HISTORY
An overview (9)
8/30/10
After the Seleucids took Judea away from the Ptolymies, things took a turn for the worse. The Romans were growing in power and were slowly moving eastward, displacing the Greeks as the Ptolymies power faded; they and the Seleucids, both had ambitions for control of Egypt, stalking them, intending to conquer and subjugate them. For The Seleucids to out maneuver the Romans and accomplish this they had to have the un-divided loyalty and help of Judea – the Jews; the ruler of the Seleucids at that time, Antiochus IV, took extreme measures:
“…Antiochus was determined to remove all traces of orthodox Jewish faith. Israel’s God was identified with Jupiter, and a bearded image of the pagan deity (perhaps in the likeness of Antiochus) was erected on the temple altar, where swine were offered in sacrifice. Jews were forbidden, under penalty of death, to practice circumcision, Sabbath observance, or the celebrations of the Feasts of the Jewish calendar. Copies of the scriptures were ordered destroyed. The laws were enforced with the utmost cruelty. An aged scribe named Eleazer was flogged to death because he would not eat swine’s flesh.” (Various)
The various factions of the Jews had been fighting among themselves for control but triggered by the brutal rule of this regime, the Jews unified under the leadership of Judas “the Maccabee”. He and his followers known as the “Maccabbees”, began a revolt against the Seleucids. After several years of struggle a peace of sorts was established with the Seleucids recognizing the Government of John Hyrcanus, Judah became a nation again, ruled by the Hasmonean dynasty- for a time. (Apparently Hyrcanus had an ancestor named Hashman and from that it is thought that the term “Hasmonean” was derived) (Various)) in 164 B.C. the Jews rededicated the temple; this event is celebrated as Hanukkah.
The rivalry between the Sadducee and Pharisee factions resumed upon independence from the Seleucids: first the Sadducees had the favor and support of the rulers and then the Pharisees – back and forth-both were troubled by the fact that neither the Hasmonean monarchy nor its puppet priesthood were descendants of the appropriate families and had come into power by secular means, however, they both were willing to set their scruples aside and jockeyed, and maneuvered, and intrigued, to get and hang onto the power and prestige that went with being in the “inner circle”. This rivalry led to violence and ultimately the threat of all out civil war.
Meanwhile, the Romans were becoming more and more powerful, expanding their empire eastward (by this time they had taken Egypt); as the Seleucids withdrew-and the un-rest in Judea increased, the Romans offered to help the Hasmoneans restore order and retain power. As the Jews became more vulnerable and more of a nuisance, the Romans finally seized control, first as a protector of the peace, then, in 63 B. C, as rulers. The Romans ruled Judah from then until the Muslims pushed them out several hundred years later.With the Romans assuming power, and establishing their “pax Romana” – “the peace of Rome” throughout their empire, things stabilized: History had come to the “fullness of time”:
Galatians 4:1-5 ( KJV )
Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And:
Ephesians 1:3-12 ( KJV )
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
The “great mystery” was about to be explained (Col. 1: 26; Mark 8: 11; etc.)! The stage was set, the conditions were right; the time for the Messiah to step into history had arrived! Jesus was born about the year 5 B. C….
In the physical realm, the Greek’s Hellenization of the eastern rim of the Mediterranean and the Mideast all the way to India had produced a common language making communication possible between all the different people: ultimately, Greek became the common language throughout the Roman Empire. The Roman road system along with the Mediterranean maritime industry, protected by the Roman “Pax Romana”, made un-restricted, relatively safe, travel possible.
