As they spake] Clearly John also addressed the people. The captain of the temple] a priest next in dignity to the high priest, having under him a body of priests and Levites, who maintained order in the Temple.
The Sadducees] Most of the chief priests belonged to this party. They denied the oral traditions of the elders, the existence of angels and spirits, predestination and fate, the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection of the body: see Matthew 3:7; Matthew 16:1.; Matthew 22:23; Acts 5:17; Acts 23:6.