And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mat 28:18-20)
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
Jesus as our Master
When we are to be Jesus’s disciples, we basically acknowledge that Jesus is our master and teacher. As such our objective should be to strive to become like Him and do exactly what He does. When looking at what the dictionary says about master, I found 2 interesting definitions.
In the Meriam Webster Dictionary, we find master as a definition for a person:
- a great figure of the past (as in science or art) whose work serves as a model or ideal
And with regards to objects:
- an original from which copies can be made especially: a master recording
To be disciples of Jesus as our Master we clearly have to strive to be like Him and do as He did.
Somehow within Christianity, we seem to think that Jesus had to keep the law in order to fulfill it, but we don’t, and can therefore live a life different from what Jesus Himself lived. Because Jesus fulfilled the Laws of Moses we believe they no longer apply to us. Instead, we follow, what we believe to be, a new set of commandments that Jesus gave us; like love one another as He loved us. We also believe it is good to honor our parents and of course we should not kill or steal. But are we living our daily life the way Jesus lived?
Is not one of Jesus’s commandments, to do exactly that?
You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. (John 13:13-17)
We also see that Paul instructed fellow believers to do as he does because He does what Jesus did.
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Co 11:1)
So how did Jesus live His life and did His disciples actually lived similar lives? These are very important questions we as Christians should ask ourselves!
Around 20 years ago, there was a very popular slogan within the Christian community that goes like this: WWJD – What Would Jesus Do. So, let’s look at what Jesus actually would do.
What Would Jesus Do (WWJD)
To understand and answer the question: ‘What Would Jesus Do’ we have to look at ‘What Did Jesus Do (WDJD)’
The good thing is that we have very good records of His life. If we have to summarise what Jesus did do in one single sentence, it would simply state:
“Jesus did the will of the Father”
- John 5:30
“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgement is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. - John 7:16
So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. - John 10:37-38
If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;
if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” - John 12:49-50
For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment–what to say and what to speak.
And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” - John 14:10
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Jesus and the Law of God
I believe that every Bible-believing Christian is in agreement that Jesus perfectly kept the Laws of Moses in order to be able to fulfill them. If Jesus kept the Laws of Moses are, we, as Disciples of Christ, not to do the same?
He actually tells us exactly that.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mat 5:17-20)
Not only tells he, in very clear terms, that he did not come to abolish the Law or the prophets, but also that not one dot or iota of the Law will pass until Heaven and Earth pass away and all is accomplished (all -> both the law and prophecies) which we see happening in Revelation 21 – 22
He furthermore commands us not to relax the least of the commandments and that we have to teach them to others. These are direct instructions from Jesus to us!
So if you are of the opinion that we now have to obey Jesus commandments instead of the Laws of Moses then this Bible scripture causes a big issue because Jesus directly instructs us to not even think of relaxing the least of the commandments of Moses, in fact, he even tells us that we have to do better than the Pharisees did:
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mat 5:20)
The Pharisees were focusing on the letter of the law, and Jesus emphasized that in order for us to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, we have to follow the Spirit of the law and not just the letter of the Law.
The Pharisees, in order to keep the letter of the law, invented many other commandments to prevent them from breaking the letter of the law. Jesus refers to these as ‘Commandments of Men’ and indicated that those Commandments of Men are actually nullifying God’s commandments, something he got seriously upset about. We read this for example in Mark 7:6-13.
And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”‘ (that is, given to God)– then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” (Mar 7:6-13)
Notice how Jesus reference both the prophets and the commandments of God! He also refers to the Pharisees as honoring God by their lips but not with their heart, meaning that they are focused on the letter of the law not the spirit of the law.
He rebukes them for making void the word of God. From this, we see that Jesus took God’s commandments very seriously and took issue with anyone who rejects the word/commandments of God.
The crazy part is that this passage is used within Christian doctrine to teach that Jesus made void the Dietary Laws given to us in Leviticus 11, with regards to clean and unclean animals!
