would avoid animal sacrifices.

No Essene hope of a coming messiah was recorded by ancient writings. However, writings by Philo and Josephus were presented before Grecian and Roman readers. These authors may have played down such hope to allay fears that a coming one would overthrow existing governments. According to Hippolytus, the Essenes believed in the resurrection of both body and spirit. They also affirmed that there would be “both a judgment and conflagration of the universe, and that the wicked will be eternally punished” (Refutation XXII). 

Hippolytus wrote that four divisions developed among the Essenes. One group would not handle coins nor enter city gates with images. Another division would carefully watch a Gentile who had been taught to see if he would undergo circumcision. If he did not, these Essenes would threaten to slay him. “. . . an Essene spares not, but even slaughters” (Refutation XXI). Hippolytus identified this second group by two names: the Zealots and the Sicarii. A third party would call no one “lord” except God, even if put to torture or death. The fourth group were those who left the Essene discipline. A “faithful” Essene would avoid those deserters, and should he come in contact with one, he would have be cleansed by washings.

According to Josephus, the Essenes had secret books including some with the name of many angels. He wrote that they were bound by an oath to preserve these books (Wars II. viii.7). Before the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), scholars presumed these books to be some of the already known, non-canonical, pseudepigraphic books, such as 4 Esdras. Since 1947 numerous scrolls and fragments have been found in many caves near the Dead Sea, which many started associating with the Essenes. That may well be, but not all are satisfied with this hypothesis. The DSS seem to span time between 200 B.C. and A.D. 70. According to the non-Essene hypothesis, these scrolls may represent several Jewish sects. One text indicates that many treasures and writings were removed from Jerusalem and hidden in the wilderness to protect them from the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem. Some may well describe the Essenes, though again, they are not mentioned by that name. Even if not, they add background to the study of New Testament times.

The DSS include most of the Old Testament Scriptures, commentaries on some of those books, lists, hymns and other important books of the sect that lived near the Dead Sea. The Damascus Document describes a group that took itself away from the corrupted worship in Jerusalem (similar to the Zadokite Fragments found in 1896). The Manual of Discipline and A Sectarian Manifesto (MMT) set down rules for a community. A conflict between a Teacher of Righteousness and a Wicked Priest is detailed — both not identified by names. The War Scroll told of the battle between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness. Portions of calendar texts found seem to show that they thought the timing of worship at Jerusalem was corrupt. Messianic hopes may have been expressed in some of the Thanksgiving Psalms — though a century too early for Jesus. A Vision of the Son of God described a coming messiah: “He will be called Son of God, they will call him the son of the Most High.” Another tells of a “pierced” messiah (or one that pierces, depending on the translation). These are concepts unknown in Jewish writings — outside the Bible — until the finding of the DSS. The “Copper Scroll” listed scrolls and treasures hidden. At least some of the DSS reflect modified-Sadducean views, certainly anti-Pharisaic views. Other passages agree with the hope of resurrection held by the Pharisees. Much more study and probably more finds must happen to clarify better the relation, if any, between the Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls. 

The Herodians

From 67 to circa 61 B.C., the Roman general Pompey fought wars against Syria and marched into Jerusalem. Judea came under Roman rule. In 47 B.C., Herod the Great became the Roman procurator over Judea. By 39 B.C., he was proclaimed King of the Jews — though he was not actually a Jew, but an Idumean. Herod the Great became known as a “friend of Caesar” (cf. John 19:12, said in challenge to Pilate). The earlier Maccabean revolt tried to put Judea under a priest-king. The Jews were disappointed with lowliness of Roman rulers and that under Rome they no longer had a priest-king. So, according to Michael Grant, “some of them took a second and more favorable look at the vanished monarchy, and formed a nostalgic party aiming at restoration of Herod’s house” (The Jews in the Roman World 87). This group became known as the Herodians. Perhaps, like the present-day FOBs (Friends of Bill [Clinton]), the Herodians were friends of Herod and his family dynasty. Being a political party, the Herodians may have included people of the several Jewish sects, but they were also more Hellenized (i.e., like the Greeks) than other Judeans. Jesus warned against the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod (Mark 8:15). The Herodians are mentioned by name in the New Testament. Jesus and John challenged the life and status of the “King of the Jews” and his family (Matt. 14:1-6; Luke 13:31-32). In Mark 3:6 and 12:13 (|| Matthew 22:16), the Herodians along with the Pharisees tried to destroy Jesus. On the latter occasion, they tried to trap him with whether he would advise paying the poll-tax to Caesar. 

The Zealots

The “Zealots” (enthusiasts) were a Jewish political party which despised the political compromises of their leaders. As noted above, Hippolytus thought the Zealots were a division of the Essenes. According to Josephus, the Zealots originated in A.D. 6, during the reigns of Herod the Great and Quirinius. Judas the Galilean was the original leader of this group. The Zealots resisted Rome and its appointees (such as the Herods) in any attempt to rule Judea. Like patriots today, the Zealots strongly supported Israel’s right to exist in Canaan under its own government. It appears that “Canaanean” was a synonym to “Zealot.” One of Jesus’ disciples, Simon, was called a Zealot and Canaanean (Matt. 10:4; Luke 6:15). Some extremists among the Zealots were known as Sicarii (dagger men). Josephus indicated that Zealots started the uprising against Rome in A.D. 66, which led to the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple. 

Conclusion

We must realize that these Jewish sects were composed of people in a time of religious division and political unrest. These were people who also needed God’s Savior. It seems likely that some from the many Jewish sects, though unknown now by name, must have lowered their politics and religious views to lift their eyes to Jesus, who could unite them in the gospel message of truth and love. May we do the same.

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