THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF JERUSALEM
Don't
Look Now, but It Was a Jewish Synagogue.
MOST OF THE DIFFICULT PASSAGES CONFRONTED IN
NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES COULD BE SOLVED THROUGH A KNOWLEDGE OF RABBINIC
LITERATURE.
David Biven /
Roy Blizzard, Jr., PhD
Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus, pg. 70
Jesus' genealogy is listed in the first chapter of Matthew and the third
chapter of Luke. Included in the list of His ancestors is Judah, one of the
great-grandsons of Abraham. From Judah, nine of his brothers, and two of his
nephews grew the twelve tribes of Israel. (God changed the name of Jacob,
Judah's father, to Israel; hence, the tribes are descended from Israel.) The
division of the nation of Israel after the death of King Solomon resulted in the
northern kingdom of Israel, supposedly ten tribes of the children of Jacob, and
the southern kingdom of Judah, comprised of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
(The southern kingdom also included Simeon -- see Joshua 19.) Jerusalem was the
capital of Judah. The term Jew first appears in the Bible when the kingdom of
Judah is being carried off captive to Babylon (2 Kings
25:25).
Most people, when thinking of church, have a mental picture of a building
with a cross on a steeple, a meeting starting with a few hymns, some prayers,
scripture reading, and a sermon by a minister. Few realize that (with the
exception of the cross) this is basically what happens in a synagogue. And has
been happening in synagogues for about 2500 years. And was happening in
Jerusalem and Antioch when Yeshua and Paul entered synaqogues
on the Sabbath to teach.
Think about this: The first church, which was in Jerusalem, was Jewish,
100%. Yeshua said repeatedly that He was "sent to the lost
sheep of Israel." Gentiles *were not even
permitted to join their number until Peter received a vision and argued
before the "apostles and brethren" (Acts 15:7) in
Jerusalem to admit them. How, then, can a GENTILE be saved, if it were
not for the One sent to the JEWS?
The 3,000 baptized on the day of Pentecost (a Jewish Holy Day, the Feast of
Weeks, or Shavuot)
were all Jews from as far away as Libya and Rome. There was a good-sized
population of Jewish believers in Corinth where Paul stayed about A.D. 45-55 for
eighteen months, teaching in the synagogue (Acts 18). It has been estimated that
"by A.D. 50 ... there were over 50,000 Jewish believers in the city of Jerusalem
alone." (Roy Blizzard, Jr., PhD,
"Our Jewish Roots," audio tape series, 1985(?), lesson #13.)
Blue Letter Bible
PART THREE
FIRST CENTURY WORSHIP
Sabbath, Passover, Rosh HaShanah,
Yom Kippur, Chanukkah
THE CHURCH IS BURDENED WITH AN UNRESOLVED IDENTITY
PROBLEM. SADLY, MOST CHRISTIANS ARE UNAWARE THAT A PROBLEM EXISTS. YET MANY
ILLNESSES OF THE CHURCH, BOTH PAST AND PRESENT, ARE A RESULT OF OUR NOT KNOWING WHO
WE ARE IN JESUS.
David
Biven, "Yavo Digest," vol. 1, no. 1.
Now, the first things that these 3,000 Jews who professed faith in this
Yeshua from Nazareth did were to write new hymns, sign tithe pledge cards, start
wearing crosses on chains around their necks, go out and buy new suits and ties
and dresses, elect a board of deacons, and start meeting on Sunday mornings in
their new church buildings with the cross-tipped steeples. Right?
Well, not exactly!
Since the 6th century B.C. and their return from captivity in Babylon where
synagogue worship was developed, these people had been worshipping God in a very
ordered manner, and many aspects of that order remain to this day. The
believers, followers of what they called "the Way"
(Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23), continued worshipping in the synagogue right along with
non-believers for many years. They were still Jews and continued to be Jews. Yeshua did not teach
anything that was not Jewish.
They also continued to observe the feasts and festivals which God had
commanded through Moses: Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of
Weeks, the Feast of Tabernacles, others.