Even though the context of the whole passage has nothing to do with the eating of unclean animals but to do with eating with unwashed hands, which according to the men made commandments made the person unclean.
Just think of this, Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites for nullifying or making God’s law void, and then, according to Christian Doctrine taught in Churches, He himself makes void the commandments regarding clean and unclean food? Would this not make Jesus the biggest hypocrite on the face of the earth?
Also, think of the argument which is used for abolishing the law regarding unclean foods. The argument goes like this:
“That what goes into the mouth does not make a person unclean but that what comes out of the heart of that person does.”
This argument is valid today as it was 2000 years ago, but it was also valid the day God gave that law, so the question then is: Why did He give the Law in the first place?
Jesus did not abolish the Dietary Laws given to us in Leviticus 11. If he would, he would actually break the law and therefore not being able to fulfill the law perfectly, which is something all Bible-believing Christians are in agreement about that He did! We can read that by abolishing any law he would break the law, in:
Deu 4:2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.
and in:
Deu 12:32 See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.
So, if Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly then this simply means he did not abolish any laws. Something He tries to make very clear in Mat 5:17!
Other scriptures that show Jesus relationship to the Laws of God given to Moses:
- Matthew 19:17
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” - Mat 22:36-40 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
- Mat 23:2-3
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you–but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.” - John 15:10
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. - Luk 16:17
It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
So, What Did Jesus Do?
- Jesus kept all of God’s commandments, not only to the letter but also in spirit.
- Jesus took God’s commandments very serious and rebuke those who nullified them
- By keeping the Laws of Moses perfectly He fulfilled the law and showed us by example how to keep them.
- By keeping all the Laws, He kept:
– the Sabbath,
– the Feast
– and all Dietary laws - He opposed the men made commandments regarding the Sabbath and other Laws
Isaiah 42:21 nicely summarises what Jesus did:
“The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable” (KJV).
This is another prophesy Jesus fulfilled. Jesus did not only keep his Father’s commandments he magnified the law by pointing out the spirit of the law and he made the laws honorable again! As His disciples, are we not to follow His example? Ask yourself are you doing what Jesus did?
Did the Disciples do what Jesus did by following Jesus’s example?
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1Jn 2:3-6)
As we can see not only Jesus told us to follow His example, we also read that the disciples taught the same in 1 John 2:6
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 Jn 2:6)
This verse can’t make it any clearer than that we have to walk the way Jesus walked which simply means do what He did. With regards to checking if the disciples did as Jesus did, my key focus will be on Paul as Jesus disciple, because Paul is mostly used to make the argument that the laws of Moses are abolished. As mentioned earlier Paul told the fellow believers in Corinth to imitate him because he imitates Christ
1 Co 11:1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (ESV)
According to Paul himself, he imitated Jesus in everything He did. So, let see if this is really the case?
Are Paul and the disciples keeping the Law of Moses?
The book of Acts is full of examples where Jesus’s disciples are falsely accused of teaching against the law of Moses. If they are falsely accused of teaching against the Law of Moses then this implies that they are actually teaching to keep the Law of Moses!
The first person to be killed for being a disciple of Christ is Stephen who stood falsely accused of teaching against God’s Laws. We read this in Acts 6:11-14
Act 6:11-14 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.” (12) So, they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. (13) They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. (14) For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
So, the fact that it states here that they produced “false witnesses” with regards to
- “he is speaking against the law”
- and he promotes a religion/doctrine that wants to change the customs of Moses
We can conclude that instead, he was:
- not speaking against the Law of Moses
- not preaching a religion/doctrine that wants to change the customs of Moses!
Preaching that any of the Laws of Moses are abolished/obsolete is exactly that, both: teaching against the Law and the customs of Moses! But this is exactly what mainstream Christianity now believes!
We also read in Acts that Paul faced court on several occasions over false accusations that he teaches against Moses and the Law or that he is breaking the law.
