cccThe question heading this article is an oft-repeated
one. It seems difficult for many to understand how or why the
Jewish nation rejected Jesus as the Saviour and Messiah, when the
Old Testament Scriptures were filled with prediction, type, and
prophecy regarding His advent into our world. Especially does it
seem difficult to understand the refusal of the Sanhedrin to
acclaim Him Jesus as Messiah when the inspired apostles
repeatedly state that, had these people known it, they would not
have crucified the Lord of glory. Their sacrificing of His life
was done through ignorance. It seems well nigh inexplicable for
some to harmonize the rejection of Jesus by the Pharisees while
they were recognized as the leaders who sat in Moses' seat.
ccc
cccThat the Jewish people were honest, zealous, and
sincere is evident from scripture. Paul says of them: "I
bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according
to knowledge." Rom. 10:2. And of his own training and
education, even before he accepted the Saviour, he adds:
ccc
ccc"Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a
conscience void of offense toward God, and toward man." Acts
24:16.
ccc
ccc"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath
enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the
ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and
injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in
unbelief" (1 Tim. 1:12,13).
cccBecause of the bitter experience through which the
seed of Abraham passed in the captivity of Babylon for seventy
years, after their deliverance from Babylonian exile the leaders
determined never again to reject the counsel of God's word. The
influential men of Israel feared the serious consequences which
might overtake them if they were again led away from the true
God. The following statement from Ezra is to the point:
ccc
ccc"Should we again break thy commandments, and
join in affinity with the people of these abominations? Shouldst
not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that
there should be no remnant nor escaping?" (Ezra 9:14).
ccc
cccIn a Jewish book entitled Ethics of the Fathers, (1),
written about the second century before Christ, chapter 1,
paragraph 2, says: "Be deliberate in judgment; train up many
disciples; and make a fence for the law." The sages of
Israel put forth their best effort to fence in the law. They
multiplied comments, explanations, treaties, targums, and other
religious helps in order that the people might better understand
the teaching of the word of God. Unfortunately, in their endeavor
to familiarize the people with the requirements contained in
Scripture for following God, they stumbled over a great stumbling
stone.
ccc
cccAfter Alexander the Great worshiped in the Temple at
Jerusalem, following his reception by Juddua the high priest,
(2),a spirit of friendliness developed between the Greeks and the
Jews. Alexander's generals found it difficult to understand why
their chief should embrace the high priest when they met on Mount
Scopus, instead of putting him to death. Alexander told his
officials that what occurred that day was shown to him in a
vision when he was in Macedonia, and he wanted the privilege of
entering the Temple and worshiping the God of Juddua .
ccc
cccGreece assured the Jews that they desired to be
their true friends and benefactors. (3). They were desirous of
learning more of the God of the Hebrews. An arrangement was
entered into that allowed a large number of rabbis from Jerusalem
to go to Alexandria and translate the writings of the Jewish
Scriptures into the Greek language. Greek scholarship and
learning was seeking every possible avenue to enhance the value
of its own culture and refinement. It was also suggested by the
Greeks that the Jews send their talented young men to Alexandria
for training and instruction in the philosophies, sciences, and
learning of the Greeks.
ccc
cccMany of the elders of Israel feared the results of
such a course; the sages remembered the sorrows of their
ancestors who came into contact with heathen manners and customs.
They counseled the younger men against such a procedure. These,
in turn, argued that it would be an advantage for strong,
thoughtful, vigorous young men to enter the schools of Greece, as
they might influence the philosophers and Greek scholars to see
the value and beauty of the Jewish religion, and some of the
learned Greeks might embrace Judaism. Yet, the aged men of Israel
advised against it. They maintained that should the younger men
be given encouragement to come into contact with the learning of
the heathen, it might be ruinous to the future of the Jewish
race.
ccc
cccGreece assured the fathers in Israel that they might
hold to their own standards of religion. They were encouraged to
believe that the synagogues where the children were taught their
religion would not be interfered with; their Beth Hamedrosh
(house of learning, their high schools), where their young people
received preparatory training, would continue as heretofore; the Talmud
Torah (their colleges where advanced studies were conducted)
would be strengthened if the teachers of the law should only
imbibe the wisdom and learning of the scholars of Greece; and by
receiving recognition from the world's greatest nation, the
graduates of Jewish schools would find it greatly to their
advantage.
ccc
cccGradually the Jewish schools came to confer degrees
upon their graduates. There was the Rav, or rabbi, the Tana, the
Gayon, the Sadi, and the Rabbon. It was thought necessary for the
graduates of the rabbinical schools to show the mark of their
rank by wearing different clothing. The man with a degree must
wear a peculiar, distinctive gown and cap. Little by little an
educational aristocracy was formed, which was called the
Sanhedrin. This term is of Greek origin, the Hebrew name being Beth
din ha-go-dol, Great House of Judgment.
cccWhile the religious schools continued to operate, a
marked declension in spiritual influence and power was visible.
Year by year the word of God was studied less, as the courses
studies based on culture and philosophy increased. The curriculum
of the rabbinical schools was influenced toward intellectualism.