The most important Holy Day they kept was the Sabbath. It was most important
because God had given them so many: an average of fifty-two per year (the Jewish calendar is a
lunar calender, so there are 1-2 fewer sabbaths per year than on the Gregorian
calendar), as opposed to the other holy days which occur only once
a year. The Sabbath is a reminder of the creation, to be observed with rest just
as God rested from His work. Yeshua faithfully observed the Sabbath, as did
Paul. In fact, in Acts 20:7, when the believers in Troas gathered together on
the first day of the week to break bread (have a meal together), this was a
very Jewish custom! Since the Jewish day begins at sunset, this "first day of the week" was what we refer to as Saturday
evening. And it was (and still is) Jewish custom for the men of the synagogue to
gather for a service at the end of the Sabbath. So when the writer of Acts
states that Paul preached until midnight, what we might have considered a
marathon sermon of twelve to fourteen hours was actually only about four to five
hours.
Blue Letter Bible
PART FOUR
TRADITION
THE WRITERS [OF THE BIBLE] ARE HEBREW, THE CULTURE
IS HEBREW, THE RELIGION IS HEBREW, THE TRADITIIONS ARE HEBREW, AND THE CONCEPTS
ARE HEBREW.
David Biven /
Roy Blizzard Understanding
the Difficult Words of Jesus, pg. 22
If Jesus (Yeshua) and Paul worshipped and taught on the Sabbath, why do we
worship on Sunday? Yeshua didn't tell us to. Paul and Peter didn't tell us to.
GOD didn't tell us to. MEN started this tradition very late in the first
century, after more and more Gentiles had been converted to the Way. Then Sunday
worship was mandated by the Council of Nicaea in about 375 A.D., and the common
practice has been to follow the directive of the Catholic
Church ever since.
The tradition of Easter as a
commemoration of Yeshua's resurrection also goes all the way back to this first
Council of Nicaea (not to the first century). The "church" decreed that
Yeshua was raised on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring.
"Easter" is derived from the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring,
Eostre, which came from "Ishtar," the Babylonian and Assyrian "mother of
all life." Is this the kind of tradition we want?
"Many of the festive customs of the Saturnalia were transferred to the Christmas-New Year
holiday," about the same time as the celebration of Easter was begun. Saturnalia
was a pagan festival relating to the rebirth of the sun at the winter solstice
when the days began to grow long.
"Why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your
TRADITION?" (Matt.15:6,
Mk.7:13). Call Easter a remembrance of Yeshua's resurrection if you wish, but
Yeshua did not ordain it.
What (it is commonly believed) He began and did ordain had already been a
part of Jewish life for over a thousand years. When He observed His final
Passover, Yeshua indicated that two particular portions of it are a remembrance
of Him, of His sacrifice for man. Some say that Jesus did away with the
Passover. If He had, that remembrance could no longer be there! Yeshua IS
our Passover Lamb! If He had abolished it, the writer of Acts would not
have mentioned the Days of Unleavened Bread during Paul's third journey
about twenty-five years after Yeshua's time on earth had ended.
The very fact that we believe that Yeshua was sacrificed for the forgiveness
of our sins is recognition of a JEWISH ritual. To deny a Jewish background for
our faith is to deny the very foundation of our hope of salvation. If it were
not for a Jewish
savior, and opportunity for Gentiles to be grafted in to
the root which is the faith of Abraham, how could Gentiles approach the mercy
seat of God?
Blue Letter Bible
PART FIVE
YESHUA -- OUR MATSAH
The Bread of Life, broken for you,
was born in the House of Bread
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE JEWISH TO BE NOURISHED BY
JESUS' BREAD, BUT TO BECOME A NEW TESTAMENT SCHOLAR IT IS ESSENTIAL TO ACQUIRE A
SOUND KNOWLEDGE OF ANCIENT JUDAISM ... THERE IS NO NEED TO FEAR JESUS'
JEWISHNESS.
Prof. David
Flusser (Hebrew University,
Jerusalem), "Jerusalem
Perspective," vol 2, no 9, 1989.
The passover is rife with symbols of the Messiah. Yeshua did
not simply pick up a loaf of bread which had been casually placed on the table.
In the Passover that Yeshua observed, and that Jews still practice today, there
are three loaves of unleavened bread, or matsah, stacked and placed in a
cloth covering. Matsah is full of symbolism for today's believer in
Yeshua.
Leaven (yeast) is a symbol of sin or corruption. Yeshua was without sin.
Before the bread is baked, it is flattened and pierced several times with a
sharp instrument to prevent it from bubbling from the heat. "And they shall look
upon me whom they have pierced." (Zech. 12:10)
During the baking process, the matsah becomes mottled with brown
spots which appear as rows (or stripes) between the piercings. "And with His
stripes we are healed." (Is. 53:5)
Three loaves are used. To the Jew, they represent the priests, the Levites,
and the Israelites. To the believer in Yeshua, they represent the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit of God because of a curious custom. During the course
of the meal, the middle loaf is removed, broken in half, one half wrapped in a
napkin and hidden until near the end of the meal. This is the point in the meal
where Mark 14:22 (KJV) tells us, Yeshua "took bread, and blessed, and brake it,
and gave to them, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.'" (Hopefully you see
the symbolism in all this. Space does not permit explanation of each fine point.
