SUNDAY EDITORIAL

WORD OF WISDOM
MESSIAH ~ (Hebrews mashiah), in all the thirty-nine instances of its occurring in the Old Testament, is rendered by the LXX. "Christos." It means anointed. Thus priests (Exodus 28:41; 40:15; Numbers 3:3), prophets (1 Kings 19:16), and kings (1 Samuel 9:16; 16:3; 2 Samuel 12:7) were anointed with oil, and so consecrated to their respective offices. The great Messiah is anointed "above his fellows" (Psalm 45:7); i.e., he embraces in himself all the three offices. The Greek form "Messias" is only twice used in the New Testament, in John 1:41 and 4:25 (R.V., "Messiah"), and in the Old Testament the word Messiah, as the rendering of the Hebrew, occurs only twice (Dan. 9:25, 26; R.V., "the anointed one").

The first great promise (Genesis 3:15) contains in it the germ of all the prophecies recorded in the Old Testament regarding the coming of the Messiah and the great work he was to accomplish on earth. The prophecies became more definite and fuller as the ages rolled on; the light shone more and more unto the perfect day. Different periods of prophetic revelation have been pointed out, (1) the patriarchal; (2) the Mosaic; (3) the period of David; (4) the period of prophetism, i.e., of those prophets whose works form a part of the Old Testament canon. The expectations of the Jews were thus kept alive from generation to generation, till the "fulness of the times," when Messiah came, "made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law." In him all these ancient prophecies have their fulfilment. Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the great Deliverer who was to come. (Comp. Matthew 26:54; Mark 9:12; Luke 18:31; 22:37; John 5:39; Acts 2; 16:31; 26:22, 23.)

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

WHO ARE THEY ANYWAY?

We read about them all the time, but exactly who are the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, Proselytes, and the Samaritans? They are mentioned many times in the Bible, but just who are they.

They are all Jews. Well that does not tell us much. Isn’t a Jew a Jew? Well no it is not that simple. Just as there are different kinds of Christians, there are different kinds of Jews.

We are going to take a look at each group and see what sets them apart from the others.

Pharisees where the religious purist. They were committed to preserving and obeying the law, and to encourage others to do the same. They were model Jews and widely respected. Because of such a tight standard of this legal observance of the Law it limited their social interaction with other Jews. Their influence was strong, and they are the ones who developed the lines on which Judaism developed after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

The Sadducees were drawn from the rich, landowning families. Most of the Chief Priests were Sadducees and the High Priest was chosen from their ranks. They controlled the organization of the Temple and were the dominant party in the Jewish Supreme Council. The were conservative in that they did not accept any revelation beyond the Five Books of Moses. They rejected beliefs such as immortality, resurrection, angels and demons, which the Pharisees accepted. Sadducees were not as popular as Pharisees.

The Essenes came more to light in 1947 with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. From the Qumran Community, the monastic sect of Essenes lived in deliberate isolation. Founded by an unknown called “The Teacher of Righteousness’ it existed from 165 BC to AD 68. The Essenes saw themselves as the true people of God, and other Jews as their enemies. They waited in the desert for the Messiahs. Yes there is an "s" on the end of Messiah. The Messiah of Aaron, the royal Messiah of Israel and the final battle between the sons of Light and Sons of Darkness. While there they occupied themselves in a diligent study of the Scriptures. They were bound by a strict monastic discipline, keeping the law more rigorously even than the Pharisees; loving one another and hating all outsiders.

Zealots were a group who did not want to wait for God’s intervention in the future. Zealots simply put were religiously motivated patriots, believing that the people of God should not be subject to a foreign empire.

The Samaritans were the surving descendants of Israelites who intermarried with alien populations after the fall of Samaria. They never reintegrated with Judah. They built their own Temple on Mt. Gerizim setting the seal of repudiation from the Jews. They worshipped the same God, their authority being the Five Books of Moses, hardly altered from the Jewish version. They hoped for the coming of a prophet like Moses. The Jewish hatred for Samaritans came from more historical and racial considerations, than from any fundamental difference in religion.

Proselytes were Gentiles who accepted and became Jews. In effect a change of nationally. They were circumcised, baptized and followed the laws. Many more were attracted to the monotheistic faith and strict morality of Judaism and identified themselves with the faith and ideas of Israel but stopped short of full commitment. They were also called “those who fear God” or “the devout.”

Hope this gives you a better understanding of whom these Jewish people were.

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Isa 5:21 Woe unto [them that are] wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!