EVERY GROUP OF PEOPLE FROM THE TIME OF JESUS EXPLAINED
The major religious and political sects during the time of Jesus were the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots, though these groups comprised only about 5 percent of the total Jewish population. The vast majority of Jews were ordinary citizens who followed basic Mosaic laws without adhering to the strict oral traditions or political agendas of these specific sects. Pharisees were a popular, lay-led …