The small white square pieces of unleavened bread which many churches use simply
do not compare with real matsah!)
Notice Mark said He "blessed," not "blessed it." Today, the same
Jewish blessing that Yeshua spoke almost two thousand years ago is still
pronounced over this bread: "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the
universe, who brings forth bread from the earth." The emphasis is on blessing
God, the Creator, not the bread, the creation.
During the passover meal, it is customary to drink four cups of wine. The
third is called the cup of blessing. Paul mentioned this in I Cor. 10:12. This
is the cup over which Yeshua said the blessing, "Blessed are You, Lord our God,
King of the universe, creator of the fruit of the vine," and then pronounced to
be His "blood which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
Yeshua, our bread of life, was born in the "House of Bread," Bet
Lechem, (Bethlehem)
Unleavened -- without sin.
The middle loaf -- the son.
Pierced -- "With His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53
Broken -- Crucified.
Hidden -- will be revealed at the last day.
Blue Letter Bible
PART SIX
ROSH HASHANAH
The Birthday of the World and the
Beginning of Judgment
FOR A GENTILE TO HAVE A RIGHT RELATION TO GOD, HE
MUST HUMBLY ACCEPT AND APPRECIATE A JEWISH BOOK, BELIEVE IN A JEWISH LORD, AND
BE GRAFTED INTO A JEWISH PEOPLE, THEREBY TAKING ON THEIR LIKENESS THROUGH A
COMMONLY SHARED STOCK.
Dr. Marvin
Wilson, "Our Father Abraham," 1989, pg. 16
Rosh HaShanah, literally "head of the year," is the first day of the Jewish
month of Tishri , which usually begins during the month of September. It
is called the Jewish New Year, but it was not instituted as such in the Law
which God gave to Moses. It is treated as the beginning of the religious year,
while the month Nisan , which usually begins in March, is the beginning
of the secular year.
In the Book of the Law, God commanded a day of rest, "a memorial proclaimed
with blast of trumpets." It is a time for remembrance and repentance,
preparing for the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur , ten days later. Rosh
HaShanah, according to legend, is the day on which God began the
creation.
The biblical trumpet, or shofar (which means hollow), is made
from the horn of a kosher animal, one which chews the cud and has
cloven hooves. But it cannot be from a cow, because of the golden calf which the
people made while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Law. It is usually made
from a ram's horn.
The shofar is significant in the history and the future of Israel. A
shofar was blown when Moses received the Law. The congregation of the
people is called by the blast of the shofar. Rams' horns were blown for
the destruction of the city of Jericho. Gideon and
three hundred men, each with a shofar, routed an army of 135,000
Midianites. (Imagine waking to the sound of 300 trumpets, each playing a
slightly different note, in the middle of the night.) A trumpet was blown when
the foundation of the second temple was laid (Ezra 3:10). A shofar was
blown on May 14, 1948, in Tel Aviv announcing the new state of Israel. It was
prophesied that a trumpet will be blown when the children of Israel are called
to return to "come and worship the Lord in the holy mountain at Jerusalem." (Is.
27:12-13). Paul may have been thinking of this prophecy when he wrote, "the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be
changed." (I Cor. 15:52) Here's another Jewish tradition which Gentile believers
look forward to with hope and expectation without realizing it or understanding
why.
Something else about
the Last Trumpet
Blue Letter Bible
PART SEVEN
YOM KIPPUR
The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord
is Coming
THE CHURCH IS BURDENED
WITH AN UNRESOLVED IDENTITY PROBLEM. SADLY, MOST CHRISTIANS ARE UNAWARE THAT A
PROBLEM EXISTS. YET MANY ILLNESSES OF THE CHURCH, BOTH PAST AND PRESENT, ARE A
RESULT OF OUR NOT KNOWING WHO WE ARE IN JESUS.
David Biven, "Yavo Digest," vol.
