Why did Sadducees not believe in Resurrection? Acts 23:8

[Optimax]

http://www.christianforums.com/t7033640/
Is Josephus considered a reliable Historian?

Probably depends on who you ask.

The answer would probably depend on if he supported their favorite positions or not.

 

[Pythons]

The Sadducees were a powerful minority within the whole of Judaism...
...They rejected both the Resurrection of the body & postmortem spiritual existence.
...Many people believe that they rejected angels but this is not so.

The common Jew believed that at death the person became a "spirit" OR "angel" ( if they were good )...
...The Sadducees rejected this belief along with the Resurrection of the body.

ACTS 12:14
"And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished".

James had just been killed by the sword and given that Peter was also in custody with James...
...Rhoda and the other believers ALSO believed Peter had been killed.
...This is why Rhoda didn't open the door even though she knew Peter's voice.
...Both Rhoda & the other Christians thought it was Peter's spirit OR angel.

ACTS 23:6
"But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor ( or ) spirit: but the Pharisees confess both".

Strong's G3383

Because angels are explicitly taught in the first five Books of the Bible the Sadducees accepted them as a reality...
...What the Sadducees rejected was that man would be resurrected after death.
...Or that Man continued after death as a spirit OR angel.
...Thus the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, angel or spirit but Pharisees confess BOTH.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

The Sadducees were a powerful minority within the whole of Judaism...
...They rejected both the Resurrection of the body & postmortem spiritual existence.<snip>.

The key word being "were"

Matthew 3:7 Seeing yet many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming upon the baptism he said to them, "prodigy of vipers! who intimates to ye to be fleeing from being about wrath?"

The Sadducees | Bible.org - Worlds Largest Bible Study Site

Being closely associated with the Temple, the Sadducees disappeared from history when the Temple was destroyed in 70.

 

[Kaitlin08]

The Sadducees lived lives of comfort and wealth, which made it difficult for them to conceive of a need for an afterlife of any kind. It is not a coincidence that the revolutionary political parties believed in the afterlife while the conservative, powerful Sadducees did not.

Although this explanation is reductionistic, a healthy reductionism is a very good thing because it gets at the truth, even if it is a truth seen only in broad strokes.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

The Sadducees lived lives of comfort and wealth, which made it difficult for them to conceive of a need for an afterlife of any kind. It is not a coincidence that the revolutionary political parties believed in the afterlife while the conservative, powerful Sadducees did not.

Although this explanation is reductionistic, a healthy reductionism is a very good thing because it gets at the truth, even if it is a truth seen only in broad strokes.

Very interesting!
Sounds like Reve 3:17 could be symbolizing those guys

http://www.herealittletherealittle.net/index.cfm?page_name=Lazarus

Reve 2:9 I have seen of thee [the works and] the tribulation and the poverty, but rich thou-are.
And the blasphemy out of the ones saying Judeans to be of-selves, and not they-are, but a synagogue of the Satan.

Reve 3:17 That thou are saying that rich I am, and I have become rich, and not yet one need I am having.
And not are aware that thou are the weight-calloused and forlorn and poor and blind and naked.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Shameless bump

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Originally Posted by LittleLambofJesus

http://www.christianforums.com/t7033640/
Is Josephus considered a reliable Historian?

Probably depends on who you ask.

The answer would probably depend on if he supported their favorite positions or not.

Which one of those positions would you say he supported? Just curious.

 

[brinny]

Acts 23 is an interesting chapter in the NT where Paul used the division of the Pharisees and Sadducees concerning the resurrection to cause even more division among them.
My question is, why did the Sadducees not believe in a resurrection but the Pharisees did? Thanks

Acts 23:6 Knowing yet, the Paul, that the one part is of Sadducees, the yet different of Pharisees, he cried out in the sunhedrin, "Men! brethren! I a Pharisee am, son of Pharisees concerning hope and resurrection of dead-ones I-am being judged!"

Acts 23:8 for Sadducees indeed are saying no to be resurrection, neither/mhde <3366> messenger, neither/mhte <3383> spirit, but Pharisees/farisaioi <5330> yet are avowing both/amfotera <297> .

Textus Rec.) Acts 23:8 saddoukaioi men gar legousin mh einai anastasin mhde aggelon mhte pneuma farisaioi de omologousin ta amfotera

3366. mede may-deh' from 3361 and 1161; but not, not even; in a continued negation, nor:--neither, nor (yet), (no) not (once, so much as).
3383. mete may'-teh from 3361 and 5037; not too, i.e. (in continued negation) neither or nor; also, not even:--neither, (n-)or, so as much.
297. amphoteros am-fot'-er-os comparative of amphi (around); (in plural) both:--both.

