The Jewishness of Jesus: a discipleship question
At the time when the Gospels were written (about two generations after Jesus' birth), believers were expressing themselves in Jewish terms. Even Christians without a Jewish background were familiar with Jewish traditions such as Passover and the Jewish Scriptures. Since Jesus and his first followers were Jews, the traditions about Jesus (which we catch glimpses of through the four Gospels) were not only set in a Jewish context, but also incorporated Jewish metaphors and embodied Jewish ideas. Any non-Jew who became a Christian not only learned, but also celebrated Jewish tradition.There is a movement afoot (we'll call them Bell-ites) to get (back?) in touch with the Jewishness of Jesus and the Jewishness of Scripture.
On the one hand, there is no doubt that the Gospel gains a new dimension when interpreted in light of Jesus' Jewishness and the Jewishness of its authors. For example, in the book of John, it is powerfully fascinating to pay close attention to the links between the events of Jesus' ministry and the Jewish festivals - shedding interpretive light on Jesus actions and words just as Jesus' actions and words shed interpretive light on Jewish festivals.
On the other hand, could this put undue (unrealistic?) expectations on new believers who don't know what mercy is... much less midrash?
posted by Andrea @ 11:42 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I've wondered similar things like, "Should I know as much as N.T. Wright to be a true disciple?"
Then I see Jesus praising the woman who gave two pennies and the guy who gives a cup of water in His name. It's certainly not all intellectal (although some of the intellectuals might be tempted to make it seem that way).
Have fun at seminary ;-)
I love this picture. Is it yours?
Is the Jewishness of Jesus have more than a hermeneutical function? It seems like for Bell-ites it is mostly about interpreting the Bible.
But the Jewishness of Jesus seems more to do with his role as the fulfiller of the covenant and therefore points back to location in the history of Isreal. To put it more badly: God became a Jew. This fact should affect our picture of God and therefore is relevant for discipleship, which includes knowing the God whom we are following. What is does it look like to follow this kind of God?
Accordingly, the weakness of the Bell-ites may not be that they ask to much, but that they don't go far enough: grasping that we worship and serve the God of Israel who became an Israelite to save the Gentiles.
I'm glad to see bloggers like you and John kicking the tires on this movement (at his blog there's a great investigation of the implications of the jewishness of Jesus).
Seems like some of the pressure on the tires should be let out (lest we become gnostic about "jewish roots" being the secret knowledge of God's word)... but as long as the wheels get us rolling in the right direction I'm as into it as anyone.
Shalom-Aloha
I hear you on this one Andrea. This is something that I've been trying to hash out while going through my M.Div. program. I think that as Christian leaders it is much more crucial to have a strong cultural/historical understanding of the scriptures so that what we teach is truth. For example, let's use the ol' Laodicean church as an example. Some Christian leaders refer to the hot and cold temperatures as a description of a person's spiritual fervor. I've talked to people genuinely think it's better not to be a Christian than to be a "lukewarm" Christian who struggles with living their faith within their daily lives.
If they understood that the hot and cold waters were refering hot springs and cool waters that were both beneficial to the city of Laodicea then they would understand that the "hot and cold" refer to usefulness. A lukewarm Christian within the context is someone that isn't beneficial or fruitful to those around him/ or her.
When do they need to know that info? Perhaps when they start going down the wrong road? We can be a guide to those that seek to know more and for those that ask questions and dig deep. I think we can heap coals on our disciples heads when we throw out knowledge for no apparent reason or to show how much we know. I think one of the challenges of being a teacher is exercising restraint and knowing when to share info. What do you think?
Hi Andrea,
Just found your blog tonight. Forget now how, but have enjoyed reviewing your posts and others responses. I especially enjoyed the heads up re: the Jewish emergent deal. Wow! I am a recovering program based pastor who has now swung over to the other side of the pendulum to home church. What a relief! Re: the Jewishness of Jesus, I have been a participant in a Hebrew roots bible study now for almost eight years. Abba has been revealing some of the most interesting insights as we look at Scripture through the lens of the Hebrew life before and during the life of Jesus. One of your respondents noted that most of our interest is in Bible study. Not true, to a person all of us enjoy the study but our purpose after is take the insights gained and put them into practice 24/7. One thing we have learned is a Hebrew perspective of education could be summed up like this: study to do, do to teach. Paul said, "follow me as I follow Christ." In the church we study to teach, with doing being an option. I'm new to blogging so this is probably way to long. Keep up the good work! Newcreation7.
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