Jesus on Religious Observance

Neff, Charles. “Jesus on Observance.” The Way: The Spiritual Practices of Jesus. Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC. © 2007 /p. 1

“Jesus on Religious Observance” An excerpt from The Way: The Spiritual Practices of Jesus Rev. Dr. Charles Neff, DMin, MDiv, MTS, MBA Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington DC, © 2007 [This study focuses on the behavioral aspects of The Way, what Early Christianity might have been in terms of spiritual practice. The author contends that The Way can be defined in concrete terms of Jesus’ own spiritual practice—what he taught and what he modeled. The author’s thesis is that Jesus’ own spiritual practices can be identified by employing a comparative, source-critical methodology (1) to identify the common spiritual practices of Judaism in the first century CE, (2) to identify those practices attributed to Jesus in the Gospels, (3) to identify the spiritual practices of the Early Church in the first and second centuries CE, and then (4) to compare the practices of Judaism, the Early Church, and those attributed to Jesus to determine points of connection and lines of departure.]

JESUS ON RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, [Jesus] went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom.

– Luke 4:16

Key to the notion of “religion” is religious observance, the customary rites and practices of any given belief system. Every religion has its own set of practices that constitute its accepted form of religious observance and set it apart from other religions. Subdivisions within a religion usually are demarcated from one another by differences in theology (beliefs) and varying emphases on the forms of religious observance (practices).

The Religious Observances of Judaism

The Temple, Sacrifices, Festivals, and Pilgrimages

Ritual religious observance was at the heart of Judaism in Jesus’ time. At the center of cultic observance was the Temple in Jerusalem, overseen by the High Priest and maintained by hundreds of priests and Levites who served on a rotation of two weeks per year. The Temple courts, refurbished and enlarged by King Herod the Great,1 served not only as the site of daily sacrifices and offerings, but also as a gathering place for many sorts of people. It was not uncommon to overhear groups or individuals engaged in instruction or debate. It was also not uncommon to see people using the Temple courtyard as a shortcut to the Eastern Gate that

1 Enlargement of the Second Temple began in 25 BCE and was not completed until 67 CE, three years before it was

destroyed during the First Jewish Revolt (66-74 CE). As a result of his expansion, the Second Temple in the first

century CE has often been referred to as “Herod’s Temple.”


opened to the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives (e.g. Mk 11:16). According to the Babylonian Talmud (Abodah Zarah 8b; Shabbath 15a; and Sanhedrin 41a), around 30 CE, the High Priest Caiaphas removed the Sanhedrin from the Chamber of Hewn Stone in the Temple courts to Hanuth on the Mount of Olives and introduced traders into the Temple.2

The Temple was central to Jewish worship in the first century because the primary means of worshipping God was through ritual sacrifice. Historian E.P. Sanders notes several distinguishing characteristics of first century Temple sacrifices based on the writings of Philo, Josephus and the Mishnah:

With regard to what is offered: meal, wine, birds (doves or pigeons) and quadrupeds (sheep, goats and cattle).

With regard to who provided the sacrifice: the community or an individual.

With regard to the purpose of the sacrifice: worship of and communion with God, glorification of him, thanksgiving, purification, atonement for sin, and feasting.

With regard to the disposition of the sacrifice: it was either burned or eaten. The priests got most of the food that sacrifices provided, though one of the categories of sacrifice provided food for the person who brought it and his family and friends. The Passover lambs were also eaten by the worshippers.3

Sanders also notes that two male yearling lambs were offered as burnt offerings by the Temple priests every morning and evening, without exception, on behalf of the whole community; twice as many on the Sabbath. Further, a Temple tax of one-half shekel was collected and offset the cost of these offerings (see Neh 10:32-33). The tax was paid by all adult Jewish males, not only those in attendance at the Temple, but in absentia by those throughout Palestine and in the Diaspora.4

2 Chilton, Bruce, Jesus’ Prayer and Jesus’ Eucharist (Trinity Press International, 1997), pp.67-68.

3 Sanders, E.P., Judaism: Practice & Belief 63 BCE – 66 CE (Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992), p.104.

4 Ibid. pp.104-05.

fig. 5 - Model of Herod’s Temple and courts


The Temple courts were subdivided into restricted areas of admittance based on purity. The Holy of Holies, within the innermost chamber of the Temple itself, could only be accessed once a year by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement. The outer chamber of the Temple building and the surrounding courtyard, which included the sacrificial bier, was the Court of the Priests. This area was divided from the Court of the Israelites by a low parapet. The outermost courtyard was the Court of the Gentiles. Sanders notes: “the ideas of holiness and separation, which allowed only what was most pure to come near, informed the entire arrangement of the Temple and its rites.”5