Along with the common language, the philosophy of Socrates/Aristotle/Plato had generated a mindset which was compatible with Christianity, exerting considerable influence on Christian thinking to this very day – many Christian concepts are very similar to classic Greek Philosophy. To some extent, this thinking facilitated the acceptance of The Gospel among the “Hellenized” people; it was not such an alien, exotic idea as it would have been otherwise. :
Influence on Christian theologian
Aristotle is referred to as "The Philosopher" by Scholastic thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas. See Summa Theologica, Part I, Question 3, etc. These thinkers blended Aristotelian philosophy with Christianity, bringing the thought of Ancient Greece into the Middle Ages. It required a repudiation of some Aristotelian principles for the sciences and the arts to free themselves for the discovery of modern scientific laws and empirical methods. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle)
Reflected in the thinking of the stoic philosopher Seneca, part of the inner circle of Nero’s advisers (in the early years):
“…Two of Christianity’s most powerful elements – morality and immortality – were present in Seneca’s Stoicism. So was the sense of deity. “live among men as if God beheld you,” he memorably wrote. “Speak to god as if men were listening”… (Moynahan 29)
Christianity wasn’t completely accepted, it was still resisted to some extent (Acts 17: 22 – 31; etc) but wasn’t completely exotic, alien, bizarre; un-acceptable.
With the Roman subjugation of the Israelites came the rule of the Roman appointed Herod’s and Roman appointed High Priests. The Romans allowed the Jews complete religious autonomy but no civil rule, this stabilized society but serious unrest was bubbling just below the surface.
From the time of Micah’s writings the Jews were desperately seeking a proper ruler from the line of David hoping he would be a priest king who would free them and restore the kingdom: a “Messiah,” so long as the Kingdom was not restored, though living in the Promised Land, they were still not “free” from the Babylonian captivity…
At the time of Christ and on until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A. D., the Sadducees had settled into their role as the ruling priesthood (subject to Herod and the Romans): the Pharisees were very prominent and widely accepted as being most “religious”, strong adherents of the Law of Moses. Jesus had more interaction with Pharisees than any of the other Jewish sects; a part of this interaction was a harsh criticism:
Matthew 23:13-33 ( KJV )
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Who were these “Pharisees”?
The Pharisee ("separatist") party emerged largely out of the group of scribes and sages who harked back to Ezra and the Great Assembly. The meaning of the name is unclear; it may refer to their rejection of Hellenic culture or to their objection to the Hasmonean monopoly on power. It is difficult to state at what time the Pharisees, as a party, arose. Josephus first mentions them in connection with Jonathan, the successor of Judas Maccabeus ("Ant." xiii. 5, § 9). One of the factors that distinguished the Pharisees from other groups prior to the destruction of the Temple was their belief that all Jews had to observe the purity laws (which applied to the Temple service) outside the Temple. The major difference, however, was the continued adherence of the Pharisees to the laws and traditions of the Jewish people in the face of assimilation. As Josephus noted, the Pharisees were considered the most expert and accurate expositors of Jewish law. (wiki/ Pharisees)
Early on, as the new temple was completed and put in service, there were concerns among some Jews that having been built by the permission and support of a foreign power, its legitimacy was very likely tainted – not positively – but possibly – along with the accelerating “Hellenization” of their culture, this on-going, nagging worry continued to undermine the credibility of the entire priesthood and temple worship. As time went along and the priestly class (Sadducees) became more and more aristocratic rulers, this concern deepened and the division became more profound. The elements and seriousness of concern was not unanimous, leading to the formation of several distinct sects of Jewish believers.
The Pharisees obsessive fixation on the Law was a logical outgrowth of their experience - which could be said to go clear back to Mt. Sinai:
Exodus 19:5-6 ( KJV )
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Are there two ways to salvation? Works (“keep my covenant”), for the Israelites / Grace for the Gentile Christians? Or even three: a mix of works/grace for the Hebraic temple worshiping Jews?
From “Hard Sayings of the Bible”:
Leviticus 1:1 ( KJV )
The One Who Obeys My Laws Will Live?
