15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying… (Matthew 22:15–16, ESV)
Through the Bible: Matthew 22; Mark 12
Before the 2023 College Football Playoff championship game, which pitted the TCU Horned Frogs against the University of Georgia Bulldogs, color commentators and sports analysts made the most of their opportunity to talk about “The Frogs and The Dawgs.” Comparison charts matched up the Frogs and Dawgs at every position. And I am sure that there had to be at least one vendor selling programs that trotted out the sales pitch, “Programs! Get your program! You can’t tell a Frog from a Dawg Without a Program.”
As it turned out, it really wasn’t much of a game. The Georgia Bulldogs absolutely steamrolled TCU, 65–7. In the end, it was painfully easy to distinguish a Frog from a Dog.
When you read through the accounts of Jesus being confronted by His enemies in Matthew 22 and Mark 12, it’s easy to lose track of who’s who. One after another, different groups take their shot at trapping Jesus in His words. Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees, scribes — each with its own uniform, its own playbook, and its own agenda. So for all of you who can’t tell a Pharisee from a Sadducee without a program, or a Herodian from a Scribe, consider this blog– a Frogs and Dogs blog, if you will– your program for sorting them all out.
Let’s open the program and meet the teams.
A Little Background: Where Did All These Groups Come From?
The Old Testament never mentions Pharisees, Sadducees, or Herodians. These groups didn’t exist during the time of David, Solomon, or even the later prophets. They rose to prominence in the four centuries between the Old and New Testaments — the so-called “silent years.”
After Israel’s exile to Babylon and return to Jerusalem, foreign empires controlled the region one after another: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and finally Rome. During that time, the Jewish people struggled to answer one defining question: How do we remain faithful to God when we’re living under pagan rule?
Different answers to that question gave rise to different groups:
- The Pharisees traced their roots to the faithful Jews who resisted pagan influence during the Maccabean period (2nd century BC). Their name means “separated ones.” They wanted to preserve Israel’s holiness by strict obedience to the Law.
- The Sadducees came from the wealthy priestly families who controlled the Temple. They cooperated with foreign powers to maintain influence. They accepted only the books of Moses and rejected anything “supernatural” that didn’t fit their worldview.
- The Herodians weren’t really a religious party at all but a political faction that supported the dynasty of Herod the Great and his sons, who ruled under Rome’s authority.
- The Scribes were professional scholars of the Law. Some were Pharisees, some Sadducees, and some independent, but all were regarded as experts in Scripture and tradition.
So by Jesus’ day, Judaism wasn’t a single unified system but a patchwork of movements — all claiming to represent the true way to serve God.
If you’re want to map these groups onto modern categories like “conservative” and “liberal,” it partly works — but only to a point.
- Pharisees were the conservatives of their time — traditionalists who wanted to guard the faith against compromise. Yet their zeal often hardened into pride and legalism.
- Sadducees were the liberals — wealthy, urbane, skeptical of miracles, and eager to adapt religion to fit political reality.
- Herodians were the pragmatists — the politicians who’d rather keep their position than rock the boat.
- Scribes were the intellectuals — convinced that if they just studied hard enough, they could define truth on their own terms.
The Pharisees: The Rule Keepers
The Pharisees were the moral guardians of Israel. They were the laymen who loved the Law—every jot and tittle of it. They believed Israel’s faithfulness to the Torah would hasten the coming of God’s kingdom, so they built fences around the commandments to keep people from even getting close to breaking them.
When they asked Jesus whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar (Matt 22:15–22; Mark 12:13–17), they weren’t seeking wisdom; they were setting a trap.
If He said yes, He’d sound like a traitor to Israel.
If He said no, He’d sound like a rebel to Rome.
But Jesus never plays defense. He asks for a coin.
“Whose image is this?”
“Caesar’s,” they answer.
Then He delivers a truth for the ages:
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
In other words, the coin bears Caesar’s image—but you bear God’s.
So give Caesar his tax, but give God your life.
The Herodians: The Politicians
If the Pharisees were the moral conservatives, the Herodians were the political moderates. They were loyal to Herod’s dynasty and, by extension, to Rome’s empire. They didn’t care much about doctrine; they just wanted stability and influence.
Their partnership with the Pharisees was bizarre—like two rival political parties uniting for a single issue. But hatred of Jesus makes strange bedfellows.
They hoped He’d say something that could be reported as insurrection. Instead, His answer revealed that while government has its place, ultimate allegiance belongs to God. Jesus didn’t topple Caesar’s throne that day—but He exposed every human attempt to sit on it.
