Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

(Acts 21:27-31). Soon after, more than forty Jews swear an oath to assassi-

nate him (23:12-15). At the end of Acts, the leaders of the Jewish commu-

nity in Rome greet him coolly but ask to hear more about “this sect

(hairesis)...everywhere spoken against” (28:22). The response of Jews to

Paul’s message about Jesus is mixed; some accept it, but most reject it.

Throughout Luke-Acts, Israel remains divided. Is the work “anti-Jewish”?

The label is no less dubious than when applied to Paul. Yet, although there

is no overt supersession of Israel by Gentiles, no “true” or “new” Israel to

replace the old one, there is a supersession of Israel’s ethnically exclusive

covenantal election.

The Gospel of Matthew was written around the same time as Luke-Acts

and draws on Mark and Q as the two-volume work does. It was composed

in and for a community of believers in Jesus that considered itself Jewish in

every respect — ethnic, cultural, religious. Located perhaps in Antioch or a

city such as Caesarea, Sepphoris, or Scythopolis, it was in fierce competition

with Pharisaic Judaism in a nearby synagogue community. The Jewishness

of the Matthean community is reflected in several subtle but noticeable

ways, such as the omission of Mark’s explanation of Jewish customs and of

the Markan narrator’s comment that Jesus “declared all foods clean.” More

overt examples of Matthew’s limning of Jesus’ Jewishness include a geneal-

ogy that traces his ancestry to Abraham (Matt. 1:1-17) and an extensive ty-

pological correspondence between Jesus and Moses drawn in the infancy

narrative, the Sermon on the Mount, and other passages. Like Moses in the

books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, Jesus is a liberator who has come to set

his people free from their bondage and to give them the Torah anew. The

Matthean Jesus does not nullify the Torah; he is its true and final inter-

preter. In a saying unique to Matthew, Jesus says,

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I

have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven

and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass

from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one

of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same,

will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your

[Torah-based] righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:17-20)

On the negative side, Matthew underscores the distinction or even

separation of his community from Pharisaic Judaism by referring to “their

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Early Judaism and Early Christianity

EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:04:18 PM