As the only site where required sacrifices could be made, the Temple was the locus of the three holy festivals of the Jewish year: Pesah (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost, Feast of Weeks), and Sukkot (Tabernacles, Feast of Booths). Together these festivals were known as Shalosh Regalim—the Three Pilgrimages (Lev 23; Deut 6). These annual celebrations swelled the population of Jerusalem (by some estimates up to 250,000) because pious Jews were expected to make a pilgrimage to these festivals each year to make an offering at the Temple (Deut 16:16-17). Judean Jews were likely present for all three, while Jews in the Diaspora tried to make the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. The movement of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from across Judea and its surrounding territories toward Jerusalem would have been a thrice-annual spectacle, with men, women, children, and animals, and the singing of hymns and Psalms (especially Pss 120-34, the “Psalms of Ascent”). In description of the event, Philo wrote, “People without number from cities without number stream to the Temple on every feast, some from the East and the West, some from the North and the South!” (On the Laws, I.69).

Ritual Baths (Mikva’ot)

Closely related to ritual purity at the Temple was the mikveh, a bath meant for ritual cleansing. At the foot of the Temple Mount and in most Jewish communities in Palestine were mikva’ot (pl.) of various sizes. Archaeologists have even found mikva’ot in upper class homes, fortresses, and palaces from the first centuries BCE and CE. By ritual custom, mikva’ot had to be filled with “living water,” that is, they had to be fed by a spring, a stream, rainwater, melted ice, or re-circulated regularly.6 Jews at the time John the Baptist began his ministry (ca. mid-20s CE) were very familiar with the practice of ritual cleansing and would have immersed themselves regularly. At the extreme, the Essenes at Qumran took seven ritual baths each day!

Sabbath Observance

Sabbath (Hb. Shabbat) observance on the seventh day of the week was important to most observant Jews in the first century. According to the Hebrew Bible, Sabbath observance was intended to commemorate “the culmination of Creation (Gen. 1 and Ex. 20), to offer an opportunity for servants to rest (Deut. 5), to serve as a sign of the covenant of God with, and

5 Ibid., p. 70.

6 Mikva’ot the sixth tractate of the Order Tohorot in the Mishnah outlines the construction and use of a ritual bath.


[God’s] consecration of, the people of Israel (Ex. 31).”7 In doing so, the Torah prohibited work (Hb. melakhah) on the Sabbath (Ex 20:8-11; 31:14-17; and parallels in the Pentateuch), a restriction that was compounded by the Pharisees and other teachers of the Law who believed righteousness relied on strict adherence to the Law (both written and oral), and who, in the time of Jesus, were trying to have Temple purity practices extended to the daily life of all Jews. While the Hebrew Bible only specifically mentions three activities that are not permitted on the Sabbath—kindling a fire (Ex 35:3), plowing or harvesting (Ex 34:21), going from place to place (Ex 16:29)—the Mishnah identifies 39 prohibited activities: sowing, plowing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, sorting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, shearing sheep, washing wool, beating wool, dyeing wool, spinning, weaving, making two loops, weaving two threads, tying [a permanent knot], loosening [a permanent knot], sewing two stitches, tearing in order to sew two stitches, hunting a deer, slaughtering, flaying, salting, curing a skin, scraping the hide, cutting, writing two letters [of the alphabet], erasing in order to write two letters, building, pulling down a structure, extinguishing a fire, lighting a fire, striking with a hammer [i.e. putting the finishing touch on something), and moving something from one place to another.8

The Synagogue

Synagogue9 attendance was also an important religious practice across Judaism. The local synagogue was the site of instruction in the Torah and served as a gathering place for the Jews in most communities. Synagogue worship occurred in coincidence with Temple worship, three times daily—morning, afternoon, and evening10—but only if the required ten adult males (age 12/13 and above) were present to represent a quorum (minyan). DiSante notes that synagogue worship was marked by a sense of equality, in which any adult male regardless of status or background could participate in the leadership of the service.11 Scholars disagree as to the pervasiveness of the synagogue in Palestine during the first century, especially in Jerusalem,12 but they did serve an expansive role in the religious life of Jews in the Diaspora where regular attendance at the Temple was impossible. It is unlikely, however, that those in attendance at the synagogue considered their meetings as “worship.” The Jewish notion of “worship” included ritual sacrifice (an act that for Jews could only be performed at the Temple). Lack of distinctive architecture has made first century synagogue identification difficult, leading

7 “Sabbath,” Encyclopedia of Judaism (1989), pp.608-09.