James, an Apostle, and Disciple of Jesus that walked with Jesus testified on behalf of Paul that he is keeping God’s laws as given to us by Moses and that the accusation, made against him, is false. We read this in:
Act 21:21-24 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. (22) What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, (23) so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. (24) Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.
This is not something to take lightly, James testifies on behalf of Paul that he keeps the laws of Moses. This directly implies that James himself was very serious about the law given by Moses, and taught others to be as well even the least of the commandments, like the vow, as Jesus commanded us in Mat 5:19!
Paul in the next chapter also testifying about another Disciple of Christ, Ananias, as a devout observer of the Law (law of Moses).
Act 22:12 “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.
The Jews hated Paul so much that we have one instance where they took an oath of not drinking or eating until Paul was killed. We see this in Acts 23
Act 23:12-13 The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. (13) More than forty men were involved in this plot.
To make a long story short in this case; the Jews failed in their attempt to kill Paul because the commander of the Roman army was told of the plot and he prevented it. But we read that he still wanted to find out what they accusing Paul of doing wrong:
Act 23:28-29 I (commander) wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. (29) I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment.
We see here again that they try to accuse Paul of preaching against the Law but found there was no charge that justified imprisonment or death. Both, teaching against what Moses was teaching and not keeping the Sabbath are laws that are punishable by death.
In Acts 25:7-8 we read about another trial against Paul:
Act 25:7-8 When Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove. (8) Then Paul made his defence: “I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.”
We see over and over that Paul is being accused of breaking the law of Moses, and teaching against that what Moses taught, and every time we see they could not prove it.
We are not talking about a traffic violation; this was a matter of life and death!
So, did Paul lie and both Paul and James deceived the Jews?
No, they did not! By doing that they would break the law plus make themselves hypocrites!
Look at what Paul says when they urge him not to go to Jerusalem
Act 21:13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Paul was ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus. That is not something a liar would do.
What about the feast and sacrifices?
What about the feast as described in Leviticus 23 and sacrifices? Did the disciples still keep those? We already read before in Acts 21:23 that James asked Paul to perform a vow to show that he is serious about the Law. This vow is most likely what they call a Nazarite vow. We also read in Acts 18:18 that he did this vow before. We read about this vow in Numbers 6:1-21.
Part of this vow is to make three offerings:
- a lamb as a burnt offering,
- a ewe (a female sheep) as a sin-offering,
- a ram as a peace offering.
In addition to a basket of unleavened bread, grain offerings, and drink offerings, which accompanied the peace offering. They would also shave their head in the outer courtyard of the Jerusalem Temple and then place the hair on the same fire as the peace offering.
From this, we see that the Disciple still kept the Temple rituals and actually still did sacrifices!
So, the logical question then is: Should we do sacrifices today? The answer is no; for the simple reason that after the destruction of the temple 70 AD the infrastructure for the sacrifices is no longer in place. We do not have a temple and the priesthood that can assist in the sacrifices as is commanded by the law. So, when the law requires sacrifices to be made only at the temple (Deu 12:13-14) with the assistance of the priest (Leviticus chapters 1 to 7), then not doing sacrifices, when there is no temple and priest, is actually obeying the law! This is not much different from when the Jews were exiled after the destruction of the first temple. This does not mean that sacrifices are abolished but are instead suspended. We see that in the Millennium Kingdom they will be resumed as we can read in Ezekiel 40-48 and Zechariah 14:20-21.
The destruction of the temple also did not result in the end of the law. Actually, we see great stories like Daniel and his friends keeping the Law even when they were in exile, Ezekiel, Esther, and Malachi are other great examples. We read that God values obedience more than any sacrifice:
1 Sa 15:22 But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
With the question, if Paul kept the feast, we find several verses in the Bible that support this.
First one we find in:
Act 18:20-21 When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; (21) But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus. (KJV)
The part explaining why he declined is not in the NIV or the ESV but can be found in the KJV and the YLT.
