Matthew gave up a lot when he chose to follow Jesus, but I think he would tell us today it was absolutely worth it. A rich source for understanding the history of Judaism and the history of anti-Semitism. In it Jesus argues that the righteousness of “the Scribes and the Pharisees” (= the rabbis) is insufficient and he challenges his followers to strive for what he considered a higher level of morality. And there are many other texts in the NT that support this idea. Very few Jewish writings from that century survive, and none by the rabbis, the representatives of what soon became normative Judaism, since the rabbis of that period felt that their teachings had to remain oral (a position they eventually abandoned). God can do amazing things with people who have shady pasts, can’t He? New Testament Video presentation 1, “Come unto Me“ (11:36), shows how studying the New Testament can help us learn more about the Savior and how He can help us in our lives. God used Matthew’s attention to detail (that he likely learned as a tax collector) to help him record the details of Jesus’ life in the first book of our New Testament. ... Well, I'm glad you asked. The book of Matthew is full of Old Testament references (53 quotes and 76 other references, according to the NIV Life Application Study Bible). Students of the arts need to know stories like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), the raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-44), and the “passion” of Jesus (i.e. For example, Jesus is quoted in Mark as coming to the defense of some of his disciples who had been criticized by the Pharisees for breaking the laws of the Sabbath. The weekly lectures are given by The Rev. | The present study explores in what ways the name of Jesus was invoked by Pagans, Jews, and Christians. From the Old Testament There Was an Expectation for More Scripture. 1. Jews will also find interest in reading the virulently anti-Jewish passages of the NT that have resonated in the minds of many Christians over the ages. The book of Matthew connected the Old and New Testaments by proving how Jesus fulfilled prophecies. It is a rich source for a better understanding of Jewish history, Jewish thought, Jewish law, and the history of anti-Semitism. This publication will take you on a journey through time, from the Bible account of creation, to the birth and ministry of Jesus, and on to the Kingdom to come. The Bible Challenge New Testament Study Guide will help you go deeper in your understanding of the daily Bible readings. And while biblical critics teach us that most of the NT authors never actually saw Jesus–and so their descriptions of his words and actions are at best second-hand reports–these authors definitely did record their first-hand knowledge and experience of what it was like for a Jew to live in the Land of Israel in the first century, under the oppressive Roman occupation. A number of important points need to be made. Matthew wrote his book especially for the Jewish people. Any rabbinic text describing the factions and sects of Jews in Israel in the first century were written much later–only after groups like the Sadducees and the Essenes no longer existed. For example, Jesus claims in Matthew (19:9) that divorce is permitted only in a case of adultery and his position is presented there as being in stark opposition to that of the Pharisees. Following is a list of just some of the life lessons that can be found in the New Testament. He ended up bringing many people to the Kingdom of the Lord and wrote nearly 2/3 of the New Testament. Download the weekly study guide and follow along as you listen. It is daunting to think of the number of books a Jew “must” read in order to achieve Jewish literacy. It’s those women — and many others — who fill the pages of her award-winning book “Jesus Approaches: What Contemporary Women Can Learn about Healing, Freedom & Joy from the Women of the New Testament” (Loyola Press, 2017), which highlights the importance of women in the New Testament, both then and now. My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help. ‘. It is hard for a Jew not to be taken aback when reading Paul’s reaction upon hearing that a group of recent Christian converts were considering becoming circumcised. Of course, that is not the whole story. Charlie Holt, Associate Rector for Teaching and Formation at the Church of St John the Divine in Houston, TX. Jesus said that they had done no wrong since “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Presentation 2, “The Maze” (10:07), teaches that the New Testament can give us perspective on … While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. These Christians observe some Jewish practices, but the major Jewish denominations do not recognize their faith as a form of Judaism. Matthew was once a despised tax-collector, but then became one of Jesus’ 12 disciples and the writer of the first book of the New Testament. Following Jesus is always worth the cost. But there are also reasons why Jews, specifically, would gain from study of the New Testament. Some readers over the years have concluded that Jesus was making an antinomian statement, devaluing the Sabbath. Want advertising space on our blog? It’s safe to say that Abraham is … Virtually every page of the NT addresses Judaism either implicitly or explicitly. It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.’, Renewed: Wrap Up of Colossians 3:1-17 Bible Study, When Your Old Clothes Don’t Fit: Colossians 3:8-10, A Life Hidden in Christ: Colossians 3:3-4, Renewed: Putting on the New Self (A Study on Colossians 3:1-17), God can do amazing things with people who have shady pasts…And other lessons from #NewTestamentWriters, We can learn a lot from#NewTestamentWriters Here are some lessons from Matthew via @LindseyMBell, Back to Life {Memorizing Colossians 3:3-4}. Jesus is worth the cost. When we do so we frequently discover the unexpected fact that New Testament writers seem unaware of the ‘rules’ so fervently taught by modern grammarians. With trepidation I suggest yet another volume to add to that list: the New Testament (NT). Sadly we don’t have the vocabulary to use New Testament Greek as a spoken language, but the equivalent activity is reading the text, which is relatively short. Jews who want to read a “Jewish book” will find much of interest there. They don’t follow any particular order, and they’re certainly not the only lessons that can be learned. He is a prime example of someone who has a heart on fire for the Lord. Let us know! In Jewish texts, the devil is sometimes an adversary and sometimes an embodiment of evil. Lessons You Can Learn From the Bible. And so, it’s the New Testament that I focus on as I summarize some of the lessons in scripture that should guide us as we live our lives. But, in fact, every phrase in the prayer can be found in rabbinic literature. For example the opening phrase, “Our father who art in heaven” is simply the Hebrew phrase avinu she-ba-shamayim, found in the beginning of many rabbinic prayers. Pretty Creative WordPress Theme by, Pretty Darn Cute Design, As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. Both Jews and Christians ought to understand that most of Jesus’ reported teachings are, from a rabbinic perspective, not particularly revolutionary or even new, and that the rift between Judaism and Christianity is a function of what was said about Jesus after his death. So really the only surviving religious books written by Jews in the first and second centuries are a few of the later Dead Sea Scrolls and the NT. Jews can read the NT to see both the strong Jewish values and the strong anti-Jewish values there. and that help can be found in unexpected places (the good samaritan) I think a key theme in the New Testament is that the world can be a harsh and unpredictable place (as we've all found with this week's events) but if you have faith, and believe (in whatever you will) then things will get better. Anyone who lives in a country with a Christian majority (such as the United States or Canada) should acquire basic knowledge of the foundational literature of the dominant faith. We use cookies to improve your experience on our site and bring you ads that might interest you. Paul figured out an ingenious way to escape their wrath: “When Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council (verse 6), ‘Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead, I am on trial’.” In other words, Paul convinced the crowd that all the opposition to him had originated from Sadducees–who did not believe in the concept of resurrection and who were angry that Paul was teaching that resurrection of the dead would occur. | The present study explores in what ways the name of Jesus was invoked by Pagans, Jews, and Christians. In fact, the more a modern Jewish reader is acquainted with rabbinic literature, the more he or she is likely to find texts of interest in the NT, and to notice just how similar many NT teachings are to those of the rabbis. And, for good measure, Paul expresses the hope that the (presumably Jewish) advocates of circumcision will let the knife slip and mutilate themselves (Galatians 5:11). All Rights Reserved. They often described the old Jewish sects and the tensions between them in very realistic ways. God will use anyone – no matter his or her past – if they’re willing to be used by Him. But students of rabbinic literature will recognize that Jesus’ words sound very similar to those of Rabbi Yonatan b. Yosef in the Talmud,  explaining why the Sabbath may be desecrated to save a human life (Yoma 85b): “‘It [= the Sabbath] is holy for you’ means that the Sabbath was handed over to you and you were not handed over to it.”  This is not to say that Jesus and Rabbi Yonatan would necessarily agree about the criteria that justify breaking the Sabbath. Careful Jewish readers of the NT will come to a better understanding of the vast theological differences between Jews and Christians–for example, on the issue of whether God can have a son, and whether God can be incarnated in a human body. For example, the book of Acts (23:1-10) tells a surprising story about Paul, who realized he was in danger from a Jewish crowd because of his belief that Jesus had been resurrected and that faith in Jesus was the only way of achieving salvation. Students of Mishnah know that a great rabbi in the generation before Jesus said the same thing (the opinion of the house of Shamai in Gitin 9:10). 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