Gaining Perspective

Before we take a journey into the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5-7 we must first make a pit stop to gain a little cultural perspective. We want to place ourselves in the shoes of the Jewish people who first heard these words of a new rabbi called Jesus. I in no way claim to be an expert on first century Jewish culture but have stumbled upon scholars in this area and it is through their knowledge that we will hopefully gain some perspective. This will be one of several cultural pit stops we will make along our journey into the teaching of Jesus.

Pit Stop Number One

In order to understand the radical teaching of Jesus we must look at the first century teachings that were floating around. Without understanding these teachings we could not see why what Jesus taught was in fact radical. Most Jewish people at this time would have fallen into one of four main philosophies. So here they are:

Zealots- This group felt that the reason the Jews were under Roman control is because God’s people were being passive and cowardly. If they would rise up and lead a violent revolution against the Romans, God would bring victory to the Jews.

Herodians- Appropriately named after Herod, this group were supporters of Herod. They viewed the Zealots, as stupid and wrong, claiming that victory against the Romans was not possible. If you can’t beat them join them, cooperate, and play the game. A group we see in the Bible that falls into this group would be the Sadducees.

Essenes- This group viewed the previous two groups as unenlightened. Their stance was that the only way to be close to God was to leave the pagan culture altogether and create an alterative community out in the desert.

Pharisees- Maybe the most popular of the four groups as we see Jesus interact with this group often in scripture. Their goal was to become purer. They believe that if they would summit themselves to the letter of the law and separated themselves from the sinners then God would liberate them from the Romans. They claimed that their captivity was the fault of the notorious sinners like the prostitutes, tax collectors and drunks.

As Jesus traveled and shared the message of the Kingdom of God many Jews would listen to his teachings trying to figure out which of these four groups Jesus represented. It did not take long for many to realize Jesus spoke of a different way, the way of the Kingdom of God…. and not just a kingdom coming in the future…. But one that was here and now.