Book: Beresford Job's Biblical Church - 3

Job's chapters 2 & 3 (which correspond to the second free mp3 lecture here) concern Jesus' stance towards the tradition of the elders.

Job starts out chapter 2 with a strong claim, that "Israel's religious leaders rejected him in the full knowledge that he was indeed their long awaited Messiah." (29) I think Job means to say that they should have known he was the Messiah. In any case, he points out that Jesus expects John the Baptist to conclude that he's the Messiah simply on the basis of his miracles in fulfilment of prophecy. (Matthew 11:2-6)

Here the plot thickens. It seems that the Pharisees had their own theories about Messiah validation. Job claims (citing this article - not available online - apparently you must buy it here) that they theorized there were three miracles which only bona-fide Messiah could do: healing a leper, casting out a demon who refuses to talk, and healing a man born blind. (See the book, 30-8, for their interesting justifications for these.) So, Jesus proceeds to do all three, knowingly triggering an official Messiah-investigation. (Lk 5, Mt 12, Jn 9)

There are some curious and interesting footnotes in ch 2. Job claims that the modern charismatic way of dealing with demons, e.g. asking their names and then doing verbal combat with them - resembles not the techniques of Jesus, but those of ancient Pharisaical Judaism. (35) (But what about Bob's Bible-fu?) And he interprets the "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" as a a collective sin by the nation of Israel, of rejecting Jesus as their messiah. One more tidbit - the Pharisees taught that a fetus can sin?! (37) But I'm getting distracted.

In chapter 3 Job argues that Jesus neither accepted nor accommodated the non-inspired tradition of the elders. Rather, he "hated it and declared open warfare on it by breaking as many of its laws as he could on any occasion that presented itself." (39) e.g. healing on the sabbath (mud-in-the-eye techniques, evidently, were singled out), hanging out with "sinners", gleaning grain on the sabbath, not washing hands before meals. Jesus blasts the Pharisees for hypocrisy, for violating God's will whilst claiming to do it (i.e. to follow their "fence laws" / oral tradition). (Matthew 15)

All this sets up the task of the next part of Job's book: exposing "our very own Christian version of the tradition of the elders." (47, original emphasis)

What could that be?

Next time: What's good for the goose is good for the gander.