The Sadducees | Bible.org - Worlds Largest Bible Study Site

*snip*

The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or the immortality of the soul, since these doctrines are not mentioned in the law of Moses. Neither did they believe in heaven or hell. They interpreted the law literally and tended to support strict justice as opposed to mercy toward the offender. Since Jesus supported all these things opposed by the Sadducees, Jesus did not fit within the Sadducean movement.

Wait a minute....Paul/Saul was a Pharisee, wasn't he?

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Posts brought over from another thread.

Originally Posted by brinny just how mixed up WERE the Sadducees? They didn't understand any of what God spoke of in the Old Testament. It is written there about resurrection. Why didn't they believe it, and why would they allign themselves with a God they had no respect for, and in fact, insulted by doubting Him?

In order to understand the Sadducees, one must try to understand what was happening to them. Here was this group of people, along with the Pharisees, and the Essenes sect, and they were devout men and women of God. They absolutely believed in God, and closely followed the Torah, and followed the teachings of the OT..
Now you have a group of people, the Christians, that were coming in and telling them they were wrong, and this other way was the right way. That's how I think "The Way" was born..

The Pharisees were the spiritual fathers of modern Judaism, and they believed strongly in the Law of Moses, and the Torah. The Torah is like the Constitution to us today. The laws in it were open to interpretation. They believed only Moses had true knowledge of them. They believed in an afterlife, and that God did reward the righteous and punish the wicked. They also believed a messiah would come eventually. They prayed in the synagogue and also individually.
On the other hand, you have the Sadducees. These guys were more liberal in their views, they wanted a literal interpretation of the Law, and did not believe in an afterlife, since it did not mention it in the Torah, and the focus of their life was around the temple rituals.


Then you have the Essenes, brought about from dissatisfaction for the other two groups. The lived in the desert, and was celibate.

So, you see, they were not really mixed up, but rather more of a devout group of people that were convinced they were doing God's work. And they were, but they also were just not open to the possibility that Jesus was already in their midst..
This is just a nutshell view of what they were all about. Did not want to take up to much room here..

barely, if at all


because
a. It's doubtful if the OT does talk about resurrection directly except maybe Daniel 12. Only in the inter-testimental literature does resurrection emerge as any sort of clear concept.
b. Their canon was pretty much just the Torah, and the very late books like Daniel were particularly suspect in their view.
c. People who believe in resurrection are not afraid to die for the cause. Resurrection breed revolutionary zealots. This is not a good thing if your vested interest is in the status quo.

 

[GA777]

I think they were like the atheists today, who dont believe in any God, and because they mostly couldnt understand supernatural things may happen etc.

Sadducees = the honest ones in the bible. That's how I came up with this interpretation

 

[brinny]

I think they were like the atheists today, who dont believe in any God, and because they mostly couldnt understand supernatural things may happen etc.

Sadducees = the honest ones in the bible. That's how I came up with this interpretation

Hmmmmm...interesting. Did they have any involvement in covering up Jesus' resurrection? Or how did they react to it? It would've blown all that they held onto, to smithereens. As a matter of fact, how did they deal with Lazarus' being raised from the dead by Jesus? Word of Lazarus spread like wildfire, most likely, and just "seeing" Lazarus was testimony to his being raised.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Hmmmmm...interesting. Did they have any involvement in covering up Jesus' resurrection? Or how did they react to it? It would've blown all that they held onto, to smithereens. As a matter of fact, how did they deal with Lazarus' being raised from the dead by Jesus? Word of Lazarus spread like wildfire, most likely, and just "seeing" Lazarus was testimony to his being raised.

Isn't Isaiah 26:19 a passage talking about the ressurection?

It is interesting that the same form of the word the LXX used in Isaiah 26:19 is also used in Matt 12:41 and 1 Thess 4:16.
I thought about making a thread on this if any are interested

Isaiah 26:19 Thy dead (8801) men shall live (8799) , together with my dead body shall they arise (8799) . Awake (8685) and sing (8761) , ye that dwell (8802) in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out (8686) the dead.

Isaiah 26:19 anasthsontai oi nekroi kai egerqhsontai oi en toiv mnhmeioiv kai eufranqhsontai oi en th gh h gar drosov h para sou iama autoiv estin h de gh twn asebwn peseitai

Matt 12:41 `Men Ninevites shall be resurrecting/ana-sthsontai <450>(5698) in the judging with the generation, this, and they shall be condemning it/her
that they repent/reform into the proclamation of Jonah and Behold! more of Jonah here.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 That Himself, the Lord, in a shout-of-command, in voice of chief-messenger, and in trump of God, shall be descending from heaven,
and the dead-ones in Christ shall be ressurecting/ana-sthsontai <450> (5698) first

http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G450&t=KJV
Strong's Number G450 matches the Greek &#7936;&#957;&#8055;&#963;&#964;&#951;&#956;&#953; (anist&#275;mi), which occurs 123 times in 111 verses in the Greek concordance of the KJV
Page 1 / 5 (Mat 9:9 - Luk 1:39)

 

[brinny]

Isn't Isaiah 26:19 a passage talking about the ressurection?

