Stylos is the blog of Jeff Riddle, a Reformed Baptist Pastor in North Garden, Virginia. The title "Stylos" is the Greek word for pillar. In 1 Timothy 3:15 Paul urges his readers to consider "how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar (stylos) and ground of the truth."
Monday, February 06, 2023
Saturday, February 04, 2023
The Vision (2.3.23): And ye would not!
Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 23:34-39.
“O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which
are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew
23:37).
Christ’s
withering denunciation of the spiritual hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees in
Matthew 23 ends with his prophetic lament over Jerusalem.
He
had earlier spoke of his opponents as “serpents” and a “generation of vipers”
(v. 33). Now, he shifts the metaphor and declares, “how often would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings….”
Christ
here compares himself to a mother hen who had longed to gather those sinful
inhabitants of Jerusalem under his protective care, shielding them from the
wrath of God which they justly deserve.
No
one, of course, knew Scripture better than Christ, and he is drawing upon an OT
image. It’s there in Psalm 91 which begins:
Psalm
91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under
the shadow of the Almighty.
And
continues:
Psalm
91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou
trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Christ
appropriating to himself the things of God. Psalm 91 says the one true God
gathers his saints under his wings. Then Christ says to the people of
Jerusalem, How often would I have gathered you under my wings?
What
was their response? “And ye would not!” Some modern translations render it,
“and you were not willing.”
Here,
then, is a great testimony to the folly of those who resist and reject Christ. He
would protect, but they “would not.” May the Lord take away our heart of stone,
and give us a heart of flesh, and make us willing.
Grace
and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
Friday, February 03, 2023
WM 265: Is Matthew 23:14 in the Bible?
I recently finished preaching through Matthew 23 (find complete Matthew sermon series here). This is Matthew’s
record of Christ’s extended and withering discourse or speech against the scribes
and the Pharisees, as he moves closer to the cross.
In the red-letter edition of the AV, other than the first
verse and the first word of the second verse, all other verses are in red (vv. 2b-39).
The other two “Synoptic” Gospels offer much shorter accounts
of this speech. See Mark 12:38-40 and Luke 20:45-47.
In Matthew’s account one of the repeated statements first
appears in 23:13a: “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” This
is, of course, a great prophetic statement by Christ.
In the traditional text there are eight of these prophetic
woes (vv. 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 25, 27, 29).
But in the modern critical text there are only seven woes,
because Mathew 23:14 is one of the verses that does not appear in the modern critical
text (Matthew 17:21 and 18:11 are also omitted in the critical text). So, it is
one of the so-called “missing verses” (which M. Everhard, for some bizarre
reason, thinks we traditionalists believe was removed by aliens or some other
kind of conspiracy theory).
Matthew 23:14: What is the issue?
When you look more closely at this verse, you see that it was
obviously a matter of controversy in the transmission of the NT, not only as to
whether it is authentic to Matthew, but also, if authentic, where it should be
located (because in the Majority Text the verse is present, but it appears
after v. 12 and before v. 13).
Compare:
Traditional Text:
Standard versional order: v. 13, v. 14.
KJV
Matthew 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye
neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
14 Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and
for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater
damnation.
Scrivener
Matthew 23:13 ουαι υμιν γραμματεις και φαρισαιοι υποκριται οτι
κλειετε την βασιλειαν των ουρανων εμπροσθεν των ανθρωπων υμεις γαρ ουκ
εισερχεσθε ουδε τους εισερχομενους αφιετε εισελθειν
14 ουαι δε υμιν γραμματεις και φαρισαιοι υποκριται οτι κατεσθιετε τας
οικιας των χηρων και προφασει μακρα προσευχομενοι δια τουτο ληψεσθε
περισσοτερον κριμα
Note: While the entire printed TR tradition includes v. 14, the
order with v. 13 varies: 14-13 (Stephanus; Beza); 13-14 (Elzevirs).
The Protestant translation tradition prominently confirms the
13-14 order (Tyndale, Geneva, KG Hungarian, Reina Valera, Dutch Statenvertaling).
Modern Critical Text:
Omits
v. 14
Translations
based on the modern critical text omit v. 14 and skip from v. 13 to v. 15, with
some editions placing v. 14 in the footnotes.
