Pharisees vs. Sadducees
The Pharisees were strict, popular teachers who believed in the resurrection, angels, and the authority of oral tradition alongside Scripture; the Sadducees were a wealthier priestly elite who rejected the resurrection, angels, and anything beyond the written Torah.
Point by Point
Pharisees
Sadducees
Belief in resurrection
Affirmed the resurrection of the dead and the afterlife.
Denied the resurrection entirely (Acts 23:8).
Source of authority
Accepted oral tradition (the 'traditions of the elders') alongside the written Law.
Recognized only the written Torah (first five books) as authoritative.
Social standing
Popular with common people; scribes and teachers.
Aligned with the wealthy priestly aristocracy and the Temple establishment.
Relationship to Rome
Generally more separatist, focused on personal purity.
More willing to cooperate with Roman authority to preserve their status.
Scripture References
Sadducees Deny the Resurrection
Acts 23:88 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
States the key doctrinal split directly: Sadducees deny resurrection, angel, and spirit; Pharisees confess them all.
Jesus Confronts the Pharisees' Traditions
Matthew 23:23-2423 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Jesus's sharpest critiques of the Pharisees target their emphasis on external tradition over justice and mercy.
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