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"The Jews have a mental conception of their god, as being a single essence, and they consider profane those who make images of gods in the form of men. They believe 'God' is supreme and eternal, and can be neither represented nor worn away by time. Therefore, they do not allow any effigies into the city, nor the temple; such honors are afforded neither their own kings nor our emperors." …Tacitus, Histories

Judaism – the religion of Jesus Christ…

YHWH Graphic from the cover of an Italian book

While it is a fact that Christianity was born by the life and teachings of Jesus, it is important to understand that he and his followers were not 'Christians', at least in the way we understand the term today. Jesus was a Jew. At his birth he would have been circumcised, as a youth he would have been educated in the ways of the Torah and the tale of his people, the chosen covenant people of YHWH, and at his death the words "King of the Jews" was placed over his head, even his later followers were just considered a branch of Judaism. This part of the series will focus on the religion of Jesus, Judaism. Judaism at this time has been marked into two distinct periods, Second-Temple Judaism and Rabbinic Judaism. Second-Temple extended from the completion of Jerusalem's second Temple in 516 BCE to it's destruction in 70 CE. Rabbinic Judaism grew after the destruction of the Temple as Judaism focused more on the study, understanding and practice of the Torah.

YHWH, the god of Israel

Jews believed that there was only one true god, YHWH, this is perhaps best expressed in the confession of faith found in Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel: YHWH is our god, YHWH is one. You shall love YHWH your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." They believed he created the world and still governed over it. While many Jews believed in powerful supernatural beings such as angels and demons, they believed that only YHWH was worthy of worship. They also believed that he had revealed himself to various people in their history, particularly Moses during the time of the escape from Egypt and the Exodus. Above all they believed YHWH had chosen them, the people of Israel and the children of Abraham, out of all the nations and the peoples in the world to be his special people, establishing a covenant with them. This covenant would work both ways, YHWH to Israel and Israel to YHWH. On his part, YHWH promised to make them a special people, blessing them, loving them, watching over them and protecting them, giving them his law and will expressed through the Torah. On Israel's part, they would forsake the worship of idols and other false gods; they would worship him alone and obey his will and commandments.

The Covenant and the Law

For Jews, one served YHWH and kept the covenant by observing the Torah, the Law. Jews who kept the Law were considered 'righteous', while those who didn't were labelled as 'sinners'. By definition, all Gentiles were considered sinners because they worshipped false gods and idols and didn't keep the Law. If a Jew transgressed the Law, he or she could be restored to a proper relationship with YHWH by offering the appropriate at the Temple, one of the many practices of the day. The Law included many moral and ethical decisions as well as religious practices that marked observant Jews. Below are a list of some of main beliefs and practices:

• Jews were to worship and serve YHWH: As implied by the second of the Ten Commandments, which bars the worship and service of other gods, this meant Jews were to have nothing to do with pagan beliefs and practices. They were to worship their god at his Temple in Jerusalem. The Hebrew Bible requires all Jewish males to attend worship at the Temple in Jerusalem at least three times a year, at the pilgrimage festivals. However, this rule was not enforced as many Jews travelled and spread further and further away from Jerusalem, most came at least once a year. Whether they attended or not they were to pay the Temple tax, which supported the sacrifices that were offered on behalf of the whole community. Jews prayed daily, when they woke up and before they went to sleep, the confession of faith as stated above from Deuteronomy. Most or all Jewish communities had synagogues, meaning 'houses of prayer' in Greek, where people gathered on the Sabbath to study the Law and pray. In short, Jews worshipped YHWH daily at home, weekly at the synagogue and at different times annually at the Temple in Jerusalem.
• Jerusalem, the Temple and Mount Zion: If Israel was the nation of YHWH, Jerusalem was his city. Jerusalem within the Jewish identity was impossible to ignore as so much of their belief and practices were tied to the city. According to their faith, Jerusalem, and its Temple, was the centre of the created order, the place where the creator of the world, who had entered into special covenant with them as a nation. While YHWH lived and ruled in the heavens, his spirit and presence dwelled within a little hill named Zion, the one place on earth where the heavens and earth met.
• Jews circumcised their infant sons: This tradition and requirement was traced back to the founder of their nation, Abraham, where YHWH commanded it of him and his sons to be circumcised as a sign of the covenant between them. To the foreign pagans, this was seen as a barbaric practice.
• Jews were not to work on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week: The fourth commandment ruled that no one was to work on the Sabbath, as it was the day YHWH rested after Creation. This was not just for men, but included the entire family, servants, workers, foreigners living in Jewish towns and even cattle. As well as this, every seventh year Jewish farmers in Palestine didn't sow any crops as they believed that the land itself rested.
• Jews kept certain 'dietary laws' called Kosher: Jews avoided certain foods as they viewed them as 'impure' and 'abominable'. Pork and shellfish are most famous of the banned foods however other banned foods include birds of prey, rodents and carrion. As the Torah prohibits the consumption of blood, animals had to be drained, boiled, soaked and or salted to make sure all traces of blood has been removed.
• Purity Codes: The main sources of impurity were contact with semen, menstrual blood and other emissions from the genital area, blood, childbirth, and corpses. The Law bans the impure and the unholy from coming into contact with the holy and righteous, for example forbidding someone 'impure' to enter the Temple or synagogue. While washing one's self and praying might deal with these 'impurities', constant ones were more difficult to deal with. The most common of these were leprosy, constant abnormal bleeding and physical flaws. Jews were not meant to have contact with these people, Jewish or Gentile, as they were seen as impure. People with these disabilities or diseases were thought to have received them from their sinful behaviour or the sins of their parents.