8 From Shab. 7, cited in “Sabbath,” Encyclopedia of Judaism (1989), pp.609-10.

9 “‘Synagogue’ (from Greek syn + agoge, ‘a bringing together, an assembly’) is a translation of the Hebrew bet ha-

keneset, ‘house of assembly’” (DiSante, 169). 10

Burridge notes that the custom of praying at the same time as the Temple can be seen in the practice of Ezra (9:5)

and Daniel (6:10). The pattern for prayer probably originated with Psalm 55:17 (p.17). 11

DiSante, Carmine, Jewish Prayer: The Origins of Christian Liturgy, Matthew J. O’Connell, trans. (New York:

Paulist Press, 1985), pp.169-70. Also noted in “Synagogue,” Jewish Encly. (1989), p.679. 12

Grabbe suggests a dating of Palestinian synagogues to the first century BCE (p.30); Hyldahl suggests a date of

late first century CE (pp.53-55); Riesner advocates a “majority opinion” that synagogues were widespread in

Palestine by the first century CE (p.180).


Rainer Riesner to suggest that many synagogues were likely extensions of personal homes—a large meeting room or a courtyard.13

Following the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the local synagogue took on a central role in Judaism. The synagogue was still not the site of worship in the traditional Jewish sense—ritual sacrifices were not moved into the synagogue—but it nonetheless became the nexus of rabbinic Judaism in which prayer and study of Torah was paramount. The basic order of daily synagogue worship that soon evolved (outlined below) may reflect some elements of synagogue prayer services that were already in place at the time of Jesus:

The Basic Order of Daily Synagogue Worship14

I. Shahrit (Morning Liturgy)

1. Benedictions and introductory psalms

2. Qaddish (from qadosh meaning “holy”)

3. Shema‘ (with the benedictions that precede and follow)

4. Tefillah (lit. meaning “to make an account of oneself”)

5. Qaddish

6. ‘Alenu (meaning “it is our duty”)

7. Qaddish for mourners

8. Final prayers

II. Minhah (Afternoon Liturgy)

1. Psalm

2. Qaddish

3. Tefillah

4. ‘Alenu

5. Qaddish

III. Ma‘ariv (Evening Liturgy)

1. Short reading from Psalms

2. Shema‘

3. Tefillah

4. Qaddish

5. ‘Alenu

13

Riesner, Rainer, “Synagogues in Jerusalem,” The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting, ed. Richard Bauckham

(William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.: 1995), p.186. 14

DiSante, Carmine, Jewish Prayer: The Origins of Christian Liturgy, Matthew J. O’Connell, trans. (New York:

Paulist Press, 1985), pp.170-171.


6. Qaddish (mourners’)

In addition to losing the central focus of religious devotion and ritual sacrifice, the destruction of the Temple also meant the dissolution of the Temple priesthood. In the last decades of the first century, with the growing importance of the synagogue for the continuance of Judaism, the rabbi (teacher) came to fill the leadership void. The Pharisees, who had once been small in number, suddenly found themselves without adversaries and in a position to reshape Jewish self-understanding in light of their own interpretations of the demands of both written and oral Torah. The conflicts recorded in the Gospels and Acts between Jesus and his Disciples on one side and the Pharisees and “their” synagogues on the other, likely reflect the conflicts of Jewish-Christians in the years 70-95 CE following the destruction of the Temple and the subsequent “reordering” of Judaism.

Jesus on Religious Observance

As a first century Jew, Jesus is depicted in the Gospels as attentive to the traditional religious observances of Judaism. Jesus visits the Temple during the Feast Days, he pays the Temple tax, he observes the Sabbath (by his own interpretation), and attends the synagogue. As Burridge notes: “All four gospels depict much of Jesus’ ministry happening in the context of worship, as Jesus went around ‘teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom’ (Mt 4:23).”15


Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in all the Gospels is marked by his immediate attendance at the Temple (Mk 11:11; Mt 21:11-16; Lk 19:41-46; Jn 2:13ff; 5:1-15; 7:14; 10:22-23). While Jesus is reported to have challenged the buying and selling occurring in the Temple courts by physically driving out the merchants and turning over the tables of the moneychangers (Mk 11:15-17 // Mt 21:12-13 // Lk 20:45-46; Jn 2:14-16), nowhere does Jesus challenge the Temple institution itself. In fact, large portions of John’s Gospel and much of Jesus’ ministry during his final week in the Synoptics are set in the Temple courts. In Luke, Jesus’ worried parents find their missing twelve year-old conversing with the teachers in the Temple courts (2:41-50). And while there seems to be some debate between Jesus and Peter as to the purpose of the Temple tax, Jesus does pay the tax (though not out of the Disciple’s common purse) (Mt 17:24-27). There is no mention in any of the Gospels of Jesus’ participation in the Temple sacrifice. There is, however, mention by Luke of his parents, Joseph and Mary, offering the required sacrifice of two doves and two pigeons at Jesus’ dedication at the Temple (Lk 2:24). Jesus’ only reference to sacrifice is a rough quotation of Hosea 6:6 - “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” The phrase appears twice, both in Matthew and both during confrontations with Pharisees (Mt 9:13; 12:7). In each case, the Pharisees were challenging Jesus’ behavior based on their strict interpretation of the Torah, and in each case Jesus tells them that a person’s merciful behavior is more

15

Burridge, Richard, “Jesus and the Origins of Christian Spirituality,” The Story of Christian Spirituality: Two

Thousand Years, East to West, Gordon Mursell, ed. (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2001), p.20.


pleasing to God than one’s blind adherence to ritual or Law (the spirit of the law over-and-against the letter of the law).

