king of the jews

King of the Jews

King of the Jews

How Learning a Little about Jewish Culture Can Help You Know Jesus and What He Taught Even Better!

Cultural Concepts of Jesus

Chinese Jesus?


African Jesus?


European Jesus?


Jeepney Jesus?Jeepney Jesus?

Jesus Within His Own Culture

“If we are to understand the thrust of Jesus’ ministry, we must project ourselves as far as possible into the worldview and mindset of a first-century Jew.” (N.T. Wright. “Jerusalem in the New Testament;” Jerusalem Past and Present in the Purposes of God. P. W. L. Walker, ed., pp. 53–77. 2nd edn. 1994. Grand Rapids: Baker.)


1. The Land, Jerusalem, and the Temple2. Synagogues3. The Law of Moses4. Work and the Sabbath5. Appointed Times6. Hems, Corners, and Tassels7. “Good Eye, Bad Eye”8. “Binding and Loosing” 9. “The Greatest Commandment”10.“Born Again”

1. The Land, Jerusalem, and the Temple

A. The Land

But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel (Mat 2:19-21).

“…I [the LORD] give to you [Abraham] and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession” (Gen 12:1).

“Dwell in this land, and I will be with you [Isaac] and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father” (Gen 26:3).

“I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you [Jacob] lie I will give to you and your descendants” (Gen 28:13).


A. The Land

To Europe

To Africa

To Asia

Desert

Tropical

Jungle

Plains

Forest

General Mediterranean Climate

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it’ ” (Exo 33:1).

“If any of you [Israelites] are driven out [of the land] to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deu 30:4-6).

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,” says the LORD. “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says the LORD: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” says the LORD. “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer 31:31-34).

“Turn back, O virgin of Israel [i.e. the northern tribes; see vs 20], turn back to these your cities.” (Jer 31:21).

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their [Judah’s, the southern tribes’] captivity: ‘The LORD bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’ And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks” (Jer 31:23,24).

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, that the city [of Jerusalem] shall be built for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The surveyor's line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever” (Jer 31:38-40).

“ ‘For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the LORD. ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of Righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ ” (Jer 33:7-16).

The question for Israel is not “if” they will finally inherit all the Land that God has promised to them, but “when.” Jesus is portrayed in the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles as a Messiah who not only came to die for the sins of the world, but who will bring to pass what was promised to the patriarchs and to the people of Israel, including what was promised to them concerning the Land.

“He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever…” (Luk 1:54,55).

“To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham…” (Luk 1:72,73).

“You [unbelieving Jews] are sons…of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed’ ” (Act 3:25,26).

“…my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain…the covenants…the promises…of whom are the fathers…” (Rom 9:3,4).

For modern non-Jewish Christians, the issue of the Land often seems fairly insignificant. However, if God could change His mind and plan concerning His giving of that specific Land to the Israelites, as promised, then He can change His mind and plan concerning His giving of eternal life to those of us who have trusted in Christ. In short, the Land is important because it demonstrates God’s faithfulness in all His ways, the material and the non-material.


A. The Land

B. Jerusalem

Now as [Jesus] drew near, He saw [Jerusalem] and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Luk 19:41,42).

JERUSALEM

“…Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there” (1Kgs 11:36).

“…Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there” (2Chr 12:13).

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you” (Psa 122:6).

“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!” (Psa 137:5).

“For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isa 2:3; See also Mic 4:2).

“Jerusalem remained the focal point of everything that the Jews were and did.”(N.T. Wright. “Jerusalem in the New Testament;” Jerusalem Past and Present in the Purposes of God. P. W. L. Walker, ed., pp. 53–77. 2nd edn. 1994. Grand Rapids: Baker.

“…that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in [Jesus’] name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luk 24:47).

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Act 1:8).

“[The ancient Jews] considered …Jerusalem to be the earth’s navel, and even the high point of the whole earth (b.Qidd. 69a).”

(Tim Hegg. The Gospel of Matthew. Tacoma, WA: Torah Resource Publications, 2006, p. 124)

For Jews, ancient and modern, a person always goes “up” to Jerusalem.

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…” (Mat 20:18; Mat 10:31; Luk 18:31).

