Was the Essene sect of Judaism mentioned in the Bible, Old or New testament? Also, what were Jesus' opinions on the Essenses and their teachings?
2007-08-10 08:55:00 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Well, Jesus was called "the Nazarine" which is another word for Essene. And the Essenes were the only sect of Judaism that was expecting the Messiah to be a bringer of peace. All the others were expecting a warrior/king guy to kick out the Romans.
2007-08-10 09:23:08 · answer #1 · answered by Sacred Chao 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋
It is not a certainty that the Essenes were a sect, as you call it, of Judaism. Pharisees, Sadduccees, Herodians and Zealots yes, but the Essenes if anything were anti-Judaism. (They may have originally been a part of the Jewish population, but left the religion due to its legalistic, greedy, and unspiritual ways)
Those who practiced Judaism, then and now, were anti-Christ. The Essenes were far from it. It is my belief that Jesus is (and was) the Teacher of Righteousness, that it was Jesus who instructed the Essenes (Jesus led a double life) and also told them to transcribe all the Dead Sea Scrolls that they did, so that they would be discovered in our times, to corroborate the Old Testament scriptures of the Masoretes, validating them as the true Word of God.
When Jesus told John and Peter to get a place ready for them to eat the Passover meal, he sent them to the Essene Quarter in Jerusalem.
Luke 22:10 He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house which he enters...
Back then, only the women carried water, those that were Jews in Judaism. However the Essene men would have carried the water, since there were few women in the Essene sect, and also everybody in the group worked, regardless of their sex.
The same thing holds true for the donkey and colt that the apostles got for Jesus to ride on as he approached Jerusalem. He got them from the Essenes.
I hope this helps
2007-08-10 09:34:58 · answer #2 · answered by timesrchanging 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
They are not mentioned. The influence to Jesus could only be remotely inferred. They had a cleansing process that could be close to baptism. The master of the Essenes was the Teacher of Righteousness.
If you believe that Jesus endorsed a monastic, celibate lifestyle, you might have additional points.
2007-08-10 09:05:55 · answer #3 · answered by Isolde 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
It is no where in the Tanakh(Old Testament) and I don't remember seeing them anywhere in the "new testament"
2007-08-10 10:11:08 · answer #4 · answered by ST 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