The Importance of Priests in the Roman Empire

The Sadducees were the richest and most powerful priests who controlled the temple. The Romans allowed them to control the temple area in order to minimize but potentially trouble some nationalism of the temple and its worship. Because these leading priestly families curried the favor of the Roman occupiers, they were left to be in charge of all purely domestic matters. But here in our passage, chapter 19, verse 47, we read that this impressive collection of impressive people were seeking to destroy Jesus. They could do literally nothing.