Breaking the Chains

Page 22

In the time of Jesus, Judaism was disunited and split into different groups: Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, etc. Sadducees belonged to the priestly class of Jerusalem, and although they had less authority with the people than the Pharisees their influence in the time of Jesus should not be underrated. The Sadducees had an important say in the Sanhedrin: the highest religious and judicial authority. Sadducees did not continue to exist after the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. The Pharisees (separated ones) probably originated during the Maccabean period. They were a religious organization made up of laymen from various walks of life. Pharisees believed in strict devotion to the Torah, resurrection of the dead, and the Davidic Messiah - who would establish his government in Jerusalem and destroy the power of the heathen. The Zealots, who conducted an insurrectionary war against Roman occupation forces, had objectives that were religious and political: the attainment of a Jewish theocracy, the rule of the Messiah, and the annihilation of the heathen. Sadducees, Pharisees, and Zealots could be discovered among the scribes. Scribes expounded the Torah (Law) and gave guidance on every day existence. They were a respected class of teachers. Scribes wore the long robe of the scholar, sat in a place of honour in the synagogue, and were called rabbi.

Like the Pharisees the Essenes were engendered in the 2nd century BC when the Maccabees, who founded the high priestly Hasmonean line in 153 BC or 152 BC, usurped the office of high priest - the Law maintained no man who was not of priestly descent from Aaron should be high priest. Essenes are said to have set up a monastic community at Qumran between 143 BC and 104 BC. The Qumran sect looked forward to the overthrow of the wicked priests of Jerusalem and the institution of their own community as the true priesthood. The Essenes of Qumran imagined themselves to be the Sons of Light, who would at the end of time engage in cataclysmic war with the Sons of Darkness. One of the most significant written works of the Essenes is known as the War Rule. Its theme is the war of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness. According to the War Rule the war between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness will last for 40 years. An angelic host will join the elect, while the devil and the evil angels will fight alongside the Sons of Darkness. The victory of the Sons of Light will signal the final destruction of evil, after which YHWH will rule everlastingly in justice.

Before moving on to consider Christianity, it can be noted that according to their own traditions the people of Israel are entitled to see themselves as a special people.

All four Gospels acknowledge in John the Baptist the dawning of the Christian era. Matthew identifies John as ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness’ forecast in Isaiah chapter 40. Mark likewise recognizes John as Isaiah’s ‘voice of one crying in the wilderness’. Luke too views John as ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness’. The Gospel of John has the Baptist declare ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness’. John’s formative years were spent in the Judaean desert, where individual hermits and monastic communities (like the Essenes) frequently educated the young in their own principles. He attained public notice as a prophet circa 28 AD. The location of his ministry was the Judaean desert and Jordan steppes. John’s message was to all classes and ranks. His proclamation was that Yahweh’s furious judgment on the world was imminent, and he baptized those who repented in self-preparation for it. Some time after baptizing Jesus, John was imprisoned by Herod Antipas. Herod considered John to be politically dangerous and had him executed. According to the Gospels, John’s death preceded the death of Jesus. John was killed earlier than Herod’s defeat by king Aretas IV (father of Herod’s first wife) of the Nabataeans in about AD 36.

Christians know Jesus through the Gospels. Four Gospels are recognised: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Since the 1780s the first three have been known as the Synoptic Gospels. The word Synoptic is derived from the Greek synoptikos: seen together. Two sources are proposed for these three Gospels. Source one is the Gospel of Mark. A great deal of Mark reappears in Matthew and Luke. Matthew and Luke use a second source for the sayings found in common in both of them (Q). Two other sources are assumed for material exclusive to Matthew (M) and material exclusive to Luke (L). All three Synoptic Gospels were originally anonymous. It was a dubious 2nd century AD claim that made immediate disciples (or their companions) responsible for them. The Synoptic Gospels were probably composed between AD 70 and AD 100. Investigation of the Gospels by scholars such as Bultman has shown they are assembled from small, independent elements (pericopes) formerly without any relation to each other; the Gospel writers probably joined these individual pieces together to create the impression of a connected chain of events. The Gospel of John is very different from the Synoptic Gospels. Internal evidence allows the conclusion that it was written by a ‘beloved disciple’ whose name is unknown. In this Gospel it is the Jews who are the opponents of Jesus. It was composed about AD 100. Neither the Synoptic Gospels nor the Gospel of John can be considered reliable sources of information for the life of Jesus.