…they [twelve-year-old Jesus, Joseph, and Mary] went up to Jerusalem…(Luk 2:42 – from Nazareth, vs 39).

…Jesus went up to Jerusalem (Joh 2:13 - from Capernaum, vs 12; See also Joh 5:1).

JERUSALEM

Nazareth

Capernaum

Interestingly, the Gospels and the Book of Acts are orientated the same way that the standard Judaism(s) of Jesus’ day were oriented, with the Land of Israel, and especially Jerusalem being considered in everyday speech as higher than all other places, whether or not they actually were.


A. The Land

B. Jerusalem

C. The Temple

“In these ways they acted out, and thereby demonstrated to themselves, their belief that Jerusalem, and its Temple, were the centre of the created order, the place where the Creator of the world, who had entered into special covenant with them as a nation, had chosen to place his ‘name’.”

(N.T. Wright. “Jerusalem in the New Testament;” Jerusalem Past and Present in the Purposes of God. P. W. L. Walker, ed., pp. 53–77. 2nd edn. 1994. Grand Rapids: Baker.

“ ‘…and ascend’ [Deu 17:8] – this teaches that the Temple was [to be considered geographically] higher than the rest of the Land of Israel, and that the Land of Israel was [to be considered geographically] higher than all other countries” (The Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 87a, as quoted in Le Cornu, Hilary and Shulam, Joseph, A Commentary on the Jewish Roots of Acts. Jerusalem: Academon Ltd [a subsidiary of Hebrew University], 2003, p. 397.)

“Two men went up to the temple to pray…” (Luk 18:10).

Jesus went up to…the temple… (Joh 2:13,14).

…Jesus went up into the temple (Joh 7:14)

Jesus considered the temple to still be his Father’s house, and the place where his Father dwelt on earth, despite the prevalent corruption throughout the priestly hierarchy. His problem was not with the temple, but with those who mismanaged it.

“Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!” (Joh 2:16).

“He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it” (Mat 23:21).

Jesus’ attitude toward the Land of Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple was not indifferent or, in and of itself, antagonistic. No, throughout the Gospels we witness in Jesus a very Jewish and biblical devotion to these cultural staples, magnified only by the fact that he was Israel’s promised Messiah.

2. Synagogues

So [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luk 4:16-21).

We see from the Gospels evidence that Jesus habitually attended his hometown synagogue each Sabbath. This habit, among others, demonstrates that he was a devout Jew in every respect. Consequently, we can safely surmise that the synagogue played a significant role in his social development and biblical knowledge. His style of reasoning through Scripture belies the influence of the synagogue and, throughout the Gospel narratives, we witness Jesus following many traditions taught, not in the Torah, but in the synagogue.

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luk 2:52).

• Most synagogues met in homes.• Most synagogues, with or without special

buildings, had less than 50 regular attendees.• Most building-ed synagogues functioned as:

– Day schools for Jewish children.– Night schools for Jewish adults.– Hostels for traveling Jews.

• Most synagogues had elected officials, roughly corresponding to the early church’s polity of elders and deacons, plus treasurer(s), and various other staff functions (E.g. building/grounds-keeper).

(Bruce N. Fisk. Synagogue Influence on Paul’s Roman Readers. Paper. Westmont College, 2006, pp. 11-17)

“The synagogue continued to function as the focal communal institution of Jews everywhere…”

(Lee Levine. “In Search of the Synagogue.” Biblical Archaeological Review. June 2008, p. 36)

Entrance

Stepped Benches

Stepped Benches

Stepped

Benches

Stepped

Benches

Ark

Moses’ Seat

Bema

Lecternwith Torah Scroll

“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do…” (Mat 23:3,4).

A Typical Synagogue Service• “B’rakhot” – Blessings.• “Sh’ma” – Recitation of Deu 6:4ff.• “Aliyot” – Calling of people to read from the Torah scroll the

assigned portion.– First priests– Second Levites.– Third any male competent to read Hebrew publicly.

• Calling of people to read from the Prophets and/or the Writings (i.e. “Haftarah”).

• “D’rash” – Short explanation/exposition of the Torah portion read, linked to the Prophets/Writings, including time for the congregation’s questions and even debate.

• “Amidah” – Standing prayer.• Some other Blessings.• Announcements and Dismissal.

Sh’ma Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Ekhad.

“Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One” (Deu 6:4)

“Not only is the Jews’ centuries-old regard for Torah well documented but Josephus, Philo, the New Testament, rabbinic literature and archaeological evidence concur that scriptural readings constituted the core of contemporary Jewish worship in the synagogue during the late 2nd Temple period.”(Bruce N. Fisk. Synagogue Influence on Paul’s Roman Readers. Paper. Westmont College, 2006, p. 16)

“167 sedarim [i.e. weekly portions of the Mosaic Law to be read] would have required at least three and a half years to complete.”

(Tim Hegg. The Public Reading of the Scriptures in the 1st Century Synagogue. Paper. Torah Resource, 2006, p. 8.)

3. The Law of Moses

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me [Jesus]; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (Joh 5:46,47).

Heb. “Jesus”

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:17-19).

The common belief that Jesus broke the Law of Moses on purpose, and taught his followers to do the same, is based on an erroneous notion birthed by Gentile Christians who did not seriously consider the Jewish context of Jesus’ message. Most Jews knew then, and know now, that a Messiah who discards the Mosaic Law could be no Messiah at all! He would immediately be disqualified as a messianic candidate if he lived a “lawless” life and/or taught so to others. What is more, he would have been put on trial in Israel for the capital crime of being a false prophet!

“You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to…entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst” (Deu 13:4,5).

"You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to…entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst” (Deu 13:4,5).

A Messiah who purposefully broke the Mosaic Law would in fact be a sinner, because, as John, Jesus’ own disciple, later wrote under the direction of the Holy Spirit: “sin is lawlessness” (1Joh 3:4). However, we have this testimony that Christ “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15). If Christ had broken what is commanded in the Mosaic Law, even once, he would not have been qualified to be our sin bearer. In truth, Jesus was a Torah-observant Jew; the most law-abiding Jew who has ever lived!

Once a person becomes more informed about Jewish culture in Jesus’ day, it is easier for that person to see that those times in which it would appear that Jesus was going against the Mosaic Law, he was in fact going against (usually Pharisaic) traditional interpretations of the Law. But never against the Law itself!

4. Work and the Sabbath

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.” …For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working” (Joh 5:6-17).

What is not clear in most translations of the Bible is that there are two Hebrew words for “work.” One is “m’lakhah” and that means the kind of work one does to earn a living. The other is “avodah” and that is the kind of work one does free of charge, as devotion to God and out of service to others. The work that is forbidden on the Sabbath is “m’lakhah,” and not “avodah.”

The primary principle behind the Sabbath is sanctification. Not rest. Rest is one of the ways in which the Jews, then and now, sanctified the Sabbath, but it was not the only way. As it is written: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exo 20:8).

The Sabbath is not any day a person chooses to rest. There is only one Sabbath. And that day begins each week at sundown Friday and ends at sundown Saturday. Sunday is not, and never has been the Sabbath! Long ago, God rested from His creation of the universe at sundown on a Friday…and the Sabbath is a weekly memorial of that specific day when God ceased from creating the universe.

Jesus never did forbidden work on the Sabbath. Had he done m’lakhah on the Sabbath, his accusers could have found a valid accusation against him in court. And Jesus would have been a sinner. As it stands though, they had to drum up false witnesses at his trial. What Jesus in fact did was constantly challenge the traditional interpretations of the Mosaic Law. These interpretations wrongly demoted commandments related to human dignity and need, and placed them under commandments related to the Sabbath, thus turning what had been given by God as a gift to Israel into a burden.

But, as Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, stated plainly: “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mar 2:27).

5. Appointed Times

Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?“ (Mat 26:17).

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem (Joh 5:1).

Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand…. But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret (Joh 7:2-10).

“[John’s] theme is that the Jewish feasts all point forward to Christ [John structures his Gospel around three cycles of the seven appointed times]; they are a foreshadowing of heavenly things, and each separate feast receives its fulfillment in Christ.”

(Bill R. Day. The Moses Connection in John’s Gospel. Piedmont, OK: Mariner Books Publishing, 1997, p. 31)

“These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 1. On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD's Passover….2. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread….3. You shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering….4. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD….5. In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets….6. Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement….7. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month…you shall dwell in booths for seven days.” (Lev 23:24-42).

