Jesus and the Jewish Religious Culture

Introduction
After Cyrus allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem in 539 B.C.E., the designation
“Judaism” characterized the religious culture of the Jews. In so many ways, the Jewish post-
exilic religion was an heir to the pre-exilic religion in Judah. The Jews rebuilt the Temple which
was destroyed by the Babylonians. Once again, animal sacrifices were offered just as hymns and
psalms were sung and the pilgrimage feast were celebrated.
Meanwhile, a new expression of faith, characterized by meeting for prayer, devout
reading of Scriptures and instruction to took place in the synagogue. This also flourished
especially for those Jews who did not return to Israel and chose to remain in the diaspora.
Moreover, as an after effect of the destruction of the Temple under the Babylonians, more
emphasis concerning obedience to the Law was given (Brown, 75). In addition, during the time
of different perspectives concerning human affairs. They were the Pharisees, Sadducees and
the Essennes.
………………………………………………………..More elaboration:……………………………………………………….
JUDAISM IN THE TIME OF JESUS

 The religious situation in Palestine Jews

 The Qumran Community
 The Jewish Diaspora
THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION IN PALESTINE JEWS
Palestine, the land in which Christianity first appeared, has long been a land of strife and
suffering. In ancient times, this was due mostly to its geographical position, at the
crossroads of the great trade’s routes that joined Egypt with Mesopotamia, and Asia
Minor with Arabia. As we read the Old Testament, we see that, as empires came and
went, they cast covetous eye on that narrow strip of land; for this reason, its inhabitants
repeatedly suffered invasion, bondage, and exile.
Twenty centuries ago in Palestine there lived people of differing races and religions; all
differed in ways of understanding of living.
o THE ROMANS

The Romans were the conquerors who had invaded and occupied Palestine. Palestine
and nearly all the countries of the Middle East fell under Roman rule. The Romans were
considered heathens, worshipping the Greek Olympian Gods and Goddesses to whom
they gave Latin names. Their languages were Latin and Greek.
 Among the Romans living in Palestine two thousand years ago were: The Governor and
his family; the officers and employees of the Roman government and their families; the
soldiers, spearmen, archers, and swordsmen and their families; Roman commercial
traders; as well as Romans who for various reasons chose to live there. Caesar
recognized an Israelite King under his orders and authority and the Israelite Sanhedrin,
the highest Israelite religious authority, headed by the Chief High Priest with an
executive body of Pharisees, Scribes and others appointed by the Chief High Priest.
Although the Romans considered the Mosaic Law to be barbarous, cruel and inhuman,
the Sanhedrin was authorized to apply that law to the non-Roman citizens: Israelites
and Essenes. The Sanhedrin cruelly executed many Israelites and Essenes by such savage
means as stoning and crucifixion. The Roman Governor, by order of Caesar, cunningly
offered to the Israelites and the Essenes Roman citizenship, which would have released
them from the authority of the insane King of the Israelites, Herod, and of the
Sanhedrin. Some prosperous Israelites accepted this offer.
o THE ISRAELITES
The Israelites were the majority of the population grouped as Judeans, Galileans,
Samaritans, and others. They were very often hostile to one another. Their languages
were Hebrew and Aramaic and, for some, Greek. They worshipped the God of Moses,
the one God of the Heavens and of the Earth. But their God was cruel and jealous,
visiting the iniquities of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.
Their God was vengeful, with many human vices. The Israelites had long expected the
coming of the Messiah—the Son of God—the Savior of the world and liberator of
Palestine.
o THE ESSENES

The Essenes of Palestine were Greco-Israelites, and were sometimes called Nazarenes.
Their mother tongues were Greek and Aramaic. Like their brother Israelites, the Essenes
expected the coming of the Messiah, but they believed He would be born into Palestine
into an Essene community. They were peace-loving people, worshipping the One Spirit
God, the God of the Heavens and of the Earth; the God of Everlasting Life and Love; God
Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent. In the minds and hearts of the Essenes was
enthroned that Spirit God, Father of all human beings, a God of Love and Mercy whom
they called Aton-ai.
Two centuries after the Exodus from Egypt of the Egyptian-Israelites slaves led by
Moses, the Pharaoh Amenophis IV, as Akhen-aton, denounced the false God and
introduced in Egypt the worship of the One Spirit God who was the same God that the
Essenes worshipped. The main centers of the Essenes were Egypt: notably in Annu
(Heliopolis) and in Iskenderia (Alexandria). There were other centers in the Middle East
including Palestine, Syria, and Cyprus. Most Essenes in Palestine were unwilling to
separate themselves entirely from the Israelites by accepting citizenship from the
 heathen Roman infidels. And so they remained under the cruel yokes of Herod and the
Sanhedrin.
The Sanhedrin considered the Essenes heretics, but the Israelite Sanhedrin authorities
were cautious and never said so openly since most of the scribes and some of the
Pharisees were related to Essenes. But the Sanhedrin would lose no opportunity to
accuse the Essenes of violating Mosaic Law.
o THE GREEKS
The Greeks of Palestine were Roman citizens and heathens who worshipped the
Olympian Gods and Goddesses. They were scholars, artists, teachers, philosopher s,
writers, and commercial traders. Their languages were Greek and Latin, with a few
speaking Aramaic.

