Authority

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Today I’m thinking
about Jewish Rabbis.

Just a quick personal note
before I get started – I grew up in a
family that attended church services
every week, and we said prayers
at meals and at bed time,
but we weren’t
Bible Readers
.
So
I remember
being surprised
the first time I ever
heard someone say
that Jesus was
Jewish
!
I was already
an adult at the time, and
I was embarrassed because
I had never thought of it before
.
I suppose I had been thinking
of Jesus as “Christian”
or something
,
but
Jesus was Jewish
.
He was born into a Jewish family,
and from what we can learn in the
New Testament about His early life,
He seems to have had a typical
Jewish upbringing
.
They observed the
traditional feasts and Sabbaths,
and then at the age of thirty
he became a Jewish rabbi,
and began attracting
disciples
.

So yes,
if you have never really
thought about it before,
Jesus was Jewish
.
and
…
If you look through the
New Testament you’ll find
at least six different types
of people who refer to
Him as “rabbi”
;
His own disciples, of course,
and a Sadducee called him rabbi,
a Pharisee did, and a lawyer, a
rich man, and “the crowd”
.
You can find
at least ten instances
where he was teaching
IN THE SYNAGOGUE
.

Jesus was
a Jewish Rabbi

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About Rabbi

One thing you’ll notice
in their teaching style is that
they ask a lot of questions!
.
A great Rabbi is known
not only for answering questions,
he is also known for his skill in
asking questions
.
That’s a form
of rabbinic dialogue;
always asking questions,
and answering questions
with more questions
.

What was Jesus doing
when he was twelve
?

…
they
found him
in the temple,
sitting among the
teachers, listening
to them and asking
them questions. 

Luke 2:46

You can tell a lot about
what people are thinking
by the way they ask
questions
.
And you’ll notice as you
read through the gospels,
many times when Jesus
is asked a question,
he replies with a
question
.
Explore that on your own,
but let’s go back to the
typical Jewish rabbi
…

One thing
you should know
is that there were two
types of rabbi
(at least)
.
The common type
was a “Torah teacher”.
Torah is the first five books
of the bible, sometimes
called The Pentateuch.
(penta means five)
.
“Torah teaching” rabbis
had the entire Torah
MEMORIZED!
Can you imagine that?

I was learning about this
from a teacher named
Ray Vander Laan
.
He told us about
an experience he had in
a classroom for Jewish studies ,
where he realized that he was
the only student who didn’t
have the entire Torah
memorized, word
for word
!
Some of the students
could recite it in more
than one language
!
and a few not only
knew the complete Torah
by heart, but also the rest
of Hebrew scripture,
The Tanakh
.
I can’t imagine
having that
inside
me
.

So, the first thing
you should know is that
a rabbi was a “Torah teacher”.
It wasn’t a paid position back then.
It wasn’t a job, or an office. It had
no official credentials at all.
It was a devotion
.
In the bible
this type of rabbi
is sometimes called a
TEACHER OF THE LAW,
and sometimes a
LAWYER,
because
they know the
most about the law.
Sometimes they’re called
SCRIBES
.

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The more
uncommon type of rabbi
is the most highly respected;
a rabbi with

Semikhah
Semicha
Smicha

(I don’t know Hebrew,
so choose the one you like!)
but those are Hebrew
variations that mean
ordained, or
anointed
.
One thing that
differentiates them
from other rabbis is that
an ordained rabbi would
commonly travel
with disciples
.  
Torah teachers
didn’t do that
.

The most significant
difference was that
an ordained rabbi
had
AUTHORITY

The “Torah teaching” rabbi
can only teach the accepted
interpretations, but a rabbi
with Semikhah can make
NEW INTERPRETATIONS
.
So, when Jesus says,
“You have heard it said
‘eye for eye and tooth for tooth’,
but I say, “(something new)”,
He’s demonstrating to us
the highest rabbinical
authority
.
He’s
making a
New Interpretation
.