1. no. 1
Yom Kippur* is the holiest day of the Jewish year. It was
commanded by God as a day of repentance, a time to remember the sins of the past
year, and to ask for forgiveness, first from one another, and only afterwards
from God. This is what Yeshua meant in the disciples' prayer when He said that
we should ask God to forgive us in the same manner that we forgive others. The
holy day is to be spent fasting in order that we may concentrate on God and our
relationship with Him, and with our fellow man. No work is to be done, no
concessions to creature comfort such as cosmetics, anointing the body with oils,
taking a bath simply for pleasure, etc.
Kippur is from the Hebrew word for covering; this is the Day
of Atonement, the day of covering, when we should seek to be "at-one" with God,
a time for soul-searching.
Yom Kippur symbolizes a future day of judgment, the "great and
terrible day of the Lord. "
Too often in the life of a "Christian," we think that it is unnecessary for
us to sacrifice, to fast, to reflect on the sins of the past year, because Jesus
is our redeemer, our savior, our propitiation, our high priest before God. We
feel, "Hey, Jesus saved me! Now I'm free! I don't have to worry about all that
stuff in the law, because I'm not under the law; I'm under grace." But did
Yeshua really teach that? Did Paul and Peter preach that?
Well, that certainly seems to be the teaching of many denominations of the
"Christian church." But John wrote in his first epistle that if we confess our
sins, He will forgive them. Yeshua said, "If you love me, keep my
commandments!" (John 14:15).
Yeshua said that the law would not pass away before the earth does, and that
anyone who keeps
the law and teaches men to do so would be called great in the
kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:18-19)
When Paul wrote that Messiah is the "end" of the law for righteousness, the
Greek work for "end" is telos, which could be more properly
translated "goal," as "something aimed at." Yeshua's life brought about the
fullness of the law which no one else could achieve.
In the account of the "rich young ruler" who asked Yeshua, "what shall I do
to inherit eternal life?", Yeshua told him that the first step was to keep
the commandments. (Lk. 18:20)
Yeshua also said that keeping the commandments is the
least that is expected of us. (Lk. 17:9-10)
"You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God, in
order to keep your tradition!" (Mk. 7:9, RSV)
*kih-POOR (KIP-per is a fish.)
Blue Letter Bible
PART EIGHT
THE LANGUAGE OF THE BIBLE
Hebrew? Greek? Latin? King
James English?
WITHOUT THE INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF HEBREW AND
RABBINIC SOURCES CONTEMPORARY WITH THE TIME OF JESUS, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FULLY
UNDERSTAND THE SAYINGS OF JESUS.
David Biven, "Jerusalem
Perspective," no. 6, March 1988
In order to understand many of the things which Yeshua said, we need to look
at the language, the culture, and the customs of the first century in the
regions of Judea and the Galilee. We don't pretend to understand the Early
English of Beowulf in ninth century England. So why do we claim to
understand, with our occidental minds, the significance of the oriental ideas
expressed in Yeshua's words gleaned from tertiary translations of the writings
of common tax collectors and fishermen and tentmakers?
It is a common belief that the entire New Testament was originally written
in Greek. However, there are ancient sources that say differently, and modern
translation techniques confirm this.
The language of the common people in first-century Jerusalem was Hebrew.
True, the Romans ruled, so undoubtedly Latin was in use. The influence of
classical Greece was felt strongly, and Greek was probably in wider use than
Latin. Although Aramaic was the lingua franca (the common language
used in trade and commerce) in the entire middle eastern region at an earlier
period, during the first century Hebrew was the primary language, both written
and spoken, in Judea, Samaria and the Galilee.
As proof, see II Kings 18:26. The King James Version calls Aramaic "the
Syrian language," and Hebrew "the Jews' language." Revised Standard Version --
"Aramaic" and "the language of Judah." New American Standard Version --
"Aramaic" and "Judean."
The angels at Bethlehem didn't sing...that is, they didn't SAY, "Gloria in
excelsis Deo." It was probably something more like, "Kavod ba'm'romim
l'Elohim, uva'aretz shalom bivneh Adam r'tzono."
The Hebrew word, Amen, appears 99 times in the Greek
gospels.
The Aramaic word, abba, which can be loosely translated as
"daddy," became just as much a Hebrew word as "Papa" (from French and Latin) has
become an English word. "Loaned" or borrowed" words such as these from another
language will certainly confuse archeologists and anthropologists studying the
United States two thousand years from now. Even "archeology" and "anthropology"
are from Greek.
