Download Origins of Christianity

© 2008
During a time of cruel oppression of the Jews, splinter sects
spring up who believe the Apocalypse is at hand.
by Rabbi Ken Spiro
The century-and-a-half that followed the completion of the Mishnah
corresponds to a period in history when the Roman Empire adopted
Christianity – a move that had a severe impact on the Jews. However,
before we tell that story, we must go back in time to the first century CE,
when the Temple still stood.
As we might recall from class #31, from the time of the invasion of the
Romans and particularly following the persecutions of the sages by King
Herod the Great, the Jewish people were in turmoil. Soon nationalistic
feelings would erupt in the Great Revolt, and the Jews would be fighting the
Romans as well as each other.
In this atmosphere of tension – when the Jewish people were yearning for a
leader who would help them throw off the Roman yoke – the seeds of what
would later become known as Christianity were first sown.
1
Messiah
When Jews yearn for a savior, they are yearning for the Messiah.
It is important to realize that the notion of the Messiah was not invented by
Christianity. It is an ancient Jewish idea – one of the Thirteen Principles of
Faith within Judaism.1 This idea is recorded numerous times in the various
books of the prophets, including Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah and Ezekiel.
(Indeed, throughout Jewish history, strong leaders arose and for a time
where mistaken for the Messiah. But when the so-called Messiah did not
fulfill the prophecies – by bringing world peace, etc. – it became clear he
was not the right one.)
The English word Messiah, comes from the Hebrew word mashach which
means “anointed.”2 The Mashiach, then, is God’s “Anointed One.” This, for
example, is how the Book of Samuel relates the anointing of David as king:
Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him [David] in the midst of
his brothers, and the spirit of God rested on David from that day on.3
Throughout the Bible we see numerous examples where God would
designate individuals for kingship by sending a prophet to anoint them with
oil. While numerous personalities in the Bible are called “anointed,” there is
only one who is called the anointed – the Messiah. The Jewish definition of
Messiah is a Jewish leader (without question, a human being), descended
from the line of King David (that is, from the tribe of Judah), with the Torah
knowledge and the leadership ability to bring all the Jewish people back
from exile to the Land of Israel. His task is to rebuild the Temple, bring
world peace and elevate the entire world to the realization of one God. The
1
The Thirteen Principles of Faith are based on the teachings of Maimonides and encompass the basic
philosophy of Judaism. The twelfth principle states: “I believe with complete faith in the coming of the
Messiah, and even though he may delay, nevertheless I anticipate every day that he will come.”
2
A description of the anointing oil is found in the Book of Exodus (30:22-30): “God spoke to Moses saying:
‘Now, take for yourself choice spices... pure myrrh, fragrant cinnamon... fragrant cane... cassia... and a hin
of olive oil. Of it you shall make oil of sacred anointment. With it you shall anoint the Tent of Meeting and
the Ark of the Covenant... You shall anoint Aaron and his sons and sanctify them to minister to Me.”
3
1 Samuel 16:13.
2
great medieval scholar Maimonides gives a concise description of the
Messiah:
The king Messiah will arise and restore the kingship of David to its
former state and original sovereignty. He will rebuild the sanctuary
and gather the dispersed of Israel. All the ancient laws will be reinstituted in his days... Do not think that the king Messiah will have
to perform signs and wonders, bring anything new into being, revive
the dead, or do similar things. It is not so...
If there arises a king from the House of David who meditates on the
Torah, occupies himself with the commandments... observes the
precepts prescribed in the Written and Oral Law, prevails upon Israel
to walk in the way of Torah... fights the battles of the Lord, it may be
assumed that he is the Messiah. [But] if he does these things and
succeeds, rebuilds the sanctuary on its site, and gathers the
dispersed of Israel, he is beyond all doubt the Messiah. He will
prepare the whole world to serve God together.4
The Prophet Isaiah, whose prophecy on this subject is perhaps the best
known, describes the Jewish messianic vision with these words:
In the days to come, the mountain of God’s house shall stand firm
above the mountains and tower above the hills. And all the nations
shall stream to it. And the many peoples shall go and say: “Come, let
us go up to the Mount of God, to the House of the God of Jacob –
that He may instruct us in His ways, that we may walk in His paths.”
