The Religion of Jesus v. Christianity

1. Notion of Divine Sovereignty in contemporary Jewish Society
   1. Yoke of the Kingdom = Yoke of the Law
   2. synagogue worship
   3. pilgrimage to Jerusalem
2. tendency of Jesus to "summarize the Law" followed tradition, e.g.:
   1. Is. 33:15   6 laws
   2. Mic. 6:8    3 laws
   3. Is. 56:1     2 laws
   4. Amos 5:4  1 law
   5. Ps. 15     11 laws
3. Jesus chooses first commandment, The Golden Rule
   1. But Jesus frees us from the curse of the Law according to Paul
   2. Jesus himself excuses no neglect of the Law ("not one jot or tittle will pass away")
      1. sabbatical customs and purificatory rites
      2. Jesus didn't reject dietary laws
      3. Saving a life takes precedence over these (indeed over all but idolatry, incest, and murder) because Torah observance should not lead to death.
      4. Jesus' healing miracles on the Sabbath are an argument that any healing miracle is a type of life-saving
   3. Jesus encourages abiding by the laws of the Torah
      1. but his uniqueness lies in:
         1. insistence upon the interiority emphasized in his teaching
         2. the bias toward the individual rather than collective
         3. eschatological hope
      2. emphasizes anger as root of murder, etc.
      3. Ritual impurity relatively unimportant in comparison to integrity of individual and justice of actions.
      4. The Law is a vehicle for an authentic lived relationship with God as King and Father
   4. "All things revealed to Son by the Father"
      1. reciprocity, but not equality
      2. no knowledge of the time/Day of the Lord
      3. sitting at right or left is beyond him to grant
   5. Jesus not a theoretician
      1. Preoccupied with acting out perfection and teaching followers to do likewise
      2. Daily prayer for each days' needs, being importunate. (Hasidism has stories recounting this.)
      3. Total simplicity and confidence required of the child of God
      4. Condemnation of human projects/plans, long or short term
         1. Jesus' thought extends no further than today; 'let today's own trouble be sufficient for it.'
         2. A man concerned for the now
            1. eschatological tendency
            2. no interest in socio-political or economic situation of his day.
            3. Jesus' emphasized immediate action when faced with the choice for or against the Truth; must pay a price for it
   6. "extinction of the parousia hope" is what allowed Christianity to endure.
   7. All-encompassing principle: imitatio Dei
      1. a rabbinic tradition
         1. Ex. 15:2, according to Abba Sheoul, 2nd century: "This is my God. I am he." Be like God.
         2. "Walk in his ways"
         3. "All who are called by the name of God..." (righteous, merciful, loving, etc.)
         4. Lev. 22:28. "As your father in heaven is merciful, you must be merciful on earth" (Aramaic version)
      2. Give without payment, you received without payment
         1. Do good to those who cannot repay you
         2. Love your enemies
      3. Piety is not to give more than asked but to give what is asked: mercy to repentant, friendship to those who return to God, etc

A Lecture by Professor Geza Vermeś (Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., 1 October 1982)