We see in another passage about Paul’s determination to be in Jerusalem for Pentecost. He had intended to be there for Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, but circumstances required him to keep the feast locally (Acts 20:1-6). That made him even more determined to be in Jerusalem for the next Holy Day—the Day of Pentecost
Act 20:1-6 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia. (2) He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, (3) where he stayed three months. Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. (4) He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. (5) These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. (6) But we sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
Paul was determent to keep the feast as we can also read in:
Act 20:16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
So, what did Paul and the other Disciples Do?
- They kept God’s Commandments as taught by Moses
- They taught others to keep the commandment, even the least of them, as Jesus instructed them in Mathew 5:19
- By Keeping the Laws, as taught by Moses, they kept:
– the Sabbath,
– the Feast
– and all Dietary laws
In conclusion:
We see that Paul and the Disciples imitated Christ and walked as Jesus did. Again, we have to ask ourselves the question:
If the Disciples imitated Christ and walked as Jesus did, are we not to do the same?
So how come we don’t see this preached within Churches and instead we are made to believe, by mainstream Christian Doctrine, that we no longer have to obey the Laws taught by Moses as Jesus and His Disciples clearly did?
Where in history did we, as so-called followers of Christ, change from following Christ’s example to something totally different?
Looking at History we see that in the whole first Century, all believers in Christ, whether Jew or Creek, obeyed God’s commandments including the Sabbath, Feast and Dietary laws.
In Acts 15: 19-21 we see the ruling of the Council of Jerusalem regarding the instruction to be given to the Gentiles:
We read that all new believers should abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from that what is strangled and from blood. We also read something most Christian denominations skip, that the rest of the Law they will learn in the synagogues on the Sabbath!
Act 15:19-21 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”
A key part of the ruling by the Council in Jerusalem was to learn Moses teaching on the Sabbath in the synagogues!
We read in several Bible verses that Paul is teaching the Gentiles/Greeks on the sabbath in the synagogues:
Act 13:42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. (KJV)
Act 18:4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
We also see that this was the case for the church in Romans. When researching the Church in Rome I found the next article on Wikipedia which is very interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_to_the_Romans
The churches in Rome See also: Early centers of Christianity § RomePapyrus, Oxyrhynchus, Egypt: 6th century – Epistle to the Romans 1: 1–16
The most probable ancient account of the beginning of Christianity in Rome is given by a 4th-century writer known as Ambrosiaster:
It is established that there were Jews living in Rome in the times of the Apostles, and that those Jews who had believed [in Christ] passed on to the Romans the tradition that they ought to profess Christ but keep the law [Torah] … One ought not to condemn the Romans, but to praise their faith, because without seeing any signs or miracles and without seeing any of the apostles, they nevertheless accepted faith in Christ, although according to a Jewish rite.
Clearly, Ambrosiaster did not believe we should still be keeping the Torah but never the less praised the Christians in Rome for following Christ even though they kept Torah.
This is a good example that the first Christians all kept Torah (God’s Laws), as was given by Moses and did as was instructed in Acts 15, they went to the synagogues and learned the Torah.
When researching the matter, you will find many other examples where the First Century Church kept God’s commandments as Jesus and His Disciples did, and that this started to change slowly after the first century. You will be able to find records up to the 4th Century that Christians kept the Sabbath, and only after the Church of Rome starts to prosecute those who still were keeping the Sabbath it seems to fade out of the picture.
So, what changed after the First Century Church? To answer this, we have to look at what the church fathers taught, and with this starting to ask ourselves the Question:
Are we Disciples of Christ or of The church fathers?
The Teachings of the Church Fathers
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
(2 Ti 4:3-4)
We see in Timothy that Paul warns of a time coming that men will not put up with sound doctrine. Paul foresaw what was to come and already in a very early stage, at the end of the first century, we see this starting to take shape.
Very early in the second century, we can find writings that started to go against what is preached in the Gospels.
