The Bible, Israel, and Antisemitism: Part 7: The Beginning of the Divide
Jesus was a Jew. So were all His apostles. So were the first 3,000 converts to Christianity on the day of Pentecost. How then did hostility develop between Jews and Christians that would eventually evolve into antisemitism?
John the Baptist and Jesus were not out to start a new religion. They stood in the tradition of the prophets, wanting to retain the foundations of the Abrahamic faith while correcting errors that had crept into it.
As I noted in the last blog, Jesus saw most of Judaism positively. The gospels focus on the few flashpoints between Jesus and Judaism. Though the conflicts were few, they were deep. Jesus’ criticisms weren’t surface scratches but called for surgery of the heart of Jewish religious practice.
The most inflammatory was Jesus’ teaching on Sabbath observance. Jesus prioritized human life – loving your neighbor – over ritualistic restrictions (e.g. Mark 2.27-28, 3.4). His focus on the spirit of the law over against mere ritualism expanded to criticism of numerous Jewish practices (cf. the entire Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-8); Jesus’ criticism of traditions (e.g. Matthew 23; Mark 7.8,15,20-21) and elevation of tradition over Scripture (e.g. Matthew 15.3, Mark 7.6-8,13)).
The straw that broke the camel’s back was Jesus’ claim that He had a right to criticize Jewish religious tradition as the Son of God sent to bring “the lost sheep of Israel” back to the truth from their waywardness. Though Jesus was cheered on and accepted by many Jews, Jewish authorities feared Jesus’ rising popularity would slide into revolutionary politics and endanger the extremely delicate balance of peace with Rome. The Jewish authorities in collaboration with the Roman procurator crucified Jesus as a political criminal to keep the peace.
After Jesus died and rose again, the apostles proclaimed his resurrection, and the book of Acts records repeated opposition from certain Jewish authorities who viewed the movement as threatening, in Jerusalem (Acts 4.1-21, 5.17-42, 6.8-15, 7.54-8.3, 9.29, 12.1-5), in Syria (9.1-2, 9.23-25), and finally throughout the Roman empire (Acts 13.6-8,45,50; 14.1-7,19; 17.5-9,13; 18.5-6,12-17; 19.9; 20.3; 21.27-32; 22.22-24,30; 23.12-15; 24.1-9; 25.2-3). I listed here every verse in Acts describing opposition from Jewish authorities to the Christian movement to illustrate how common it was. Because the Roman government later (and famously) persecuted the church, we often imagine that they were the main persecutors from the start. But more often than not we find Roman officials protecting the apostles, not persecuting them. Acts records only two accounts of Gentile persecution of Christians (Acts 16.19-24; 19.23-41), and neither involves Roman authorities.
Despite hostility from zealous Jewish opponents, Acts presents Paul as always trying to reach “the Jews first”, right up to the last chapter in the book (Acts 28.17-31).
More on the next steps of the divide in the next blog…
John the Baptist and Jesus were not out to start a new religion. They stood in the tradition of the prophets, wanting to retain the foundations of the Abrahamic faith while correcting errors that had crept into it.
As I noted in the last blog, Jesus saw most of Judaism positively. The gospels focus on the few flashpoints between Jesus and Judaism. Though the conflicts were few, they were deep. Jesus’ criticisms weren’t surface scratches but called for surgery of the heart of Jewish religious practice.
The most inflammatory was Jesus’ teaching on Sabbath observance. Jesus prioritized human life – loving your neighbor – over ritualistic restrictions (e.g. Mark 2.27-28, 3.4). His focus on the spirit of the law over against mere ritualism expanded to criticism of numerous Jewish practices (cf. the entire Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-8); Jesus’ criticism of traditions (e.g. Matthew 23; Mark 7.8,15,20-21) and elevation of tradition over Scripture (e.g. Matthew 15.3, Mark 7.6-8,13)).
The straw that broke the camel’s back was Jesus’ claim that He had a right to criticize Jewish religious tradition as the Son of God sent to bring “the lost sheep of Israel” back to the truth from their waywardness. Though Jesus was cheered on and accepted by many Jews, Jewish authorities feared Jesus’ rising popularity would slide into revolutionary politics and endanger the extremely delicate balance of peace with Rome. The Jewish authorities in collaboration with the Roman procurator crucified Jesus as a political criminal to keep the peace.
After Jesus died and rose again, the apostles proclaimed his resurrection, and the book of Acts records repeated opposition from certain Jewish authorities who viewed the movement as threatening, in Jerusalem (Acts 4.1-21, 5.17-42, 6.8-15, 7.54-8.3, 9.29, 12.1-5), in Syria (9.1-2, 9.23-25), and finally throughout the Roman empire (Acts 13.6-8,45,50; 14.1-7,19; 17.5-9,13; 18.5-6,12-17; 19.9; 20.3; 21.27-32; 22.22-24,30; 23.12-15; 24.1-9; 25.2-3). I listed here every verse in Acts describing opposition from Jewish authorities to the Christian movement to illustrate how common it was. Because the Roman government later (and famously) persecuted the church, we often imagine that they were the main persecutors from the start. But more often than not we find Roman officials protecting the apostles, not persecuting them. Acts records only two accounts of Gentile persecution of Christians (Acts 16.19-24; 19.23-41), and neither involves Roman authorities.
Despite hostility from zealous Jewish opponents, Acts presents Paul as always trying to reach “the Jews first”, right up to the last chapter in the book (Acts 28.17-31).
More on the next steps of the divide in the next blog…