Divisions and Variations

While all Jews believed in YHWH and followed the Torah, it is important to point out that within Second-Temple Judaism there was not one single way of being Jewish, but rather many different ways. Great diversity existed and differences in beliefs, ideals and practices led to many religious sects and groups forming. While it is difficult to know a lot about these groups, Josephus names some of them in his works. The three main groups were the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes. Another group was the Samaritans, who, though not Jewish, did practice a form of the same religion. Other movements we know about are the Zealots and followers of John the Baptist, as well as the Jesus movement of course.

• The Pharisees: This sect grew out of the early Hasmonean period (before 135 BCE). It seems that it contained mostly, but not entirely, non-priests. Like all Jews the Pharisees held to the main Jewish orthodoxy and like a lot Jews of the time they held a belief in an after-life. The group developed a lot of traditions to keep the Law with ideas outside the Hebrew Bible; a good example is hand washing before and after every meal as well as festivals and prayers. The Pharisees believed in interpreting the Law by its spirit, evolving the Law to be used for everyday life and the here and now. They sought to give some of the older meaning in the Law newer and fresher meanings. To the Pharisees, worship consisted not in bloody sacrifices but in prayer and in the study of God's law. The gospels portray this group to be Jesus' arch-rivals, appearing everywhere and anytime Jesus does something controversial but as E.P Sanders points out, "The Pharisees were concerned with their own purity, not with checking up on other people's – which in any case they had no right to do so, since they did not in any strict sense 'run things' in the Judaism of the day."
• The Sadducees: We know little about the Sadducees, but what we do know is that they were aristocratic, did not believe in any form of life after death, and did not accept the Pharisee's special traditions and fresh interpretations. Because of their wealth and influence, most scholars suppose that many of the High Priests were Sadducees. The New Testament rarely mentions this group, however it does confirm their association with the elite and the aristocratic nature of the priesthood.
• The Essenes: Their name comes from the Aramaic word meaning "pious ones". This group of Jews chose to remove themselves from the world, seeing it as evil and impure, creating their own separatist community. They were well known for their criticism of the Temple and its "wicked priests" as they titled them. They believed in the after life and the spiritual realm of angels and demons, light and dark, good and evil. They saw themselves as the "children of the light" and the Jews outside their group were false Jews, just as bad as the pagans.
• The Zealots: This faction can be traced back to the Maccabean and were a group of religious freedom fighters. The Zealots were famous (or infamous) for there veneration of the Torah and hatred of their foreign pagan rulers. The Zealots continually expressed opposition to Roman rule in Palestine by random revolts, guerrilla warfare and attacks against Jews who conformed to the Hellenistic lifestyle.
• The Samaritans: Though not Jewish themselves, the Samaritans practiced a religion related to Judaism. While their origin is unknown, they believed and worshipped the Israelite god, YHWH, however with some differences. One difference was that Samaritans only accepted the first five books of the Hebrew Bible and the Torah as scriptures. The biggest difference however was their practice of sacrifice on Mount Gerizim near Shechem rather then on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. As they did not accept the Prophets and the Writing within scripture, the Samaritans did not expect a messiah-like the one the Jews did. This is not to say they weren't expecting a messiah, on the contrary, they believed in the coming of an eschatological figure, a prophet like Moses as found in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. They believed that YHWH would restore the temple of Mount Gerizim which the Jews had destroyed during the time of Hasmonean rule.