When I asked my friend where in the Bible, we are instructed to worship God on a Sunday instead of the Sabbath, he gave me a quote from one of the first church fathers, the 3rd Bishop of Antioch. He could not find anything in the Bible because it is simply nowhere to be found in the Bible!
I will never forget this quote because it not only showed me that worshipping God on a Sunday is a man-made commandment, but it also showed me one of the key reasons why they tried to change the worship from the Sabbath to Sunday.
Ignatius, the third bishop of Antioch, who died in AD 108, wrote:
“If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him… Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness; for “he that does not work, let him not eat.“…let every friend of Christ keep the Lord’s day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days [of the week]” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_of_Ignatius_to_the_Magnesians
I could not believe my eyes when I saw this! Not only does it go directly against God’s commandments and what Jesus instructed us in Math 5:19, it shows very clearly the start of Anti-Semitism by branding the Jews basically as lazy (rejoicing in idleness)!
I believe this was one of the first known writings of the church fathers where we see that Anti-Semitism is at the heart of the change from first-century church to the church that we know today.
We will look at just a few quotes from the early church fathers, but you will be able to clearly see that Anti-Semitism played a key role.
Some Anti-Semitic quotes of the “Church Fathers”
Ignatius Bishop of Antioch (98-108A.D.) – Epistle to the Magnesians
For if we are still practicing Judaism, we admit that we have not received God’s favor…it is wrong to talk about Jesus Christ and live like Jews. For Christianity did not believe in Judaism, but Judaism in Christianity.“Epistle of Barnabas” Chapter 4vs 6-7 (between 130A.D. and 138 A.D.)
Take heed to yourselves and be not like some piling up you sins and saying that the covenant is theirs as well as ours. It is ours, but they lost it completely just after Moses received it.Origen of Alexandria (185-254 A.D.) – A ecclesiastical writer and teacher who contributed to the early formation of Christian doctrines.
We may thus assert in utter confidence that the Jews will not return to their earlier situation, for they have committed the most abominable of crimes, in forming this conspiracy against the Savior of the human race…hence the city where Jesus suffered was necessarily destroyed, the Jewish nation was driven from its country, and another people was called by God to the blessed election.Pope Sylvester (A.D. 314-337) – quoted by S. R. E. Humbert, “Adversus Graecorum Calumnias,” in J. P. Migne, Patrologie, p. 143
“If every Sunday is to be observed by Christians on account of the resurrection, then every Sabbath on account of the burial is to be regarded in execration [cursing] of the Jews.”John Chrysostom (344-407 A.D.) – One of the “greatest” of church fathers; known as “The Golden Mouthed.”
The synagogue is worse than a brothel…it is the den of scoundrels and the repair of wild beasts…the temple of demons devoted to idolatrous cults…the refuge of brigands and dabauchees, and the cavern of devils. It is a criminal assembly of Jews…a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ… a house worse than a drinking shop…a den of thieves, a house of ill fame, a dwelling of iniquity, the refuge of devils, a gulf and a abyss of perdition.”…”I would say the same things about their souls… As for me, I hate the synagogue…I hate the Jews for the same reason. From “The Roots of Christian Anti-Semitism” by Malcolm HaySt. Augustine (c. 354-430 A.D.), Confessions, 12.14
How hateful to me are the enemies of your Scripture! How I wish that you would slay them (the Jews) with your two-edged sword, so that there should be none to oppose your word! Gladly would I have them die to themselves and live to you!
So why the Anti-semitism? I personally believe one of the key reasons for it was the destruction of the temple in 70 AD + exile of the Jews, to put it simply; be associated with Jews was like being associated with Losers. They saw the destruction of the temple as God punishing them, and because God punished them, they must have done something wrong, like killing God’s son.