It is interesting that the same form of the word the LXX used in Isaiah 26:19 is also used in Matt 12:41 and 1 Thess 4:16.
I thought about making a thread on this if any are interested

Isaiah 26:19 Thy dead (8801) men shall live (8799) , together with my dead body shall they arise (8799) . Awake (8685) and sing (8761) , ye that dwell (8802) in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out (8686) the dead.

Isaiah 26:19 anasthsontai oi nekroi kai egerqhsontai oi en toiv mnhmeioiv kai eufranqhsontai oi en th gh h gar drosov h para sou iama autoiv estin h de gh twn asebwn peseitai

Matt 12:41 `Men Ninevites shall be resurrecting/ana-sthsontai <450>(5698) in the judging with the generation, this, and they shall be condemning it/her
that they repent/reform into the proclamation of Jonah and Behold! more of Jonah here.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 That Himself, the Lord, in a shout-of-command, in voice of chief-messenger, and in trump of God, shall be descending from heaven,
and the dead-ones in Christ shall be Ressurecting/ana-sthsontai <450> (5698) First,

Blue Letter Bible - Lexicon
Strong's Number G450 matches the Greek &#7936;&#957;&#943;&#963;&#964;&#951;&#956;&#953; (anist&#275;mi), which occurs 123 times in 111 verses in the Greek concordance of the KJV
Page 1 / 5 (Mat 9:9 - Luk 1:39)

It's clear as a bell. Didn't the Sadducees have access to the book of Isaiah?

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

It's clear as a bell. Didn't the Sadducees have access to the book of Isaiah?

I would think so.
Jesus tried to read Isaiah to them in Luke 4 and look what happened afterwards

Luke 4:17 and was given to Him a Scroll of Isaiah the prophet. And having unfurled the Scroll and He found the place where it was having been written:
21 He begins to say yet toward them "that today has been fulfilled the Writing, this, in the ears of ye". [Isaiah 61]
28 And all in the synagogue were filled with wrath, hearing these things,
29 and having risen, they put Him forth without the city, and brought Him unto the brow of the hill on which their city had been built--to cast him down headlong,
30 and He having gone through the midst of them, went away.

 

[brinny]

I would think so.
Jesus tried to read Isaiah to them in Luke 4 and look what happened afterwards

Luke 4:17 and was given to Him a Scroll of Isaiah the prophet. And having unfurled the Scroll and He found the place where it was having been written:
21 He begins to say yet toward them "that today has been fulfilled the Writing, this, in the ears of ye". [Isaiah 61]
28 And all in the synagogue were filled with wrath, hearing these things,
29 and having risen, they put Him forth without the city, and brought Him unto the brow of the hill on which their city had been built--to cast him down headlong,
30 and He having gone through the midst of them, went away.

Well there you have it. They despised the Truth. Literally.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Well there you have it. They despised the Truth. Literally.

Stephen wasn't so lucky tho

Acts 6:10 And not they were strong to withstand to the wisdom and to the Spirit to which he talked.
Acts 7:1 And the high priest said, Are these things so?
51 Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised to hearts and to the ears, ye always to the Spirit, the Holy, are striving! As the fathers of ye, also ye:
54 Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed upon him with their teeth.
59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon [the Lord], and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit

http://www.christianforums.com/t7588224/#post58419173
Was Stephen a liar? or a prophet?

 

[brinny]

whoa! No wonder Jesus Himself used the term "pit of vipers", eh?

 

[GA777]

Sorry I was typing too fast, and I made a mistake.

I think they were like the atheists today, who dont believe in any God, and because they mostly couldnt understand supernatural things may happen etc.

Sadducees = the honest ones in the arabic language. That's how I came up with this interpretation

Bolded the mistake.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

whoa! No wonder Jesus Himself used the term "pit of vipers", eh?

Only the Gospels of Matt and Luke use that term...interesting

Blue Letter Bible - Search Results for KJV
"vipers"
occurs 4 times in 4 verses in the KJV

NKJV) Luke 3:7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Reve 6:16 And they are saying to the mountains and to the rocks "be falling on us! and hide us! from Face of the One-sitting upon the Throne and from the wrath of the Lamb
[Hosea 10:8/Luke 23:30]

Coincedentally, Luke mentions them in Luke 16

Lazarus and the Rich Man - Here a little, there a little - Commentary
Jesus vs the Sadducees and Pharisees

.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Sorry I was typing too fast, and I made a mistake.

Originally Posted by GA777
I think they were like the atheists today, who dont believe in any God, and because they mostly couldnt understand supernatural things may happen etc.

Sadducees = the honest ones in the arabic language. That's how I came up with this interpretation

Bolded the mistake.

Who would have guessed

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