Scriptor Ignotus’s Reviews > The Jewish Annotated New Testament > Status Update

Revelation's references to a "synagogue of satan" have inspired reams of anti-Jewish bile over the centuries. But in context, John is scorning gentile (Pauline?) Jesus-followers who have assumed a Judaic identity but practice what John views as a watered-down halakhah. For him, salvation is not effected by repentance or even by Christ per se, but only by a strict, quasi-Qumranic priestly, filial, and sexual purity.

"Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

James 1:19-20


Wisdom for our time.

"Christ" is the state of being infused with and deified by God, who is spirit (Jn 4:24). The spirit anointed ("christened") the prophets, kings, and judges of old, but Jesus is the first mortal to have been transformed and immortalized by it, gaining intercessory power to spiritualize the rest of us. Even the lordship of Jesus is to be shared by the saints, who will judge the world and the angels (1Cor 6:2-3).

Paul envisions a radical co-equality between Jesus and the saints. The spirit of God which raised Jesus into the heavens is the same "spirit of adoption" which makes the saints into children and "joint heirs" of God with Jesus (Rom 8:14-15, 17). Jesus is "firstborn among many brothers [and sisters]" (Rom. 8:29): he's our big brother in God's spiritual family.

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In Acts 19, a group of Jewish exorcists attempts to expel a demon in Jesus's name, only for the demon to mock and attack them. The commentary claims it was common for non-Christians to invoke Jesus in magical rites, citing the Greek Magical Papyri from Egypt. I looked it up and, sure enough, a famous magician named Pibechis ("the falcon") had a charm for exorcisms: "I conjure you by the god of the Hebrews, Jesus..."

Luke's Jesus tells anyone who would follow him to "take up his cross daily" (9:23), adding that last word to the parallel statements in Mark and Matthew. This is perhaps a nod to Roman Stoics like Seneca, who advised their students to practice dying every day. As C. Kavin Rowe observes, Luke and Paul are more attuned to the Roman philosophical consciousness than any other New Testament writers.

Mark's Gospel ends ironically: throughout, Jesus has warned witnesses of his works to "tell no one," yet they unfailingly tell people anyway. At the end, the three women at the tomb are instructed to tell the disciples that Jesus has risen and is heading to Galilee, yet out of fear they tell no one.

Mark 16:18 was the basis for the Appalachian snake handling phenomenon, but it wasn't originally part of the Gospel.

The story of the Gerasene demoniac and the "legion" of unclean spirits (Mk 5:1-20) is more mysterious than it seems:

"This story opens several questions without providing answers: Do the swine represent the expulsion (“gerash”) of unclean animals or the Roman armies? Are the Gerasenes angry over the loss of their herds? What is the significance of a Gentile asking to follow Jesus? Why is there no messianic secret?"

"Judas’ death invokes the story of David’s servant Ahithophel, who hanged himself after betraying King David, after whom Jesus is patterned (2 Sam 17.23– 24). Rabbinic sources report that Ahithophel repented for his treachery and thereby interpret the suicide as a redemptive act that would have allowed him entrance into the world to come (b. Sanh. 104b– 105a)."

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In discussions on universalism, the fate of Judas is a major point of contention. From the commentary:

"According to Jewish law, one guilty of bearing false witness must face the same penalty that was meant for the one betrayed . . . Judas’ tragic choice to end his life by hanging — to hang on a cross or to hang from a tree are cognate terms in Greek — is also unique to Matthew (contrast Acts 1.16– 20). . . ."

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