Very much the same we saw at the end of the Second World War, the days before it ended all Germans were Nazis, the day after the surrender suddenly nobody was a Nazi or wanted to be associated with Nazis
Basically, the gentile Christians wanted to separate themselves from the Jews by differentiation; like the Sabbath by replacing it with the Sunday as Ignatius proposed:
Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness; for “he that does not work, let him not eat.”…..let every friend of Christ keep the Lord’s day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days [of the week]”
Another key factor I believe was, as Paul already mentioned in 2 Ti 4:3-4, that a time is coming that people will not put up with sound doctrine and gather teachers around them to tell what their itchy ears want to hear.
Anybody that wants sound doctrine and do the will of God, like Jesus did, would clearly be able to see that what Ignatius proposed is going directly against God’s commandments and God’s will. But for business owners, with slaves and servants, this sounds like music in the ears or not? Having the capability to call on your servants 24/7 – 7 days a week.
When Jesus spoke of the Sabbath was made for Man and Man not for the Sabbath, that shows me that our Creator knows His creation. He knows that it is not good for mankind to work 24/7 – 7 days a week – 52 weeks in a year. The same applied to the rest of His creation where we find that there is a sabbath year for farming.
The combination of these key factors I believe caused the church to drift away from the first century church, resulting in a totally new religion.
Up to that time there was no difference between Greek or Jew as Paul said in Rom 10:12, today we see 2 totally different religions and within Christianity many different denominations. Some suggesting this number to be over 30000, something not really that hard to believe as not every itching ear likes to hear the same things.
One thing is for sure only very few denominations are following Christ the same way as the first century Christians did. This sounds kind of familiar doesn’t it? What did Jesus say again?
Luk 13:23-25 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’
The Church Fathers and the Laws of Moses
We saw that the Disciples walked as Jesus did in every way including keeping all the laws, they taught to walk as Jesus did and to be imitators of Christ.
Is this what the church fathers taught, or were they in fact directly teaching against it?
The sect of the Nazarenes
We read about Paul the following:
Act 24:5 For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
Paul was called a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, with other words the sect of Nazarenes were the followers of Jesus Christ, His disciples that Jesus spoke of in the great commission. As His disciples we saw already that they kept the Laws as Jesus did, including the Sabbath, the Feast and all the Dietary Laws. We even saw that they still attended the Temple ceremonies including sacrifices up to 70 AD
The reason I focus on the sect of Nazarene is because we have several writing of church fathers that address the sect of Nazarene, describing them exactly as we already saw, as mainly Jews, believing in Jesus as the Messiah born of a virgin, died for us on the Cross and rose from the Dead, but they are still keeping the Laws of Moses (the Torah). They label those who follow the sect of the Nazarenes as heretics for still keeping the Laws given by Moses like the Sabbath, the Feast and the Dietary laws.
Basically, calling all those that followed the way of the Nazarenes heretics! This includes Peter, Mark, Mathew, James, John, Paul and all the other Apostles and Disciples of Jesus.
Try to find one true disciple of Christ in the whole New Testament that would not fit the profile of what our church fathers labelled as heretics! You will find none!
Instead we see that the early church fathers, as mentioned before, wanted to differentiate themselves from those who walked like Jesus did and were called the sect of Nazarenes.
Let’s look at the quote of the fourth century “church father” Epiphanius:
“But these sectarians…did not call themselves Christians–but “Nazarenes,” … However they are simply complete Jews. They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do… They have no different ideas, but confess everything exactly as the Law proclaims it and in the Jewish fashion– except for their belief in Messiah, if you please! For they acknowledge both the resurrection of the dead and the divine creation of all things, and declare that God is one, and that his son is Yeshua the Messiah. They are trained to a nicety in Hebrew. For among them the entire Law, the Prophets, and the… Writings… are read in Hebrew, as they surely are by the Jews. They are different from the Jews, and different from Christians, only in the following. They disagree with Jews because they have come to faith in Messiah; but since they are still fettered by the Law–circumcision, the Sabbath, and the rest– they are not in accord with Christians…. they are nothing but Jews…. They have the Good News according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew. For it is clear that they still preserve this, in the Hebrew alphabet, as it was originally written.” (Epiphanius; Panarion 29)
In this quote Epiphanius confirms that the sect of Nazarenes still kept the Torah just as all other Jews did! It also describes the sect of Nazarenes exactly the way as we found the early Disciples of Christ lived.
