Scribes: Guardians and Teachers of the Law

In the ancient world, few people were able to read or write, and so scribes were called upon to perform various secretarial and legal duties and to write documents of history. A group of scribes served in the Sanhedrin, the highest administrative court of the Jews. These men were experts in the study of the law of Moses and as such instructed pupils in the synagogues. As they were responsible for upholding the law they were also termed lawyers (Mt 22:35; Lk 2:46, 5:21).

Jesus condemned the external formalities which the scribes fostered because although they taught, they did it without conviction or authority (Mt 7:28-29).

Generally, the religious leaders of Jesus' day allowed human tradition to overshadow the truth of God's Word. They maintained an outward form of godliness — careful tithing, public prayers, and visible displays of piety — yet possessed little genuine conviction of the heart. Their righteousness was performed for the eyes of men rather than the eye of God, and so the very law they taught became, in their hands, a burden to others rather than a path to life.

As was to be expected, the scribes who served the Pharisees sided with Paul on the matter of the resurrection while the Sadducean scribes opposed him (Acts 23:9).