PassoverPassover

Crucifixion

UnleavenedUnleavenedBreadBread

Burial

FirstfruitsFirstfruits

Resurrection

WeeksWeeks

Holy Spirit Sent

TrumpetsTrumpets

Gather Up Saints

Day of AtonementDay of Atonement

Judgment

TabernaclesTabernacles

Millenium

6. Hems, Corners, and Tassels

And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour (Mat 9:20-22; see also Luk 8:44-48).

Wherever He entered into villages, cities, or in the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well (Mar 6:56; see also Mat 14:36).

“But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings…” (Mal 4:2).

“It is not too far-fetched to bring in the eschatological text of Mal 4:2…for the Hebrew word KANAF can mean “wing” or “edge” as in the “edge of a garment.” Indeed, in Num 15:38 where the commandment of the TZITZIT is first given, KANAF is also used….The fact that the same Hebrew word can denote the hem of a garment and even the corners where the TZITZIT would be attached may well connect this prophetic text (Mal 4:2) to the miraculous healings of our Master as recorded by the Gospel writers.” (Hegg, Tim. The Gospel of Matthew. Torah Resource Publications, p. 583-584)

6. Hems, Corners, and Tassels

KRASPEDON

- fringe, edge, tassel (Barklay-Newman Greek Dictionary)

- “in Jewish usage, the tassel or fringe on the four corners of the outer garment, worn as a reminder to observe the commandments (cf. NUM 15:38ff; DT 22:12).” (Friberg Greek Lexicon).

- fringe, edge, tassel (United Bible Society's Greek Dictionary)

- “the border of a garment – ‘fringe’”.... It is also possible that in all instances in which KRASPEDON is used in reference to Jesus' clothing, the reference may be specifically to the tassels and not merely to the fringe or edge of the garment. The interpretation of such passages depends upon how strictly Jesus may have followed the Mosaic law...” (Louw-Nida Lexicon)

LXX

=

the Greek translation of the OT

Translation Bias in the NIV…?

NIV Mat 9:20 “edge” – Jesus.NIV Mat 14:36 “edge” – Jesus.NIV Mat 23:5 “tassels” – The scribes and Pharisees.NIV Mar 6:56 “edge” – JesusNIV Luk 8:44 “edge” – Jesus

NIV Num 15:38 “tassel” (LXX KRASPEDA) – Israelites NIV Num 15: 39 “tassels” (LXX KRASPEDOIS) – Israelites NIV Deu 22:12 “tassels” (LXX KRASPEDON) – Israelites NIV Zec 8:23 “hem” (LXX KRASPEDOU) – Jew

[This final form KRASPEDOU – genitive singular – is exactly the Greek form found in all of the NT verses where the word is applied to Jesus’ clothing. It would appear that the translators of the NIV did not want Jesus to be wearing the clothing commanded by God to be worn by all Israelites/Jews, while they wanted the “bad” Pharisees to wear tassels. This smacks of theological antisemitism. The NIV is not the only translation with this bias!]

7. “Good Eye, Evil Eye”

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Mat 6:21-24).

Hebrew Idioms

AYIN TOV “Good Eye” = “generous”

AYIN RA “Bad [Evil] Eye” = “stingy”

8. “Binding and Loosing”

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Mat 16:18,19).

“And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Mat 18:17,18).

“Binding and loosing (Hebrew asar ve hittir) …Rabbinical term for ‘forbidding and permitting’ ”….“This power and authority, vested in the rabbinical body of each age or in the Sanhedrin, received its ratification and final sanction from the celestial court of justice (Sifre, Emor, ix; Talmud Makkot 23b). ”

(Jewish Encyclopedia 3:215).

9. “The Greatest Commandment”

Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that [Jesus] had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mar 12:28-31).

Hillel’s 5th Principle of Biblical Interpretation

K’lal u’phrat u’phrat u’kh’lal (general and particular, and particular and general) – a general or “sum” principle derived from Scripture certainly implies (encapsulates really …) all its particulars, and visa-versa.

Hillel’s 2nd Principle of Biblical Interpretation

Gizera shava (analogical regulation) – one biblical passage may be explained by, or conceptually linked together with another passage on the basis of (usually) the same phrase, same key word(s) or, upon rare occasion, similar concepts in both passages. These “verbal links” are often based on rare words/phrases, or on correspondingly unusual grammatical constructions.

