Wednesday, 5/15/15
The readings today introduce us to the
Sadducees. And to get a fix on them, we must go back to 967 B.C. when King
David was dying. He had promised the throne to Solomon, but a stronger son
named Adonijah had raised a private army, and he was forcing people to
recognize him as the new king.
To forestall Adonijah, a dying King
David ordered the priest Zadoc to anoint Solomon king. Zadoc, although he was
certain he would be killed for doing it, out of reverence for King David, anointed
Solomon king.
Surprisingly, the whole nation began
shouting, “Long live King Solomon,” and Adonijah had to run for his life. The
people chose Zadoc to be their high priest, and for the next eight hundred
years, only a direct descendent of Zadoc could be acceptable as high priest.
Then, in 152 B.C. there was no
worthwhile man among Zadoc’s descendents, and so the post was given to
Jonathan, the brother to Judas Maccabeus, and a national hero.
Now, Jonathan had a group of
irreligious young friends who were very good businessmen. With their buddy
Jonathan taking over as high priest, they used his position to gain valuable temple
contracts for themselves.
Their answer, when the conservatives
complained about Jonathan not being a descendent of Zadoc, was: “Zadoc was the
high priest back then, now Jonathan is the high priest. So, if not by blood, at
least by his sharing the same office, Jonathan is Zadoc’s descendent.”
They went further, saying, “Since
Jonathan is the new Zadoc, we, his buddies, are the Zadoc-ites.” In time that
title Zadoc-ites, morphed into the word Sadducees.
The Sadducees, who were rich from
profits from the temple, did not want Jesus and the Apostles rocking their
dreamboat.
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