Christ as Priest and Lamb II

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Please finish the book of Hebrews (you can skip chapter 11 if you want) AND read the pages in your reader from Bruce Chilton's book, The Temple of Jesus, about sacrifice (chapter 7 and the epilogue). Skip the chapter on communion (8) for now. These readings really inform each other, and I will use both for discussion, so please start reading now!

Here are some things to think about:

We will start by re-reading the 4 Gospels' accounts of what Bruce Chilton calls Jesus' "occupation" of the Temple: Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:13-22.

Chilton suggests that Jesus' idea about the Kingdom of God was heavily influenced by Zechariah 14, which is a passage about the Judgment Day, after which God is recognized and worshiped throughout the world. Non-Israelites come to the Temple to worship, but even ordinary cooking pots are as holy as those on the altar. This is where Chilton goes in Chapter 8 on communion, that even a regular meal could be holy. We might read that chapter later.

Chilton argues that Jesus, like the Pharisees, was interested in Israel's ownership of pure sacrifices; he was also against trading in the Temple. For Chilton, Jesus came to reform the sacrificial system, NOT to replace or supplant it. (Meanwhile, Mark R. Bredin argues that Jesus wasn't interested in purity but was the sacrifice to end all sacrifices.)

Everything changed when Jesus was killed. Between c. 30 CE and 70 CE, it was easy to continue to be Jewish, but it was relatively hard to be Christian. Remember our discussion of the Epistles and how Paul and other early church leaders were trying to essentially make things up as they went along. They were creating the scriptures and theology and traditions we can now rely on as part of what we call the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (scripture, tradition, reason, experience).

After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, it was hard to be Jewish but suddenly relatively easier to be a [Gentile] Christian. We'll continue this week the discussion we started last week about how Christianity changed and developed in the fifty or so years after Jesus' death. This is where the book of Hebrews fits in, because the writer reimagines Jesus as the new and last High Priest. See especially the parable of the Temple, (Chilton, p. 156). Hebrews is a foundational document of the doctrine of Sacrificial Atonement, which has been important in most parts of Christianity for a very long time. (There are of course other ideas, which is why we're reading Chilton and Bredin, and more stuff for next week.)

If we have time, we'll close with where this leaves us today, modern Christians without a Temple.


Kristen

p.s.- For those who missed it, on Tuesday Caci did some research on King Melchizedek, who is mentioned a few times in the Bible. His name means "King of Righteousness," and he is said to be king of Salem/ Jerusalem (City of Peace). We finally decided he is a fictitious character, an ideal type, who may even foretell the other King of Righteousness (Jesus). The important thing to keep in mind about Hebrews is that the writer presents Jesus as a High Priest. We discussed how this was different from Matthew's Jesus, maybe closer to Luke's version of Jesus. So one thing to consider is how Christianity changed after Jesus' death and again after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (70 AD or CE). This is important for next week's discussion--see you then!