(Leviticus) This saying’s importance is assured by its appearance in such later contexts as Ezekiel 20:11, Luke 10:28, Romans 10:5 and Galatians 3:12. But it is also a hard saying. The text appears to offer an alternate method of gaining eternal life, even if only theoretically. Is it true, in either the Old Testament or the New, that a person could have eternal life by perfectly keeping the law of God? In other words, can we read this saying as “Do this and you will have [eternal] life”? Unfortunately, all too many teachers of the Scriptures have uncritically assumed that the words live in them meant that “eternal life was to be had by observing the laws of God.” Accordingly, if a person were to keep these commandments perfectly, the very keeping would be eternal life. But this claim misses a major amount of contrary evidence, foremost that the benefits of God’s promise-plan to the Old Testament believers were not conditioned on anything, much less on obedience. Such a position would reverse the unconditional word of blessing God gave to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. But what about the “if you obey me fully” statements of Exodus 19:5, Leviticus 26:3-13 and Deuteronomy 11:13-15 and 28:1? Do not these texts flatly declare that without obedience salvation is impossible? The if is admittedly conditional, but conditional to what? It was conditional only to enjoyment of the full benefits of a relationship begun by faith and given freely by God. Israel must obey God’s voice and heed his covenant and commandments, not “in order to” establish their new life in God, but “so that” (Deut 5:33) they might experience completely this new life begun in faith. The very context of this verse speaks against a works salvation. First, Leviticus 18 begins and ends with the theological assumption that the hearers have the Lord as their God. Thus, this instruction deals with sanctification rather than justification. Second, “those things” which they were not to do were the customs and ordinances; in short, the pagan idolatries of the Egyptians and Canaanites. This is a whole world apart from the question of salvation. Third, never in the Old or New Testaments has pleasing God constituted the external performance of acts; these acts carried with them the evidence of a prior attitude of the heart. For instance, circumcision of the flesh without the circumcision of the heart was wasted effort. In fact, our Lord coupled the act and the heart when the people pledged, “All that the Lord says, we will do.” Imperiously, some call such a pledge rash, judging the people foolish for falling for an offer they would never be able to live up to. But our Lord did not see it that way. Rather, he said in so many words, “Oh that there were such a heart in them that they would always fear me and keep my commandments.” Our Lord connects their doing with the heart. He never reproved them by saying, “Oh, what deluded people! Given your previous track record, how on earth do you ever expect to enter my heaven by keeping any of my laws?” There is not a word about this. Therefore, this verse cannot be said to teach a hypothetical offer of salvation by works. Some may argue that the words live by them, quoted in Romans 10:5 and Galatians 3:12, surely means in those contexts that salvation was “by means of” works (an instrumental use of the preposition). I respond that this expression should be translated live “in the sphere of them” (a locative use of the preposition). Moses, therefore, was not describing the means of attaining salvation but only the horizon within which an earthly, godly life should be lived. See also comment on Genesis 26:3-5; comment on Micah 6:6-8; comment on Philippians 2:12-13; comment on James 2:24.… (Kaiser, Bruce and Manfred)
Tracing their origin clear back to the writings of Malachi (last week, lesson #9), they were very concerned with all that had, and was, going on within their society. They had the record of all that had happened to those that had gone before them; they were now personally experiencing the same “temptations” and “chastisements”. They were very familiar with the consequences of disobeying the Law – it was inevitable that many of them would become fanatical adherents of the law, lose sight of the fact that obedience to the Law was not the point: Faith in God, and the consequent obedience to Him, shown by compliance with all the rules.
“If” ones motivation for keeping the law is a hope for “payment” or fear of the consequences, then one’s religiosity is mistaken – even false …the trap that most of the Jews had fallen into…(there are numerous examples of the same failure in its various guises, within "Christendom" to this very day)
The motivation for (keeping His Commandments: John 14:15 ( KJV ) If ye love me, keep my commandments. ) must come from one’s love of God and the desire to please Him…remember our discussion of James statement “Faith without works is dead”…the works is a result of, not the cause of, true faith/salvation.
DISCUSSION
1. How did the Greeks impact the spreading of the Gospel?2. How did the Romans?
3. Who was Antiochus IV?
4. What is “Hanukkah”?
5. Who were the Maccabbees?
6. What was some of the main differences between the Sadducees and the Pharisees ?
7. What was Jesus’ overall opinion of the Pharisees?
8. How did Greek philosophy influence Christianity?
9. Is there one way of salvation for the Jews and another for Gentles (“if” Ex 19: 5-6) ?
10. What had to be done in history to arrive at “the fulness of time”
Homework:
(1)go to: www.itunes.rts.edu(2) click launch
(3) scroll down right hand column to RTS virtual courses
(4)open New Testament
(5)open Pauline Epistles
(6)listen to lecture 1 and 2 (Acts)
