Ques.:Who were the Sadducees?

Ans.:This smallest of all the Jewish sects derives its . name from its founder, Sadoc or Sedoc
(justice), who lived more than 250 years before Christ. The members of this party were chiefly
confined to the wealthy and governing classes. They possessed little or no influence amongst the
people generally, for they never courted the lower classes as did the Pharisees. Caiaphas and
others of the priestly party were of this sect, and they seemed on several occasions to have gained
the upper hand over their rivals the Pharisees, in guiding the ecclesiastical affairs of the nation
(Acts 5:17). The opposition of the Pharisees to Christ was mainly directed against His holy,
spotless life; while that of the Sadducees attacked His teaching or doctrine.

The life of the Lord was the best exposure of Pharisaical hypocrisy; while the resurrection of the
Lord was equally destructive of the Sadducean system. The Lord again and again confronts the
Pharisees; the Apostles repeatedly confront the Sadducees in the Acts. The leaven (evil) of the
Sadducees was bad doctrine, which is briefly summed up in Acts 23:8:"For the Sadducees say
that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit." The denial of these truths led to the denial
of many others.

(See Jan. 1965 Ques. and Ans. for "Who were the Pharisees?")