Scribes were officials who wrote or copied government or religious documents by hand. Jewish scribes also copied, interpreted, and taught the law of Moses. Jewish scribes were also called “experts in the law” and “teachers of the law” (see: Luke 7:30; 11:45-46).
In the Old Testament, Baruch and Ezra are called scribes (see: Ezra 7:6; Jeremiah 36:32).
In the New Testament, scribes were usually part of the religious group called the Pharisees (see: Mark 2:16). The two groups were often mentioned together (see: Matthew 5:20; 12:38; Mark 7:1).
Most of the scribes opposed Jesus. They accused Jesus of not obeying the law of Moses and other things the Jewish leaders taught (see: Mark 7:5; Luke 5:21, 30). The scribes believed that Jesus did miracles by the power of demons (see: Mark 3:22). The scribes and other Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus because people were amazed by his teachings (see: Mark 1:22; 11:18).
Jesus taught that the scribes did not obey God (see: Matthew 23:25-28; Luke 11:39-41). Jesus said the scribes and the Pharisees created rules that were hard for the people to obey. He also said the scribes and Pharisees would not help the people (see: Matthew 23:2-4, 13-22). Jesus taught that the scribes and Pharisees were hypocrites (see: Matthew 23:23-24).
The scribes worked with other Jewish leaders to have Jesus arrested and crucified (see: Matthew 27:41-43; Mark 14:1, 43; Luke 11:53-54; 23:10).
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