Other evidence of Hebrew writing is found on coins and tomb inscriptions
dating from the period. Also, the Dead Sea Scrolls, written about the same time,
are almost completely in Hebrew. "The most telling evidence of the scrolls is
found in the sectarian scrolls and the commentaries on the biblical scrolls. In
the sectarian scrolls, the ratio of Hebrew to Aramaic is nine to one, but all of
the commentaries are in Hebrew.
"It is impossible to conclude that a commentary on the Scripture would be
written in a language other than the popular language of the people." (Blizzard, "Yavo Digest," Vol. 1,
No. 2, 1987)
When Paul addressed a crowd in Jerusalem in Acts 22, he spoke Hebrew. Now,
these people knew which language they spoke! They weren't THAT ignorant! When
they meant Aramaic, they said Aramaic or Syriac.
Blue Letter Bible
PART NINE
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE HEBREWS
Attested to by the
Early Church Fathers AND Modern Translation Methods
THE AUTHORS OF GOD'S WORD--VIRTUALLY EVERY ONE OF
THEM A JEW--HAVE A PROFOUNDLY HEBRAIC PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE AND THE WORLD. IF WE
ARE TO INTERPRET THE BIBLE CORRECTLY, WE MUST BECOME ATTUNED TO THIS HEBRAIC
SETTING IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST.
Dr. Marvin Wilson, Our Father
Abraham, pg. 9
It is a common belief that the Gospels, as well as the remainder of the New
Testament, were originally written in Greek. However, several early Christian
writers tell of a Gospel "according to the Hebrews." The earliest of these was
Papias, ca. A.D. 167, who records, "Matthew compiled the sayings of Jesus in the
Hebrew tongue, and everyone translated them as well as he could." (Church
History, 3:39) Irenaeus just a few years later writes, "Matthew published a
written Gospel for the Hebrews in their own tongue." Perhaps one of the most
dramatic accounts is by Jerome, who translated the Scriptures into Latin while
living in Bethlehem about A.D. 400. On one occasion, he speaks of "the Gospel
according to the Hebrews" which "I have recently translated into Greek and
Latin."
Modern translation of the Synoptic Gospels (synoptic from the Greek meaning
view together; Matthew, Mark and Luke relate many of the same incidents and
parables in Yeshua's ministry) confirms that the basis of all three may have
been a single document. The late Dr. Robert Lindsey, Pastor Emeritus of
Jerusalem's Narkis Street Baptist Congregation, was one of the leading
translators in Israel until his recent death. He wrote in his book, A
Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark, that while attempting to
translate the Greek text of the New Testament into a badly-needed modern Hebrew
version, "To my surprise the preliminary study of the Greek and idiom was more
like Hebrew than literary Greek. This gave me the frightening feeling that I was
as much in the process of 'restoring' an original Hebrew work as in that of
creating a new one."*
*Quoted by Blizzard in "Our Jewish Roots," tape lesson #52.
Blue Letter Bible
PART TEN
HEBREW IDIOMS
JESUS' TEACHINGS ARE EXCLUSIVELY WITHIN JEWISH
VALUES AND TEACHINGS. MODERN CHRISTIANITY, OF WHICH THERE ARE MORE THAN 21,000
DIFFERING STRANDS, DOES NOT ADHERE TO MANY OF JESUS' ORIGINAL TEACHINGS ...
EARLY CHRISTIANITY WAS AN INTEGRAL PART OF JUDAISM OF THE PERIOD. JESUS...NEVER
INTENDED TO EITHER ABANDON JUDAISM, OR TO CREATE A NEW RELIGION. THE CREATION OF
THE INDEPENDENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH OUTSIDE THE FRAMEWORK OF JUDAISM TOOK PLACE
MANY YEARS LATER BY THOSE WHO NEITHER KNEW THE MAN JESUS, NOR THE MEANINGS OF
HIS DIFFICULT NATIVE HEBREW.
Opher Segal, Yavo Digest, vol. 5, no.
6
An idiom is an expression peculiar to a language, not readily understandable
from the meaning of its parts, as "to put up with" (tolerate, endure). When an
idiom is translated verbatim to another language, serious consequences can
ensue. For example, when Pepsi-Cola tried to convert the slogan "Come alive with
the Pepsi generation" into Chinese, the message emerged as "Pepsi brings back
your dead ancestors."
Something similar happened when translations were made of the Bible, both
Old and New Testaments. For instance, the term "evil eye" has conjured up in the
western mind images of black magic, witchcraft, evil spells. But to the Hebrew
mind, this simply means someone who is stingy, and someone with a "good eye" is
a generous person. This was obviously a literal translation from Hebrew to Greek
to English, not an interpretation of the idea which the Jewish writer wished to
express.
