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The Judaisms of Jesus’ Followers: An Introduction to Early Christianity in its Jewish Context
The Jewish sect which ascribed Jesus the title of Messiah was eventually transformed into a non-Jewish movement wholly separated from its Jewish context. The transformation was not instantaneous, and there were deviating or at the least parallel streams of Jesus supporters early on. A critical mistake which has been made, in my opinion, is the assumption that the Jesus movement was uniform even among its early Jewish followers. Analyzing the original movement(s) in the first centuries of the Common Era can reveal how the schism between Judaism and Christianity evolved. This book explores the fascinating world of Jewish life in the Second Temple Era and the Jewish groups that endorsed Jesus' messianic claims.
301 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 3, 2018
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January 23, 2021
Much of the other works by Gutierrez that I have been reading have focused mostly on Jewish Tradition (he is Jewish after all). Here he turns his attention most directly towards Christianity itself (of which I subscribe). And I found so uch of this to be interesting and fulfilling in terms of the light he sheds on some of the history.
As is typical for his other works as well, he begins the discussion by highlighting the myth of uniformity, even within the Jewish sect of Christ followers. He writes, "A critical mistake which has been made, in my opinion, is the assumption that the Jesus movement was uniform even among its early Jewish followers", which, if we follow this assumption, can say much about how it is that Christianity came to so sharply distinguish and seperate itself from its Jewish identity and Jewish roots. This diversity is evident almost immediately in the Christian Bible, even as we look at the great and important Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 and the diversity represented around that table.
In truth, what scholarship can expose is that the general embrace of Jesus was primarily Jewish well into the developement of the early Church, and also made up of a diveresity of Jewish movements. Which is to say, the essential divide between Christendom and Judaism didn't happen until much later. As he writes, "Until recently, many theologians and historians have presumed that the parting of ways between formative Judaism and the nascent Christian movement occurred very early." Further, to speak to one of the outcomes of this assumption, "Another assumption behind this view is that the Jesus movement in its Jewish or even emerging Gentile forms was sufficiently different and incongruent with contemporary Jewish thought and practice to merit easy recognition early on." The idea that what we find in the Gospels is Jesus coming to condemn the Jewish Tradition has led to poor readings of the Gospel as well as misinformation on just how varied the Judaism Tradition actually was. Here the author makes an important distinction between the apocalyptic tradition that Christianity shares most in common with and the idea that the apocalyptic tradtiion never existed to demonstrate itself as less than Jewish or against the Jewish Tradition. "Each group maintained the authority and unique revelation of Israelite sacred texts. Each group contended that it was the real Israel that stood as the legitimate heir of the Israel reflected in those sacred texts. That being the case each group consented to the recognition of or at least existence of other competing Israels, albeit in a dependent and hierarchical manner. In the view of each sect, their Israel reflected the final reflection of God’s role and purposes for all Israel." It's only with later Christian development, which happens alongside the sharp distinguishing of Rabbinic Judaism, that these two sides come to such an embattled head.
If we can accept, as the author argues, that Paul is the central figure at the heart of Christianity's recognizable formation following Jesus' death and resurrection, or its focal point in terms of development, we can understand that "Christian theology classifies Pauline Christianity as the victorious element against the Judaizing tendency of Jews who supported Jesus’ messianic claims. As a result, classical theological perspectives on Torah or Judaism within Christianity, or on Jewish groups who endorsed Jesus as the Messiah for that matter, have been shaped through the sole medium of Pauline theology." This is why the New Perspective movement as given such strong attention to bringing us back to the Gospels as our focal point, as it is here where we can begin to reconcile some of the wrong assumptions that have emerged from these isolated readings (and misinpterpretations) of Paul's words and intent. So much of Protestantism has been formulated on a Paul first, Gospels second mantra, reading one from the lens of the other. In reality, we need the Gospels in order to properly understand Paul and his own Jewish roots. As the author posits, and I tend to agree, "our ability to comprehend Paul’s writings, with all their complexity and importance for the subject of Jesus oriented Judaisms, have been severely limited by centuries of theological presuppositions, biases, and a severe dilemma... Since its earliest days, the message propounded by Paul has engendered theological supercessionism, i.e., the view regarding the Christian body of faith as the legitimate heir to both Israel’s covenantal identity and relationship with God."
