Reconnecting Jesus to His Jewish World

 

One thing Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor and I learned from decades of studying our Scriptures and the histories of Gentile Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism is that they share one thing in common:

 

Jesus models that are disconnected from the first century Jewish culture.

 

In Christianity “the Jews” became the “bad guys,” while in Rabbinic Judaism “Jesus” became “the bad guy.” There was no place in Christianity for people that held Jewish beliefs that didn’t agree with Gentile belief models of “the Christ,” or in Rabbinic Judaism for people that “believed in Jesus.” Even in the 1980s when I began writing about the Jewish Jesus, I received letters from both groups that opposed the “Jewish Jesus” idea.

 

For the last 1,500 years the choices have been “accept only Gentile versions of Jesus” or “completely reject Jesus.” That polarization has not only created a highly effective barrier that separated both groups – it made it impossible to see the inclusive message that the Jewish Jesus actually taught.

 

The message Jesus taught was inclusive enough

to include all nations, not just Israel!

 

I am going to approach this from the Gentile Christian side of the problem. For the past thirty years I have dealt with issues related to Christianity, while Jeffrey dealt with the Jewish side. The loss of Rabbi Leynor has created a situation in which I will have to wait for someone from to Jewish side to come forth and help handle that part of the conversation.

 

For Christians the major challenge will be understanding that the Jewish Jesus was a legal genius. He was not a poor unlearned peasant as Christian and Jewish sources have taught. In my earlier email about “The Two Golden Rules,” I pointed out how Jesus was actively engaged in legal arguments that were going on in the early first century CE in Galilee and Judea. In a discussion about the commandment “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), a question concerning the meaning of “as yourself” arose.

 

● Hillel said it means, “What you hate, do not do to him.”

 

● Jesus said it means, “Do unto him as you would have him do unto you.”

 

Be sure to note that the interpretation Jesus gave did not conflict with Hillel’s interpretation. Jesus completed it. Hillel told people “what not to do.” Jesus told people “what to do.” There is no doubt that situations like this led to the following teaching of Jesus. First, I will give you the New King James Version’s translation (Matthew 5:17).

 

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:

I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

 

That translation is unrelated to what his Jewish audience heard.

 

Do not accuse me of misinterpreting the Jewish Scriptures.

I have come to interpret them correctly!

 

Jesus made it very clear that he had joined the arguments (discussions) taking place between the leading legal minds of the time. With those words Jesus destroyed a foundational Gentile Christian belief – “We are not under the law!”

 

Any Jewish person making that claim to the Jewish audiences Jesus addressed would have been viewed as a complete idiot! But, the way Jesus structured his arguments made it clear that all nations were important to God. I am going to close with a quick introduction of two Hebrew word that Jesus, his Jewish audience, and many Jews today are very familiar with – mitzvah (singular) and mitzvot (plural).

 

An act performed in agreement with God’s will is called a mitzvah. Its definition cannot be accurately conveyed in any other language than Hebrew because it combines so many different shades of meaning.[i] 

 

● The commandment.

 

● The law.

 

● The obligation to fulfill the law.

 

● The act of fulfilling it.

 

I will show you how the first two bullets above applied to my earlier email about “The Two Golden Rules.”

 

● The commandment was “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

 

● The law was based on Hillel’s interpretation -- “What you hate, do not do to him.”

 

During the time of Jesus, the Great Sanhedrin met at a location close to the Temple. Its members determined which interpretations of commandments become law. The Pharisees were the majority, while Sadducees were the minority. Hillel was the nasi (president) until 10 CE and the school of Hillel was a powerful group. Into that environment, around 25 CE, Jesus became a voice in the discussions. He did it in a very unique way, which I will discuss in the next email.

 

Shalom,

Jim Myers

 

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[i] The Language of Judaism by Simon Glustrom © 1988; Jason Aronson, Inc. Northvale, NJ, pp.3-4.