As the years passed, man became exalted and God was less thought
of. The rabbi was extolled; the unlearned were depreciated. Piety
gradually diminished as form and ceremony increased. Many laws
were passed favoring rabbinism and school customs, yet students
were encouraged to love and obey God.
ccc
cccIn Ethics of the Fathers the rabbis taught:
"A child of five years should study the Bible, at ten the
Mishna, at fifteen the Gemara."
ccc
cccThe Mishna is a voluminous commentary on the Bible;
the Gemara is the commentary of the Mishna. So as the student
advanced in years and developed in mental acumen, he studied
God's word less, and man's writings more.
cccIn order for men to be accepted by Jewish
assemblies, they must have completed a course in the rabbinical
schools. Those who failed to follow the procedure mapped out by
the Great Sanhedrin (or by the lesser Sanhedrin located in cities
and towns of Palestine outside the city of Jerusalem,
headquarters of the Beth din ha-go-dol, The Great House of
Judgment), received no recognition by the populace. The graduate
rabbi was known by his garb. It was vital that rabbinical
qualifications be met in order for a person to gain a hearing by
the children of Abraham.
ccc
cccSuch were existing conditions in the land of Judea
at the time when John and Jesus appeared in the land of Israel.
ccc
cccThe following from “The Desire of Ages”
is pertinent here:
ccc
ccc"By the Babylonish captivity the Israelites
were effectually cured of the worship of graven images. During
the centuries that followed, they suffered from the oppression of
heathen foes, until the conviction became fixed that their
prosperity depended upon their obedience to the law of God . . .
After the return from Babylon, much attention was given to
religious instruction. All over the country, synagogues were
erected, where the law was expounded by the priests and scribes.
And schools were established, which, together with the arts and
sciences, professed to teach the principles of righteousness. But
these agencies became corrupted . . . In many things they
conformed to the practices of idolaters.
ccc"As they departed from God, the Jews in a great
degree lost sight of the teaching of the ritual service . . . The
Jews lost the spiritual life from their ceremonies, and clung to
the dead forms . . . In order to supply the place of that which
they had lost, the priests and rabbis multiplied requirements of
their own; and the more rigid they grew, the less of the love of
God was manifested. They measured their holiness by the multitude
of their ceremonies, while their hearts were filled with pride
and hypocrisy."-- The Desire of Ages, 29.
ccc
ccc“As the Jews had departed from God, faith had
grown dim, and hope had well-nigh ceased to illuminate the
future. The words of the prophets were uncomprehended.” --
Id., p. 32.
ccc
cccSince John and Jesus were not the attendants at
rabbinical schools, the people would not recognize their
authority as teachers. However, God gave these men a message
filled with divine power and with the heavenly
Spirit. Because the leaders of Israel failed to accept the
message of John as coming from God, they were unprepared to
receive the message of the Saviour, although He assured them that
His life and advent were based on the sacred Scriptures. The
rabbis argued: "How knoweth this man letters, having never
learned?" John 7:15.
ccc
cccSince the members of Jesus' family were loyal to the
synagogues, His own brothers did not believe on Him as Messiah.
(See John 7:4, 5.) Because the standards of learning were set up
by the Sanhedrin, and none who refused to accept the teaching of
the rabbis were given recognition, it is not difficult to
understand why, when the Saviour came to those who were
custodians of the oracles of God, they failed to recognize Him as
the fulfillment of the types and prophecy noted in Moses and the
prophets. By mingling human philosophy with the Word of God, the
spiritual force and power of the Scriptures was lacking in the
lives of teachers and laymen. They did not have spiritual
discernment. Greek philosophy, Alexandrian and Athenian culture
had sapped the spiritual strength of the house of Israel. The
influence of this worldly religious training unfitted all classes
to meet Him when "He came unto His own." "His own
received Him not." His claims were heavenly; the people were
of the earth, earthly. Heaven and earth did not harmonize.
ccc
cccAt the beginning of His work, Jesus told the people
that the populace would kill Him. The Pharisees accused Him of
being a Samaritan and of having a devil. Blinded by sin,
influenced and hypnotized by human learning and rabbinical
tradition, the masses were void of spiritual intuition. In the
end they rejected their only hope, their one source of
deliverance. No honesty, zeal, or earnestness could deliver or
save them from sin. Only Jesus, the light of the world, the
Saviour of men, could bring deliverance.
ccc
cccThe leaders of Israel had, to a great extent,
yielded to the demands of Greek culture and learning, thereby
hoping to gain prestige and influence. They had been led to
believe that they could make better progress in their God-given
task by assimilating worldly standards of education than by
clinging with tenacity to the standards bequeathed to them by
their godly ancestors. So the Israelites lost much of their
influence, failed to retain their prestige, and rejected their
long-looked-for Messiah and Saviour.
Washington, D.C.
(1) Incorporated in “Jewish Daily
Prayer Book,” edition of 1890, published by Rosenbaum &
Werbelowsky, New York City.
(2) Josephus, “Antiquities,” book 11, chapter 8, par.
5.
ccc“New Testament Times in Palestine,”
Shailer Mathews, Chap 1, pp. 13, 14.
ccc“Palestine Guide,” G.O. Matson, edition of
1930, published by American Colony Stores, Jerusalem, Palestine.
(3) Graetz's “History of the Jews,” Vol. I, pp. 440,
457, 487.
cccSchurer's “history of the Jewish People in the
Times of Jesus Christ,” Div. I, pp. 199-218.
cccEwald's “History of Israel,” chap. 5, pp.
260, 293-302.
ccc“New Testament Times in Palestine,” by
Shiler Mathews, chap. 2, pp. 15-26; chap 3, p. 30; chap. 4, pp.
38, 40, 42.
Published in “the Ministry” December 1933.
Pastor Michael O. Hodges
Copyright 2009.
Permission is hereby given to reprint any
of these studies and articles provided that they are duplicated
in their entirety without any change or comment.