|
We must always be vigilant whenever we hear expressions of "anti-Semitism," especially from those who claim they are followers of Yeshua the Messiah... Recently I listened to a sermon on the resurrection delivered by a well-known evangelical minister who repeatedly made various anti-Semitic statements during his sermon. For example, this preacher said, "The Jews had tried to get rid of Jesus since he first arrived; they tried, when he was just a young child, to get rid of him by pulling off a mass murder of all the male children in the Bethlehem area. They pronounced curses on him; they ascribed him to demonic power in efforts to discredit him... they used injustice to sentence him, false witnesses to tell lies about him, blackmail against Pilate to get him executed... and bribery to silence the truth of the resurrection." The preacher went on to decry the lies of "the Jews," collectively blaming them for their unbelief and treachery, lamenting their deceptive tactics, and so on. It was grievous for me to hear this...
Friends, we must learn to think clearly and to get our terms properly defined before we make such inflammatory statements. Certainly not all of the Jewish people rejected Jesus and his message, and indeed the Jews became his first followers and many even died for their faith in him. Nevertheless I became alarmed as I listened to this popular preacher emphatically saying that "the Jews" sought to murder Yeshua when he was just a young child -- referring of course to Herod's murder of the children as described in Matthew's gospel -- without understanding that this heinous decree did not originate from the Jewish people but rather from a psychopathic despot who was not even ethnically Jewish (Herod "the Great" was an "Idumean," that is, a descendant of Esau, and a puppet of pagan Rome). To say or even insinuate, then, that "the Jews" tried to murder Jesus in this case is therefore both inaccurate, inflammatory, and based on ignorance. It is like saying "all Germans were Nazis," or "all African Americans are democrats," or "all who study the Torah are legalists," or some other racist or obtuse generalization.
I do not want to belabor this point, but it is essential that we learn to think clearly and be careful when we draw our conclusions from the Scriptures. The general term "the Jews" as used in the New Testament (οἱ ᾽Ιουδαῖοι) needs to be qualified to understand what is meant by that word in a given context. Meaning is always determined by context. After all, Jesus himself was a Jew, born the "King of the Jews," his family was Jewish, his first followers were all Jews, and many of the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" believed in him. Moreover Jesus plainly said, "Salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22). Remember that the early "church" was a Jewish movement and it was considered scandalous that a Gentile could find salvation at all! Keep in mind that genuinely Christian theology is firmly rooted in the Jewish Scriptures and that the message of the gospel is impaired and even lost if the church forgets that it is "grafted in" to the covenants, promises, and blessings given to the Jewish people (Eph. 2:11-12).
So pastors and teachers -- be careful with your words. Learn to identify your theological assumptions and how they affect our thinking. This admonition should be obvious enough, though it is all too common for people to make misjudgments because they devalue the effort required to carefully (and honestly) think through an issue. As William James once said, "A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." When it comes to questions about the gospel, however, God regards such carelessness to be blameworthy (Acts 17:30-31). Brothers and sisters, we have an "epistemic duty" to think clearly and to use right reason (2 Tim. 2:15). Again, the LORD holds us personally accountable for what we think, believe, and say -- especially when it comes to the reality and mission of His Son (Matt. 7:21-23; 12:36-37).
False teachers inevitably "twist the Scriptures" by offering unsound interpretations contrary to the ruach, or spirit of the Hebrew prophets, and by evading the commandment to "rightly divide" the word of Truth according to basic logic and clear thinking (2 Tim. 2:15; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; 3:16). In Christian circles, they often come in the name of the law (legalism) or in the name of grace (licentiousness), but rarely do they take the trouble to carefully (and equitably) work through the paradoxical tensions. False teachers are uncomfortable humbly confessing they don't know something, and therefore they are quick to style themselves as an infallible prophet or source of authoritative wisdom...
There is no substitute for taking the time and energy to humbly study Torah, friends, and we should be suspicious of those who claim special insight when it is evident that they have not really labored working through the Scriptures... All disciples of Yeshua are called "students," or talmidim (תלמידי×), a word that comes from lamad (לָמַד) meaning "to learn" (the study of Scripture is called talmud Torah (תַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה) from the same root). Among other things, then, following Yeshua means becoming a student of the Jewish Scriptures that he both loved and perfectly fulfilled (Matt. 5:17-18; Luke 24:44-45). Only after learning the truth of the Scriptures will you be equipped to "go to all the nations and teach" others (Matt. 28:19). This is accomplished not merely by explaining (propositional) doctrine but by kiddush HaShem -- sanctifying the LORD in our lives (1 Pet. 1:15-16). "You shall know them by their fruits..."
Let me add that the problem of generalization is not restricted to statements made about "the Jews" in the Gospels, but is really a challenge we face throughout Scripture. For instance, the word "law" (i.e., νόμος, "nomos") has a range of semantic meanings in Koine Greek and therefore should not automatically be regarded as an equivalent for the term "Torah" (תורה). As I've explained over the years, the word "Torah" is derived from the verb yarah (ירה) meaning to "shoot" (as an arrow), or to indicate direction. It is therefore a general term that refers to instruction or guidance, and should be carefully distinguished from other Hebrew words such as "commandment" (i.e., mitzvah: מצוה), "statutes" (i.e., chukkim: חקי×), "judgments" (i.e., mishpatim: מש×פתי×), and so on. To traditional Jewish thinking, the legal aspect of Torah is generally called halakhah (from halakh: הָלַךְ, "to walk") and includes the ideas of case law (i.e., takkanah: ×ªÖ¼Ö·×§Ö¼Ö¸× Ö¸×”), custom (ie.., minhag: ×žÖ´× Ö°×”Ö¸×’), and the use of tradition (i.e., masorah: מָסרֶת) as expressed within the Oral Law. The legal aspects of Torah have roots in the system of judges (i.e., shoftim: שּ×פְטִי×) that Moses commissioned (Exod. 18:13-24; Deut. 16:18, 19:17-18, etc.) and in the Bet Din (בֵּית דִן), or religious system of justice that culminated in the supreme court (or great assembly) of Israel called the Sanhedrin (×¡Ö·× Ö°×”Ö¶×“Ö°×¨Ö´×™×Ÿ). So you see, then, that saying "the law" is this or that must be carefully qualified lest you generalize and speak untruth...
In light of this, it is "awkward" that the ancient Jewish translators of the Scriptures (i.e., the Septuagint) chose to use the word "law" (i.e., nomos) for the word Torah, since this can easily lead to misunderstanding about the meaning of the Torah. From a new covenant point of view it is crucial to distinguish between the language of commandment and the language of covenant. We are not "under the law" in terms of the Sinai covenant, but that does not mean we are without Torah or are "lawless" people (Matt. 5:17-19). Again, we must be careful to make the proper distinctions in Scripture lest we fall into serious error. God tests our hearts, friends, as we read and study the Scriptures. Humbly ask Him for wisdom and remember to be honest that sometimes we just don't have all the information to form an dogmatic conclusion about a particular issue. Shalom.
Some Related Topics:
|