Another word which causes confusion is the Hebrew word tzedakah.
Tzedakah means "what is right, just, normal;" it means "righteous."
Usually translated "righteousness," it is commonly interpreted as charity. Rabbi
Hayim Halevy Donin states in his book, To Be a Jew, "Every person is
required to give tzedakah according to his means. Even a poor man who is
himself a recipient of tzedakah is required to give tzedakah even
if he can only give a little. His little is as worthy as the greater sums given
by the rich." (Sound familiar? See Mark 12:42-44)
Other Hebrew idioms in the New Testament are:
"His name was called . . ." (Lk. 2:21) -- his name was (cf. Is.
9:6)
"He lifted up his eyes on . . ." (Lk. 6:20) -- he looked at
"he . . . set his face to go to . . ." (Lk. 9:51) -- he turned toward
"Lay these sayings in your ears." (Lk. 9:44) -- announce to you
"Cast out your name as evil" (Lk. 6:22) -- malign you
"He answered and said unto them . . ." (Mat. 13:37) -- he answered them
Beginning a sentence, a paragraph, or even a book, with the word "and" is
very Hebraic. 47 of the 50 chapters of Genesis begin with "And" (the Hebrew
letter vav). Compare the chapters1 in:
Mark -- 15 of 16 (and 12 chapters in KJV
begin with "and")
Luke -- 22 of 24
the Pauline epistles -- 23 of 71 (but the original language of these was
Greek).
And no fewer that fifteen BOOKS of the Old Testament in Hebrew begin with
the letter vav.
Considering the difficulty in understanding some of the Hebraic idioms, it
should be evident that a knowledge of Hebrew is necessary in order to fully
understand the Gospels. "Even inspired translating will not overcome a lack of
understanding of the Gospel's Hebraic and Jewish background."2
1The New Testament in Hebrew and English, from The
Society for Distributing Hebrew Scriptures, Edgware, Middlesex,
England.
2David
Biven, "Jerusalem Perspective," July 1989.
Blue Letter Bible
PART ELEVEN
BAPTISM
It's Really a JEWISH
Thing!
IN THE COMING OF JESUS OF NAZARETH AND THROUGH THE
NEW COVENANT SET IN MOTION BY HIS DEATH, THE RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL ASPECTS OF
MOSAIC LAW WERE NO LONGER TECHNICALLY BINDING. YET THEY COULD HAVE BEEN OF
SPIRITUAL VALUE FOR THE GENTILE BELIEVERS. THAT IS, ALTHOUGH THEY WERE NOT
MANDATORY FOR A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, THEY COULD HAVE HELPED THE GENTILES
TO UNDERSTAND THEIR FAITH PROPERLY.
Dr. Marvin Wilson, Our Father
Abraham, pg. 27
1.) John the Baptist invented baptism.
2.) There are several ways baptism can be performed.
3.) The 3,000 saved on the Day of Pentecost could not possibly all have been
baptized by immersion that day in Jerusalem.
Wrong! Wrong! and WRONG!
1.) Ritual cleansing is as old as the Law which God gave to Moses. Strict
regulations for washing after many situations which made a person ritually
unclean are outlined in Leviticus (i.e.: touching the carcass of an animal,
childbirth, leprosy, etc.). Some details, such as the size of the ritual
immersion bath or mikveh, are spelled out in the Mishnah,"
commonly called the Oral Law, commentaries on the Written Law. For instance, the
mikveh must contain at least 120 gallons. If it contains 120 gallons
minus one spoonful, it isn't kosher (proper, right). It must be mayim
chaim, "living water," (moving); preferably a stream or larger body of
water, but mikvehs were constructed in almost every village, many using
reservoirs for their water supply.
2.) This baptism is, then, obviously, by immersion. However, in Judaism, no
one ever immersed anyone else; baptism is self-administered. The person being
baptized enters the mikveh, stands with feet apart, hands out in front,
fingers spread, eyes and mouth open, and dips him-/herself under the water. The
position which John held was that of witness. Someone must verify that every
hair goes completely under; otherwise, the cleansing is not kosher.
3.) Archeological excavations in Jerusalem in recent years have uncovered a
complex of forty mikvehs at the southern end of the Temple Mount which
could easily have permitted the immersion of 3,000 on the Day of Pentecost.
