Pharisees, Sadducees & Scribes: What's The Difference? Why Do They Reject Jesus?
The Faithful Sketches
teaching
August 26, 2026
Who were the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes in the Bible, and why did they clash with Jesus?
In this explainer video, we uncover the differences between the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, and Essenes, four important groups that shaped Judaism during the time of Jesus and the Second Temple period.
📌 The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, angels, and traditions passed down alongside the written Torah.
📌 The Sadducees were closely associated with Jerusalem's priestly aristocracy and rejected the resurrection.
📌 The Scribes were experts in Scripture and Jewish law rather than a single religious sect.
📌 And the mysterious Essenes separated themselves from what they considered a corrupt religious establishment.
But their story doesn't end in the Gospels.
We'll explore what the Bible says about the Pharisees and Sadducees, what ancient historian Josephus wrote about them, how the Dead Sea Scrolls relate to the Essenes, why Jesus repeatedly confronted certain Pharisees and Scribes, and what happened to these Jewish groups after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in AD 70.
You'll discover:
• Who were the Pharisees in the Bible?
• What did the Sadducees believe?
• What was the difference between Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes
• Were all Scribes Pharisees?
• Who were the Essenes?
• What does Josephus tell us about these Jewish sects?
• Why did Jesus condemn certain Pharisees and Scribes?
• What happened to the Sadducees after AD 70?
• How did the Pharisaic tradition contribute to the development of Rabbinic Judaism?
Understanding these groups gives you a much clearer picture of the historical Jesus, the Gospels, Second Temple Judaism, the Jewish-Roman War, and the world of the New Testament.
📖 Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:51 Part 1: The Aristocrats - The Sadducees
02:12 Part 2: The Populist Interpreters - The Pharisees
03:55 Part 3: The Legal Experts - The Scribes
05:33 Part 4: The Separatist Mystics - The Essenes
06:48 Part 5: The Climax - The Revolutionaries
08:22 Part 6: The Legacy
⁉️ Question for you: Which group surprised you the most: the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, or Essenes?
👇Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Watch More Videos Like this:
▶️ How Did Jerusalem Fall?
https://youtu.be/ppbZ1lilYrQ
▶️ What’s The Real Difference Between Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews? https://youtu.be/mlDiMeB6zJ0
▶️ Why Did Jews Reject Jesus As The Messiah? What Does Jews Really Believe?
https://youtu.be/8j6jZzBsL0w
▶️ Are the Jews God's chosen people today? Will All Israel Be Saved According To The Bible?
https://youtu.be/gMbZE9UFUFs
▶️ Judaism and Zionism Explained - Theology, History and Identity
https://youtu.be/KO5P3nQEwn8
▶️ Dispensationalism vs Covenant Theology - Does The Church Replaces Israel?
https://youtu.be/FtCu8KP58Xk
▶️ Watch FULL PLAYLIST here:
https://www.youtube.com/@TheFaithfulSketches
🔔 If you enjoy Bible history, Christian theology, ancient Judaism, biblical archaeology, and understanding the historical background of Scripture, subscribe for more visual Bible explainers.
#judaism #jerusalem #pharisees #sadducees
Topics
phariseessadduceeswho were the phariseesjesus and the phariseesessenessecond temple periodbible historybiblical historynew testament historybible explained