The Gospel writers report that Jesus attended the High Holy Festivals in Jerusalem during his life (though it is unclear as to how frequently). While the Synoptics only mention Jesus’ attendance of the Passover (Luke reports yearly attendance as a youth (Lk 2:41ff)), John notes Jesus’ attendance of at least two Passovers, the Festival of Booths, and the Festival of Dedication (Jn 2:13; 5:1; 7:1-10; 10:22; 12:12). As mentioned above, large sections of John’s Gospel occur in Jerusalem on and around Feast Days and in the Temple courts (2:13—3:21; 5; 7-10; 12-17). The Synoptics are explicit in their description of Jesus’ last meal with his Disciples as a celebration of the Seder (Passover Meal) in Jerusalem (Mk 14:12ff; Mt 26:17ff; Lk 22:1ff).

The crowds that gather around Jesus throughout the Gospels to hear his teaching in many instances may have been pilgrims on their way to or from Jerusalem. For example, the feeding of the multitude in John (6:4-14) is explicitly set within the context of an approaching Passover festival. In Luke, Jesus’ final pilgrimage to Jerusalem forms the contextual framework of the middle portion of the Gospel. The journey begins with the statement “[Jesus] set his face to go to Jerusalem” (9:51), makes mention of “large crowds” traveling with him (14:25), and ends with the triumphal entry (19:28-44).

Ritual Bathing

The issue of ritual bathing is harder to reconcile with Jesus’ life as it has been recorded. While John notes that at least two events happen in the proximity of ritual baths—healing of the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda (5:1-15) and the curing of the blind man at the Pool of Siloam (9:1ff)—nowhere in any of the Gospels is there mention of Jesus or his disciples using a mikveh for their own ritual cleanliness. Several possible explanations arise as to why this is the case, including: (1) ritual cleansing was so common that the Evangelists chose to forgo mention of Jesus’ practice of it, (2) in accordance with the Evangelists’ theological views, Jesus’ sinlessness exempted him from the need for ritual cleansing and they therefore excluded it regardless of whether Jesus participated in the practice or not, or 3) Jesus simply broke with Jewish tradition at this point, a conclusion that could follow from his teaching on hand washing (Mk 7:1-5, 14-23 // Mt 15:2, 10-20).

Sabbath Observance

Jesus’ understanding and practice of Sabbath observance is often at the root of many of the disagreements with the Pharisees in the Gospels. In the Synoptics, Jesus and the Disciples are criticized by the Pharisees for plucking grain on the Sabbath (Mk 2:23-28 // Mt 12:1-8 // Lk 6:1-5). It should be noted that they are not being chastised for stealing, because it was the cultural understanding that farmers would leave parts of their fields un-harvested for the poor and for travelers (Lev 19:9-10; 23:22). The issue is performing what the Pharisees considered “work” on the Sabbath. Jesus’ retort falls in line with his teaching on Sabbath elsewhere in the Gospels: “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath” (Mk


2:27). This story is followed immediately by a healing on the same day (Mk 3:1-6 // Mt 12:9-14 // Lk 6:6-11 “another Sabbath”), which further infuriates the Pharisees. In Luke 13:10-17, Jesus angers the leader of a synagogue by healing a woman in the synagogue on the Sabbath. John also includes two instances of Jesus healing on the Sabbath (Jn 5:1-18; 9:1ff). 16 The conflict in these confrontations rests on an understanding of miracle-working as “work.” Jesus’ response to these criticisms appeals to the true spirit of the Sabbath as he defines it within his larger schema of the importance of doing good and promoting human relationships.

The Synagogue

While the Temple serves as the context of much of Jesus’ final week, the synagogue plays a large role in the preceding chapters of the Gospels. According to the Evangelists, Jesus attended synagogue regularly (Luke notes that synagogue attendance on the Sabbath was “customary” for Jesus (4:16)), and often used his attendance as a ministry opportunity—curing disease and sickness in the synagogues of Galilee (Mk 1:39; Mt 4:23 and Mt 9:35; Lk 4:14-15); proclaiming in Judea (Lk 4:44); exorcising a demon at Capernaum (Mk 1:21-27; Lk 4:31-36); healing a man with the withered hand (Mk 3:1-5; Mt 12:9-13; Lk 6:6-10); refusing to perform miracles at Nazareth (Mk 6:1-6; Mt 13:54-58; Lk 4:16-30); healing a crippled woman (Lk 10:13-17); expositing about the “bread of life” at Capernaum (Jn 6:24-71); and teaching in many synagogues (Jn 18:20). Though the details of Jesus’ attendance of the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth in Luke 4:16-28 may have be contrived for the Gospel writer’s own theological purposes (i.e. promoting Jesus’ mission in terms of the Jubilee), the scene contains connections with what we know of synagogue meetings in the second century. In this passage, Jesus stands and a scroll is handed to him. He reads from Isaiah and then offers exposition on the passage. This scenario affirms the idea that anyone present could assume a leadership role in the service.