Majority/Byzantine Text:
Includes
v. 14 but in the order v. 14, v. 13.
Berean
Standard Bible Matthew 23:13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers.
Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor
will you let in those who wish to enter.
Patriarchal
Text (1904) Matthew 23:13 Οὐαὶ δὲ ὑμῖν, γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι ὑποκριταί, ὅτι κατεσθίετε τὰς
οἰκίας τῶν χηρῶν καὶ προφάσει μακρὰ προσευχόμενοι· διὰ τοῦτο λήψεσθε περισσότερον
κρῖμα.
14 Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι ὑποκριταί, ὅτι κλείετε τὴν
βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων· ὑμεῖς γὰρ οὐκ εἰσέρχεσθε, οὐδὲ τοὺς
εἰσερχομένους ἀφίετε εἰσελθεῖν.
Examining External Evidence
Based
on the NA28 apparatus:
In
support of v. 13 followed by v. 14: Family 13, Old Latin, Clementine Vulgate,
Curetonian Syriac, and some Bohairic mss. Note: This is a minority TR reading
with respect to word order.
In
support of omitting v. 14: Alpeh, B, D, L, Z, Theta, family 1, 33, Old Latin a,
Sinaitic Syriac.
In
support of v. 14 followed by v. 13: K, W, Gamma, Delta, 0102, 0107, and the Majority/Byzantine,
Syriac Peshitta, Syriac Harklean. Pickering says this is 98% of extant mss.
Examining Internal Evidence
The
most plausible explanation for v. 14 to be absent in some manuscripts is the
unintentional error of homoio-arcton (having the same or a similar
beginning). This would then lead to confusion when this error was recognized
and the verse was reintroduced back into the text.
Metzger
in his Textual Commentary, Second Ed., however, makes a different case
for omission, arguing, “That v. 14 is an interpolation derived from the
parallel in Mk 12:40 or LK 20:47 is clear…” (50). He gives this an {A} rating.
Metzger’s
position reflects a bias in modern textual criticism against harmonization of
content or agreement among the Gospels.
The
overwhelming Majority, including many older mss., across a wide geographical
spectrum, retain both verses.
This
leaves only the question of verse order. Printed editions of the TR are divided
but there seems to be a strong consensus among Protestant translations going
back to Tyndale, et al. that the order v. 13, then v. 14 be followed.
In
recently preaching on this text, I can affirm that v. 13 makes logical
(homiletical) sense, given that it provides a broad description of hypocritical
behavior (shutting persons out of the kingdom) that is then followed by more
specific examples of this, beginning with the devouring the houses of widows
and making long prayers. In Mark and Luke, this teaching is followed by the
account of the widow in the temple (but omitted in Matthew).
An Internal Argument Based on Intrinsic Probability
In
preparing to preach this chapter, I also ran across this assessment in R.V.G.
Tasker’s Matthew commentary in the Tyndale NT Commentaries Series (IVP,
1961):
In
the AV eight ‘woes’ follow; but it is almost certain that they should be
reduced to seven, for the ‘woe’ contained in v. 14, which is omitted in RV, is
not found in the most ancient witnesses to the text, and would seem to have
been a later insertion into the text of Matthew from Mark xii.40 and Luke
xx.47. It is intrinsically probable that our evangelist, with his Jewish
fondness for the symbolism of numbers, made a collection of seven (217).
Having
just spent the last two plus years reading and preaching through Matthew, however,
I do not find this argument particularly convincing.
One
may well make an argument for the possibility of John’s interest in the symbolic
meaning of seven (like the Seven I AM sayings and Seven Signs [Miracles] in his
Gospel, and the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 1-2, etc.), but it is
less convincing with Matthew.
There
are indeed seven parables in Matthew 13, but it seems Matthew has less
interesting in structuring his Gospel with seven-fold patterns than in offering
a variety of arrangements. A few examples:
Five
fulfilment citations in Matthew 1-2: 1:22-23; 2:5-6, 15, 17-18, 23.
Five
discourses (as noted by B. W. Bacon): chapters 5-7, 10, 13, 18, 23-25.
