Jesus Christ as a Jewish Wisdom Teacher - Literature review Example

Jesus Christ as a Jewish Wisdom Teacher of Learning Jesus Christ as a Jewish Wisdom Teacher The Bible shows various images of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ can be seen as the Savior of all mankind, as the greatest healer, as well as a teacher of wisdom and ethics. The Bible provides all these images in unity as Jesus Christ embodies not only divine, but also human nature. Christ is the son of God, and in this respect He has the ability to perform various miracles and heal people from various diseases. On the other hand, Jesus Christ had a human body. In general, the Christ can be seen as a harmonious combination of the divine and human natures. Despite this, each of the New Testament Gospels focuses on the individual qualities of Christ. This is extremely important because the believers are able to understand certain features of the image of the Son of God. In particular, by analyzing Matthew, one can conclude that the author portrays Christ primarily as a Jewish wisdom teacher, “the New Moses” (Morison, n.d.). The primary audience of the Gospel as Powell (2009) notes is presented by the “Christians who are either ethnically Jewish or well-acquainted with matters of Jewish tradition.” This suggests that the ethical teaching of Christ was meant to replace traditional Jewish ethics and morality. In this regard, the five-part structure of Matthew plays an extremely important role. It allows the reader to see the teaching of Christ in its five forms, namely as the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7); the missionary teaching (chapter 10); the teaching in parables (chapter 13); Church teaching (chapter 18); and the eschatological teaching (chapters 24-25). This structure represents the unity of the individual elements of the teachings of Christ, while the author emphasizes the fact that Christ was the son of David that can be seen as another proof of the Jewish orientation of the Gospel. In comparison with the other Gospels, especially the Gospel of Mark, Matthew ignores the emotional sphere of the life of the Son of God seeing Him primarily as a great teacher of Jewish wisdom, the new Moses. The author of the Gospel cannot ignore the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Matthew emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the son of David. This is particularly important for the author because it allows him to consider the significance of Christ as part of the Jewish people. Further consideration of the image of Christ above all as a great teacher of wisdom suggests the idea that the author sees Christ primarily as a teacher of Jewish wisdom. Each subsequent section of the gospel makes a stronger emphasis on this idea. In particular, chapter 4 says that Christ preached not only in open areas. He attended dozens of synagogues to learn about the Kingdom of God and the road to it. According to the five-part structure of Matthew, initially the ethical wisdom of Christ in its finished form was demonstrated in his Sermon on the Mount: “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him” (Matthew 5:1). Christ gives ethical guidelines for all of his listeners, calling each of them to purify their souls and thoughts from sin. The Sermon on the Mount focuses on the spiritual cleansing of the people who have to learn to forgive others’ mistakes and bad deeds. In general, the Sermon can be seen as a philosophy of love, as Christ calls people to learn to love one another. In turn, the missionary form of Christ’s Jewish wisdom is seen as no less important. Christ is able to lead people by giving each of them the opportunity to find personal salvation as well as to continue His good work in Israel by teaching others the truth of God: “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6). Jesus warns the Israelites that they will have the difficult task of discovering the truth of God to ordinary people. He tells them that they can be rejected, however, nothing and no one should break their faith in God and Gods truth: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). As it was mentioned earlier, the third form of Christs Jewish wisdom is represented by his teaching in parables. Christ mentions the following prophecy of Isaiah: And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive (Matthew 13:14). Here Christ refers to the Jewish religious tradition, but his words indicate that he considers his teaching as a worthy replacement for the traditional Jewish morality and ethics. In this regard, various parables allow the great teacher to give his listeners a simple visual representation of the truth of God. Through these parables, Jews can learn that the human soul can be seen as a kind of soil. Features of the soil determine the successful germination of grain, which is a symbol of Gods truth. In other words, Christ enables his audience to understand that only those people can understand the truth of God whose souls are clean, pure, and open to God. If the soul of man is flawed, and his/her thought are miserable then the road to God is closed for such a person. The parables used by Christ pay attention to the spiritual readiness of the Jewish people to meet God. Christ explains that the Jewish people can find spiritual salvation and enter the path leading to oneness with God only when the souls of the Jews will become a fertile ground for the grain of Gods truth. Otherwise, the human soul cannot find a way to God. People should be prepared for various trials and temptations in the way of their spiritual enlightenment. Christ warns people that the way to God is through spiritual struggle with their vices and sins. This manifestation of the Jewish wisdom of Christ is inseparable from his missionary teaching. In turn, the fourth form of the Jewish wisdom of Christ involves the creation of earthly conditions, which would correspond to the truth of the kingdom of God. Jesus tells his disciples that each of them is essential for the existence of the kingdom of God. Each of his disciples should be an example of spiritual enlightenment and purification. They need to demonstrate to others the ability to forgive other people and commit only good deeds. Thus, without using the concept of the Church in this book, Jesus speaks of two churches - heavenly and earthly. Earthly Church within the Jewish state should be a reflection of the celestial church according to the truth of Gods. Finally, the eschatological teaching is the fifth form of manifestation of the Jewish wisdom of Christ. Christ predicts all the Jews that, similar to the story of Noah, the Jews will flee from the wrath of God: “Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains” (Matthew 24:16). Salvation will be given only to those Jews who deserve it. The spiritual purity and decency of people will be the only opportunity for salvation. In general, in comparison in particular with the Gospel of Mark, Matthew is primarily devoted to the wisdom of Christ in its Jewish orientation. In turn, Mark presents Jesus as a man capable of having feelings towards other people. Mark draws attention to the fact that Christ was not only God but also man so he knew a lot about human feelings, thoughts and experiences. The following fragment of the Gospel conveys a sensual image of Christ able to experience such feelings as anger and resentment: And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other (Mark 3:5). To sum up, the author uses various ways to emphasize the idea that Christ can be seen as a new Moses. His Jewish philosophy is presented in the following five forms: the Sermon on the Mount, the missionary teaching, the teaching in parables, Church teaching, and the eschatological teaching. In addition, each of these types appeals to the Jewish traditions and customs. Christ draws attention to the fact that the Hebrew tradition is particularly important for him, because he always mentions various Jewish prophets, especially Isaiah. On the other hand, Christ enables one to understand that the task of his moral philosophy is to replace the traditional Jewish morality. In his opinion, it is not the truth of God. Christ justifies the need for a new Jewish wisdom which must be the best guide for the Jewish people. The Jewish people have lost the ability to connect with God for the simple reason that the Jews have forgotten about the high value of their spiritual life. Christ focuses on the fact that only adherence to his ethical teaching can give Jews the possibility of salvation, and thus can open them a road to eternal life. In general, the essence of Jewish wisdom of Christ implies that all people should perceive each other as if they are brothers and sisters. Integrity, honesty and mutual assistance should be the criteria of the life of Jews. In comparison with the other Gospels such as the Gospel of Mark, Matthew focuses on the educational task of the Christ who is steadily moving towards his goal while preaching the truth of God. References Bible. (n.d.). The Official King James Version Online. Retrieved from Morison, J. H. (n.d.). The Gospel of Matthew: Jesus as the new Moses. PBS. Retrieved from Powell, M. A. (2009). Introducing the New Testament: A historical, literary, and theological survey. Michigan: Baker Academic. Read More