Equally so, we need a fresh understanding of the "Judaisms" that has embraced Jesus to begin to properly relocated Christianity within its Jewish roots. As the author argues, "Shaye Cohen proposes a definition that understands Jews (Judeans) of antiquity as an ethnos; that is, an ethnic group. Jews were a specified group and were recognized as directly or indirectly connected and attached to a specific territory. Jews shared a sense of both a collective and unique history and possessed one or more distinctive characteristics... A Jew or Jewess, then, was an individual who was connected to the history and heritage of ancient Israel and expressed this idea in cultural, ethnic, social, or religious forms in some level of distinction to other groups." So then, "Jewish ethnicity and Jewish praxis and not their theology, notably Christology, distinguished these groups from non- Jews who supported Jesus’ messianic claims." This is such an important distinction when it comes to discussing the later relationship between Jews and Christians in its sharply divided state.
Two of the central struggles that began to stake their claim on this divide were the increasing inclusion of Gentiles in the Jewish community (see the Jerusalem Council in Acts), and the continued challenges of the Diaspora, exasperbated later on by the final destruction of the Temple and the eventual rise of Rabbinic Judaism. This is what made the "true Israel" discussion so predominant, as following the exile, making sense of all these groups became very, very difficult. It's not suprising then to see the discussion of identity become such a dominant discussion in Jesus' day and in the life of the early Church. Leading up to Jesus' day, this was married to socio-political realities, including a dialect of resistance, conformity, and relationship to the powers. "The struggle to resist foreign rule was birthed from the earlier Maccabean struggle. The influences of Hellenistic culture, foreign to many Jews, were quickly felt. A growing tension between the lower stratums of society and those among the upper classes more inclined towards Hellenization occurred. These ideas and events set the stage upon which Jesus and his earliest followers would merge."
Convering these tensions, the author writes, "These diverse phenomena, which Neusner designates as Judaisms, can be viewed as a single Judaism because all Jews saw themselves as the heirs and continuators of the people of pre- exilic Israel... I believe Neusner’s perspective is most appropriate here, however, since later movements often saw themselves as legitimate successors of an ancient tradition to the exclusion of others, despite commons strands between them. One group often engaged with other groups in a bitter debate.... A Judaism, Jacob Neusner argues, is comprised of a worldview and manner of life that are expressed in the social world of a group of Jews... The identity of Jewish followers of Jesus centered on the Temple and Jerusalem."
If this is how we can understand the "Jewish" identity, then it becomes that much easier to locate Christianity as a distinctly Jewish movement. The author takes to time to set this in discussion with the diversity of Jewish sects, all with their ideas and expectations and thoughts in tow, and then eventually comes back around to paint a picture of a world in which many different sects would have been interacting with Jesus and this growing movement. If one could argume for a commonality, it would be that, "Monotheism and election were the fundamentals of all first century Judaisms. Both elements focused on one great hope. There was one God, and He would soon act to reveal Himself on behalf of the people of Israel. Israel would at last return from exile and paganism finally be uprooted. The restoration of the kingdom connoted the vindication of Israel, victory over the nations, peace, justice, and prosperity." This included the Jesus movement and describes much of the imagery we would find associated with the Jesus.
From here, the author spends time examining what exactly the shape of this movement from Jewish sect to Jesus follower would have looked like. He looks at this in line with ideas of the spirit, Jesus' claim to divinity, the expectations of Jewish Law and practice, the distnctives of Jewish life and Jewish Temple practice, belief systems surrounding manners of forgiveness and purity and vocation. If one word can color this it would be nuance, because as scripture itself shows, even figures like Peter and Paul were in dialogue with this stuff as faithful Jews who continued in Jewish customs. He gives this process its due because, "A critical aspect in appreciating the history of early Jesus oriented Judaisms is understanding how these Jews perceived themselves in connection with greater Jewish society. Belief in Jesus as the messiah is undoubtedly the primary distinction between them and their fellow Jews. How that belief manifested itself in the dynamics of community life is extremely important."
Where the author ends up is kind of full circle, coming back to this idea of the common assumption of an early divide between Christ followers and Jews. If this is not the case, as he shows by walking through much of the evidence of the early church fathers and writers and movements, then this should give us even more motivation to consider, and even reconsider the importance of this discussion.
As is typical for his other works as well, he begins the discussion by highlighting the myth of uniformity, even within the Jewish sect of Christ followers. He writes, "A critical mistake which has been made, in my opinion, is the assumption that the Jesus movement was uniform even among its early Jewish followers", which, if we follow this assumption, can say much about how it is that Christianity came to so sharply distinguish and seperate itself from its Jewish identity and Jewish roots. This diversity is evident almost immediately in the Christian Bible, even as we look at the great and important Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 and the diversity represented around that table.