The Sadducees: The Skeptics
Now for the Sadducees—the religious aristocrats of Jerusalem. They were the wealthy priestly elite, in charge of the Temple and deeply entwined with Roman politics. They accepted only the first five books of Moses as authoritative and dismissed the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Because resurrection and angels aren’t explicitly mentioned in those five books, they denied both. That’s why they were sad, you see. (Some jokes never get old.)
The Sadducees were the rationalists of their day—religious, yes, but only in a way that fit their reason and comfort. They weren’t looking for a Messiah; they were looking to maintain control.
So when they confronted Jesus with a ridiculous hypothetical about a woman who had married seven brothers—“Whose wife will she be in the resurrection?”—they thought they were mocking the very idea of life after death.
Jesus replied with surgical precision:
“You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.”
Then He used the only portion of Scripture they respected—the books of Moses—to prove the resurrection:
“Have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
It’s as if He said, You think you’re defending Moses? Moses testifies against you.
They came with cleverness; He answered with truth.
The Scribes: The Scholars
If you were to translate them into today’s terms, the scribes were the seminary professors and biblical scholars of their day — learned, articulate, and authoritative. Some were sincere seekers of truth, like the scribe who asked Jesus about the greatest commandment in Mark 12. But many others had allowed knowledge to replace intimacy with God.
Unlike the other three groups, scribes are the only ones that are mentioned in the Old Testament. Originally, scribes were not religious specialists at all — they were record keepers and copyists in the royal courts of Israel and Judah. You see them as early as David’s time: “Seraiah the scribe” appears among David’s officials (2 Samuel 8:17).
After the exile, however, their role changed dramatically. When Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple burned, Israel lost its physical center of worship. What remained was the Word. So the men who could preserve, copy, and interpret Scripture became crucial to Israel’s identity.
That’s why Ezra (fifth century BC) is called “a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses” (Ezra 7:6). In many ways, Ezra is the prototype for all later scribes — part scholar, part teacher, part priest. But after his time, the profession widened beyond the priestly tribe. By Jesus’ day, many scribes were laymen, not Levites, though some still came from priestly families.
Their job was threefold:
- Preservation – copying and transmitting Scripture with meticulous care.
- Interpretation – explaining what the Law meant in daily life.
- Application – issuing rulings and traditions that filled in the gaps between biblical commands and everyday situations.
Because of that last role, scribes often overlapped with the Pharisees — most Pharisees depended on the scribes’ interpretations to define the oral law. Yet not all scribes were Pharisees. Some aligned with the Sadducees, and some seem to have stood on their own.
Their Place in Society
By the first century, scribes had become the theologians and lawyers of Israel — experts in the Scriptures and in the maze of oral tradition built around them. People appealed to them to settle disputes and interpret commandments. The title “rabbi” (teacher) was often applied to them.
They were highly respected — which explains why Jesus’ public critiques of the scribes were so shocking. He wasn’t rebuking their literacy or their devotion to Scripture; He was exposing their hypocrisy.
“They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger” (Matt. 23:4).
“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and love greetings in the marketplaces…” (Mark 12:38).
Ironically, the men charged with copying God’s Word had become blind to its heart. They could quote the commandments but missed the compassion behind them.
Jesus’ interactions with them remind us that knowing Scripture is not the same as knowing God. Both Matthew and Mark recount that a scribe also stepped forward to question Jesus. In Matthew’s account, he seems hostile; in Mark’s, he’s curious. “Which commandment is the greatest?” he asked.
Jesus replied:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.”
That’s the law and the prophets in two sentences. The scribe nodded in agreement, and Jesus told him,
“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
The wisdom of Jesus doesn’t just silence the proud; it draws the humble closer.
The Final Score
By the end of the chapter, Mark says, “No one dared to ask Him any more questions.” Game over. Every opponent—religious, political, philosophical—has been defeated, not by force but by truth.
The wisdom of Jesus doesn’t just win arguments; it reveals hearts. It shows who’s playing for God’s glory and who’s just protecting their turf.
So if you ever find yourself lost among Pharisees and Sadducees, Herodians and scribes—remember:
You can’t tell a Pharisee from a Herodian without a program.
But more importantly, you can’t tell wisdom from cleverness without Jesus.
Related Content for this Day
This blog will always be a free resource for anyone who wants to grow in their love for God’s Word. If it has blessed you and you would like to support the ministry of 66in52, please consider a one time or recurring donation. Thank you!
Leave a Reply