Jesus did not belong to any of the Jewish sects. He was not a Pharisee, nor a Sadducee, nor even an Essene or a Zealot. His earliest church did have some from these backgrounds but they all found refuge in Jesus whatever their background. Jesus sometimes referred to Jews as “we”, such as when speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, so he did not identify as Samaritan, but more as a Jew by comparison, but when speaking in private to his closest disciples, such as at his “last supper”, he referred to Jews as “they”, and as ”of the world”, identifying instead with his disciples as “from above… not from this world”. In speaking to Jews who believed in him, he told them they were of the devil because they lied and murderously hated him, yes even though they believed. They must hold to his teachings before he would consider them disciples. He classed these and other Jews as “the world” because there was no love for him amongst them, nor for his Father, God. In private he was clearly including the Jews as “the world” when he told his disciples not to be surprised that the world hated them. The disciples are coming out from this world and that is why it hates them.
