Don't Know Much About the Bible - Kenneth C. Davis [169]
Telushkin’s view is echoed by the Reverend Peter Gomes, who has examined the issue of Christian anti-Semitism, particularly in the writings of Paul. In The Good Book, he convincingly repudiates the Bailey Smiths of the world: “Paul’s argument is that the cross of Jesus is to Gentiles what the Torah is to Jews, and that both are means of salvation and righteousness. In other words, Jews need not become Christians to obtain the promises—in the Torah they already have the promises as Jews. By the same token, Gentiles need not become Jews and subscribe to the law…and because of the cross of Jesus do not need to do so. Paul’s argument is for an inclusive God who has provided for both Jews and Gentiles….” (pp. 116-117)
What a lot of Christians still don’t get is that Jesus was a Jew. So were his disciples and so was Paul. Jesus’ moral and ethical code was tied to strict Jewish Law, and some of his teachings, such as those about divorce, were even more stringent than Jewish Law. His condemnation of some Pharisees as “hypocrites” wasn’t a blanket rejection of his own religious background. Jesus often preached that the spiritual life was more important than mere obedience to a careful set of rules and regulations. Jesus said, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles” and “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart.” These words have been viewed as a rejection of strict dietary law. Jesus cared more about inner spiritual holiness than outward, symbolic purity. On several occasions, he broke the Sabbath law by healing on the Sabbath. He cited the prophets when he said that God preferred “mercy to sacrifice,” meaning that the ideals of justice, charity, forgiveness, and love of neighbor were far more important than going through the motions of obeying laws and then behaving badly.
Many people have tried to reduce Jesus to a nutshell, a handful of convenient aphorisms and cute pious slogans—an “Idiot’s Guide to Salvation.” It’s not that simple. Jesus elevated forgiveness. His teachings on mercy and social justice are meant for everyone. In one memorable passage he explained that whenever anyone fed the hungry, clothed the naked, or visited the sick, they were doing the same to Jesus himself. In one of his many comments on the “Kingdom of God,” he said that it is within each person, a simple yet profound notion that takes some of the majesty out of all the cathedrals in the world.
But when asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus answered as a devout Jew with the Great Commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Then he added a second: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
BIBLICAL VOICES
But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:24)
MILESTONES IN BIBLICAL TIMES VI
THE EARLY CHURCH
c. 37 The first Christian martyr, Stephen, a Jewish follower of Jesus, is stoned to death for blasphemy. Among those present is a Pharisee named Saul.
41 After a despotic eleven-year-reign, Caligula is murdered and succeeded by the crippled nephew of Tiberius, who rules Rome as Claudius.
42 Judea’s King Herod Agrippa orders the death of the apostle James, son of Zebedee, the first of the original twelve disciples to be martyred.
c. 45 Saul/Paul sets out on his missionary travels.
47 In Antioch, Syria, home of one of the earliest churches, the word “Christian” is coined.
49 Emperor Claudius expels Jewish Christians from Rome.
54 Claudius is murdered at the orders of the empress Agrippina.
Her sixteen-year-old son rules Rome as the emperor Nero.
54/58? Paul’s “Letters to the Corinthians” are written.
58 Paul is arrested.
62 Paul is held under house arrest in Rome but then he