Page 89 - The Glad Tidings of the Messiah

Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar) 87

ligion. From the Gospel, we gather that he primarily called upon
false priests, those who denied Allah by ascribing partners to Him
and who misled people by religious pretence, to abandon their
wrongdoing and believe wholeheartedly in Allah. The Pharisees
and the Sadducees, who are often mentioned in the Gospel, are
therefore of relevance in this respect. These two opposing sects
agreed on one thing only: Their strong discontent with the revela-
tion with which Allah had entrusted to the Prophet Jesus (pbuh)
for his people. According to the Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) true reli-
gion, the Sadducees had gone astray because of their materialistic
worldview, and the Pharisees were on the wrong path because
they had lost their faith by getting bogged down in myths and pre-
tence. These groups turned against the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) as
soon as they realized where they stood with him. Allah says in the
Qur'an:
And when Jesus came with the Clear Signs, he said: "I
have come to you with Wisdom and to clarify for you some
of the things about which you have differed. Therefore,
heed Allah and obey me."(Surat az-Zukhruf, 63)
As both the Pharisees and the majority of Sadducees had a
vested interest in the existing system, and thus a great many of
them would not obey the Prophet Jesus (pbuh). They had great au-
thority over the Jewish people and, as priests, enjoyed great re-
spect among them. The false system that they had created had
become an institution that was making them rich. They had en-
tered into a close working relationship with the Roman governor,
and an important section of Sadducees in particular sought to re-
duce the tensions between Rome and the people of Judea, and thus
were granted many privileges in return. Bearing these circum-