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither
shall they learn war anymore... [At that time] the wolf shall dwell
with the lamb, the leopard lie down with the kid, the calf and the
beast of prey shall feed together with a little child to herd them.5
4
Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings, Chapter 12. For sources for these points in the order listed
here see: Genesis 49:10; Deuteronomy 17:15; Numbers 24:17; Genesis 49:10; 1 Chronicles 17:11;
Psalms 89:29-38; Jeremiah 33:17; 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Isaiah 2:4; ; Isaiah 11:1-12; Isaiah 27:12-13; Isaiah
40:5; Micah 4:1; Micah 4:3; Zephaniah 3:9; Ezekiel 37:24-28.
5
Isaiah 2:3-4, 11:6.
3
Since the notion of a person who will redeem the Jewish people is a
fundamental, philosophical part of the Jewish worldview, it is not surprising
that the expectation of that redemption always appears at times of crisis.
Indeed, the sages say that the Messiah will be born on the 9th of Av, the
worst date in the Jewish calendar when terrible disasters (including the
destruction of the First and Second Temples) befell the Jewish people.
The Book of Ezekiel, for example, talks of a final showdown – the War of
Gog and Magog – a terrible war when all the nations turn against the Jews.6
According to one possible scenario, this is when the Messiah is expected to
come and usher in the final redemption.
This is why, when times are very bad, the Jewish people are prone to think
that the final showdown is now. It’s always darkest before the dawn. If it
looks like things couldn’t get worse, then the Messiah must be right around
the corner.
Dark Time
The Roman occupation was such a dark time in Jewish history. Some of the
most brilliant of the rabbinical sages had been murdered by Herod.
Corruption had crept into the Temple hierarchy. Jews had split into three
major groups: the wealthy Sadducees (many of them were kohanim, the
priests), who denied the authority of the Oral Law, pledging allegiance to
Rome; the fanatically religious and nationalistic Zealots ready to battle
Rome to the death in a suicidal war; and the mainstream Pharisee majority,
still loyal to Torah and Oral Law, caught in between.
Out of this chaotic time – marked by virulent anti-Semitism and cruel
oppression of the Jews – were born a number of splinter sects, whose
members believed that the Apocalypse was at hand. Finding a receptive ear
among the disfranchised, these sects preached that the ultimate battle of
good versus evil would soon be fought, followed by the messianic
redemption of humanity.
The Dead Sea Sect – which became famous in modern times after the
discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, and which may or may not
6
Ezekiel 38:1-16 and Zechariah 12:1-3.
4
have been associated with the Essenes – was one such sect, but there were
many others.
The teachings of these sects did not catch on in any significant way among
the Jews. In the same way that the Jews usually rejected foreign religions,
they also rejected attempts to tamper with the inner workings of Judaism.
Nevertheless, at this tumultuous time, the Jews were more susceptible than
ever before. The countryside was alive with charismatic healers and
preachers, and people flocked to them hoping to hear prophecy that the
years of strife and suffering were at an end.
The one who would become most legendary, was Joshua, or Jesus, who
later in history came to be called Christ, which is Greek for Messiah.
It is outside the confines of this course to describe the beginnings of early
Christianity under Jesus. Currently, there exist approximately 2,700 books
in print on the subject, many of them written in recent years discussing the
issue of the historical Jesus versus the legendary Jesus, and debating what
he said or did not say and what can be said of him with any certainty.
(For those interested, one good source is a highly readable book by the
award-winning British biographer A. N. Wilson, Jesus: A Life, which
thoroughly analyzes all the data and throws in a fair amount of fascinating
speculation as well.)
Historically speaking, very little is known. The authors of the Christian
Gospels, beginning with Mark (generally dated at around 60 CE) all lived
after the accepted date of Jesus’ death (generally dated between 30 and 34
CE). There are several references in the Talmud to various personalities of
whom the rabbis disapproved, and some have speculated that one or more
of these references are to Jesus. The closest possibility is Yeshu HaNotzri,7
but there are several problems with this idea:
First, there are at least two characters in the Talmud with the name Yeshu
HaNotzri. Second, according to Jewish chronology, these two individuals
7
Although Yeshu sounds close to Yoshua and Notzri is the modern Hebrew word for Christian, connecting
this Yeshu to Jesus is very problematic especially since some authorities consider the name Yeshu to be
nickname and not the name of a real person. (References to the name Yeshu can be found in Talmud,
Tractates Brachot 17b and Sanhedrin 43a, 103a; see also Rashi on Brachot 12b, on Rosh HaShanah 17a,
and on Yoma 40b.)