“And you shall love [Heb. v’ahavta] the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deu 6:5).

“…but you shall love [Heb. v’ahavta] your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18).

One God

1. Love God 2. Love Neighbor

XXX XXX

XXX XXX

XXX XXX

Etc. Etc.

[i.e. the remaining 610 commandments of the Law are organized under the “headers” of “Love God” and “Love Neighbor. None of the 612 commandments are dropped in the process.]

Thus Jesus was not negating the other 610 commandments of the Mosaic Law (see Mat 5:17-19), but rather he was organizing and prioritizing them under the two main headers provided for him organically by the Mosaic Law.

10. “Born Again”

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.“ Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?“ Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Joh 3:3-5).

“Born again” and “born of water and the Spirit” are in synonymous parallelism, indicating in Hebrew thought that they basically mean the same thing, the second phrase perhaps providing a little more clarification about the first phrase.

“Most assuredly, I say to you…” (Joh 3:3).

“Most assuredly, I say to you…” (Joh 3:5)

“…unless one is born again…” (Joh 3:3)“…unless one is born of water and the Spirit…” (Joh 3:5)

“…he cannot see the kingdom of God“ (Joh 3:3).“…he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Joh 3:5).

“Most assuredly, I say to you…” (Joh 3:3).

“Most assuredly, I say to you…” (Joh 3:5)

“…unless one is born again…” (Joh 3:3)“…unless one is born of water and the Spirit…” (Joh 3:5)

“…he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Joh 3:3).“…he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Joh 3:5).

“Enter” better clarifies what Jesus meant by “see.” One cannot “see” (in the sense of “experience”) that which is contained in a place or condition wherein one has not “enter[ed].”

“…unless one is born of water and the Spirit…” (Joh 3:5)

Does NOT =

born of water And

born of the Spirit

[Because both phrases are governed by a single preposition, and because of the absence in the Greek of a definite article (= “born of water and Spirit”), the vast majority of scholars from all persuasions maintain that the grammar should be read thus…]

“…unless one is born of (water and the Spirit)…”

NOT:

“…unless one is (born of water) and ([born of] the Spirit)…”

According to a proper reading of the Greek syntax (i.e. grammar) “water and the Spirit” are to be understood as referring to two components of one birth. “Born of water” cannot be separated from, or contrasted with “born of [the] Spirit” since both “water” and “Spirit” are components of the exact same birth. “Born of water and the Spirit” refers to one event, one birth…at least according to the Greek grammar.

“The fact that both nouns [i.e. ‘water’ and ‘Spirit’] are governed by a single preposition (ek) and that both are anarthrous [i.e. without a definite article] suggests that they should be understood together as a conceptual unit describing the nature of this new birth…”

(W.L. Kynes. “New Birth” Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Eds. Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall. InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, IL, 1992, p. 575)

Of the 17 times Joh 3:5 is referred to or alluded to by 11 different writers of the Ante-Nicene Fathers (i.e. from those who knew the Apostles to those living in 325 A.D.), every single time (i.e. 100 %) the writers interpreted Jesus’ words to mean water/Spirit baptism. This accords with a more Jewish view of what is involved in being born again.

“Shimon ben Lakhish said, ‘A convert [to Judaism]…, once he has come up from the waters of baptism, is like a newborn baby’ ” (Talmud Yevanot 62a).


1. The Land, Jerusalem, and the Temple2. Synagogues3. The Law of Moses4. Work and the Sabbath5. Appointed Times6. Hems, Corners, and Tassels7. “Good Eye, Bad Eye”8. “Binding and Loosing” 9. “The Greatest Commandment”10.“Born Again”


“If we are to understand the thrust of Jesus’ ministry, we must project ourselves as far as possible into the worldview and mindset of a first-century Jew.” (N.T. Wright. “Jerusalem in the New Testament;” Jerusalem Past and Present in the Purposes of God. P. W. L. Walker, ed., pp. 53–77. 2nd edn. 1994. Grand Rapids: Baker.)

King of the Jews

King of the Jews

Learning a Little about Jewish Culture Can Help You Know Jesus and What He Taught Even Better!

king of the jews

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