Ten
Miracles in Matthew 8-9:
The healing of the leper (8:1-4);
The
healing of the Centurion’s servant (8:5-13);
The
healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and many possessed with devils
(8:14-17);
The
stilling of the storm (8:23-27);
The
healing of the Gergesene demoniacs (8:28-34);
The
healing of the man sick of the palsy (9:1-8);
The
healing of a certain ruler’s daughter (9:18-19, 23-26);
The
healing of the woman with the issue of blood (9:20-22);
The
healing of two blind men (9:27-31);
The
healing of the dumb man (9:32-34).
Six
Parables after the final arrival in Jerusalem broken into two sets of three:
First
three: Two sons (21:28-32; The householder and the ungrateful husbandmen
(21:33-44); The King’s wedding for his Son (22:1-14).
Second
three: Ten Virgins (25:1-13); Talents (25:14-30); Judgement of Nations
(25:31-46).
Four
Controversies in the Temple:
Tribute
to Caesar (22:15-22); Sadducees and Resurrection (22:23-33); Great Commandment
(22:34-40); Psalm 110:1 and David’s Lord (22:41-46).
From
this we see the idea that Matthew shows an “intrinsic probability”
to offer seven “woes” rather than eight seems unlikely. It may,
however, provide a suggestion as to why some scribes might have intentionally sought
to remove one of the eight and reduce the number to seven.
Conclusion:
Based
on overwhelming external evidence, as well as internal evidence, we can affirm
the authenticity of v. 14. We may also affirm with the greater Protestant translation
tradition that its most fitting location in Matthew 23 is following upon v. 13.
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
WM 264: Review: Lanier & Ross, The Septuagint: What It Is and Why It Matters
Gregory R. Lanier and William A. Ross, The Septuagint: What It Is and Why It Matters (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2021): 216 pp.
This book is co-written by New Testament (Lanier) and Old Testament (Ross) professors at Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando and Charlotte, respectively), and it comes out of an elective course they co-teach on the Septuagint. It provides a helpful review of basic facts about and an informed discussion of the influential ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint.
Review of Content:
Structurally, the book consists of two parts: Part 1 (chapters 1-4) answers, “What is the Septuagint?”; Part 2 (chapters 5-7) addresses, “Why does it matter?” The book concludes with an Appendix covering “Ten Key Questions about the Septuagint.”
Four Commendations:
First: The term "Septuagint" is confusing.
Second: To say that the "Septuagint" was "the pew Bible" of the early church is an "oversimplification."
Third: The Apocrypha is not part of the OT canon but can be read with edification to understand Jewish backgrounds for the NT.
Fourth: Quotations from the "Septuagint" in the NT do not mean that the entire "Septuagint" itself is inspired.
A Major Concern:
There is, however, at
least one highly significant aspect of this study of the Septuagint that some
confessional readers, in particular, might rightly question. This aspect is the
authors’ contention that the Septuagint might be used to “reconstruct” the
Hebrew text of the Old Testament, or, to use the language in their discussion
regarding the framework of authority, that it bears at least some “normative”
authority with respect to establishing the text of the Old Testament.
Closing Analysis:
First, this approach appears to clash with the classic Protestant view of the providential preservation of Scripture as outlined in Westminster Confession of Faith 1:8.
Second, this approach is at odds with a distinct tradition in Protestant scholasticism that rejected the use of the Septuagint and other ancient versions to “correct” the traditional text of the Hebrew Old Testament (see Owen and Turretin).
Third, this approach presents a view which many will perceive to be problematic with respect to its proposal of the Septuagint as holding some measure of normative authority for Christianity.
Friday, January 27, 2023
The Vision (1.27.23): Straining at a Gnat and Swallowing a Camel
Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 23:23-33.
Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier
matters of the law: judgement, mercy, faith: these ought ye to have done, and
not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and
swallow a camel.
In Matthew 23, Christ acts as the Great Prophet declaring a series
of woes against the scribes and Pharisees for the sin of religious and
spiritual hypocrisy.
In v. 23, he condemns them for their scrupulosity in tithing even
the herbs in their gardens (mint, dill, and cummin), while neglecting “the
weightier matters of the law, judgement, mercy, and faith.” They were good at meticulously
counting the seeds of their herbs, but not so good at keeping the “Golden Rule”
(Matthew 7:12) or the Great Commandment to love God with all your heart, soul,
and mind, and your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40).