Religious Observance in the Early Church

The Jesus Movement, as a primarily Jewish sect, almost certainly followed all of the religious observances of first century Judaism. However, as the Movement grew, expanded, and developed into the institutionalized Church, it adapted many of the religious observances of Judaism to reflect its own theological and ritual purposes.


The purpose and importance of the Temple was not diminished by Jesus. While it stood, it was still considered the locus of worship to God. Only after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, and the widespread exclusion from synagogues in the decades that followed, did Christianity develop its own unique ritual practices. Treatment of the Temple is limited in the

16

The Fellows of the Jesus Seminar deemed Jesus’ words in these passages to be the creation of the Evangelists and

their communities. Only Jesus’ response in Mark 2:27-28, garnered a designation of grey.


Early Church writings, primarily because the texts (with the exception of Paul’s letters) date to a time after its destruction. Celebration of the yearly Jewish festivals gradually shifts to the recognition and celebration of Christian holy days (i.e. Easter and “saints days”).

Acts of the Apostles (ca. 80 CE)

It is clear from the Book of Acts that religious observance played an important role in the Pentecost Church. Chapter 2 depicts the followers gathered in Jerusalem observing the festival of Pentecost. Following the birth of the Church at that Pentecost gathering, the members of the Jerusalem Church are said to have spent much time in and around the Temple courts (Acts 2:46; 3:1ff; 5:16-21a, 42). The Ethiopian eunuch to whom Philip is sent in Acts 8:26-39 was on his way home after a pilgrimage to the Temple. Later in Acts, Paul returns to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost in the Temple (20:16; 21:15-30). Acts reports that some of the Christians from Caesarea accompanied Paul on the final leg of his pilgrimage (21:16).

The Gospels (ca.70-95 CE)

The Gospels all set the final days of Jesus’ life within the Temple courts in Jerusalem. With the exception of Jesus’ clearing the Temple (Mk 11:15-16 // Mt 21:12-13 // Lk 19:45-46; Jn 2:14-17), the Evangelists’ depictions of Jesus’ frequent visits to the Temple and extended time there of teaching and healing suggests an acceptance of the Temple by both Jesus and the Evangelists. The words placed on Jesus’ lips that the Temple would be destroyed (Mk 13:1-2 // Mt 24:1-2 // Lk 21:5-6) are presented as prophesy that, for the Gospel readers living after 70 CE, was already cold, historical fact.

The New Testament Epistles (ca. 50-100 CE)

Though Paul wrote before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the temple he repeatedly promotes in his writings is the temple of the body where the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:18-20; 2 Cor 6:16), as also do the writers of Ephesians (2:19-22) and First Peter (2:4-5). Likewise, the sacrifice that Paul promotes is the “living sacrifice” of one’s life (Rom 12:1), while Peter encourages a “spiritual sacrifice” (1 Pet 2:5). Paul mentions the physical Temple only twice: to the Thessalonians he declares Jesus’ divinity by enthroning him on “his seat in the temple of God” (2 Thes 2:4), and to the Corinthians he mentions “those who are employed in the Temple service” in relation to the responsibility of a congregation toward their teachers (1 Cor 9:13-14). The other Epistle writers, writing after 70 CE, understandably do not mention the Temple at all. The sacrifice that takes the place of the Temple sacrifice in many of the Epistles is Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross (e.g. Rom 3:25; Eph 5:2; Heb 2:17; 9:26; 10:12; 1 John 2:2; 4:10).

As for festivals, Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians may indicate that the Christians there were still celebrating the Jewish Passover. He writes:


Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

- 1 Corinthians 5:7-8

In this passage, Paul is drawing upon the imagery of the Passover celebration, in which during the meal any leaven is sought out and removed from the house, to support his argument that immoral members should be put out of their fellowship.17 To the Christians at Colossae, the author of Colossians instructs:

Do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking.

- Colossians 2:16-18

This passage represents a distinct break with Judaism. The festivals are dismissed as irrelevant in light of the coming of Jesus.