Blue Letter Bible
PART TWELVE
THE NEW ISRAEL
Is Really the Same OLD
Israel
IF THE FIRSTFRUIT IS HOLY, THE LUMP IS ALSO HOLY:
AND IF THE ROOT IS HOLY, SO ARE THE BRANCHES. AND IF SOME OF THE BRANCHES ARE
BROKEN OFF, AND YOU, BEING A WILD OLIVE TREE, ARE GRAFTED IN AMONG THEM, AND
WITH THEM PARTAKE OF THE ROOT AND FATNESS OF THE OLIVE TREE, DO NOT BOAST
AGAINST THE BRANCHES. BUT IF YOU BOAST, YOU DO NOT BEAR THE ROOT, BUT THE ROOT
BEARS YOU. YOU WILL SAY THEN, THE BRANCHES WERE BROKEN OFF, THAT I MIGHT BE
GRAFTED IN. WELL; BECAUSE OF UNBELIEF THEY WERE BROKEN OFF, AND YOU STAND BY
FAITH. DO NOT BE HIGH-MINDED, BUT FEAR; FOR IF GOD DID NOT SPARE THE NATURAL
BRANCHES, TAKE HEED LEST HE ALSO DOES NOT SPARE YOU.
Rom.
11:16-2.
Anti-Semitism is rampant in our churches today. It is called "Replacement
Theology," and says that the Church is the "New Israel," that Israel has been
rejected by God. It completely ignores promises which God made to Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob about 4000 years ago. It denies statements made by Paul in his letter
to the Romans, and by the writer of Hebrews. In short, it denies the Bible as
the authoritative word of God.
Space does not permit a list of every promise made by God to Israel, but
here are a few:
To Abraham, God said, "I will establish my covenant between me and you and
your descendants....for an EVERLASTING covenant." (Gen. 17:7, RSV)
And, "Your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I
will establish my covenant with him as an EVERLASTING covenant for his
descendants." (v. 19)
Isaiah 45:17 -- "Israel is saved by the Lord with EVERLASTING salvation."
(RSV)
Isaiah 54:7-8 -- "For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great
compassion I will gather you. In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face
from you, but with EVERLASTING love I will have compassion on you, says the
Lord, your Redeemer."
Jer. 32:37,40 -- Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which
I drove them....I will make with them an EVERLASTING covenant, that I will not
turn away from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of me in their
hearts, that they may not turn from me."
Ezekiel 37:38 -- "Then the nations will know that I the Lord sanctify
Israel, when my sanctuary is in the midst of them FOR EVERMORE."
Numbers 23:19 -- "God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that
he should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will
He not fulfill it?"
Malachi 3:6 -- "For I the Lord do not change."
Blue Letter Bible
PART THIRTEEN
ADOPTED SONS OF ISRAEL
Abraham's Spiritual
Descendants
A CURSORY LOOK AT THE BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY
REVEALS A CHURCH THAT WAS MADE UP EXCLUSIVELY OF JEWS. INDEED, THE CHURCH WAS
VIEWED AS A SECT WITHIN JUDAISM, AS THE BOOK OF ACTS MAKES CLEAR IN REFERRING TO
EARLY FOLLOWERS OF JESUS AS "THE SECT OF THE NAZARENES" (Acts 24:4).
Dr. Marvin Wilson, Our Father
Abraham, pg.41
Those who teach today that Israel is no longer God's chosen people seem to
miss completely the teaching of the eleventh chapter of Romans. While Paul says
that some of the people of Israel have not followed God, this is a one-way
separation. God has not left them! They have stumbled, but not fallen! But
because of this stumbling, "salvation has come to the Gentiles, in order to make
Israel jealous." (v. 11 -- see Deut.
32:21)
If their stumbling brings riches to the world, how much greater riches will
Israel in its fullness bring them! (v.12)
(V. 16ff) If the root (of the cultivated olive tree -- Israel) is holy, so
are the branches (the children of Israel). But if some of the branches were
broken off, and you (Gentiles), a wild olive were grafted in among them and have
become equal sharers in the rich root of the olive tree, then don't boast as if
you were better than the branches! But if you do boast, remember that you are
not supporting the root, the root is supporting you... If God did not spare the
natural branches, He certainly won't spare you!
Paul didn't believe that Israel was "cut out of God's Last Will and
Testament," so to speak. When we say anything contrary to God's will concerning
His chosen people, we stand in judgment of the promise He made to Abraham: I
will bless them that bless you and curse them that curse you. (Gen._12:3)
This doesn't mean that everything an individual Jew does is blessed by God,
or even what might be done by the state of Israel; it refers to the nation of
Israel as God's people. And denying that they are still His
people is Blasphemy!