In v. 24 Christ offers a negative application of this principle. In
their effort to avoid minor infractions of the law, they had committed major
infractions.
Notice, he addresses them again as “blind guides” (v. 24a; cf. vv.
17, 19).
He then offers one of the most memorable statements in the Bible,
as he says these men, “strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel” (v. 24b).
One Study Bible explains: “Some Pharisees would strain their
beverages through fine cloth to make sure they did not inadvertently swallow a
gnat—the smallest of unclean animals (Lev 11:23). The camel was the largest of
all the unclean animals” (MacArthur Study Bible).
The point: Spiritual hypocrites obsess over minor details and
neglect major commandments, major areas of obedience.
Charles Spurgeon observed, “There are gnat strainers among us
still, who apparently have little difficulty in swallowing a camel, ‘hump and
all’” (Matthew Commentary, 357).
We are being called upon by this text not to pass judgement on
first century scribes and Pharisees or even on any contemporary phonies and
hypocrites. We are being called upon to look soberly into the mirror of God’s
Word at ourselves.
We are meant to ask: What is Christ saying about me? What warning
is he giving to me?
Have I had a tendency overscrupulously to obsess upon lesser
things, while omitting the weightier matters of the law? How have I failed to
love God and how have I failed to love my neighbor as myself? And have I been
guilty of using a veil of religiosity to justify my disobedience?
Have I in my zeal to strain at a gnat, swallowed a camel?
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Brent Evans' "Preaching in the Name of the Amen" article now available in French
Glad to see that Brent Evans' article "Preaching in the Name of the Amen" has been translated into French and can be read online here.
JTR
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Byzantine Colophons Suggesting Dates for the Four Canonical Gospels
Note: Taken from twitter: @Riddle1689:
Dating the Gospels is a longstanding challenge in NT studies.
Friday, January 20, 2023
The Vision (1.22.23): Shutting up the Kingdom of Heaven
Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 23:13-22 (audio not yet available).
But woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of
heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them
that are entering to go in (Matthew 23:13).
In Matthew
23 Christ shows himself to be our great Prophet, Priest, and King. As Prophet
he declares God’s Word. Eight times he pronounces a prophet woe on the failed
religious leaders, beginning in v. 13 (cf. vv. 14, 15, 16, 23, 25, 27, 29).
In the first
woe he speaks about the kingdom of heaven. This is the rule or the reign of God
that began with the first coming of Christ and will be fulfilled at his second coming.
It was at
the heart of Christ’s early preaching, as he declared, “Repent: for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
In the Sermon on the Mount, he
exhorted his disciples, “But seek ye
first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
Experiencing
the kingdom of God in the here and now is having the rule and reign of Christ
invade your life, your present existence, and transform it for the glory of God
and for your good and the good of others.
This is
what Christ spoke about when he said, “I am come that they might have life, and
that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
In the
first woe of Matthew 23, Christ says that one of the chief sins of the
spiritual hypocrites is that they shut up the kingdom of heaven (v. 13b). They
do so in two ways:
First,
they shut themselves out of the kingdom: “for ye neither go in yourselves.”
Second,
they shut out others from entering the kingdom: “neither suffer ye them that
are entering to go in.”
Imagine a hospital where those with
sickness can be cured, and there is sick man who not only refuses to go into
the hospital and be cured, but he tries to dissuade others who are sick from
entering. He even shuts the doors and throws his body across the entrance to
keep them out.
How does the hypocrite do this? He
does so by saying that he is a believer, by saying he is a disciple, but by then
failing to believe and live and act as a disciple. Christ says, “for they say,
and do not” (Matthew 23:3).
How do we respond to this teaching? We
are meant to examine our own hearts and to ask: How am I like the scribes and
Pharisees? What warning is Christ giving to me?
Have I shut myself off from the
kingdom and have I shut others off from the kingdom through my spiritual
hypocrisy?
Let us soberly look at ourselves,
repent of our failings, and turn to Christ who always stands ready to forgive
and redirect sinners.