Chapters five through seven
in Matthew’s gospel
are commonly
referred to as the
“Sermon on the Mount”,
and if you read it carefully
you will discover that he
does this seven times
.
Seven new
interpretations where he says
“You’ve heard (that), but I say (this)”
.
The teachings or interpretations of
a particular Rabbi with authority
collected together, summarized,
was called “his yoke”
.
To follow him
meant that you would
“put on his yoke”
.

In Matthew chapter 11,
Jesus says,

“Come to me, all who
labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you,
and learn from me,
for I am gentle and
lowly in heart,
and you will find
rest for your souls
.
For my yoke is easy,
and my burden
is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus
was a rabbi
with authority
.

And when
Jesus finished these
sayings, the crowds were
astonished at his teaching,
for he was teaching them
as one who had authority,
and not as their scribes.

Matthew 7:28-29

Not every rabbi could
assume this kind of authority,
he had to have been given
Semikhah

I don’t know
how it is today in
the Jewish tradition,
but back then, the only
way to get Semikhah was
through two other rabbis,
and both of them had
to have Semikhah
.
So,
two rabbis
with authority
would place their
hands on your head,
or over your head,
and transfer their
authority
to you

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So Jesus
was teaching
with authority,
and also acting
with authority,
performing
miracles
and healing

And when he
entered the temple,
the chief priests and
the elders of the people
came up to him as he
was teaching,
and said
,
“By what authority
are you doing these
things, and who gave
you this authority?”

Matthew 21:23 

In other words,
they were asking,
“Who gave you your
Semikhah?”

Jesus
answered them,
“I also will ask you
one question, and if you
tell me the answer, then
I also will tell you by
what authority I
do these things.

Matthew 21:24 

He answers
their question
with another
question
.
He wasn’t
trying to be evasive
or deceptive, and He
wasn’t changing
the subject
.
He was engaging in
an accepted style of
rabbinic dialog.

So He asks,

The baptism of John,
from where did it come?
From heaven or from man?”
And they discussed it
among themselves,
saying,
“If we say,
‘From heaven,’
he will say to us,
‘Why then did you
not believe him
?’ 
But
if we say,
‘From man,’
we are afraid of
the crowd, for they
all hold that John
was a prophet.”
So they
answered Jesus,
“We do not know.”

Matthew 21:24 

(rabbinic dialog OVER,
in other words)

And he
said to them,
“Neither will I tell
you by what authority
I do these things
.
This must have been
frustrating and embarrassing
for the chief priests and elders
of the temple, but it is an
illuminating question
.

Where DID he get
his Semikhah from
???

When a rabbi
answers a question
with another question,
the second question
usually contains
a clue to the
answer
.
The intent of the question
is to focus the thinking in a
truthful and desired direction.
When Jesus asked them where
the baptism of John came from,
He was pointing to JOHN!

John the Baptists was a rabbi,
son of the high priest Zechariah,
and he was acting and teaching
with authority. Here is what
he says in Matthew’s gospel:

“I baptize
you with water
for repentance, but
he who is coming after
me is mightier than I,
whose sandals I am
not worthy to
carry.

Matthew 3:11

Then Jesus
came from Galilee
to the Jordan to John,
to be baptized by him.
John would have
prevented him,
saying,
“I need to be
baptized by you,
and do you
come
to me?”
But Jesus
answered him,
“Let it be so now, for
thus it is fitting for us to
fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he consented.

Matthew 3:14-15

John
publicly recognized
the authority in Jesus.
John gave Jesus
Semikhah
.
So,
John was one,
who was the second
???
Well, we don’t have to
wait very long to find out!
The very next verse says,

And when
Jesus was baptized,
immediately he went
up from the water,
and behold,
the heavens
were opened to
him, and he saw
the Spirit of God
descending like a
dove and coming to
rest on him; and behold,
a voice from heaven said,
“This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am
well pleased.”

Matthew 3:16-17

Jesus
got his
Semikhah
from the Spirit
of God himself
!!!

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I will close with
one powerful verse
found later in the story
.
In the final chapter
of Matthew’s gospel,
the disciples are
together in
Galilee,
and
…

…
Jesus came
and said to them
,
ALL AUTHORITY
in heaven and
on earth has
been given
TO ME

Matthew 28:18

Thank you for sharing
this time with me, and
May God Bless You
.

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