Children of Abraham

Richard L. Shafer[1]

 

A Jewish friend said to me recently, “I was a young adult before I realized that Jesus was a Jew.”  I also know some Christians who don’t realize that Jesus was a Jew.  How can that be?  After all, our spiritual heritage is Judeo-Christian.  Perhaps we need to understand Jesus as a Jew, as that may help us to better understand his teachings.  And, in understanding that, we gain insight into the milieu in which he lived and worked. 

 

Some Christians apparently discard the Old Testament as “old,” assuming it’s no longer relevant, or necessary, and therefore forgettable.  Yet the Old Testament contains both “the Law” and “the Prophets.”  We read in Matthew 5:17-20 that Jesus said, “Don’t suppose that I came to do away with the Law…not even a period or comma will ever disappear from the Law…you must obey God’s commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them…”[2]  If Christians must obey the Law, then Christians must know the Law.  And Christians learn that in church, right?  Well…

 

Every Sunday, Christians hear one or more readings from the Bible during their church services.  The choices of readings usually come from the lectionary;[3] and Protestants often refer to the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL)[4].  In the lectionary, selections from the Bible are included in the reading lists for each Sunday over three years.  Much of the Bible and samples of nearly all of it will have been read.

 

Jews have a similar triennial reading list. They read the entire Torah (the five books of Moses:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers).  “Many congregations pattern their weekly Torah reading cycle after a system similar to the one used in ancient Israel during the rabbinic period.”[5]  And yes, in addition to Torah, the Prophets are read in Synagogue too.

 

Even if all the readings in the RCL reading list[6] were used, Protestants will probably never hear the entire Torah read in church.  They’ll hear some of Genesis and Exodus, less of Deuteronomy, and one reading each from Leviticus and Numbers.  The books of Samuel, Kings and the major Prophets are well represented, as are the Psalms.  Most minor Prophets are sampled.  Of course, half of the RCL readings are from the New Testament. 

 

But to hear the entire Torah, as Jesus might have, or to know the Law from which Jesus was teaching, Christians may well have to attend synagogue, or read the Torah on their own. 

 

Read any good (Law) books lately?



[1] This is one of a series of occasional columns in which the author, raised in the Christian tradition, searches for common ground and common history among the teachings, beliefs and practices of the Abrahamic faiths --  Islam, Christianity and Judaism

[2] Contemporary English Version

[3] “A lectionary is simply a list of Bible passages for reading, study, or preaching in services of worship. As a general term, a Lectionary can include readings for weekdays, although the term is more commonly applied today to the Scripture readings for Sunday and holidays (Holy Days). Some churches, such as those in the Catholic and Lutheran tradition, have their own lectionaries, while other churches follow a common, shared lectionary. There has been a tendency in recent years to move to more uniformity among the various lectionaries.” (http://www.cresourcei.org/lection.html )

[5] http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/diduknow/responsa/trichart.shtml