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff
Riddle
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Sermon by Ryan Davidson: Accusers, a Sinner, and Jesus (John 7:53--8:11)
Sermon by Pastor Sam Caldwell: The Infallible Word (Matthew 5:18)
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Friday, January 13, 2023
The Vision (1.13.23): Although the fig tree shall not blossom
Note: Devotion taken from the afternoon sermon at CRBC on Sunday, January 1, 2023.
The final chapter of Habakkuk is described as “A prayer of
Habakkuk the prophet” (3:1). This prayer concludes in 3:17-29 with an
affirmation of faith and a confident declaration that God is to be worshipped
regardless of the external circumstances his people must face.
Pagan religions are based on a quid pro quo. You scratch my
back, and I’ll scratch yours. But Biblical faith is not like that. The one true
God is to be worshipped no matter what comes our way, no matter what the Lord in
his all-wise providence decrees for us.
In contrast to the pagan view, Habakkuk declares:
3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall
fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail; and the fields shall
yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no
herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of
my salvation.
The evidence of a mature faith is not that you praise the
LORD when things are going well, but that you turn to him when things seem awful
and beyond your control. There is confidence even in such times that the Lord
will be our strength and that he will cause us like the deer to walk in high
places once again (v. 19).
This is the kind of faith
that Job had. When he had lost everything, Job declared, “Naked came I out of
my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD
hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).
It is the kind of faith that the
three Hebrew youths had when threatened with the fiery furnace. They said to
the king, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king, But if
not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship
the golden image thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:17-18).
It is the kind of faith that the
apostle Paul had when he wrote from a Roman prison, “Rejoice in the Lord alway:
and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).
Friends, we know not what will
come our way this year. It may be our last year.
We pray it will be filled with
great outward prosperity and blessing, but do we have that sort of mature
faith, so that even if it is a year of emptiness we are still resolved to
rejoice in the Lord, to joy in the God of our salvation, and to acknowledge him
as our strength, even in our weakness?
I pray we will have the same
spiritual orientation as the prophet Habakkuk in this year before us.
Grace and peace, Pastor
Jeff Riddle
Thursday, January 12, 2023
WM 262: Schäfer’s Jesus in the Talmud & An Internal Argument for the PA
Peter Schäfer, Jesus in the Talmud (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University
Press, 2007): 210 pp.
This book is about references to Jesus of Nazareth in the Talmud
(both Palestinian and Babylonian), the “the foundation document of rabbinic
Judaism in Late Antiquity” (1).
The author sees the scattered references to Jesus, Mary, and
his followers as evidence of the early conflict between Jews and Christians (or,
we might say, Christianity as a sect emerging out of Judaism).
Chapter One: Jesus’ Family
This traces rabbinic traditions that deny the virgin birth by
saying that Jesus instead was conceived through an adulterous relationship
between Miriam (who grew her hair long as a sign of promiscuity) and a Roman
soldier named Pandera/Panthera.
This Jewish slur on Jesus was picked up on by the pagan
writer Celsus.
Chapter Two: The Son/Disciple Who Turned Out Badly
Vague references are made to Jesus as a failed son/disciple
who succumbed to sexual immorality.
The author notes here the Gnostic connection of Jesus with
Mary Magdalene as his wife.
Chapter Three: The Frivolous Disciple
Jesus is presented as a heretical and idolatrous disciple of
the rabbis who practiced magic and even worshipped a brick (!).
Chapter Four: The Torah Teacher
The focus here is on Jews who had become followers of Jesus. One
is a disciple named Jacob (James?). Another is called Rabbi Eliezer who was
accused of sexual immorality with a prostitute and use of magic.
Chapter Five: Healing in the Name of Jesus
Discussion is given here to depictions of the followers of
Jesus as “tricksters and imposters” (62) who use of the name of Jesus as a magical
formula to perform exorcisms and healings.
Chapter Six: Jesus’ Execution
This chapter traces vague references to Jesus as one who was
put to death by stoning and hanging for idolatry. The “Bavli narrative” even reveals
“the precise day of his execution: he was hanged on the even of the Passover,
that is, the day before the Passover” (72).
Schäfer notes that the rabbinic authors
even stress that “the Jews took upon themselves the responsibility for Jesus’
execution” (74). He summarizes the message the rabbinic authors wanted to
convey:
… yes, the Roman governor wanted to
set him free, but we did not give in. He was a blasphemer and idolater, and although
the Romans probably could not care less, we insisted that he get what he
deserved. We even convinced the Roman governor (or more precisely forced him to
accept) that this heretic and imposter needed to be executed—and we are proud
of it (74).