The Didache (ca. 80-120 CE)

Having been written after 70 CE, the Didache addresses the loss of the Temple by redirecting Christian focus to tithing directly to those “true prophets” or poor who reside in the community. The author dedicates an entire chapter to this instruction:

But every true prophet desiring to settle among you is worthy of his food. In like manner a true teacher is also worthy, like the workman, of his food. Every first-fruit then of the produce of the wine-vat and of the threshing-floor, of your oxen and of your sheep, you shall take and give as the first-fruit to the prophets; for they are your chief-priests. But if you do not have a prophet, give them to the poor. If you make bread, take the first-fruit and give according to the commandment. In like manner, when you make a jar of wine or of oil, take the first-fruit and give to the prophets; yea, and of money and raiment and every possession take the first-fruit, as shall seem good to you, and give according to the commandment.

- Didache 13.1-8

In this way, the Christian community continues the Jewish practice of tithing and recognizes the position of the “prophets” as the new chief priests of God in this post-Temple era.

For the Didache, gathering to celebrate the Eucharist becomes the new worship and preparing one’s heart to partake of the Eucharist the new sacrifice. The author instructs:

17

See Hays, Richard B., First Corinthians (John Knox Press: 1997), pp.80-88.


And on the Lord's own day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanks, first confessing your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. And let no man who has a dispute with his fellow, join your assembly until they have been reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be defiled; for this is the same sacrifice spoken of by the Lord; in every place and at every time offer Me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great king, says the Lord, and My name is wonderful among the nations.

- Didache 14.1-5

This passage reflects Jesus’ instructions for giving in Matthew 5:23-24:

So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

It also echoes Paul’s instructions for celebrating the Eucharist:

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves.

- 1 Corinthians 11:27-29

The passage from the Didache seen in light of the passage from Matthew evidences the centrality of the Eucharist as worship for early Christians (discussed in more detail in the next chapter).

Clement of Rome (ca. 96 CE)

In speaking of the importance placed on the Eucharist as the central act of Christian worship and the reverence that should accompany it, Clement uses the example of the Temple. He writes: “The continual daily sacrifices, peace-offerings, sin-offerings, and trespass-offerings are by no means offered in every place, brothers, but at the altar in front of the Temple; and then only after a careful scrutiny of the offering by the High Priest and the other ministers aforesaid” (1 Clem. 41). Since the Temple was already destroyed at the time of his writing, Clement is likely calling upon the Jewish statute that still remained in effect—sacrifices acceptable to God could only be offered at the Temple.

Ignatius of Antioch (ca. 105 CE)

In his Letter to the Ephesians, Ignatius uses the imagery of a pilgrimage to inspire his readers: “You are all pilgrims in the same great procession, bearing your God and your shrine and your Christ and your sacred treasures on your shoulders, every one of you arrayed in the


festal garments of the commandments of Jesus Christ” (Ign. Eph. 9). This passage may reflect a remembrance of the Temple pilgrimages, but more likely reflects religious processions in his own time and community. On the issue of festivals, Ignatius is among the first to voice his objection to the continued observance of Jewish customs and traditions. To the Magnesians he writes, “To profess Jesus Christ while continuing to follow Jewish customs is an absurdity. The Christian faith does not look to Judaism, but Judaism looks to Christianity” (Ign. Mag. 10).

The Epistle of Barnabas (ca. 80 - 200 CE)

The shifting Christian understanding of what constitutes “holiness” is at the very heart of Barnabas. The letter contains exposition on sacrifices, fasting, purification, circumcision, dietary laws, Sabbath observance, and the Temple—all of which the author believes have been nullified by Jesus. On the matter of sacrifices, Barnabas contends: “What the Lord has made abundantly clear to us, by the mouths of all His prophets, is that sacrifices, burnt-offerings and oblations are things of which He has not the smallest need” (Barn. 2). In regards to the destruction of the Temple, the author writes, “I will show how mistaken these miserable folk were in pinning their hopes to the building itself, as if that were the home of God, instead of to God their own Creator” (Barn. 16). He goes on to describe the human body as the real Temple and holy habitation of God.

Ritual Bathing

With the exception of the practice of baptism (which will be discussed in the next chapter), Acts, the Gospels, the New Testament Epistles, and the writings from the Early Church are silent on the topic of ritual bathing. Because of this silence it is unclear as to how quickly the practice of ritual washing was discontinued in Christian circles.

Sabbath Observance

The writings of the Early Church evidence a transition from Sabbath observance to observance of “the Lord’s Day” in recognition and celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection. Whereas in the earliest years of the Jesus Movement, both days may have been observed, especially by Jewish-Christians, by the second century Sabbath observance was being openly derided and opposed by Church leaders.


There are many references to the Sabbath and Sabbath observance in Acts. The location of Jesus’ Ascension in Acts is described as “a Sabbath’s day journey away” (1:12), meaning within 2,000 cubits of the city, and suggesting that such an observance was still important within the tradition that retained the story. In Acts, Paul is regularly depicted as attending the synagogue on the Sabbath to evangelize (13:13f; 16:13; 17:1-2; 18:4). There is no solid indication in Acts that the Christians of Luke’s community were recognizing the first day


of the week as more sacred than the Sabbath. In those passages where Christian practice is mentioned (e.g. Acts 2:42-47), the gatherings of the group are daily. The only exception is Acts 20:7, where the “breaking of bread” (Luke’s name for the Eucharist) at Troas occurs on the first day of the week and was followed by a lengthy exhortation by Paul.


