Comment: Jesus the Stranger
This is a story of two competing Middle Eastern religious movements in the first century CE, a small Jewish sect based in Jerusalem and a new mystery religion in the Jewish Diaspora. One faded into oblivion some two hundred years later while the other grew to be the basis of faith for more than two billion people today.
Jesus Movement
The Jesus Movement – Jesus, his family and his supporters – grew from the teachings and pronouncements of Jesus, an early first century devout Jewish rabbi. Like all devout Jews he advocated strict adherence to the Torah – circumcision, food laws, Sabbath adherence, Jewish moral laws – to be in a right standing with God. This was the way to combat the dominance of the ever-encroaching Hellenistic culture with Roman occupation and Roman Pax Romana. The Jesus Movement was based in Jerusalem.
Three major Jewish groups, the Pharisees, Essenes (Dead Sea Scrolls communities), and Zealots, resisted the degradation of Judaism and their special covenant with God in different ways. The Pharisees, though compliant, taught Torah and its adherence amongst the people, particularly the poor. They were much respected and admired as a result. The Essenes withdrew to exclusive communities like Qumran, while the Zealots took up armed resistance against the occupation. Another way, from a long history of apocalypicists, was to announce the imminent end-time when a new “kingdom of God” would replace Roman occupation with a glorious rule of God and Israel. Jesus was one of those.
Jesus’ family and supporters saw him as a teacher, preacher and prophet, even a messiah, but still very human. They continued Jesus’ teachings through the Jesus Movement under the leadership of his brother, James, after his sudden and surprising death. Like Jesus, they were part of Judaism; adhered to Torah; and attended Jewish religious services. Male babies continued to be circumcised as part of being Jewish and being part of this movement. The Jesus Movement was fully a sect within Judaism.
Eventually the Jesus Movement faded within an environment of Jewish local political upheavals and failures of Roman resistance. The Ebionites were the last representatives of the Jesus Movement and, ironically, they were branded as heretics by the soon-to-be orthodox form of Christianity. The original teachings of Jesus were effectively expunged.
Christ Movement
Paul never met Jesus. Some twenty to thirty years after the death of Jesus, Paul started the Christ Movement from his perceived post-death experience of Jesus. He evangelised throughout the Jewish Diaspora based on his interpretation of Jesus’ death as the risen Christ. His teachings had little to do with the physical life of Jesus.
The Christ Movement appealed to gentiles, “god-fearers” (gentiles who worshipped with Jews) and, even to some Diasporan Jews, by rejecting traditional Jewish practices and beliefs including male circumcision and dietary restrictions. Salvation now became belief in the risen Christ instead of righteousness through traditional practices as specified in the Torah. Paul’s strong rejection of Judaism became the intellectual basis for much of Christianity’s anti-Semitism over the years. As well as laxer religious practices, Paul’s Christ movement also offered familiarity to gentiles with its many similarities to the Hellenic mystery religions – Christ as a deity returning to life after human death; mystical experiences; and ritual secrecy. Paul specifically targeted pagan Gentiles, “god-fearers” and, Hellenistic Jews.
Ultimately Paul’s teachings became the basis for orthodox Christianity some three hundred years later.
Christians and Jesus Today
Jesus was closer to an orthodox Jewish rabbi spooking dire apocalyptic warnings than today’s Christian imagings. Traditional Christians envisage a Pauline-type risen Christ for their salvation. Progressive and liberal Christians advocate an inclusive, liberal-minded sage to suit our modern sensibilities.
Christians today are more removed than just 2000 years from the historical Jesus. Instead of worshiping the historical Jesus, most Christians would see him as some sort of religious extremist, if not a crank.
Alex McCullie
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