We also read here that they totally departed from the way the Nazarenes worshipped like Paul, Peter and all the apostles and all early Disciples did, and by doing so basically departing from the way the first Century Church followed Christ, creating a new man-made religion.
In a letter to Augustine, Jerome makes an amazing admission concerning the Nazarenes:
“The matter in debate, therefore, or I should rather say your opinion regarding it, is summed up in this: that since the preaching of the gospel of Christ, the believing Jews do well in observing the precepts of the law, i.e. in offering sacrifices as Paul did, in circumcising their children, as Paul did in the case of Timothy, and keeping the Jewish Sabbath, as all the Jews have been accustomed to do. If this be true, we fall into the heresy… [of those who] though believing in Christ, were anathematized by the fathers for this one error, that they mixed up the ceremonies of the law with the gospel of Christ, and professed their faith in that which was new, without letting go what was old. …In our own day there exists a sect among the Jews throughout all the synagogues of the East, which is called the sect of the Minæans, and is even now condemned by the Pharisees. The adherents to this sect are known commonly as Nazarenes; they believe in Christ the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary; and they say that He who suffered under Pontius Pilate and rose again, is the same as the one in whom we believe. But while they desire to be both Jews and Christians, they are neither the one nor the other. I therefore beseech you, who think that you are called upon to heal my slight wound, which is no more, so to speak, than a prick or scratch from a needle, to devote your skill in the healing art to this grievous wound, which has been opened by a spear driven home with the impetus of a javelin. For there is surely no proportion between the culpability of him who exhibits the various opinions held by the fathers in a commentary on Scripture, and the guilt of him who reintroduces within the Church a most pestilential heresy. If, however, there is for us no alternative but to receive the Jews into the Church, along with the usages prescribed by their law; if, in short, it shall be declared lawful for them to continue in the Churches of Christ what they have been accustomed to practice in the synagogues of Satan, I will tell you my opinion of the matter: they will not become Christians, but they will make us Jews.
(Jerome; Letter 75)
(1) “Minæans” apparently Latinized from Hebrew (MINIM) (singular is MIN) a word which in modern Hebrew means “apostates” but was originally an acronym for a Hebrew phrase meaning “Believers in Yeshua the Nazarene.“
Augustine and Jerome tell us that the Nazarene doctrine, in which the Torah is still observed, began with “the preaching of Christ” and that this was the doctrine kept by Paul, but the “church fathers” of Christianity declared this to be an error and a heresy.
So, according to the church fathers Augustine and Jerome, Nazarene sect began with Christ and Paul, and Gentile Christianity began when the Nazarene faith was rejected as an error by the church “fathers.”
We are now presented with two different groups:
- Sect of Nazarene, started with Christ and of whom Paul was one of the ringleaders, that teaches us to walk the Way Jesus walked and be imitators of Him, keeping the old testament laws.
- Gentile Christianity, that reject the old testament laws and called, all that are of the sect of Nazarene, heretics and in error.
So, in conclusion, my question to you:
Are you a Disciple of Christ or are you a Disciple of the church fathers?
Just a closing thought:
Jesus Loved His Neighbour as Himself as was commanded. If we are His disciples and walk as He walked by doing what He did, we are to love our neighbours as He loved them.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Joh 13:34-35)
May God Bless you and don’t forget to test everything!
Church-today compared to first century church
Other Resources used:
https://thenazareneway.com/sabbath/39_prohib_sabbath.htm
https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/sunset-to-sunset-gods-sabbath-rest/jesus-christ-and-the-sabbath
https://www.119ministries.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazirite
anti-Semitism
http://www.yashanet.com/library/fathers.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_of_Ignatius_to_the_Magnesians