Conflict Holiness, and Politics in the Teachings of Jesus

The missing Jesus: rabbinic Judaism and the New Testament

“…Simon answered and said, 'I suppose the one whom he forgave more.' He said to him, 'You have judged rightly'" (Luke 7: [41][42][43]. The parable implies that not only the person whose debt is great (i.e., the "sinful" woman), but the person whose debt is much smaller (i.e., Simon the Pharisee) has been forgiven.…”

“…6 It could be that Peter has concluded that the Last Day had arrived when some of the great events of the first exodus would be repeated (such as manna in the wilderness and God's presence among the people). To commemorate the exodus Jews celebrated the Feast of Booths by living in small booths or huts for seven days (Lev 23: [42][43][44]. But the feast was also understood by many as looking ahead to the glorious day of Israel's deliverance.…”

“…In sum, Jesus' positive form of the Golden Rule is somewhat distinctive, in that the negative form appears to have been more common. This fact may enhance its claim to authenticity (in that one might expect a non-dominical topos that entered the dominical stream to conform to the common format), 42 but it does not place Jesus into 41 For discussion of the negative form of the rule in Thomas, see B. Chilton, " 'Do not do what you hate': Where there is not gold, there might be brass. The case of the Thomaean Golden Rule," in Chilton, Judaic Approaches to the Gospels (USF International Studies in Formative Christianity and Judaism 2; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1994) 123-49.…”

“…The case of the Thomaean Golden Rule," in Chilton, Judaic Approaches to the Gospels (USF International Studies in Formative Christianity and Judaism 2; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1994) 123-49. 42 Chilton ( Judaic Approaches to the Gospels, 142) plausibly concludes that "Jesus taught the Rule, which was generally acknowledged within his culture, in its positive form." But he goes on to suggest that it was originally uttered in contexts different from those supplied in Matthew/Luke and in Thomas.…”

“Love Your Enemies”: Usury, Citizenship and the Friend‐enemy Distinction

“…88 Marcus Borg sets out how at the heart of the depiction of Jesus' ministry is a conflict between Jesus and his contemporaries about the shape and purpose of the people of God, which is itself part of a wider debate about the response of Judaism to Roman political power and the encroachment of Hellenistic culture. 89 Jesus rejected, and presented an alternative to, every other post-exilic programme for Israel's internal reform and quest for holiness. For all of these were based on the exclusion of sinners/enemies, separation from the 'world' (that is, Gentile uncleanness and rule), and solidarity formed by defining Israel's identity through opposition to sinners and Gentiles.…”