Exile and Return

Reading from the Torah

I doubt any nation in the world has been captive, freed and made captive again so many times and still maintained their unique identity. Yet, exile and restoration is a huge part of what it meant to be Jewish in the first-century, as they had been exiled, enslaved and governed by super powers in the past. However they believed it was their own fault. As YHWH's chosen covenant people, if Israel had been unfaithful to the covenant, to YHWH and the Torah, she would find herself in exile as the prophets had warned. Yet as the prophets had also proclaimed, unlike Israel, YHWH was faithful to the covenant and if she repented and once again became obedient, she would be delivered and her enemies defeated.

YHWH would act for her, giving them his blessings, his wisdom, his peace and his judgment and Israel was to worship YHWH and hold true to his covenant with them, keeping the Torah. Yet there was not one single way of being Jewish, but many. They hoped that the Creator-God, the God of their ancestors, God of the covenant, the God of Israel, the God who had defeated and judged the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Syrians and other pagan nations, would once again act for his people. That the age of slavery, sorrow, pain and exile would end and the age when YHWH would bring his kingdom to earth, as it was in heaven.

Who, What, When, Where and Why?

As N.T. Wright explains, understanding the hope of Israel involves understanding who the people of Israel are, where they are in relation to YHWH's promises, what the problem they are facing is exactly, and what's the solution to the problem at hand. I suggest you place yourself in the mindset of the common first-century Jew. You believe in YHWH, the God of your ancestors, the maker of heaven and earth, the God who chose Israel to be his people. You see the land and the people in it; you see your fellow Jews and the divisions among them; you see your enemies, the pagans, lording over them; you see the Temple and right next to it the Roman fortress; you see the Palace of Herod, home of the roman puppet Herod Antipas sitting on the throne which should belong to the House of the David. Everything seems wrong and backwards, the covenant is in a state of chaos. While I disagree with Wright's notion of Second-Temple Judaism believing itself to still be in a stage of a Babylonian Exile, I do agree with his idea of the Jewish people seeing themselves in a state of 'exile' at the hands of the Romans.

Yet there is hope, YHWH if faithful, YHWH is just, YHWH is righteous and YHWH is good. He will act and he will save Israel once more from the hands of evil. He will restore order, sort this mess out, renew the covenant with our people and establish his kingdom among us. N.T. Wright summarizes Israel's worldview as follows:

• Who are we? We are Israel, the chosen people of the creator god.
• Where are we? We are in the holy land, focused on the Temple, but paradoxically, we are still in exile.
• What is wrong? We have the wrong rulers: pagans on the one hand, compromised Jews on the other, or, half-way between, Herod and his family. We are all involved in a less-than-ideal situation.
• What is the solution? Our god must act again to give us the true sort of rule, that is, his own kingship exercised through properly appointed officials (a true priesthood; a true king): and in the mean time Israel must be faithful to his covenant charter.

Their nation restored, their people healed, their enemies defeated and their god enthroned! This plan would be act through a chosen agent, the Anointed One of YHWH, the Messiah.

The Anointed One

The prophets had spoken of the 'Day of YHWH' or the 'Day of the Lord'. Originally, this simply meant the time when YHWH would punish a specific enemy of Israel however, later prophets saw the day more as an eschatological event. The belief that the pagan nations would gather against Israel and YHWH would send an agent of his will to crush the enemies that oppressed Israel. This agent would bring judgement on the wicked, pagan and Jewish alike, establishing YHWH's kingdom on earth, ruling from Jerusalem over the righteous. This day has often been depicted as a day of divine wrath, judgment, anguish and holiness.

This agent of YHWH was to be YHWH's anointed, or more commonly known as the Messiah.

The Hebrew word for 'Messiah' and the Greek equivalent, 'Christ', means 'anointed one'. Anointing involved pouring olive oil over a person's head to install the person into a particular office. The leaders of Israel's past had been consecrated by anointing, such as kings and priests. The oil symbolized the spirit of YHWH coming upon that person, setting them apart as holy and wise, giving them the power to accomplish the task appointed to them. The Hebrew Bible refers to the king as being "the Lord's anointed" and the high priest being "the anointed priest". While originally referring to its kings, the term evolved to mean the ideal king of the future. The best way to explain this is by looking at Israel's first 'ideal' king, David. The legend taught that YHWH had promised David an everlasting dynasty; however the Davidic bloodline came to an end at the fall of the Southern Kingdom. However, after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, rather than think the Davidic dynasty had been a mistake, the prophets adopted the belief and hope that YHWH would call up a king greater then even David from his bloodline to rule over Israel in the future.

