Student: Grant MITCHELL
Student ID: C9901028
Subject: New Testament Introduction – BCB108
Lecturer: David TIMMS
Title: How did the inter-testamental period set the stage for the coming of Christ and many of the teachings of the New Testament? Be specific with respect to which teachings were impacted.
No. Words: 1971
Due Date: 26th March 1999
Submission Date:
26th March 1999
Most Christians are unaware of the effects the inter-testamental period had upon the coming of Christ and the teachings in the New Testament. Despite the lack of information in the Bible, there are details regarding this period, dating from 430 BC to 30 AD, that demonstrate the beliefs and the politics of the nation, and then show great enlightenment to the words and characters of the people found in the New Testament. The first of note that is discussed is the Pharisees: the group of Jews that are known even in today’s society, but partly misunderstood. The second area of discussion is the political swings of Palestine, in particular the actions and effects of the conquering nations upon the Palestinian region. The final topic is that of the temple of Jerusalem, and the beliefs that the Jews held about the temple.
The Pharisees are a party of Jewish people that arose during the inter-testamental period, c. 150 BC (Ferguson 1993:481). Their main focus was the importance of the Law (Torah). They believed that they were the hope of Israel – that through the keeping of the Law the former glory of Israel would be restored to the nation (Nehemiah 1:9).
This fanatical devotion to the Law, this strong religious character, became a popular belief at particular times in the inter-testamental period (Metzger 1983:41). The most notable is during the reign of the Seleucids (198-167 BC) and the Maccabean Period (167-63 BC, Ferguson 1993:381-383). The Maccabean revolt was in essence a rejection of anti-Jewish followings due to Hellinization and the specific actions of Antiochus IV (Metzger 1983:20 and Ferguson 1993:383).
In time, however, the ways of the Pharisee in being above and separate from the common people became a barrier between the Pharisees and the nation they wanted to see restored (Stambaugh and Balch 1986:100). Also their adoption of not only the Law but also the oral traditions, became a burden too great for the common person to aspire too. The majority of the Jewish people could only admire the spirit of the Pharisees, and yet feel condemned in not being able to imitate their actions.
It is into this situation that Christ appears. Jesus states that his actions are in accord with the spirit of the Pharisees. He commends this spirit when he states "I have not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it" (Matthew 5:17); and also when he calls upon the people to have a "righteousness [that] surpasses that of the Pharisees" (Matthew 5:20). However Jesus condemns the actions of the Pharisees in adding the "heavy loads" (Matthew 23:2) of the oral traditions, and also for not reaching out to help the common people as he did: "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mark 2:17).
The Pharisees teaching of the importance of the Law and keeping of the oral traditions could be summed up in the belief that "promises God’s grace only to the doers of the Law" (Metzger 1983:41).
Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their self-righteous behaviour. They had become so interested in the externals that they had forgotten to make themselves righteous before God inside (Matthew 23:27-28). Jesus stated that even a person of the common people, a tax collector, a sinner in the Pharisee’s eyes, could be righteous before God when a Pharisee was not (Luke 18:10-14).
This is also the teaching that Paul comes against in his letters to the Romans (9:30), Galatians (2:16), Ephesians (2:8-9), and the Philippians (3:9). Paul’s teaching is succinctly stated in the Ephesians passage: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast" (2:8-9).
The Pharisees adopted a teaching that did not appear in the Old Testament but originated during the inter-testamental period: that of the resurrection of the body. This belief of the Pharisees is most notable as it is in contrast to the faction of the Sadducees (Matthew 22:23 and Acts 23:8).
The origins of resurrection are most attributed to writings in the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha that were written during the inter-testamental period. The main reference is 2 Maccabees 12:43-45, written c. 100 BC (Ferguson 1993:421-422). 1 Enoch 51 also contains teaching of the resurrection, which was written perhaps in the first century BC or AD (Ferguson 1993:426-427).
Resurrection is a cornerstone of the Christian faith, and paramount to the work of Christ. Paul states "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith" (1 Corinthians 15:13-14).
The political history of Palestine during the inter-testamental period has a significant impact upon the coming of Christ.
Under the Persians (538-332 BC), the Jews in exile had freedom to return to Judea, but the nation "… was now a province of Persia" (Metzger 1983:18). Despite the fact that " 'the high priests were the head of affairs' (Ant. 11.4.8), [they were] subject to but not appointed by the local governor …" (Ferguson 1993:378). Political independence for the Jews did not exist under Persian rule.
Under the rule of Alexander the Great of Macedon, 332-167 BC (Ferguson 1993:379), his method of retaining the "governmental systems he found" (Ferguson 1993:11) provided a measure of independence to the region of Palestine. However the people were still subject to an external authority, and as is seen by Hellinization, particularly in its introduction of the gymnasium, this authority did not have the interest of the Jewish nation at its core.
Similarly under the rule of the Ptolemies, 301-198 BC (Ferguson 1993:380) "… the Jews were governed by their own high priests, subject to the overlords in Egypt" (Metzger 1983:18), and taxes were collected for the overlords (Ferguson 1993:381).
