Who Are the Pharisees, Sadducees and Tax Collectors of Today?

Who are the Pharisees and the Sadducees in today's world? I've just been noticing the similarities between their descriptions in the Bible and the people surrounding us today. Jesus described a group of people including a Pharisee and a tax collector as those who "trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others." Doesn't this sound just like people today? The passage is so descriptive of this type of people, I just have to include it here. "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a wee; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:9-14). That's a pretty good description of the people in today's world, especially when it comes to the current political climate. The great critics of today's media, and politicians, pointing fingers at others and calling them all sorts of names, putting them down, disparaging them, putting themselves on a pedestal and declaring themselves the righteous ones. It's utterly fascinating to me to observe this. The tax collector in this story is the one with the right heart attitude. My limited religious education tells me that tax collectors were very much despised in the days when Jesus walked the earth, and, I daresay, today's tax collectors are not that much higher esteemed. But this tax collector knew he needed to repent, which God highly values. In fact, that is the only way to gain God's favor, and the only way to escape his wrath and judgment, both in this life and the next. Jesus warned in Matthew 16:6, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." One definition of the leaven of the Pharisees is "hypocrisy, or outwardly appearing pious and righteous while harboring inner corruption and self-righteousness." This also describes those we see every day on social media that are pointing fingers and judging others, while, at the same time, quick to quote Matthew 7:7 that says not to judge. There are many examples in the Bible of Jesus calling out their hypocrisy, and this is easily observed among today's self-righteous people. If the Pharisees were those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others, who were the Sadducees? What we generally hear about the Sadducees is that they did not believe in spiritual things, like angels or the resurrection of the dead. Another thing preachers like to say about the Sadducees is that they were "sad, you see," which is a characteristic of people who have no belief in the life of the Spirit. They were not atheists, but religious Jews who differed on certain points and both liked to try to trap Jesus, as in Matthew 16:1. They were people who could not discern the signs of the times (verse 3). Jesus said they were always looking for a sign, but no sign would be given "except the sign of the prophet Jonah" (verse 4), which signified his own death and resurrection. All of this brings us back to the centrality of the gospel and of focuses on the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation from the wrath of God for sinful humanity. People today don't like to hear about this or talk about it, or believe it, but God has commanded that people believe the gospel or be lost forever. Acts 17:30 says, "'Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.'" Paul was preaching to a crowd of religious people but who did not know God. Because it is not possible to know God without repentance of sin and acknowleging Jesus Christ, the only Mediator between God and man. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all..." (2 Timothy 2:5) Now, is this description of Pharisees and Sadducees only for us to look at them and say we are glad we are not like them, making ourselves just like them? No, instead, it is a mirror to look into and then examine our own heart, because our own heart is the only one over which we have any responsibility or accountability, the only heart we can humble before God and ask for his forgiveness. There are many instructions in the Bible for us to examine ourselves. He doesn't instruct us to examine others that much, but it helps us when we study the Bible to understand the sinful nature of mankind and how it operates in others, and not in others only, but in ourselves also. So that would be the last point to all this. May we all humble ourselves and ask God to help us discern the signs of the times and the areas in our own lives where God is trying to soften our hearts or where we need to change, and let him change us. My understanding regarding our relationships with our friends, relatives and neighbors in the world is that the connection we have with them is the love of God radiating to others, and we all have room to grow in this, and will have as long as we are in these bodies. In 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, the word says, "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life." May we all be more like him. To God be the glory.