Books Jesus Read

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Books Jesus Read

The ongoing study and use of the Apocrypha is due in part to its candid portraits of personal spirituality seen in the stories of Tobit, Judith, Judas, Daniel, and others. There are, to be sure, episodes and ideas that are repugnant to contemporary Christians. 2 Even so, it seems best, in the words of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians, that we “not despise prophecies, but test everything” and “hold fast what is good” (1 Thess 5:20–21). In that spirit, the following reflections are offered in hopes that you will revisit these writings again and again as their relevance becomes increasingly apparent. Remember the Maccabees! As described in the Introduction to Books Jesus Read , Intertestamental or Second Temple period Judaism provides the historical background for the life of Jesus Christ. These centuries saw the rise of various Jewish sects, 1 Maccabees itself describing the Hasideans whom scholars consider the forerunner of the Pharisees or possibly even the Essenes. 3 1–2 Maccabees, of course, also trace the rise of Judas Maccabeus, the messiah-type figure who delivers Israel from an enemy who attempts to exterminate their faith and traditions. For those Jews of Jesus’ day who looked forward to the coming Messiah, the stories of Judas Maccabeus offered a pattern of messianic deliverance. Judas was not passive in the face 2 For example, the negative attitude toward women expressed in Sirach 42 and Judas Maccabeus’ propitiation on behalf of the dead in 2 Maccabees 12 (see Books Jesus Read chapter seven). 3 Essenes – an ancient Jewish sect (comparable to the Sadducees and Pharisees) with distinctive beliefs and practices that existed during the Second Temple period. According to the ancient Jewish historian Josephus, they preferred to live in isolated monastic communities. They have come to be associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls since their discovery in 1947.