The Gospels all record instances where Jesus was challenged because of his seeming lack of Sabbath observance (e.g. Mk 2:23-28 // Mt 12:1-8 // Lk 6:1-5; Mk 3:1-8 // Mt 12:9-16 // Lk 6:6-11; Lk 13:10-17; Lk 14:1-6; Jn 5:1-18; Jn 9). If these stories are truly the fabrication of the Evangelists as the Fellows of the Jesus Seminar suggest, then they hint at a new understanding of “Sabbath” that had developed amongst the members of the Jesus Movement—a more lenient understanding that promoted performing acts of mercy. Nonetheless, Sabbath observance was not completely rejected by the Gospel writers. Sabbath observance plays a crucial role in the Resurrection story in the Gospels where the return to Jesus’ tomb is delayed by the Sabbath observance of his followers (Mk 16:1; Mt 28:1; Lk 23:56; Jn 19:31; 20:1).

The New Testament Epistles (ca. 50-100 CE)

The only mention of Sabbath observance in the epistles of the Christian Canon is in Hebrews where the author writes:

A Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God's rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.

- Hebrews 4:9-11

The writer of The Revelation of John, opens his text by saying, “I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet” (1:10). This reference to the Lord’s Day shows its recognition by the end of the first century.

The Didache (ca. 80-120 CE)

The Didache makes no mention of Sabbath observance, but does indicate that the celebration of the Eucharist was to occur on the Lord’s Day. For the writer, reception of the Eucharist took on the quality of Temple worship whereby only the “purified” could participate. The author writes:

Every Lord’s Day, gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, so that your sacrifice may be pure.

- Didache 14.1


While the Lord’s Day may have been set aside for the celebration of the Eucharist, the Didache also makes it clear that it is not the only day that Christians should gather. In the closing chapter the author entreats his readers: “Gather yourselves together frequently, seeking what is fitting for your souls” (16.4).

Clement of Rome (ca. 96 CE)

Clement, writing at roughly the same time as the author of Revelation, urges the Corinthians to impose order on their worship and standardize a meeting time. He writes:

There ought to be strict order and method in our performance of such acts as the Master has prescribed for certain times and seasons. Now, it was His command that the offering of gifts and the conduct of public services should not be haphazard or irregular, but should take place at fixed times and hours.

- First Clement 40

While there is no mention of the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day, it follows that a logical choice for weekly services would be the first day of the week (Sunday) in honor of the Resurrection.

Ignatius of Antioch (ca. 105 CE)

Within a decade of Clement of Rome, the writings of Ignatius advocate recognition of the Lord’s Day instead of the Sabbath. He writes:

We have seen how former adherents of the ancient customs have since attained a new hope; so that they have given up keeping the Sabbath, and now order their lives by the Lord’s Day instead.

- Epistle to the Magnesians 9

Like Clement, Ignatius addresses the need for regular worship and gatherings. He instructs Polycarp to “hold services more frequently, and hunt up everyone by name” (Ign. Poly. 4).

The Epistle of Barnabas (ca. 80 - 200 CE)

Barnabas simply affirms the existing practice in his community of celebrating the Lord’s Day. He writes: “We too rejoice in celebrating the eighth day; because that was when Jesus rose from the dead, and showed Himself again, and ascended into heaven” (Barn. 15).

Justin Martyr (ca. 160 CE) and Tertullian (ca. 197 CE)

Both Justin Martyr and Tertullian advocate the position that Sabbath observance (and circumcision) is no longer necessary. Justin writes:


There was no need of circumcision before Abraham. Nor was there need of the observance of Sabbaths, or of feasts and sacrifices, before Moses. Accordingly, there is no more need of them now.

- Dialogue with Trypho chapter 23

For Justin, the New Covenant through Jesus nullifies the requirements of the Old. Similarly, Tertullian argues that circumcision and Sabbath observance were to have been temporary requirements (An Answer to the Jews ch. 2). Additionally, he contends that there were righteous men before the requirements of circumcision and Sabbath observance:

Let the one who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed as a balm of salvation…prove to us that in times past righteous men kept the Sabbath, or practiced circumcision, and were thereby made “friends of God.” God created Adam uncircumcised and non-observant of the Sabbath. …Also, God freed from the deluge Noah, who was uncircumcised and did not observe the Sabbath. Enoch, too, [God] transported from this world, even thought that most righteous man was uncircumcised and did not observe the Sabbath. … Melchizedek also, “the priest of the most high God,” although uncircumcised and not observing the Sabbath, was chosen to the priesthood of God.