5
lived about 300 years apart and neither lived at the time of Jesus. The first
Yeshu lived at the time when Joshua Ben Perahjah led the Sanhedrin (circa
150 BCE) and, therefore, predated Jesus according to Christian chronology
by at least 150 years. The second Yeshu lived sometime during the 2nd
century CE, about 100 years after the death of Jesus. Finally, the limited
narrative we do find in the Talmud8 about Yeshu does not match anything
from the Christian Gospels.
One would expect – if Jesus was at all influential in his time – the great
Jewish historian Josephus would have devoted considerable space to him.
In all of Josephus’s writings there is but one mention of Jesus,9 and this
single reference is considered by virtually all scholars to have been inserted
into the original text by Christian monks who copied such texts for church
libraries.10
The best we can say with certainty is that the Christian world does agree
that Jesus was a Jew who was familiar with the Torah, observed the “Law of
Moses” and taught many of its precepts, though he also departed from
some of them.
One of the most famous of his teachings consists of two Torah quotations
that were staples of Judaism and echoes the emphasis of the rabbinic
teachings of his era. Asked to name the greatest commandment, Jesus, as
cited by Matthew, replies:
“Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law
and the prophets hang on these two commandments.”11
8
It is important to mention that these references (see Talmud, Tractates Sanhedrin 43a, 67a, and Sotah
47a) are not found in most modern editions of the Talmud. In medieval Europe and during the
Renaissance, the Talmud was subject to censorship and on several occasions it was publicly burned.
When the printing press was invented (in 1453) the Christian printers who printed the Talmud, printed only
the censored versions. Anything perceived as anti-Christian or anti-Gentile was left out. Today, even
though no such censorship exists, these passages have, in most editions, not been re-inserted back into
the text of the Talmud. There is a small book entitled Chesronot HaShas (“That Which is Missing from the
Talmud”) which contains all the missing parts of the Talmud.
9
Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, 18:63-64, (The New Complete Works of Josephus, p. 590).
10
The most likely author of this reference is Eusebius, the 4th century Bishop of Caesarea. The reason for
such an insertion into the text is obvious. The lack of any mention in Josephus (who misses nothing in this
time period) was very problematic for Christianity. Eusebius inserted a short reference to Jesus in the text
of Josephus’s Jewish Antiquities to cover up his glaring absence.
11
Matthew 22:37-40.
6
Of course, “love the Lord, your God, with
soul and with all your might” is a
Deuteronomy.12 “Love your neighbor as
Leviticus.13 These teachings predated Jesus
all your heart and with all your
quotation from the Book of
yourself” is from the Book of
by some 1,300 years.
As already mentioned, the Christian Gospels, which are said to record the
teachings of Jesus, were written in Greek many years after his death, which
took place some 40 years before the destruction of the Temple.
Jews for Jesus
Who were the Jewish followers of Jesus?
The members of the Jesus sect were clearly religious Jews who believed
that Jesus was the Messiah. They could not have believed that Jesus was
“god” and remained Jewish, as such a belief would have been complete
idolatry in Jewish eyes and would have appeared closer to the Greco-Roman
pagan beliefs where gods took on human form and had relations with
humans.
At any rate, the Jesus sect, like numerous other sects in the Land of Israel,
would certainly have died out even if its members had survived the revolts
against Rome in the first and second centuries. (The Pharisees survived and
evolved into the Orthodox Jews of today in part due to the vision of their
leader, Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai as we saw in class #34.)
So where did all the Christians comes from? Indeed, where did Christianity
come from?
For the answer, we must look at another colorful personality who appeared
on the scene after the death of Jesus, and who is given the credit by
virtually every historian of Christianity for spreading the message of Jesus
worldwide, if not fashioning Christianity for the consumption of the pagan
world.
He was a Jew – originally known as Saul – who became famous in
Christianity as “Saint Paul.”
12
13
Deuteronomy 6:5.
Leviticus 19:18.
7