Blue Letter Bible
PART FOURTEEN
OUR GREEK RELIGION
Church versus Congregation, Christ
versus Messiah
JESUS WAS A JEW, NOT A CHRISTIAN OF GENTILE ORIGIN. HIS
TEACHINGS, LIKE THOSE OF HIS FOLLOWERS, REFLECT A DISTINCT ETHNICITY AND
CULTURE. THE EVIDENCE FOUND IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS ABUNDANTLY CLEAR: AS A
MOTHER GIVES BIRTH TO AND NOURISHES A CHILD, SO HEBREW CULTURE AND LANGUAGE GAVE
BIRTH TO AND NOURISHED CHRISTIANITY.
AT THE TIME OF PETER, JAMES, JOHN, AND PAUL, A MAJOR QUESTION CONFRONTED THE
PRIMITIVE CHURCH. THE QUESTION WAS NOT WHETHER JEWS COULD BELONG TO THIS NEW,
SPIRIT-BORN COMMUNITY (cf. Joel 2:28-29); INSTEAD, THE ISSUE WAS WHETHER
GENTILES COULD, UPON REPENTANCE OF SIN, BELONG TO A TOTALLY JEWISH COMMUNITY.
THE NEW TESTAMENT EVIDENCE IS IRREFUTABLE ABOUT THE BEGINNINGS OF THE CHURCH: IN
ITS ORIGIN, CHRISTIANITY WAS JEWISH TO THE VERY CORE.
Dr. Marvin Wilson, Our Father
Abraham, pgs. 12, 43
Yeshua was a Jew. Every person who wrote a book in what we call the Bible,
both Old and New Testaments, was a Jew. (Some claim that Luke was not a Jew, but
there is scholarship which believes that he was converted to Judaism.) It is
written that Yeshua and Paul taught in synagogues on the Sabbath. They spoke
Hebrew. Most of the Old Testament and quite a bit of the New (including numerous
passages quoted from the Old) were originally written in Hebrew. Yeshua and His
disciples, including Paul, observed the Jewish Holy
Days. The first church in Jerusalem and many other cities were comprised
entirely of Jews.
So why is so much of Christianity today from Greek Origin? The very words,
Jesus, Christ, church, eucharist, baptism, apostle, deacon, and even synagogue
are from Greek. Why don't we say Yeshua, Messiah, qahal, Pesach, taval,
shaliach, shammash and bet knesset? Or better yet, we could actually
translate them so that they could be understood in our native language:
Salvation, anointed one, congregation, passover, immersion, emissary, servant,
and meeting house.
Our Greek religion, riddled with Greek, Roman, Babylonian, Egyptian, and
other pagan practices, bears little resemblance to the holy way of life which
God intended for His people. Consider the possibility that, if we were to do
Bible things in Bible ways and call Bible things by Bible names, the miracles
and mighty works done by prophets and apostles of old might be done today!
What simpler homage could we pay to our Savior than to use the name that He
was given in the language of the people He chose to bring salvation to the
world.
Modern-day Jews who have put their faith in Yeshua consider themselves
"Messianic Jews." For those not obviously born of Jewish parents, but who wish
to observe Jewish customs and holy days, I propose the term "Jewish Messianist."
The suffix "-ish", meaning "characteristic of or tending to"; "-ian", meaning
"belonging or adhering to"; and "-ist", meaning "one who practices, or a
believer in." Therefore, a "Jewish Messianist" would be "one who tends toward
(being) a Jew, and adheres to a belief in the Messiah," the anointed one of
Israel, Yeshua of Nazareth.
Anyway, why can't all believers be Hebrew "Messianists" instead
of Greek "Christians?"
*Funk and Wagnalls
Standard Desk Dictionary (1984) defines "Gentile" as:
"n. 1. Among
Jews, one not a Jew. 2. Among Christians, a heathen or pagan. 3. Among Mormons,
one not a Mormon." Strong lists goy/goyim translated 30 times as
"gentile" and 371 times as "nation/nations." It is my intent here to be
considered as viewed from the Jewish standpoint per Funk and Wagnalls.
Let's Talk. E-mail me at johnwebb2272 (at) yahoo.com
Blue Letter Bible
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Last edited 19
January 2005 -- 9 Shevat 5765
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