- An Answer to the Jews chapter 2

For the Christians in both Justin’s and Tertullian’s times, the Lord’s Day was the day that they gathered to worship together and to celebrate the Eucharist. Justin writes:

On the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read….But Sunday is the day which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God…made the world. And Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead on that same day.

- First Apology chapter 67

In Tertullian’s community, there are some who believed that Christians worshipped the sun because they gathered on Sunday. In response, Tertullian writes: “We devote Sunday to rejoicing for a far different reason than sun worship” (The Apology ch. 16).

The Synagogue

The importance of the synagogue for the Jesus Movement cannot be understated. As the gathering place of Jews in the communities throughout Palestine and the Diaspora, the synagogue was the logical place to begin evangelizing. In the decades preceding the destruction of the Temple, Jewish-Christians probably felt at home in the synagogue. Christian “worship” (the Eucharist) took place in homes where both Jews and Gentiles could mingle freely. When the synagogues gained more of a central role in the perpetuation of Judaism after 70 CE, it was then that those who believed Jesus was the Messiah were put out. It was around


85 CE that a new benediction was introduced into the Synagogue, the benediction against heretics (minim).18


The synagogue was an important fixture in Acts. Luke depicts Paul using the synagogue as his entryway into the Jewish communities he wished to evangelize (Acts 9:20; 13:5, 14-44; 14:1; 17:1-3, 10; 18:4, 19, 26; 19:8; also 16:13). In the very earliest years, when Christianity was still primarily a sect of Judaism, the synagogue certainly played a central role in religious observance. When local synagogues became hostile to followers of The Way, members of the Jesus Movement elected to meet solely in believers’ homes (where they had already been meeting to celebrate the Eucharist) and, in places like Rome, the catacombs. The growing number of Gentile converts may have also expedited the split between the synagogue and the “church.”


The synagogue also plays an important role in the Gospels. On four occasions the Synoptics depict Jesus attending synagogue on the Sabbath (Mk 1:21 // Lk 4:31; Mk 3:1 // Mt 12:9 // Lk 6:6; Mk 6:2 // Lk 4:16; Lk 13:10), infuriating his opponents in a couple of instances and utterly rejected in his home town of Nazareth. The Gospel of John mentions twice that “anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue” (9:22; 12:42). This statement is probably a reflection of the state of affairs in most Jewish synagogues in Palestine and across the Diaspora following the destruction of the Temple, and possibly even prior, as is suggested in clashes between Jewish-Christian converts and Jews in synagogues in the Book of Acts (6:9; 9:1-2; 14:1-2; 17:1-3, 17; 18:4; 22:19; 26:11). Matthew’s use of “their synagogues” (10:16-18) probably reflects division in his own community. In all of the Gospels, Jesus warns his followers of rejection in the synagogue (Mk 13:9; Mt 10:17; 23:34; Lk 12:11; 21:12; Jn 16:2). These passages all suggest that Christians were active in the synagogue until being put out because of their belief in Jesus.

The New Testament Epistles and Other Early Christian Writings (ca. 50-200 CE)

Though Acts sets much of Paul’s evangelistic efforts in synagogues, Paul himself makes no mention of the synagogue in any of his letters. Nor do the other epistle writers. Paul and the other epistle writers do, however, mention several house churches: the home of Prisca and Aquila (1 Cor 16:19; Rom 16:3-5a), the home of Nympha (Col 4:15), and home of Philemon (Phile vv.1-2). As cited in the previous subsection, Justin Martyr reported that in his time, “on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place” (First Apology ch. 67). Tertullian reports that the Christians of his community met before daybreak on the Lord’s Day to worship and share in the Eucharist (De Corona ch. 3). Though the

18

Hunt, Emily J, Christianity in the Second Century: The Case of Tatian (Routledge: 2003), p.6.


Christians were banned from the synagogue, it nonetheless became their practice to gather together in assemblies. Unlike the Jews, who required a quorum of ten men to be present, Christian worship only required two or more (Mt 18:20; Tertullian, De Fuga in Persecutione ch. 14).

Conclusions

There is little in the depiction of Jesus in the Gospels that could be considered as unsupportive of the religious practices of Judaism. Jesus is present at the Temple and in the synagogue, he celebrates the Holy Festivals, goes on at least one pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and he pays the Temple tax. Sabbath observance and the practice of ritual cleanliness are the only areas Jesus might be said to deviate from strict Jewish adherence. However, the foil in the debates about Sabbath observance is the Pharisees, who were renowned for attempting to extend Temple purity to daily life. Jesus’ practice, while not meeting their demanding standards, may have been closer to “normative” Jewish practice. Certainly his broader (spiritual) understanding of the Sabbath and ritual washing, as presented by the Gospel writers, would explain his seeming lack of ritual practice.

Jesus on Religious Observance

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