Rediscovering the Jewish Roots of Jesus
Reimagining the Jewish Jesus reveals a shift in Jesus studies to emphasize his Jewish background. Scholars like Geza Vermes and E.P. Sanders provide historical insights portraying Jesus as a Jewish restoration prophet who upheld Jewish laws and traditions. The interpretation of Jesus as the Son of Man challenging Sabbath rules raises questions about his relationship with Jewish customs and teachings.
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Reimagining the Jewish Jesus When Judaism reformed after the destruction of Jerusalem (70 CE), it wanted as little do with Christians as Christians did with Jews. It was thus in the interest of both religions to downplay the Jewishness of Jesus. This has been the state of affairs in Jesus studies up until the last 20 years.
Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew, 1973 Subtitle A Historian s reading of the Gospels which in practice means without the usual Christian assumptions. Vermes concludes that all of the messianic or divine texts were added by the early church and were not spoken by Jesus. It is about time the church realised that Jesus was a Jew not a Christian
E.P.Sanders, Jesus and Judaism, 1985 After years of immersion in the Jewish texts, Sanders thought that Jesus is best understood as a Jewish restoration prophet, who believed he would have a crucial role in inaugurating God s kingdom. With respect to Jewish Law, Jesus was an observant Jew, who worshipped God in the synagogue on the sabbath, prayed Jewish prayers, assumed Jewish piety (when you prayer ... fast ... give alms). He tells a healed leper to offer the prescribed sacrifices and a questioner to find God s will in the Law.
1. Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath One sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath? ... Jesus replies: "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
1. Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath. Standard Christian interpretation As the divine Son of Man, Jesus was not bound by Jewish sabbath rules. Jesus came to set us free from such rules and regulations.
1. Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath This interpretation is difficult to square with Jesus own claim to uphold the Law: Matt 5:17 (Sermon on the Mount) Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. Mark 7:9 You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! Is there an alternative?
1. Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; Interpretation The sabbath is God s gracious gift to humanity so why are you corrupting it by forbidding my (hungry) disciples from plucking some of the corn?
1. Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath But what of Jesus claim to be Lord of the sabbath ? Two main possibilities As lord of the sabbath, I have the right to decide whether plucking corn (through hunger) does or does not constitute breaking the sabbath. As lord of the sabbath, I have the right to decide whether plucking corn (through hunger) constitutes a temporary suspension of the sabbath, as when David ate of the bread in the house of God.
2. Jesus and the food laws Mk 7:18-19 Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? (Thus he declared all foods clean).
2. Jesus and the food laws Mk 7:18-19 Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? (Thus he declared all foods clean). Standard Christian interpretation Jesus is saying that food laws concerning what you can and cannot eat have nothing to do with what God wants which is love for God and neighbour. In support ...
2. Jesus and the food laws It was Paul s view (Rom 14:1-3) Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarrelling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. For Paul, food laws are a matter of indifference and certainly not binding on Christians.
2. Jesus and the food laws However, this was not the view of Peter (Acts 10:9-14) Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. Then he heard a voice saying, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat." But Peter said, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean."
2. Jesus and the food laws Indeed, Peter and Paul fell out over it (Gal 2:11-14) But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned; for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction ...
2. Jesus and the food laws What are the implications of Peter s reply: I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean." At no time in my 3 years with Jesus did I ever break one of the food laws. Almost certainly, neither did Jesus (or we would have followed) The aphorism is not about whether certain foods make a person unclean but whether the contents of their heart make them unclean.
2. Jesus and the food laws Mk 7:21-23 For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. The point is not about which foods defile and which do not; it is about the nature of the human heart. Indeed, we see from the beginning of the story that the dispute is about hand-washing rituals not food laws.
2. Jesus and the food laws Mk 7:1-2 Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them ... So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands? What about the specific statement that Jesus declared all foods clean?
2. Jesus and the food laws Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? (Thus he declared all foods clean.) These are not Jesus words. Mark telling his Gentile readers that they do not need to take up the food laws because the implication of the aphorism is that it is not necessary. Mark might be denying the Pharisaic claim that food is made unclean if strict hand-washing rituals are not kept. Food that the Law says is unclean is simply not in view (Jesus, the disciples and the Pharisees went nowhere near it).
3. Jesus and the second coming 1 Thess 4:15-16 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Paul believed that Jesus would return in cosmic glory and it would happen soon.
3. Jesus and the second coming Acts 1:9-11 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. Luke thinks it of in much more concrete terms he will descend in the same way that he ascended.
3. Jesus and the second coming Matt 25:14-21 For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents ... After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
3. Jesus and the second coming Christian interpretation Jesus is talking about his second coming. He is entrusting his future mission to the disciples When he returns he will call them to account for what they have done. Those who have been fruitful will be rewarded in heaven.
3. Jesus and the second coming Tom Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, 1996 After the exile, the Jews hoped for the coming of God ( Prepare the way of the Lord Isa 40:3) His Jewish disciples, who had not been taught anything about a second coming of Jesus, would most naturally interpret the parable in the light of this. God gave Israel the task of being light to the Gentiles . He has been away a long time but as you have been taught, when he returns, he will demand a reckoning. The christological element is not about a supposed second coming but the first coming . Jesus is claiming that God is present in his ministry, so now is the time of reckoning ( The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news Mk 1:15).
3. Jesus and the second coming Tom Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, 1996 Wright does not conclude that the second coming is an error. The belief arose in the church after the resurrection. But it is not what Jesus was talking about in the parable of the talents and similar parables. What about Jesus reply to the High Priest in Mk 14:62?
3. Jesus and the second coming Mark 14:60-64 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?" But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?" Jesus said, "I am; and 'you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,' and 'coming with the clouds of heaven.'" Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?" All of them condemned him as deserving death. Is this not a prophecy of Jesus second coming?
3. Jesus and the second coming 'you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,' and 'coming with the clouds of heaven.' They will not literally see Jesus sitting on a chair next to God the expression is metaphorical you will see means you will come to realise that I am on God s side (and you are not). Neither will they literally see Jesus riding the clouds like some cosmic jet-ski. The image comes from Dan 7:13, where the son of man goes to God with the clouds to receive a kingdom. Both images are about vindication: you are sentencing me to death but you will come to see (ie. acknowledge) that God is on my side.
Reimagining the Jewish Jesus Christian interpretation often focused on how Jesus was set apart from Judaism and founded a new religion. Today, scholarship is more inclined to try and understand Jesus from within Judaism and consequently, how and why his followers ended up forming a new religion in opposition to the Judaism that was forced to reform after the destruction of Jerusalem.