He concludes, “What we have in the Bavli is a powerful confirmation
of the New Testament Passion narrative, a creative rereading, however, that not
only knows some of its distinct details but proudly proclaims Jewish responsibility
for Jesus’ execution” (74).
The Talmud thus sees the death of Jesus as “the rightful
execution of a blasphemer and idolater” (74).
Chapter Seven: Jesus’ Disciples
This chapter discusses a tradition in the Bavli following the
execution of Jesus which says he had five disciples (one of whom was named
Mattai—Matthew?) who were also put on trial and executed.
The author suggests that “this forms the climax of the Bavli’s
discussion of Jesus and Christianity…. Jesus was rightly killed, and there is nothing
that remains of him and his teaching after his death” (81).
Chapter Eight: Jesus’ Punishment in Hell
This final section relays a Talmudic tradition about three
notorious heretical figures in hell: Titus (the destroyer of Jerusalem); Balaam
(the pagan prophet); and Jesus the Nazarene.
Titus must repeatedly be burned and have his ashes scattered
over the seven seas.
Balaam is forever placed in boiling semen.
And Jesus is forever placed in boiling excrement.
Final Summary: Jesus in the Talmud
In the closing chapter Schäfer gives a summary of the Talmudic attack
on Jesus and early Christianity.
First, he says “the most prominent characteristic” that
dominates is the charge of “sexual promiscuity” and immorality (97). Jesus is a
bastard. Christianity is an “orgiastic cult” (99). They even engage in
ritualistic cannibalism of babies (a parody of the eucharist).
These charges were also picked up by pagan critics.
Second, they charge Jesus with being a magician and deceiver.
Third, they charge him and his followers with idolatry and
blasphemy.
Rather than being raised from the dead, his fate will be to sit
in excrement in hell.
The author notes that the stronger attacks on Christianity
are found not in the Palestinian Talmud but in the Bavli (Babylonian Talmud).
He surmises this is due to the fact that “Palestinian Judaism
was under the direct and continuously growing impact of Christianity in the
Holy Land” (115), so it is no surprise that the “most graphic polemic against
Jesus” was found in the Babylonian Talmud composed outside of Palestine (122).
He suggests that the Rabbis likely had access to the NT
(perhaps through Tatian’s Diatessaron or through the Syriac Peshitta)
(123).
He takes special interest in John since it seems it seems to
be “the most strongly anti-Jewish Gospel of the four Gospels” (124). He sees it
as having been written in Asia Minor sometime after AD 100.
He adds:
Having been written in the Jewish
Diaspora of Asia Minor, it bears all the characteristics of a bitter struggle
between the established Jewish and emerging Christian communities, a struggle
that was waged by both sides with the gloves off (128).
He ends: “Taken together, the texts in the Bablyonian Talmud,
although fragmentary and scattered, become a daring and powerful counter-Gospel
to the New Testament in general and to John in particular” (129).
Observation: In the current context the NT is often accused
of being antisemitic (Matthew and John, in particular). This study is refreshing
in that it acknowledges that this was a conflict in which both Jews and
Christians were mutually engaged and that the rabbis, at the least, gave as
much as they received.
On the PA:
Toward the end, the author makes reference to the way in which
the PA fits within the overall themes of this conflict between Jesus and his disciples
and the Jews or Pharisees. The discussion begins, “Some of the confrontations
are portrayed as direct discussions between Jesus and ‘the Jews’ or the
Pharisees. When Jesus prevents the stoning of the adulterous woman…” (127-128).
He sees the content of John 8:17ff, in particular, as related to the earlier challenge
of the forgiveness of the adulterous woman.
Schäfer assumes that the PA is part of
the authentic text of John that it fits with the overall theme of conflict or
confrontation. Thus, he presents a cogent internal argument for the authenticity
of this passage and how it fits within the overall narrative and literary goals
of John.
This shows that is it no way irrational to posit that the PA
is consistent with the rest of John, but instead exposes the folly of those who
reject it or scorn it as their “favorite story that’s not really in the Bible.”
JTR