Dear in Christ,
This is a sequel to the series "Was Jesus Really Tested By Satan?"
[This is a very sketchy note and was part of the initial scripts of another work in my own language - Malayalam. I haven't provided much historical data, for the sake of brevity. You are cautioned that this may offend your beliefs, if you have been following some of the fables spread by the mainstream religion.]
We gather from Mat 4:1 that the express purpose of the Spirit leading Jesus into the Judean desert (Mat 3:1) was to be tested by Satan (aka, the Devil).
Many scholars and theologians have observed that there are similarities between the requests of “Satan” and the Messianic expectations of Jews.
We aren't told about the specific location to which Jesus was led. Jesus wasn't far away from Jericho while he was tested:
This is a sequel to the series "Was Jesus Really Tested By Satan?"
[This is a very sketchy note and was part of the initial scripts of another work in my own language - Malayalam. I haven't provided much historical data, for the sake of brevity. You are cautioned that this may offend your beliefs, if you have been following some of the fables spread by the mainstream religion.]
We gather from Mat 4:1 that the express purpose of the Spirit leading Jesus into the Judean desert (Mat 3:1) was to be tested by Satan (aka, the Devil).
Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.We know that it's unlikely that Satan has set up stalls in the desert, offering testing services to passers by.
Many scholars and theologians have observed that there are similarities between the requests of “Satan” and the Messianic expectations of Jews.
- The first request was to turn a stone to bread, something that's not easily accomplished by an ordinary human being. One of the Messianic expectations is that the Messiah, when he comes, would perform miracles.
- The second one was about the Law and the temple, and the Jewish expectation was Messiah would elucidate the Law and build a new temple. (He would reestablish the Law).
- The third was about political power, and the Jewish expectation was that the Messiah would reign over all the nations of the world.
We aren't told about the specific location to which Jesus was led. Jesus wasn't far away from Jericho while he was tested:
- the place at which he was baptized was Bethany beyond Jordan (John 1:28), close to the ford through which Israel crossed river Jordan while entering the land of Canaan, which is not very far from Jericho.
- it is believed that one of the tests occurred on the Mount of Temptation (Quarantania), only a couple of miles northwest of Jericho.
- Since one of the tests involved bringing Jesus to the temple at Jerusalem, many scholars opine that He was at a location from which there should have been a road that leads to Jerusalem.
- In those days there was a road from Jericho to Jerusalem, the setting of the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-35).
- Another place in the desert from which there was a road that leads to Jerusalem was Qumran.
I believe that Jesus was in Qumran.
- Jesus has asserted twice that the focus of his earthly was to redeem “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mat 10:6; 15:24).
- Jesus, who was on the mission to redeem lost sheep of the house of Israel, told the parable of a man who would leave his 99 sheep and seek out the one that was lost.
- During his ministry, he and his disciples proclaimed the gospel of the Kingdom to every one of the Jewish settlements in Judea and Galilee. They also had been to the East Bank of Jordan and Decapolis. They were in Jericho a couple of times.
- If Jesus, indeed, were the good shepherd who wouldn't rest till he redeems the lost sheep, it's hard to believe that he didn't preach to the 3-4,000 strong Essene community (a Jewish sect) in Qumran, having come so close to their settlement. (The distance between Bethany beyond Jordan and Qumran is 7.5 kilometers or 4.6 miles).
I believe that the scriptures term Jesus' interactions with Essenes of Qumran as “tempted by Satan/the Devil”.
The first test involved breaking fast, Essenes had various types of fasts and strict rules regarding breaking fasts (like consuming vegan food stuff). [Remember, Jews tempting Jesus several times, asking him to show a sign from heaven and suggesting him to give them bread/Manna from heaven (John 6:30, 31). Probably, Essenes were suggesting such a super human act by turning a stone to bread.].
The second test involved the Law, of which the temple was the visible manifestation. Josephus has written that Essenes where strict adherents of the Law. If Jesus were to jump off from the southwest corner of the court of the temple (termed as "the pinnacle of the temple" in the gospels) into the Kidron valley, 300 to 600 feet below, he would have been dishonoring and desecrating the temple, and thus the Law.
The third test (on the mount) was about political power, which Essenes believed was theirs as they were the Sons of Zadok, who according to Ezekiel have a prominent role in the temple of his vision (Eze 40:46; 43:19; 44:15; 48:11).
Essenes dwelled in various parts of the Mediterranean region, but, one of the most important of their settlements was Qumran, not very far from Jericho and Bethany, beyond Jordan, probably, 6-8 miles away from both these places. (Only celibate Essenes and Zadokites stayed in Jerusalem as they wanted to enter the priesthood and also because they believed that they shouldn't have sexual intercourse in the holy city.)
Essenes and Zadokites were either waiting for a “Righteous Teacher” or a “Teacher of Righteousness”. They also had their own eschatology and were aware that the Jewish system would end when the Messiah appears on the scene. I believe many among them accepted Jesus as the Messiah as we read in Acts 6:7 that many among the priests also embraced the new way. These, many scholars agree, weren’t Sadducee priests, but were Essene priests. (I believe Pharisees, generally, weren't into priesthood, as they followed Rabbis and not priests.)