In truth, what scholarship can expose is that the general embrace of Jesus was primarily Jewish well into the developement of the early Church, and also made up of a diveresity of Jewish movements. Which is to say, the essential divide between Christendom and Judaism didn't happen until much later. As he writes, "Until recently, many theologians and historians have presumed that the parting of ways between formative Judaism and the nascent Christian movement occurred very early." Further, to speak to one of the outcomes of this assumption, "Another assumption behind this view is that the Jesus movement in its Jewish or even emerging Gentile forms was sufficiently different and incongruent with contemporary Jewish thought and practice to merit easy recognition early on." The idea that what we find in the Gospels is Jesus coming to condemn the Jewish Tradition has led to poor readings of the Gospel as well as misinformation on just how varied the Judaism Tradition actually was. Here the author makes an important distinction between the apocalyptic tradition that Christianity shares most in common with and the idea that the apocalyptic tradtiion never existed to demonstrate itself as less than Jewish or against the Jewish Tradition. "Each group maintained the authority and unique revelation of Israelite sacred texts. Each group contended that it was the real Israel that stood as the legitimate heir of the Israel reflected in those sacred texts. That being the case each group consented to the recognition of or at least existence of other competing Israels, albeit in a dependent and hierarchical manner. In the view of each sect, their Israel reflected the final reflection of God’s role and purposes for all Israel." It's only with later Christian development, which happens alongside the sharp distinguishing of Rabbinic Judaism, that these two sides come to such an embattled head.
If we can accept, as the author argues, that Paul is the central figure at the heart of Christianity's recognizable formation following Jesus' death and resurrection, or its focal point in terms of development, we can understand that "Christian theology classifies Pauline Christianity as the victorious element against the Judaizing tendency of Jews who supported Jesus’ messianic claims. As a result, classical theological perspectives on Torah or Judaism within Christianity, or on Jewish groups who endorsed Jesus as the Messiah for that matter, have been shaped through the sole medium of Pauline theology." This is why the New Perspective movement as given such strong attention to bringing us back to the Gospels as our focal point, as it is here where we can begin to reconcile some of the wrong assumptions that have emerged from these isolated readings (and misinpterpretations) of Paul's words and intent. So much of Protestantism has been formulated on a Paul first, Gospels second mantra, reading one from the lens of the other. In reality, we need the Gospels in order to properly understand Paul and his own Jewish roots. As the author posits, and I tend to agree, "our ability to comprehend Paul’s writings, with all their complexity and importance for the subject of Jesus oriented Judaisms, have been severely limited by centuries of theological presuppositions, biases, and a severe dilemma... Since its earliest days, the message propounded by Paul has engendered theological supercessionism, i.e., the view regarding the Christian body of faith as the legitimate heir to both Israel’s covenantal identity and relationship with God."
Equally so, we need a fresh understanding of the "Judaisms" that has embraced Jesus to begin to properly relocated Christianity within its Jewish roots. As the author argues, "Shaye Cohen proposes a definition that understands Jews (Judeans) of antiquity as an ethnos; that is, an ethnic group. Jews were a specified group and were recognized as directly or indirectly connected and attached to a specific territory. Jews shared a sense of both a collective and unique history and possessed one or more distinctive characteristics... A Jew or Jewess, then, was an individual who was connected to the history and heritage of ancient Israel and expressed this idea in cultural, ethnic, social, or religious forms in some level of distinction to other groups." So then, "Jewish ethnicity and Jewish praxis and not their theology, notably Christology, distinguished these groups from non- Jews who supported Jesus’ messianic claims." This is such an important distinction when it comes to discussing the later relationship between Jews and Christians in its sharply divided state.
Two of the central struggles that began to stake their claim on this divide were the increasing inclusion of Gentiles in the Jewish community (see the Jerusalem Council in Acts), and the continued challenges of the Diaspora, exasperbated later on by the final destruction of the Temple and the eventual rise of Rabbinic Judaism. This is what made the "true Israel" discussion so predominant, as following the exile, making sense of all these groups became very, very difficult. It's not suprising then to see the discussion of identity become such a dominant discussion in Jesus' day and in the life of the early Church. Leading up to Jesus' day, this was married to socio-political realities, including a dialect of resistance, conformity, and relationship to the powers. "The struggle to resist foreign rule was birthed from the earlier Maccabean struggle. The influences of Hellenistic culture, foreign to many Jews, were quickly felt. A growing tension between the lower stratums of society and those among the upper classes more inclined towards Hellenization occurred. These ideas and events set the stage upon which Jesus and his earliest followers would merge."
