By Lilly Cohen
It sounds like something I would say, I know. Well, perhaps not in those exact words. But something along those lines, most definitely. Which is why I read the headline with interest, silently nodding my head in agreement with whoever came to such an enlightened, albeit controversial, conclusion. Turns out it’s none other than Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Better known as Pope Francis, the current leader of the Catholic world.
In a recent interview with Ynet News (“It’s hard to build peace; but living without peace is an absolute nightmare”, 28 November 2014), Pope Francis spoke out quite candidly about the bond that ties every Christians to the Jewish people. It’s not the first time he’s expressed this view. In his first papal letter sent to bishops the world over in November 2013, Pope Francis wrote, “We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked, for ‘the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable’ (Romans 11:29).”
It was, however, during his recent interview with Ynet News that he articulated a simple truth, something that’s often simply overlooked: “Jesus was born and died a Jew”.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at those words. Because they reminded me of a story I heard recently. A group of elderly, traditional folk was on tour in Israel for the first time. On the shores of the Sea of Galilea, where Yeshua spent so much of his time, the tour leader paused to speak about the fact that Yeshua was Jewish. The tour group was silent for a moment. Then a little old lady blurted out her surprise, “But that can’t be! Jesus was a Christian!”
Ah yes. A good many years ago I had the same light bulb moment. And it changed my life forever. Yeshua was Jewish. See, it makes sense when you think about it. Of course He was Jewish. What else would He be? But then again, I’d just never thought about it. There was no need. Because regardless of the fact that Christianity wasn’t even coined back then, I just assumed Him to be, well, Christian.
But it wasn’t just Yeshua though. All the first “Christians” were Jews. Torah observant ones at that. Reading the book of Acts gives you a very clear picture of exactly how Jewish the first followers of Yeshua really were. I mean, think about it. It was His disciples, His family, His friends, His followers and those who witnessed His crucifixion and resurrection. Then came Pentecost, hailed as the day on which the church was born, and thousands more started believing in Him. But all of them Jewish. Shabbat-keeping, Torah-observant, kosher-eating Jews. Because at that time, having Yeshua as Messiah was the fulfillment of that which Jews believed and practiced and clung to for thousands of years.
But then comes a turning point. Because the book of Acts also tells the story of the very first Gentiles Believers. Where the Gospel used to be focused on those in Jerusalem, then to those in Judea and Samaria, it was now on its way to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). We read about Peter’s vision and Cornelius’s conversion in Acts 10. And then comes the meeting of apostles and elders in Acts 15. To discuss the issue of Gentile Believers. Because it’s never happened before. Uncharted territory. And they aren’t sure how to proceed. Oh they had no problem with it. That wasn’t the issue. See, the problem was that they didn’t know how it should be done logistically. Up until that point, only Jews followed Yeshua. So the question was: should all the Gentiles who wanted to follow Yeshua first become, well, Jewish?
After some deliberation, the council reached a decision: Gentile believers didn’t have to uphold the Torah. They were, however, prohibited from four things: food offered to idols, fornication, strangled meat and blood (Acts 15:20,29). So no conversion to Judaism for Gentile Believers then. But… Various scholars have argued that any Gentile Believers were at that point Jewish in all but name. In fact, Patrice Fisher states that “These G-d fearers were every bit as Jewishly observant as their Jewish friends….Their lifestyle already identified them as Jews…”
It’s an interesting angle – the fact that our faith is so unmistakably interwoven, so clearly flowing from the things so many today see as simply Jewish. Because that’s our foundation, our heritage.
Which is why I agree, no, why I applaud Pope Francis’s words, “One of the reasons I’m here is to remind the Christian world that our roots are in Judaism. In every Christian, there is a Jew; and you can’t be a true Christian if you don’t recognize your Jewish roots. And I think interfaith dialogue must place an emphasis on the inseparable connection between the religions, on the fact that Christianity grew from within Judaism.”
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