Since I mentioned “Magi” above, I believe that Barjesus (who is called as a sorcerer in Acts 13:6 and 8 also was an Essene. We don’t read about any sorcery that he performed, all that he did was to prevail upon Sergius Paulus (the deputy of the country of Paphos in Cyprus) to turn away from the faith in Christ. (In the English translations of the Greek Septuagint, the same Greek word is translated as magicians in the book of Daniel and clearly distinguished from astrologers. (Dan 1:20; 2:2, 10, 27; 4:7; 5:7, 11, 15.; So, they weren’t astrologers or sorcerers.
Conspiracy theorists say that Jesus and John the Baptist were Essenes and they are a secret group which has been in existence since the days of Enoch, the 7th from Adam. The only evidence they have is the presence of the book of Enoch among the Dead Sea Scrolls, recovered from Qumran. It’s as good as saying that I’m a Muslim, just because I have Quran in my library.
If I am correct, the Bible summarized his encounters with Essenes, symbolically, as “the temptation of Jesus, by Satan”, so, the conspiracy theorists' view can't hold water.
The first test involved breaking fast, Essenes had various types of fasts and strict rules regarding breaking fasts (like consuming vegan food stuff). [Remember, Jews tempting Jesus several times, asking him to show a sign from heaven and suggesting him to give them bread/Manna from heaven (John 6:30, 31). Probably, Essenes were suggesting such a super human act by turning a stone to bread.].
The second test involved the Law, of which the temple was the visible manifestation. Josephus has written that Essenes where strict adherents of the Law. If Jesus were to jump off from the southwest corner of the court of the temple (termed as "the pinnacle of the temple" in the gospels) into the Kidron valley, 300 to 600 feet below, he would have been dishonoring and desecrating the temple, and thus the Law.
The third test (on the mount) was about political power, which Essenes believed was theirs as they were the Sons of Zadok, who according to Ezekiel have a prominent role in the temple of his vision (Eze 40:46; 43:19; 44:15; 48:11).
Essenes dwelled in various parts of the Mediterranean region, but, one of the most important of their settlements was Qumran, not very far from Jericho and Bethany, beyond Jordan, probably, 6-8 miles away from both these places. (Only celibate Essenes and Zadokites stayed in Jerusalem as they wanted to enter the priesthood and also because they believed that they shouldn't have sexual intercourse in the holy city.)
The Essene Quarters of Jerusalem and Mark, the author of the 2nd gospel.
Coming to the New Testament, Jesus commanded two of his disciples to make preparations for his last Passover and said:Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him (Mar 14:13). (That man could have been Mark himself, as we read "And in the evening he cometh with the twelve" in Mar 14:17)Since it was not common among Jewish men to fetch water, this man could have been a celibate Essene. While Jesus commanded this, he was coming from the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany, across Kidron valley, on the way to the Mount of Olives. It is quite likely that Jesus and his disciples would have entered the city through the southwest gate of the city, which was the Essene gate, leading to the Essene quarters of the city, constructed / instituted during the reign of Herod the Great. The “Upper Room”, where Passover, Pentecost and many other events happened was located in the Essene Quarters and it was here that the disciples were hiding before the Pentecost.
It can't be just a coincidence that Mark's Upper Room was in the Essene Quarters and a fragment of the Mark's gospel - 7Q5 - was recovered from one of the caves in the Essene settlement in Qumran.
"Magi" and "sorcerer".
Essenes were men of learning and they had knowledge of astronomy and medicine. It is quite likely that the “wise men” (Magi) who came from the east (Qumran is east to Bethlehem) to worship the newborn Jesus were Essenes, as they came observing the movements of a star. [Magi, G3097 in Strong’s is mistranslated as “wise men” in Matthew 2 and again as "sorcerer" in Acts 13:6, 8.]Essenes and Zadokites were either waiting for a “Righteous Teacher” or a “Teacher of Righteousness”. They also had their own eschatology and were aware that the Jewish system would end when the Messiah appears on the scene. I believe many among them accepted Jesus as the Messiah as we read in Acts 6:7 that many among the priests also embraced the new way. These, many scholars agree, weren’t Sadducee priests, but were Essene priests. (I believe Pharisees, generally, weren't into priesthood, as they followed Rabbis and not priests.)
Since I mentioned “Magi” above, I believe that Barjesus (who is called as a sorcerer in Acts 13:6 and 8 also was an Essene. We don’t read about any sorcery that he performed, all that he did was to prevail upon Sergius Paulus (the deputy of the country of Paphos in Cyprus) to turn away from the faith in Christ. (In the English translations of the Greek Septuagint, the same Greek word is translated as magicians in the book of Daniel and clearly distinguished from astrologers. (Dan 1:20; 2:2, 10, 27; 4:7; 5:7, 11, 15.; So, they weren’t astrologers or sorcerers.
Conspiracy theorists say that Jesus and John the Baptist were Essenes and they are a secret group which has been in existence since the days of Enoch, the 7th from Adam. The only evidence they have is the presence of the book of Enoch among the Dead Sea Scrolls, recovered from Qumran. It’s as good as saying that I’m a Muslim, just because I have Quran in my library.
If I am correct, the Bible summarized his encounters with Essenes, symbolically, as “the temptation of Jesus, by Satan”, so, the conspiracy theorists' view can't hold water.
In Christ,
Tomsan Kattackal
No comments:
Post a Comment