Convering these tensions, the author writes, "These diverse phenomena, which Neusner designates as Judaisms, can be viewed as a single Judaism because all Jews saw themselves as the heirs and continuators of the people of pre- exilic Israel... I believe Neusner’s perspective is most appropriate here, however, since later movements often saw themselves as legitimate successors of an ancient tradition to the exclusion of others, despite commons strands between them. One group often engaged with other groups in a bitter debate.... A Judaism, Jacob Neusner argues, is comprised of a worldview and manner of life that are expressed in the social world of a group of Jews... The identity of Jewish followers of Jesus centered on the Temple and Jerusalem."
If this is how we can understand the "Jewish" identity, then it becomes that much easier to locate Christianity as a distinctly Jewish movement. The author takes to time to set this in discussion with the diversity of Jewish sects, all with their ideas and expectations and thoughts in tow, and then eventually comes back around to paint a picture of a world in which many different sects would have been interacting with Jesus and this growing movement. If one could argume for a commonality, it would be that, "Monotheism and election were the fundamentals of all first century Judaisms. Both elements focused on one great hope. There was one God, and He would soon act to reveal Himself on behalf of the people of Israel. Israel would at last return from exile and paganism finally be uprooted. The restoration of the kingdom connoted the vindication of Israel, victory over the nations, peace, justice, and prosperity." This included the Jesus movement and describes much of the imagery we would find associated with the Jesus.
From here, the author spends time examining what exactly the shape of this movement from Jewish sect to Jesus follower would have looked like. He looks at this in line with ideas of the spirit, Jesus' claim to divinity, the expectations of Jewish Law and practice, the distnctives of Jewish life and Jewish Temple practice, belief systems surrounding manners of forgiveness and purity and vocation. If one word can color this it would be nuance, because as scripture itself shows, even figures like Peter and Paul were in dialogue with this stuff as faithful Jews who continued in Jewish customs. He gives this process its due because, "A critical aspect in appreciating the history of early Jesus oriented Judaisms is understanding how these Jews perceived themselves in connection with greater Jewish society. Belief in Jesus as the messiah is undoubtedly the primary distinction between them and their fellow Jews. How that belief manifested itself in the dynamics of community life is extremely important."
Where the author ends up is kind of full circle, coming back to this idea of the common assumption of an early divide between Christ followers and Jews. If this is not the case, as he shows by walking through much of the evidence of the early church fathers and writers and movements, then this should give us even more motivation to consider, and even reconsider the importance of this discussion.
March 2, 2019
Overall, this is a very informative and excellent book. I think a lot of people tend to forget, thanks in large part to modern ideas about the roots of Christianity, that Jesus and his followers were Jewish, and that he preached, lived and died as a Jew. This book really highlights these facts and breaks down the events that happened, particularly after the death of Jesus, for readers who may not be aware of this.
I appreciated that the author managed to keep this book scholarly, but without making it so dry and academic that it was impossible for the layperson to read. If you are looking for a place to begin in your study of Jewish culture, this would be a good book to choose.
I appreciated that the author managed to keep this book scholarly, but without making it so dry and academic that it was impossible for the layperson to read. If you are looking for a place to begin in your study of Jewish culture, this would be a good book to choose.
December 31, 2019
A good resource that lacks a certain polish
Dr. Berajano provides a wealth of historical information on what the beginnings of the Christian church really looked like. The claims posited on this book make sense and are substantially backed up by historical texts from each period he tackles. It is however a it rough on the edges. It is not a particularly easy to read text and is more useful as a study resource and reference than anything else. I would still recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about the story of the church.
Dr. Berajano provides a wealth of historical information on what the beginnings of the Christian church really looked like. The claims posited on this book make sense and are substantially backed up by historical texts from each period he tackles. It is however a it rough on the edges. It is not a particularly easy to read text and is more useful as a study resource and reference than anything else. I would still recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about the story of the church.
January 8, 2019
Really well written and researched book
It was a well researched and written account of the early history of the original followers of Jesus. It covers other traditions and events like the Jewish Revolt of 70 VS and the Bar Kochba rebellion
It was a well researched and written account of the early history of the original followers of Jesus. It covers other traditions and events like the Jewish Revolt of 70 VS and the Bar Kochba rebellion
March 7, 2021
Good work
The presentation was orderly. A very resourceful book on the subject for anyone who wants to understand the need for the three Abrahamic religions to come together to save the world.
The presentation was orderly. A very resourceful book on the subject for anyone who wants to understand the need for the three Abrahamic religions to come together to save the world.
March 21, 2022
A good description of history from the 1st century.
A very good description of what took place in early Christianity and the complicated relationships among Jewish believers of Jesus, Christian Gentiles, and various sects in Judaism.
A very good description of what took place in early Christianity and the complicated relationships among Jewish believers of Jesus, Christian Gentiles, and various sects in Judaism.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews