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The Birth and Childhood of the Baptist and His Desert Life

1. SCRIPTURE

Luke 1:57-80

Lk. 1:57 Now Elizabeths full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.Lk. 1:58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy on her, theyrejoiced with her.Lk. 1:59 Now so it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would

have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias.Lk. 1:60 And his mother answered and said, No!; he shall be called Yochanan.Lk. 1:61 But they said to her, There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.Lk. 1:62 So they made signs to his father what he should call him.Lk. 1:63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, His name is Yochanan. And they all marveled.Lk. 1:64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed and he spoke, praising God.Lk. 1:65 Then fear came upon all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussedthroughout all the hill country of Judea.Lk. 1:66 And all those who heard them kept tem in their hearts, saying, What kind of child will thisbe? And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Lk. 1:67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:Lk. 1:68 Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.Lk. 1:69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.Lk. 1:70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began.Lk. 1:71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.Lk. 1:72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant.

Lk. 1:73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham.Lk. 1:74 To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him withoutfear.Lk. 1:75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.Lk. 1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face ofthe Lord to prepare His was.Lk. 1:77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of sins.Lk. 1:78 Through the tender mercy of our God with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us.

Lk. 1:79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, so guide our feet into theway of peace.Lk. 1:80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the say of his mani-festation to Israel.

2. COMMENTARY

Vs. 59: Yochanan haMatbil (John the Baptist) is born and it is time to name him. Of course, the angel

had already instructed what the name would be. However, that raises a problem with the community.It was a Jewish custom to name a child on the day of his circumcision and to use the name of a rela-tive. Since it is the responsibility of the father to name the child, and in this case the father Zachariascannot speak, evidently the neighbors intended to give them a little help. However, God had a differ-ent plan that would take precedence.

Brit Milah (covenant of circumcision) is first mentioned in the book of Genesis as a divine command-ment to Abraham. Circumcision is the characteristic symbol of Judaism, even though it was known tothe ancient world long before Abraham. It is also observed by the Muslims and other religions of ourtime. There are four participants: the child, the father, the Mohel (circumcisor), and the Sandek or theone who holds the child in his lap during the operation. The mohel is usually subject to regulations toensure the performance of the operation with adequate precautions. The sandek whose privilege isto hold the child, is the fourth participant who is said to have emerged into importance not before the10th century C.E.

It is interesting to note that the ritual of Pidyon haBin (Redemption of the firstborn) is not being per-

formed and Yochanan is being named on the eighth day, instead of his thirty-first day. He is redeemedby the payment of the equivalent of five shekels to a cohen, a descendant of the tribe of Levi, chosen

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for the service in the Sanctuary in place of the firstborn of all tribes. The sacred shekel had twice thevalue of the common shekel, known as the Sela.The ceremony of Pidyon haBin has its origin in the books of Exodus and Numbers. The precept wasoriginally designed to counteract the heathen practice of sacrificing the firstborn of man or beast tothe Smitic gods. The reason is that both Elizabeth and Zacharias are descendants of the tribe of Levi,and this ritual does not apply (M:Berachoth 2:1).

Vs. 60: Yochanan haMatbil was a wonder-child, born to a priestly couple in their old age. For someyears before his manifestation to Israel, Yochanan lived in the wilderness of Judea. Since the discov-ery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, it had been thought probable that this wilderness sojourn was not solitary.Perhaps he lived for a time (perhaps most of his adult life) in the community at Qumran. Josephus,the first-century historian, wrote that the Essenes adopted other mens children and molded themaccording to their principles. There is still a debate as to whether the occupants of Qumran were

Essenes or Zealots. One reason for this is that at least one scroll found at Masada was written in thesame hand as a scroll at Qumran. This may explain what happened to the Qumran people. When theRoman Legions were about to come through, they escaped to Masada and were probably part of thegroup that committed murder/suicide. It is thought by some that Zacharias and Elizabeth allowed theEssenes to adopt their son at some late point in time and raise him, suspecting that their lives wouldsoon end. If they both were righteous before God, walking in all His commandments, they would notfit into the existing Temple cult very well. To insure that their son was taught the principles that theybelieved in, they may have looked to the Essenes to finish raising their son for them.

Vs. 61: According to Jewish custom of that day, you named your child after a relative, whether livingor dead. In modern Jewish tradition, you still do this to a degree, except it must always be a deadrelative. However, neither Elizabeths side of the family, nor on Zacharias side had ever had someonenamed Yochanan. Elizabeths response is probably due to Zacharias inability to speak, since accordingto custom it is the fathers responsibility to name the child.

Vs. 62: The neighbors do not sem to like what Elizabeth is doing., so they try to go over her head andgo to her husband. They were normally not allowed to be part of the naming process anyway, except

to be observers. This is highly unusual for them to become this involved. Again, Zacharias inability tospeak for the last three months is coming into play in this situation.

Vs. 63: Zacharias cannot speak out so he writes on a tablet that the name is to be Yochanan. Anyprotest from the neighbors now stops, because Zacharias has the final word. They may wonder atwhat is going on, but they will not question his decision.

Vs. 64: When he exercises this one act of obedience the judgment of dumbness is now removed andhe is able to speak. No doubt when Zacharias could speak again he shared with them what the angelhad said concerning the prophecy in Malachi. The miracle of him getting his speech back was confir-mation. Yochanan would some day lead the way for the coming of the Messiah that Israel had wantedfor several hundred years.

Vs. 65: According to Micah 5:2 the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem which is very near to thislocation. As mentioned earlier, this was the greatest period of Messianic Expectancy known to the Jew-ish people. These people were very much aware of all the prophecies concerning the Messiah and in-

terest in them was bound to be at their peak. Any stranger or unusual event taking place was boundto go through the community like wild fire. Also, no one in Israel had received a visitation from an an-gel of the Lord for over 400 years. They had to know that something was going on.

Vs. 67: When Zacharias speaks he is now filled with the Holy Spirit and he issues a song found inverses 68-79. This song can be divided into two main segments: (1) verses 68-75 speak of the Mes-siah who is to come; and (2) verses 76-79 talk about his own son, Yochanan.

Vs. 69: Again we find him relating the coming of the Messiah to the Jewish covenants. In this verse itis the Davidic Covenant.

Vs. 72: In this verse it is the Abrahamic Covenant. Also in these verses we find a play on words. Thename Zacharias means God remembers. The name Elizabeth means oath or covenant. The com-bined meaning is God remembers His covenants. The last line of verse 72 and the first line of verse

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73 gives us the interplay. The oaths in particular are contained in the Jewish covenants, but now withthe coming of the Messiah, the covenants are to find their fulfillments.Vs. 73: Also we find in these verses the play on the words of the meaning of Zacharias, God remem-bers and Elizabeth oath or covenant of God, the combined meaning God remembers His cove-nants. The last line of verse 72 and the first line of verse 73 give you the interplay. The oaths in par-ticular are contained in the Jewish covenants, but now with the coming of Messiah, the covenants areto find their fulfillment.

Vs. 75: Holiness is a state that comes only from God, for only God is holy. Righteousness comes onlyfrom our obedience to our obligations to our covenant obligations that we have entered into with God.Vs. 76: He will not merely be a forerunner, but he will have the office of a prophet. The Hebrew wordfor prophet is Navi, and it signifies a spokesman or one who speaks for a divine power to human be-ings. The idea of prophecy is based on a belief in a God on whom the destiny and the well-being of

mankind depends.

Vs. 77: In this verse it is the New Covenant. So, three of th Jewish covenants are related here to thecoming of Messiah.

Vs. 78: The word Dayspring means day star, or the morning star. The morning star announces thecoming of day. In that sense Yochanan is the dayspring. He is the morning star announcing the comingof the Sun of Righteousness found in Malachi 42 (3:20). The Jewish Study Bible gives an interesting

definition for the term sun of righteousness. The rising of the sun of righteousness is a metaphor forthe dawn of a new day, i.e., an era of history.

Without a doubt, the coming of Messiah began the most important era of history known to mankind.Absolutely nothing could have had a more profound impact on our lives than the coming death, burial,and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah.

Vs. 79: The two-fold ministry of the Sun of Righteousness is given in this verse, and notice the ex-change of pronouns: to give light to them (to shine upon them, the Gentiles) that sit in darkness and

in the shadow of death, to guide our (the Jews) feet in the way of peace. The contrast is betweenthem and our, Gentile and Jew.

The reference here is Isaiah 9:1. The people that walked in darkness have seen a brilliant light. Onthose who dwelt in a land of gloom light has dawned. The verbs used in this verse are in the pasttense. This is another example of the prophetic past, which predicts future events using past tensebecause they are as good as accomplished. When Zacharias quotes this verse prophetically, the verbschange to the present tense indicating prophetic fulfillment.

Vs. 80: Early in life, we are not sure of what age, but early in life he leaves the town in which he isborn and goes into the wilderness of Judea. There he spends most of his life. But, this does one thingfor Yochanan haMatbil, it separates him from the Judaism of his day. When his message finally doescome, he is going to have a different perspective on God.

Yochanan haMatbil Prepares the Way

1. SCRIPTURE

Matt. 3:1-6; Mark 1:2-6; Luke 3:3-6

Lk. 3:3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of remission of sins.(Mt. 3:3; Mk. 1:4)Mt. 3:2 And saying, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.Lk. 3:4a As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, (Mt. 3:4a; Mk. 1:2a)Mk. 1:2b Behold, I send My messenger before your face, who will prepare Your way before You.Lk. 3:4b The voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make His pathsstraight, (Mt. 3:3b; Mk. 1:3)Lk. 3:5 Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; and the crooked places

shall be made straight and the rough ways made smooth.Lk. 3:6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

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Mt. 3:5 Then all Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around Jordan went out to him, (Mk. 1:5a)Mt. 3:6 And were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. (Mk. 1:5b)Mt. 3:4 And Yochanan himself was clothed in camels hair, with a leather belt around the waist; and hisfood was locusts and wild honey. (Mk. 1:6)

2. COMMENTARY

In this segment we have the Synoptic Gospels coming together for the first time. They are called theSynoptic Gospels because they all tell basically the same story, although the wording of their story isbased upon their particular theme. The reason that they tell basically the same story is that Matthew,Mark, and Luke, unlike John, are far more interested in what Yeshua did than what He said. JohnsGospel does not fully parallel the other three because he is more interested in what Yeshua said andwhat the others left out. That is why in this commentary we are including all four Gospels so the story

is complete. Comparing all four Gospels can present some wording problems, but overall it is worth itto see the full story.

Our sources concerning Yochanan haMatbil are the New Testament and Josephus. Josephus interpre-tation of the significance of Yochanans baptism is almost identical to the theology of baptism in theDead Sea Scrolls. It appears that there was indeed an infinity between Yochanan haMatbil and theDead Sea Sect, and scholars assume that Yochanan was once a member of the Dead Sea Sect and hadleft for ideological reasons.

Baptism for Yochanan haMatbil had a great significance as the Jewish ritual immersion in a mikvah (aspecial pool of rain water used for purification purposes). Yochanan had the belief that immersion puri-fied the body from sin that had been a Jewish concept from the beginning of their recorded history.But, they believed that a persons body was defiled not only through contact with objects which wereritually unclean, but also through sin. When someone sinned, his body was defiled, and therefore, aman who had not repented before his immersion would not become pure. While immersion might pu-rify the body, it would immediately be defiled again through the persons sins. Therefore repentanceprior to immersion was absolutely necessary.

Numerous people flocked to him since he did not require them to abandon their usual way of life, togive away their property to a communal fund, or form a separate sect. They simply hoped to redeemtheir souls through confession and immersion. There were even some who believed mistakenly thatimmersion itself would purify them from their sins. These people did not grasp the idea that repen-tance purified a man from sin, and water only purified the body.

The Biblical concept of forgiveness presumes, in its oldest strata, that sin is a malefic force that ad-heres to the sinner and that forgiveness is the divine means for removing it. It is not enough to hopeand pray for pardon. A man must humble himself, acknowledge his wrong, and resolve to depart fromsin. The many symptoms for contrition testify to its primacy in the human effort to restore the desiredrelationship with God: seek the Lord (II Sam. 12:16; 21:1), search for Him (Amos 5:4), humble one-self before Him (Lev. 26:41), direct the heart to Him (I Sam. 7:3), and lay to heart (II Kings 22:19).

At the same time, inner contrition must be followed by outward acts. Remorse must be translated intodeeds. Two substances are involved in this process. First, the negative one of ceasing to do evil, and

then the positive one of doing good. This doctrine implies that man has been endowed by God with thepower of turning. He can turn from evil and to good, and the very act of turning will activate Godsconcern and lead to forgiveness.

Vs. 3:1: Yochanan was preaching a baptism of repentance unto remission of sins. In essence, theword baptism means to identify and those who were baptized by Yochanan were identifying them-selves with the back to God movement. The baptism of Yochanan is not the same as the baptism ofthe Messiah, although the mode was the same. That is why those who were baptized by Yochanan andlater received Yeshua as Messiah, had to be baptized all over again in Yeshuas name (Acts 19:1-5).

Some were possibly familiar with the ritual immersion done by the priests in the Temple, but this wasfar different from Yochanans baptism. What Yochanan was evidently patterning his baptism after wasthe practice called tevilah. When a proselyte converted to Judaism he was required to perform thistevilah as part of his coming back to God. It was required to be performed in some type of a natu-

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ral spring, or living water. Yochanan use the Jordan River. It was then said that the convert had expe-rienced a new birth.

Scholars continue to debate the exact location along the Jordan River where Yochanan haMatbil bap-tized Yeshua. The traditional site has come to be known as Bethabara, which means house of theford. It is about 7 miles north of the Dead Sea. An article in the Jan./Feb., 2005 issue of the BiblicalArchaeological Review magazine gives very convincing support for this view. Some scholars feel the

real Bethabara was further up the Jordan River near Galilee. This is probably the same place identifiedin John 1:26-28 as Bethany beyond the Jordan. This should not be confused with the Bethany on theMount of Olives in Jerusalem, which was the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Pilgrim traditionidentifies this same site on the Jordan for both Joshuas crossing and Yeshuas baptism. The anony-mous Pilgrim of Bordeaux (writing in 333) locates this site as the place where Elijah ascended toHeaven. Regardless of the exact location, what is more interesting is the Aramaic verb abar in Beth-

abara. Abar (eber in Hebrew) indicates a movement, the thought that one CAUSES or MOTIVATESanother to move. Gilbert Sidon, in his article :John the Baptist, Jesus and the Jordan, explains theconcept of abar this way.

In concrete terms, John was challenging his fellow Jews to go across to the east bank of the Jordan,out of Israel. This was an act of confession, admitting in this dramatic fashion that they had forfeitedtheir right, not so much to live in the land, but to be Gods people. John then literally turned themaround (shavin Herew, which is the root of the Hebrew word for repentance). John then led the

people back through the river into the land. This is a dramatic example of Gods sure promise of resto-ration of our relationship with Him.

Vs. 3:2: Notice that this verse uses the term Kingdom of Heaven. This same phrase is used allthroughout Matthews Gospel. Yes, Mark and Luke use the phrase Kingdom of God. Why? Are theretwo different kingdoms being talked about in the Gospels? We must remember that Matthew waswriting to the Jews. The Jews will not pronounce the name of God for fear of violating the command-ments found in Exodus 20:7 and Leviticus 19:12., so they use the phrase kingdom of Heaven. TheGreek word used here is Theos, which in itself is not a proper name. But, if you look further into your

concordance you will see that the Hebrew word most often translated by Theos is Elohim, or Elwhich is a shortened version of Elohim. Mark and Luke, being non-Jews, had no such compunction forusing Gods name in their writings. It is the very same Kingdom that all three Gospels are talkingabout.

Mk. 1:2: Luke and Matthew quote Isaiah 40:3 and Mark quotes Malachi 3:1. Both of these O.T. pas-sages predict that before the Messiah is made known, He will be preceded by a forerunner. A forerun-ner will come announcing the soon coming of the King. This prophecy was fulfilled in a literal way byYochanan haMatbil. That is the reason for quoting these two O.T. passages.

Lk. 3:3: This is one of the prime examples of how modern translations have erred. In this instance itis a simple little punctuation mark that makes all the difference. Two questions must be answered inorder to open our understanding. First, why was Yochanan starting his ministry our in the wildernessinstead of Jerusalem or some other heavily populated area? Secondly, why would people travel such along distance to hear him?

The answer to both of these questions is found in the correct translation of Isaiah 40:3. The Tanakh(Hebrew Bible) correctly reads: A voice rings out: clear the desert road for the Lord. Level in the wil-derness a highway for our God. From this verse the Jewish people always expected that the first ap-pearance of the Messiah was to be in the desert regions where Yochanan was. This is also probably thereason for the establishment of the community at Qumran which is nearby. This is also another reasonwhy scholars believe that Yochanan was raise by the Dead Sea Sect. Yochanan was there announcingthe fulfillment of prophecy, and the people went out fully expecting to see the Messiah. It would not belong until their expectations were realized. They would not be disappointed.

Lk. 3:5: If there is any doubt in someones mind as to who Yeshua is, this same verse in Isaiah ex-plains it very well. In Judaism there are two primary names for God: Elohim for Creator; and Yahweh(YHVH) for Covenant Maker. Again we quote the proper translation of Isaiah 40:3, putting in the cor-rect Hebrew: A voice rings out: clear in the desert a road for Yahweh (YHVH). Level in the wilderness

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a highway for Elohim. Yeshua the Messiah was and is God. For in Him dwells all the fullness of theGodhead bodily (Col. 2:9).

Mt. 3:5: This verse points out the tremendous response Yochanan begins to receive from all aroundthe country of Judea and there in Jerusalem. Keep in mine that there were no telephones, radios ortelevision to spread the news. News traveled by word of mouth. Remembering that will put this thingmore in perspective. Yochanan had a message that really got the peoples attention.

Mt. 3:4: Shaatnez in Judaism is the prohibition of wearing clothing made of any combination oflinen and wool. The reason for this prohibition was this type of cloth was reserved to make the gar-ments of the priests for wearing in the Tabernacle and Temple. Camels hair (wool) was exempt fromthis prohibition and was likely the wool used to make the priests garments. Camels were bound tohave been the most popular, and the most plentiful animals used during the Exodus.

The tribes of Israel wandered in nomadic fashion for 40 years in the wilderness, never staying long inany one place. Because of this, it was very difficult for them to grow the grains needed to make flourused in baking, especially for such things as the Shewbread in the Tabernacle. According to the Ency-clopedia Judaica the most popular substance used in that day by the nomadic tribes was dried locustsground into a fine meal. Water was also a scarce commodity in the desert, so wild honey was used inits place, especially in making the shewbread. To tie this all together, we need to take another look atYochanan haMatbil. His clothes were made of camels hair (not skins), and his food was locusts and

wild honey. Yochanan was of the priestly lineage (his father was a priest). It is said that the priest rep-resented God to the people and the people to God. He fit this role perfectly. He fit this role perfectly inhis introduction of the Messiah. He may have had extremely long hair because of his Nazirite vow, butthis was a sign of his consecration to God. In preparing himself for his assigned task, his clothing wasmade of the cloth reserved for the priest (he was of the lineage of Aaron), and his food was two prin-ciple ingredients of the shewbread which was the food of the priests. Yochanan was not the wild, hairymountain man that so many have tried to picture him as.

Yochanan Preaches to the People

1. SCRIPTURE

Matt. 3:7-10; Luke 3:7-14

Mt. 3:7 But when he say many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said tothem, Brood of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath that is to come? (Lk. 3:7)Mt. 3:8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance. (Lk. 3:8a)Mt. 3:9 And do not say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father; for I say to you that God isable to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. (Lk. 3:8b)Mt. 3:10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the tree. Therefore every tree that does not beargood fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Lk. 3:10 So the people asked him, What shall we do then?Lk. 3:11 He answered and said to them, He who has two tunics, let him give to him that has none;and he that has food, let him do likewise.Lk. 3:12 The tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, What shall we do?Lk. 3:13 And he said to them, Collect no more than what is appointed to you.

Lk. 3:14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, And what shall we do? So he told them, Do not intimi-date anyone or accuse falsely; and be content with your wages.

2. COMMENTARY

Mt. 3:7: First century Jewish sources provide no direct antecedent for a parallel to Yochanans bap-tism. Cleansing ceremonies using the waters of purification are prescribed in the Torah, and the priest-prophet Ezekiel declared that God at the end of time will purify the people from their defilement withclean water and give them a new heart and a new spirit. The custom of baptizing converts to Judaismis close to Yochanans rite, although it cannot be proved that proselyte baptism antedates Yochanan. If

the practice was current it is possible that Yochanan deliberately applied it to the children of Abraham

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a rite devised by them to benefit pagans, thus evidencing his conviction that the whole Jewish nationneeded to be reconstituted as the people of God.

Matthews Gospel shows that Yochanans remarks were directed primarily at the Pharisees and Sad-ducees that were in the crowd. Brood of vipers is a reference to the dozen or more small, dangeroussnakes that emerge at birth from the mother snake. Vipers are proverbial for their subtle approachand attack. Some of the Pharisees were well known for their sly ways they used especially the Oral

Law for their own advantage.

One of the basic teachings of the Pharisees was that at the coming of the Messiah there would be atime of judgment. Those who did not live by Gods laws would face His wrath. Some of the Phariseesand Sadducees thought they were the super pious, super religious ones around, but Yochanan here istelling them they are the worst ones of the bunch.

Yochanans baptism had began to create quite a stir. Many years ago the prophet Ezekiel had prophe-sied something that seemed to be coming true (Ezek. 36:25-28). Yochanan was not just simply bap-tizing people, but leading them out of the land, and then back into the Jordan River where they couldpurify their bodies through baptism and purify their souls through repentance. They could then re-enter the land given to their forefathers, and God their Messiah would come to them.

The Sanhedrin was the Jewish Supreme Court. It consisted of seventy Torah Sages and the High

Priest, making a total membership if seventy-one. They met in the Lishkat haGazit or Chamber ofHewn Stone adjacent to the Temple. There were also smaller religious Sanhedrins in every town inPalestine. There was also three-member courts in each synagogue called a Bet Din. Whenever therewas any kind of Messianic movement of note, the Sanhedrin had a legitimate two-fold responsibilitythey had to carry out. In the previous paragraph Yochanan began preaching a message that the Kingand the Kingdom were near at hand. And so in that sense Yochanan was beginning a Messianicmovement of some sort. Because he was creating such a great amount of attention, the Sanhedrinwas obligated to do two things.

First, they were to send a group for the purpose of observing. This is called the Stage of Observation.Unlike the Luke account where the multitude did come to be baptized, the Pharisees and Sadduceesmerely came to the baptism to carry out the first element of observation. They were not allowed toask any questions, but merely observe what was being said and done. After a period of observationthis group would go back to Jerusalem and report to the Sanhedrin their conclusion as to whether thismovement was significant or not. If the movement was judged insignificant the whole thing wasdropped right there.

But, if the movement was significant, then the Sanhedrin would begin the second stage, the Stage ofInvestigation. A second delegation would be sent out to investigate. They were to ask such questionsas: (1) who are you?; (2) who do you claim to be?; (3) what do you plan to be doing?; and (4) whyare you doing it?

Mt. 3:8: Yochanans eschatological message of imminent judgment closely resembles that held by theDead Sea Sect, but Yochanans rite of baptism differs in meaning from the purifying waters of thatsect. Yochanans preaching was intensely eschatological. He heralded the imminent day of judgment;

Gods retributive punishment would soon fall upon the apostasy of Israel. The merits of the patriarchswould provide no escape and descent from Abraham would offer no advantage. Only sincere repen-tance would avert the wrath to come, and this must lead to baptism. Moreover, those who confessedtheir sins and received Yochanans baptism as a sign of this repentance were commanded to beargood fruit following in the way of righteousness taught by Yochanan.

Vs. 3:9: Yochanan warns the Pharisees and Sadducees about saying, we have Abraham as our fa-ther. This was a reflection on a Rabbinic teaching that all of Israel has a share in the world to come(Olam haBa) found in Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1. Some Rabbis taught that the Jews did not have to beconcerned about losing out with God because of the merits of the fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.Also Bereshith Raba 48:8 records, In the hereafter Abraham was set at the gates of Hades and wouldnot let any circumcised Israelite to descend into it. Yochanan was contradicting this teaching.

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The indefinite expression Olam haBa (the future world), as opposed to Olan haZeh (the presentworld) is frequently found in Talmudic-Midrashic literature to signify a new order of things. It is some-times used interchangeably with Athid Lana (the future), a vague phrase referring to the MessianicEra (Yemoth haMashiah) as well.

Lk. 3:11: It goes contrary to the nature of individuals to share their wealth. People who have extras

tend to hoard those extras, not share them with others. And yet, Yochanans instructions to the multi-tude was to do just that.

Lk. 3:12,13: Publicans were Jews who bought the office of tax collector. This meant they were puttingthemselves in the position where they would be ostracized by the Jewish community because theywould be reckoned as working for the enemy, and therefore, traitors. Why would Jews seek that office

in light of the fact of the reaction of the community? The reason that people sold this office that paidonly a very small salary was something that the Roman law allowed. If the Roman government deter-mined that an individual owed 5 shekels, the publican would charge 10 shekels. He would then giveRome 5 shekels and keep 5 shekels for himself. It was through this kind of extortion that the publicanbecame very wealthy. Here Yochanan is telling them to do exactly contrary to the reason why theyentered this office to begin with.

Lk. 3:14: Here we have a clear example of the power of Yochanans words He is preaching a message

of preparation for the coming of the Kingdom of God through repentance and ritual immersion. Upuntil now, he had been talking to people who believe in the God of Israel (even publicans can still be-lieve). But now, he is approached by pagan, polytheistic soldiers who had believed in many false gods.The Roman government allowed its soldiers the right to take spoils from the subjugated people evenafter peace had been established. In this way they were able to supplement their meager military in-come. Yochanan is telling these soldiers to do contrary to what they were legally allowed to do. Con-siderably later on, the Lord would be asked what is the greatest commandment. His reply was to lovethe Lord you God with all your heart, and secondly, love your neighbor as yourself. Yochanans mes-sage here parallels the Lords teaching. You show your love for God by repenting and being baptized.

You show your love for your neighbor by treating him right. Both the teachings of the Lord and Yocha-nan parallel the two same major themes of the Ten Commandments in the book of Exodus.

Yochanans Prophecy of the Coming Messiah

1. SCRIPTURE

Matt. 3:11,12; Mark 1:7,8; Luke 3:15-18

Lk. 3:15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about Yochanan,whether he was the Messiah or not.Lk. 3:16a Yochanan answered, saying, I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is

coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. (Mt. 3:11a; Mk. 1:7)Lk. 3:16b He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Mt. 3:11b; Mk. 1:8)Lk. 3:17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor, andgather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire. (Mt. 3:12)Lk. 3:18 And with exhortations he preached to the people.

2. COMMENTARY

Lk. 3:15: This verse speaks of the expectation of the people. When they came to hear Yochanan theyfully expected to see the long awaited Messiah. History records that in the period shortly before andfor a brief time after the first century C.E. the Messianic expectation had reached its greatest peak.The prophet Daniel, over 400 years before the time of Yeshua, had foretold that the Messiah wouldappear in the midst of the fourth kingdom from the time of his prophecy. The Messiah, according toDaniel 7, would then establish His own Kingdom that would be without end. From the days of Danielfour kingdoms had successfully risen on the earth. They were Babylon, Medea-Persia, Greek, and Ro-man empires. In another prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27), Daniel had foretold the time of the Messiahs com-

ing as being approximately 400 years after the return of Nehemiah and Ezra. That time was here.

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Lk. 3:16a: When we look at the phrase baptize with fire, most people think Yeshua is talking aboutthe baptism of the Holy Spirit. We associate this with the cloven tongues of fire on the Day of Sha-vuoth (Pentecost). But the fire being spoken of here by Yochanan is the fire of judgment. People aregoing to be judged according to how they respond to the words of Yeshua. The consequences for thosewho ignore His words will be terrible.

Lk. 3:17: The colorful images of judgment in the minds of the Hebrew prophets and apocalyptists are

prominent in the words of Yochanan recorded in the Gospels. The wicked would be burned in the firesof punishment and the righteous would be baptized with the divine favor of the Holy Spirit. The graceof God would be demonstrated to the people looking for His supernatural intervention. They must re-turn to the Lord with a sincere heart. The lifestyle they pursue must change. They must follow a newrighteous way of living.

The Baptism of Yeshua

1. SCRIPTURE

Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23

Mt. 3:13 Then Yeshua came from Galilee to Yochanan at the Jordan to be baptized by him. (Mk. 1:9;

Lk. 3:21a)Mt. 3:14 And Yochanan tried to prevent Him, saying, I have need to be baptized by You, and You arecoming to me?Mt. 3:15 Then Yeshua answered and said to him, Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us tofulfill all righteousness.Mt. 3:16a Then Yeshua, when He had been baptized, came up immediately from the water; (Mk.

1:10a; Lk. 3:21b)Mt. 3:16b And behold, the heavens opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like adove and alighting on Him. (Mk. 1:10b; Lk. 3:22a)Mt. 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am wellpleased. (Mk. 1:11; Lk. 3:22b)

2. COMMENTARY

Mt. 3:13: Messianic baptism is different because with it we are identifying ourselves with the death,burial and resurrection of the Messiah. The meaning of the act is identification. But the type of identifi-cation is determined on wheat kind of baptism it is. Proselyte baptism is identification with Judaism.Yochanans baptism was identification with his back to God movement. Yeshuas baptism is till yetanother identification. The basic meaning of the word is immersion. Any other kind of baptism is notBiblical baptism. Immersion was the Jewish mode and also the mode of the early church. Later inchurch history it was changed to pouring and then later to sprinkling. These two modes are not Bibli-cal. At the end of this segment we have included an article titled The Jewish Background of Christian

Baptism by Dr. Ron Moseley. It is probably one of the best articles ever written on this subject.

Mt. 3:15: The purpose of baptism (ritual immersion), according to Jewish Law even to this day, wasfor the forgiveness of sins and spiritual cleansing into a right relationship with God. Yeshua had a needto be baptized, but it was not because He had sin in His life. In Malachi 4:2 the Messiah is called thesun of righteousness who would come with healing in His wings. According to Ezekiel 34:11-16, the

salvation that Messiah would bring was in four ways: (1) He would seek out the lost: (2) return themto the fold; (3) heal the sick; and (4) strengthen the weak. In other words, He would usher in theKingdom of God. The reason that Yeshua was so insistent on being baptized was to fulfill all right-eousness so that He might be the sun of righteousness. The importance of this will be demonstratedlater on in another segment.

Mt. 3:16a: The mode of baptism as explained in the Mishnah shows the candidate squatted downalone without anyone touching him and then coming straightway out of the water. Ancient sagestaught that the word mikveh has the same root in the Hebrew as the word for rising or standingtall, as we see in the term straightway as used in the N.T. The earliest drawing of Christian baptism

was found on the wall of a Roman catacomb in the second century showing Yochanan standing on thebank of the Jordan helping Yeshua back to the shore after self-immersion.

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Mt. 3:16b: In Jewish literature the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Babylonian Chagigah 15acommentary on Genesis 1:2, where the Spirit of the Lord moved upon the waters, says the Spirit ofGod hovered like a dove over her young without touching them. The Babylonian Berakoth 3b connectsthe Bat Kol from heaven with the Holy Spirit.

Mt. 3:17: In Rabbinic literature a reference is made to a voice from heaven called Bat Kol, which liter-ally means a daughter of a voice. This is understood to be an oracle, a declaration of the Divine Will.

These verses are used by many people to establish the doctrine of the Trinity, but this has absolutelynothing to do with that. Perhaps an over simplification of its description is to say that the Bat Kol isheavens public address system. It is important to remember that the people witnessing these eventswere Jews, and things were being done so that they would understand what was happening. It wasnot written for our Hellenistic mind set. If we want to understand these things, we have to learn tothink like a first century Jew.

THE JEWISH BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM by Dr. Rom Moseley

There is no question that the church is debtor to Judaism for its main structure, including such itemsas Messiah, Scripture, canon, liturgy, altar, pulpit, church offices, songs, offerings, the Lords Supper,as well as baptism itself. Dr. Merrill Tenney, the editor of the Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible said,Baptism as a rite of immersion was not begun by Christians, but was taken by them from Jewish andpagan forms.... Since early Christianity was a part of Judaism of Jesus day, it was without question

that baptism in todays church was originally Jewish. Further evidence comes from scholars like Wil-liam LaSor And David Daube who tells us of the early churchs practice of baptism by self immersionafter the custom of the Jews.

History of the Jewish Mikveh

The term Mikveh in Hebrew literally means any gathering of waters, but is specifically used in JewishLaw for the waters or bath for the ritual immersion. The building of the Mikveh was so important inancient times it was said to take precedence over the construction of a synagogue. Immersion was so

important that it occurred before the High Priest conducted the service on the Day of Atonement, be-fore the regular priests participated in the Temple service, before each person entered the Templecomplex, before a scribe wrote the name of God, as well as several other occasions.

The Mishnah attributes to Ezra a decree that each male should immerse himself before praying orstudying. There were several Jewish groups that observed ritual immersion every day to assure readi-ness for the coming of the Messiah. The Church Fathers mentioned one of these groups called theHemerobaptists which means daily bathers in Greek. Among those use to regular immersion werethe Essenes and others that the Talmud calls tovelei shararit or dawn bathers.

On the third day of creation we see the source of the word mikveh for the first time in Genesis 1:10when the Lord says, to the gathering (Mikveh) of the waters, He called seas. Because of this refer-ence on Genesis the ocean is still a legitimate Mikveh.

The Mikvaot Around the Temple

The New Testament tells us that many of the early churchs daily activities were centered around theTemple. Historically, we know that there were many ritual immersion baths (Mikvaot) on the TempleMount, including one in the Chamber of Lepers situated in the northwest corner of the Court of Women(Mid. 2:5). Josephus tells us that even during the war (66-73 C.E.) the laws of ritual immersion werestrictly adhered to (Jos. Wars 4.20.6). The Temple itself contained immersion baths in various placesfor the priests to use, even in the vaults beneath the court (commentary to Tam. 26b; Tam. 1:11).

The High Priest had special immersion pools in the Temple, two of which are mentioned in theMishnah. We are told one of these was in the Water Gate in the south of the court and another was onthe roof of the Parva Chamber (Mid. 1:4; 5:31). There was an additional place for immersion on theMount of Olives which was connected with the burning of the Red Heifer (Para 3:7). A special ramp ledto the Mikveh on the Mount of Olivies, which was built as an arch way over another arched way toavoid uncleanness from the graves in the valley below. Recent archaeological excavations have found48 different mikvaot near the Monumental Staircase leading into the Temple complex.

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Three Basic Areas

According to Jewish Law, there are three basic areas where immersion in the Mikveh is required:

1. Immersion is required for both men and women when converting to Judaism. There were three pre-requisites for a proselyte coming into Judaism; circumcision, baptism, and sacrifice (Maimonides,Hilkh. Iss. Biah. Xiii.5).

2. Immersion is required after a woman has her monthly period (Lev. 15:28).

3. Immersion is required for pots and eating utensils manufactured by a non-Jew (Encyclopedia ofJewish Religion, p-263).

Besides these, there are many other times when it is customary to be immersed in the Mikveh, suchas the occasion before Yom Kippur as a sign of purity and repentance and before the Sabbath in orderto sensitize oneself to the holiness of the day.

The Six Descending Orders of Ritual Immersion

There are six descending orders of ritual baths in the Mishnah (Oral Law) of how to accomplish theWritten Law, and the highest order is that of a spring or flowing river. We see Jesus understanding and

fulfilling this order in Matt. 3:16 as He comes to be baptized in the Jordan River fulfilling all right-eousness. This highest order was called Mayim Hayim or Living Water and illustrated the forgivenessof sins, therefore, we see Jesus using this term concerning Himself (John 4:10,11).

The Water Restrictions

There were also six basic restrictions on the water used in the Mikveh, including such rules as: (1) theMikveh cannot contain any other liquid besides water; (2) the Mikveh has to be either built into theground or be an integral part of a building attached to the ground; (3) the Mikveh cannot be flowing

except for a natural spring, river, or ocean; (4) the water cannot be manually drawn; (5) the watercannot be channeled to the Mikveh by anything unclean; and (6) the Mikveh must contain at least 40saah or approximately 200 gallons of water.

The term saah is an ancient Biblical measurement equivalent to approximately 5 gallons. All six re-quirements come from the original Hebrew words found in Lev. 11:36. Rabbi Yitzchok ben Sheshessaid the amount of 40 saah was derived from the idea that the largest normal human body has a vol-ume of 20 saah, therefore the amount of the water needed to nullify this body is double this amount,or 40 saah.

Why Be Immersed?

To the ancient Jew, the Mikveh was a process of spiritual purification and cleansing, especially in rela-tion to the various types of Trumah, or ritual defilement, when the Temple was in use. Although Godhas not revealed all the meaning of the Mikveh, it is obvious because of the amount of space given toit in Scripture, and the effort of Jesus to fulfill it, the command is of utmost importance. All commands

of the Lord fall into three categories:

1. The moral or ethical laws that are necessary for man to live in harmony are known as Mishpatimand are literally translated judgments.

2. The rituals and festivals which reawaken us to important religious truths such as Sabbath, holidays,the Tefillin, and the Mezuzah that remind us of Gods presence are known as Edos and are literallytranslated witnesses.

3. The third group often has no explicit reason given for their existence except for Israels identifica-tion as Gods chosen people to the other nations (Deut. 4:6). This group of laws are known as Chukimand are literally translated as decrees. Among the decrees of this group are the dietary laws, as wellas ritual immersion.

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How Immersion Was Done

Jewish baptism has never been taken lightly, but in ancient times immersion was to be performed inthe presence of witnesses (Yebam. 47b). The person being baptized made special preparations by cut-ting his nails, undressed completely (Lev. 1516) and made a fresh profession of his faith before thedesignated fathers of the baptism (Kethub. 11a; Erub. 15a). This is possibly where churches some-time later got the term Godfathers. The individual stood straight up with the feet spread and the

hands held out in front. The candidate would totally immerse himself by squatting in the water with awitness or baptizer doing the officiating. Note the New Testament points to the fact that Jesus camestraightway out of the water. The earliest drawings of Christian baptism was found on the wall of aRoman catacomb in the second century showing John standing on the bank of the Jordan helping Je-sus back to shore after self immersion. Ancient sages teach that the word Mikveh has the same lettersas Ko(v)Meh, the Hebrew word for rising or standing tall, therefore we see the idea of being bap-

tized straightway.

Although it is the Jewish belief that repentance is necessary, purification from defilement is done pri-marily through water, while other effects of sins are covered by blood (Romans 4:7), note the almostall things in Hebrews 9:22). The concept of immersion in Rabbinical literature is referred to as a newbirth (Yeb. 22a; 48b; Mass. Ger. C.i.i.). Note six other important aspects of ancient Jewish immersion

1. Immersion was accompanied by exhortations (Maimonides Hilkh. Milah iii.4; Hilk Iss. Bia Xiv. 6). A

convert would reaffirm his acceptance of the Torah by declaring, I will do and I will hear which was aphrase from the oath that was originally taken by the priest not to forsake the Torah (Deut. 29:9-14).This ritual demonstrates the willingness of the convert to forsake his Gentile background and assumehis Jewish identity by taking on the status of one who keeps the commandments.

According to a number of Jewish sages, mayim, which is the Hebrew word for water, shares the sameroot as the word mah, meaning what. This teaching points out that when a person is immersed inwater, he is nullifying the fleshly ego and asking what am I? in the same manner we are what?

2. The Jewish baptism candidates were often immersed three times. The idea of total immersioncomes from the Scripture in Leviticus 15:16 when it says, he shall wash all his flesh in the water.One reason it was customary to immerse three times was because the word Mikveh ccurs three timesin the Torah.

3. According to Jewish Law the immersion had to have a required witness. Dr. William LaSor in theBiblical Archaeological Review says apparently the Biblical phrase in the name of was an indication ofthe required witness. In several New Testament references such as I Corinthians 1:13,15; Matthew21:25; Acts 1:22; and Acts 19:3 we see clearly baptism mentioned in conjunction with the name ofindividuals such as John and Paul. Further information on this can be found in Jewish literature con-cerning proselyte baptism where it indicates his baptism attestation by witness in whose name he wasimmersed.

4. The immersion candidate was not touched by the baptizer in Jesuss day. Because Leviticus 15:18says, He shall wash all his flesh in the water, Judaism stresses that the entire body must come incontact with the water of the Mikveh. To insure the immersion was valid, no clothing or individuals

could touch the candidate. Any such intervention that prevented the water from reaching a part of thebody was known as Chatitzah and rendered the immersion invalid. Although the Mikveh was morespiritual than physical, often the bath had two sets of steps, one entering and another leaving so as tonot defile what had been purified.

5. The baptismal water (Mikveh) in Rabbinic literature was referred to as the womb of the world, andas a convert came out of the water it was considered a new birth separating him from the paganworld. As the convert came out of these waters his status was changed and he was referred to as alittle child just born, or a child of one day (Yeb. 22a; 48b; 97b).We see the New Testament usingsimilar Jewish terms as born anew, new creation, and born from above. According to Dr. ArnoldFruchtebaum, Rabbinic literature uses the term born again to refer to at least six different occur-rences. Note each of these life changing experiences: (1) when a Gentile converts to Judaism; (2)when an individual is crowned king; (3) at the age of 13 when a Jewish boy chooses to embrace Gods

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covenant and be numbered with the believers; (4) when an individual gets married; (5) when an indi-vidual becomes a Rabbi; and (6) when an individual becomes the head of a Rabbinical school.

6. Jewish Law requires at least three witnesses made up of qualified leaders to be present for certainimmersions (Yebam. 47b). Ordinarily a member of the Sanhedrin performed the act of observing theproselyte immersion, but in case of necessity others could do it. Secret baptism, or where only themother brought a child, was not acknowledged.

Baptism

One of the most important teachings in Judaism is that of repentance. According to both Scripturesand Rabbinic literature, no matter how great the sin, if a person repents and forsakes the sin beforeGod he can be forgiven. As we see in the case of John, Jesus, and all New Testament writers, repen-

tance was always involved. The Jerusalem Talmud states, nothing can stand before repentance (Ye-bamos 47b). According to Dr. David Flusser, the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as the New Testament teachthat water can purify the body only if the soul has been purified through repentance and righteous-ness.

Water and Blood Both Illustrate Gods Cleansing in Judaism

Both water and blood are used constantly in the Torah and New Testament as the two main agents to

illustrate Gods cleansing. The Jews believe that uncleanness is not physical, but rather a spiritual con-dition as related to Leviticus 11:44 where it states by wrong actions one can make the soulunclean.Therefore, the purification through ritual immersion, as commanded in Scripture, is basically involvedwith the soul, rather than the body. Not how both water and blood are cited in Scripture: (1) blood isused in cleansing in relation to the Passover Lamb (Exod. 12); blood is used in cleansing in relation tothe Day of Atonement (Lev. 16); (3)blood is used in cleansing in relation to the Feast Offerings (Lev.23); (4) blood is used in cleansing in relation to the five Levitical Offerings (Lev. 1-7); (5) blood isused in cleansing in relation to the atonement of the soul (Lev. 17:11-14).

Water is used in cleansing in relation to the separation and the ashes of the Red Heifer (Num. 19); (2)water is used in cleansing in relation to consecration to priestly ministry (Lev. 8:6); (3) water is usedfor cleansing in relation to the cleansing of the leper (Lev. 14:1-8); (4) water is used in cleansing inrelation to the different washings of the Law (Heb. 9:10); (5) water is used in relation to the remissionof sins (Acts 2:38; Titus 3:5; Mark 6:16; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3; I Peter 3:20,21; Ephesians 5:26;John 19:34; I John 5:6; and Heb. 9:10-23).

Summary

A detailed study of the Jewish background of Christian baptism shows that it is vitally important, butGod doesnt always tell us why. Obviously, the convert could repent and have a part in the world tocome without it, but the emphasis seems to be pointing to the taking on of a new believer statusillustrated as a new birth by immersion. In any convert with the Lord the three items of Gods Word,the blood and a token are always present. Jesus was always cautious to have three witnesses in eve-rything He did (I John 5:7,8). In the Old Testament circumcision was considered the token of Godscovenant, and in the New Testament we see the same wording concerning baptism as it is referred to

as circumcision made without hands (Col. 2:11,12). Whatever religious the denomination, believersshould agree that immersion has its roots in the Jewish Mikveh of Jesuss day and it is of utmost im-portance for each of us to fulfill this righteous deed.

The Jewish Nature of the Gospels by John Shelby Spong

In a deep and significant way, we are now able to see that all the Gospels are Jewish books, pro-foundly Jewish books. Recognizing this, we begin to face the realization that we will never understandthe Gospels until we learn how to read them as Jewish books. They are written, to a greater or lesserdegree, in the midrashic style of the Jewish sacred storyteller, a style that most of us do not begineven now to comprehend. This style is not concerned with historic accuracy. It is concerned withmeaning and understanding.

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The Jewish writers of antiquity interpreted Gods presence to be with Joshua after the death of Mosesby repeating the parting of the waters story (Josh. 3). At the Red Sea, that was the sign that God waswith Moses (Exod. 14). When Joshua was said to have parted the waters of the Jordan River, it wasnot recounted as a literal event in history, rather it was a midrashic attempt to relate Joshua to Mosesand thus demonstrate the presence of God with his successor. The Same pattern operated later whenboth Elijah (II Kings 2:8) and Elisha (Ii Kings 2:14) were said to have parted the waters of the JordanRiver and to have walked across on dry land. When the story of Jesuss baptism was told, the Gospel

writers asserted that Jesus parted not the Jordan River, but the heavens. This Moses theme was thusbeing struck yet again, and indeed, for a similar response. The heavens, according to the Jewish crea-tion story, were nothing but the firmament that separated the waters above from th waters below(Geness 1:6-8). To portray Jesus as splitting the heavenly waters was a Jewish way of suggesting thatthe holy God encountered in Jesus went even beyond the God presence that had been met in Moses,Joshua, Elijah, and Elisha. That is the way the midrashic principle worked. Stories about heroes of the

Jewish past are heightened and retold again and agin about heroes of the present moment, not be-cause those same events actually occurred, but because the reality of God revealed in those momentswas like the reality of God known in the past. As this journey through the Gospels progresses, we willwatch this midrashic principle operating time after time.

We are not reading history when we read the Gospels. We are listening to the experience of Jewishpeople, processing in a Jewish way what they believed was a new experience with the God of Israel.Jews filtered every new experience through the corporate remembered history of their people, as that

history had been recorded in the Hebrew Scripture of the past.

If we are to recover the power present in the Scripture for our time, then this clue to their originalmeaning must be recovered and understood. Ascribing to the Gospels historic accuracy in the style oflater historians, or demanding that the narratives of the Gospels be taken literally, or trying to recre-ate the historical context surrounding each specific event narrated in the Gospels these are meth-ods of people who do not realize that they are reading a Jewish book.

Before we can fully address this issue and begin to read the Gospels as Jewish books, we must cast

our gaze on the early history of the Christian movement to seek to understand where things wentwrong. What were the forces of history that collaborated to tear the Christian church away from itsJewish origins? If we are able to find our way back to the Jewish perspective that produced our Gos-pels, then we must understand that perspective was first broken, then denied, and then lost. It wasnot an accident.

Compilers Notes

It is my conviction that all the events described in the Bible (both Original and New Testaments) wereactual historical events. While I cannot agree with most of what Rev. Spong has written in the past, Icould not agree more with him when he said that in order to understand the Gospels we must firstrealize that we are reading Jewish books and that they must be understood in that light. Without thatperspective, our understanding will always be severely limited. The Word of God (including the Gos-pels) is the most incredible book ever to be written. I believe that the Lord Yeshua has a special bless-ing for those who are willing to put forth the effort to try to understand it in the way He intended it tobe.