The methods of the Seleucid dynasty, 198-167 BC (Ferguson 1993:381) were similar to those of the Ptolemies, but with greater Hellinization. Thus the effects of this culture change and that of Antiochus IV outlawing the Jewish religion in 168-167 BC (Ferguson 1993:383) brought about the revolt of the Hasmonean family and their followers, and a temporary independence was finally won.
However, the purity of these victors did not remain so over many generations. A rebellion within the Jews rose against the Hasmonean Alexander Janneus (103-76 BC, Ferguson 1993:387), calling upon the Seleucid king Demetrius II to aid them. "This was the irony of ironies: the Jews who had supported the Hasmoneans in order to throw off the Seleucid yoke now invited a Seleucid king to help rid them of the oppressions of a Hasmonean" (Ferguson 1993:387). The Jewish nation was able to obtain independence by force, but its rulers could not remain incorruptible.
"The Jewish nation, however, lacked leaders who could weld the people into a strong unit" (Metzger 1983:21). Disagreements between the Pharisees and the Sadducees finally brought the country to civil war (Metzger 1983:22).
At this point the Romans, under the leadership of Pompey, "took possession of Jerusalem in 63 BC. The Jewish kingship was abolished, and Judea … was required to pay tribute [to Rome]." (Metzger 1983:22) Once again the nation was subject to external authority and forced to pay taxes.
It was in reaction to this invasion and in response to the corruption of the Sadducees under Hellinization that the Pharisaic document Psalms of Solomon is written c. 50 BC (Martin 1985:60). This document highlights the concept of the Messiah in the Jewish nation. "The author expresses the ardent expectation of a righteous Davidic king-Messiah who would deliver the holy land from unholy enemies" (Ferguson 1993:388).
"This Son of David will be a righteous king, the anointed of the Lord … He will gather together a holy people who are like a firstborn, only-begotten son … The righteous will be raised to eternal life" (Ferguson 1993:433).
The Herodian dynasty of 37 BC – 6 AD (Ferguson 1993:391) that followed brought some relief, as Jewish sympathy was sought, but Herod the Great, an Idumean, adopting a semblance of Judaism, was unsavoury and cruel. (Metzger 193:23-24)
This is the political situation that Christ enters into. The Jewish nation has been subject to political oppression through taxation and lack of independence for most of the inter-testamental period. The expectations of a Messiah/Christ are high, although the nation’s concept of Christ is wrong – it is political rather than spiritual: "He will expel occupying Roman troops and Sadducean usurpers and bring in God’s kingdom of Israel’s prosperity and dominance over her enemies" (Martin 1985:60).
The temple of Israel continues to be of prominence during the inter-testamental period. The reconstruction of the temple at the end of the Old Testament means that the Jewish nation once again focuses its life around the temple. It is described as "Israel’s most important institution" (Roetzel 1985:57), and the "center of Jewish worship and the focal point of national pride" (Martin 1985:78). It was the centre of the universe as far as the Jewish mind was concerned.
During the Seleucid dynasty Antiochus IV attacked this heart of the nation. First he stripped the temple, in 169 BC, of its wealth for his own purposes, then he desecrated the temple by sacrificing swine upon a smaller altar on the great altar of burnt offering in 167 BC (Ferguson 1993:383). These actions were seen as a threat to the national identity of the Jews. The uprising against Antiochus IV was not only due to the outlawing of the Jewish religion, but his sacrilege upon the temple. The restoration of the temple in 164 BC was so significant that a feast to celebrate this, the winter feast of Dedication, was instituted (Metzger 1983:21).
When Jesus makes statements stating that "one greater than the temple is here" (Matthew 12:6), and "destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days" (John 2:19) the Jews minds were most likely drawn to the recent past. They believed that Jesus was talking about the physical temple, when actually he was talking about his own body (John 2:20). The events of the inter-testamental period would have set in the mind of the Jew the threat that the destruction of the temple meant, and how impossible it would seem to rebuild it in such a short time.
This temple image of Jesus actually focuses on the fullness of the divine in him. The temple was but a shadow of the dwelling place of God – but Jesus is the Son of God. The disciples could look back and reflect on the truth of this after Jesus’ resurrection (John 2:22).
Also the teachings of Paul about the subject of the temple make more sense. Paul states about the Christian, "you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you" (1 Corinthians 3:16). Furthermore it goes on "If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple" (v17). This idea of the destruction of the temple is seen in not only than the time of the Babylonians, but also in the time of the inter-testamental period.
The major influence for setting the stage for the coming of Christ was the political unrest of the inter-testamental period. The Jewish nation was oppressed time after time, and the people were calling out for a political saviour. The actions of the Pharisees were intermingled with this expectation of Christ – their righteousness would win their nation the favour of God and thus his saving grace. The threats that opposing forces had placed upon the temple, the house of God, brought the Jewish nation to its greatest reaction against this political influence. This time, between the two testaments, set the stage for the most important content of the New Testament –God’s grace through faith in Christ.
Bibliography
(Ferguson 1993)
Ferguson, Everett
(Martin 1985)
Martin, Ralph P.
(Metzger 1983)
Metzger, Bruce M.
(Roetzel 1985)
Roetzel, Calvin
1985 The World that Shaped the New Testament. SCM.
(Stambaugh and Balch 1986)
Stambaugh, John E. and Balch, David L.
1986 The New Testament in its Social Environment. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: Westminster Press.
All Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.