Sunday School Lesson
(Continued from Page 3)
the condemnation of Jesus. Yet
their spiritual descendants may
?till live as a part of The United
Methodist Church In 1989.
The Scribes
We are Inclined to look with
disapproval on those called
"scribes" in the Gospels. Who
were these scribes? What was
their purpose or mission? Were
all scribes alike?
The group of persons desig
nated by this title arose soon
after the Jews returned from ex
ile. The title of "scribe" was
applied with honor In the early
period of its use. (See Ezra 7:
12.) These early scribes might
properly have been called "doc
tors of the law." They were the
reliable interpreters of the will
of God for the people.
In time, however, a split
arose in the ranks of the scribes.
A. group of lay scribes (the
earlier ones were either priests
or from priestly families) form
ed another party. This group of
scribes, together with their fol
lowers among the people, were
known as the Pharisees.
The scribes were greatly con
cerned about their honor. This
honor was to come especially
from their students. Their place
came to be so great that, accord
ing to the tradition, If one's
teacher and one's father both
needed help at the same time,
the student of the scribe was ob
ligated to help his teacher first.
Because they were experts in
religious matters, they also held
places of honor among the peo
ple. They were probably called
often to expound the law in the
synagogue.
The functions of the scribes,
then, were threefold: (1) to de
velop the law, that is, make it
applicable; (2) to teach the law
1
to students; and (S) to act as
Judges In the local courts and
in the national Jewish religious
court, the Sanhedrin.
The Pharisees
In the two hundred years or
so before the birth of Jesus, the i
religious people of Palestine di
vided into additional groups, j
These two groups were the Phar- :
isees and the Sadducees. The
separation was mainly between
the group that was dominated
by the high priest and his family |
(the Sadducees) and the group .
with a large lay element (the
Pharisees). This separation was|
one of the most significant \
changes in the religion of Is
rael in the period between the
Testaments.
The Pharisees challenged the
right of the priestly group to
have sole authority to be the
rulers of the people and the
judges of the law. The word
from which "Pharisee" comes
means "separated"; the Phari
sees separated themselves from
those who were not closely fol
lowing the observance of the
Jewish law.
1. The first characteristic of
these Pharisees was their sep
aratism from those who did not
(Continued on Page 7)
Give your friends a Christmas they won't forget.
Give them electric gifts. The gifts that
keep on doing things for people.
Goodness knows, you won't run out of
things to choose from.
There are irons, heaters, percolators, hot
pots, toasters, waffle bakers, grills, griddles,
frypans, blenders, mixers.
There are clocks/ hair curlers, hair dryers,
lamps, knives, can openers, ice crushers,
knife sharpeners, portable ranges, patio
servers, kettles.
And even electric outdoor grills.
So do this: write down the names of all
thepeople you want to remember this year.
Tnen run down to Duke Power or your
favorite electric appliance dealer.
And give all those people a Christmas to
remember.
Duke Power