Ways of being Messiah

While this was perhaps the most common Messianic expectation, it is important to understand that there was not one way of being Messiah, as there was not one way of being Jewish. The different groups would have understood the Messiah according to their own beliefs and teachings as well as hope and expectation. From my research, there are three 'Messianic ways' or expectations most commonly found at the time of Jesus:

• By the Sword: As explained above, this was the most common Messianic expectation, a king coming from the Davidic bloodline. According to scripture, this Messiah was supposed to be king and judge, exercising justice for the poor and oppressed while delivering punishment on the wicked. He conquers all the nations that surrounding Israel and defeats any who would threaten her. Here, the Messiah is not superhuman, does not perform miracles, and does not die for the sins of the world. He is a human king from the bloodline of David and chosen by YHWH to sit on the throne in Jerusalem.
• By the Staff: Another idea popular at the time was a prophetic figure, an agent of YHWH similar to Moses or Elijah. Traditionally speaking, Moses was the great prophet who performed wonders and signs in Egypt and delivered the children of Israel out of slavery. There was a hope that YHWH would raise up another prophet like Moses, to do what Moses had done in Egypt for the people of the day — perform miracles, give signs and deliver the people from Roman oppression.
• By the Heavens: Within the Book of Daniel, Ezekiel and other ancient texts, the prophets has visions and dreams of strange beings within the heavens. Though not originally a symbol of the Messiah, it later became one seen as angelic or heavenly or semi-divine human being who was messianic. This being would come from the heavens as YHWH's agent on earth to the Jewish people. The idea of a divine Messiah was not common but can be also found in the Similitude's of Enoch and Ezra. He is described as breathing fire, controlling the elements, leading the angels, punishing the wicked, rewarding the righteous and destroying the enemies of Israel.

Messiahs and Would-Be Messiahs

If you have not picked it up by now, there are two main agenda's and two overriding themes attributed to the Messiah, the Temple and the Battle. The Messiah comes to usher in the kingdom of God, fulfilling YHWH's promises, fulfilling Israel's purpose, rescuing Israel from foreign and pagan oppression, evil would be judged and defeated and YHWH would reign.

"Cleanse and restore the Temple, fight and defeat the enemy." This is what scholars call 'the Messianic agenda', the agenda taken on by any Jewish revolutionary who sought the title of Messiah. We know of a dozen or so of movements that arose in Palestine within a hundred years either side of Jesus. These groups of young revolutionary Jews shared the hope and dream that YHWH would act through their movement, particularly their leader, and bring his kingdom. Judas the Galilean and Simeon ben-Kosiba are perhaps the best examples. Judas led an uprising around the time of Jesus' birth (6CE), in which he and hundreds were slaughtered, captured or crucified by the Roman authorities. Judas' sons, James and Simon, were later executed by Procurator Tiberius Julius Alexander. Simeon ben-Kosiba was a little more successful. Simeon managed to cast out the Romans of Palestine, many of the Jewish proclaimed him to be the Messiah, however his success would be short lived. His revolt soon brought the wrath of the Empire upon the whole of Palestine, sacking Jerusalem, destroying the Temple.

The conqueror becomes the conquered. The heroic revolutionary becomes the foolish up-start. The Messiah becomes the would-be Messiah. Such was life in ancient Palestine for such revolutionaries. Any resistance, both fierce and passive, were met with a violent retaliation. To proclaim YHWH's kingdom was to denounce Rome's. Titling yourself as the Messiah was to label oneself as a king or something greater, a menace to Caesar's rulership. Usually such prophets and messiahs didn't live very long.

Two of these will be the focus of this series next week, John the Baptist and Jesus.

-Next Week-
Part IV - "A Mesiah in the Making: Jesus' Origins, Education, Family and Mentor"

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Bibliography:
John Dominic Crossan, The Historical Jesus. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1991.
E.P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus. London: Penguin, 1996.
N.T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God. London: SPCK, 1992.
__________ Jesus and the Victory of God. London: SPCK, 1996.

©2008 Daniel Gullotta

[Index of Commentaries by Daniel Gullotta]