o THE BEDOUINS
The Bedouins of Palestine were a nomadic Arab race. Most worshipped the One God of
the Heavens and of the Earth, the God of their Father Ibrahim (Abraham), calling Him
‘Allah’. Some also worshipped Fire and the Stars. For the most part, the Bedouins were
horse breeders. Their languages were Arabic and Aramaic. A few wealthy Bedouins were
also fluent in Greek and Latin
Judaism in the Time of Jesus
In Christian circles the Judaism of the time of Jesus has often been thought of as an
outward legalistic religion to which the message of Jesus and the early Christians was a
complete antithesis. Such a picture has, however, proved to be a blatant caricature.
Today the ministry of Jesus is seen rather as a movement within Judaism rather than as
something opposed to it. At the same time people have begun to understand how
complex and still developing a phenomenon first- century Judaism was. At the beginning
of the Christian era Judaism was divided into several different groups, each of which had
its own views concerning the true Jewish way of life. On the other hand, certain basic
beliefs were common to them all.
The Basic Beliefs of Judaism
Although at the beginning of the Christian era Judaism comprised several different
groups, certain basic beliefs were common to them all: belief in one God, belief in the
covenant which God had made with his people Israel, and belief in the foundational
book of this covenant, the Law of God or the Torah. The covenant between God and
Israel comprised duties and commitments which pertained to both parties. God
committed himself to treat Israel in accordance with its special position as his own
people, and to teach the Israelites the principles of a good and blessed life. Israel made
the commitment to be obedient to God and to live a life befitting the people of God.
These principles are found in the Torah or Law of Moses, its teaching and practical
 applications. The Torah also included directions concerning atonement for offences
committed so that the covenant might nevertheless remain in effect. It is important to
note that in Judaism the Law is not a way of salvation. Salvation - the election of God - is
based exclusively on the grace of God.
Jewish Groups
At the beginning of the Christian era Judaism was divided into many different groups.
These were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, the Zealots - and the Jesus
Movement. In spite of differences between them the groups were united by certain
basic beliefs.
o The Pharisees
In the Gospels the Pharisees often appear as the influential arch-enemies of Jesus. They
tirelessly watch how the Jewish people observe the purity and holiness code. From this
the word Pharisee has come commonly to be a synonym of hypocrite. Such a picture of
the Pharisees is, however, one-sided. In fact the Pharisees were one Jewish group
among many - a lay movement which placed emphasis on the Torah (the Law of Moses
and its interpretation) and in particular on the importance of the purity code for
everyday holiness. There were also many different types of Pharisee. Some of them
seem to have been fairly close to Jesus in their thinking. Sayings resembling the teaching
of Jesus occur among the sayings of Rabbi Hillel, for instance, and Hillel was active in
Pharisaic circles. The Apostle Paul also came from among the Pharisees.
In the opinion of the Pharisees holiness was not only for the priests and the Temple. By
observing the purity code every member of the people of God might participate in the
holiness of God. In the interpretation of the written Law the Pharisees had the help of
the so-called Oral Law, i.e. oral tradition consisting of explanations of the Law which was
thought to go back to Moses himself.
Conflicts between the Pharisees and the disciples of Jesus came to a head after the
death of Jesus, when the Jesus movement began to accept Gentiles into membership
without demanding that they be circumcised or that they observe the purity code.
These controversies are reflected in the way the Pharisees are portrayed in the New
Testament. Another group often mentioned in the New Testament in connection with
the Pharisees are the Teachers of the Law. Here we are dealing with a very different
group of people. While the Pharisees were a kind of revival movement, Teacher of the
Law is a professional term. The Teachers of the Law were authoritative professional
interpreters of the Torah.
o The Sadducees
Only sparse information has been preserved concerning the Sadducees, and none of it is
impartial; most of the information comes from their opponents. In the traditional view
the Sadducees were from the Hellenized Jewish upper class, which supported stable
 conditions and the prevailing social order, and whose religion was reasonable and
worldly. The Sadducees did not, for example, believe in life after death. The name of the
Sadducees is believed to derive from the family of Zadok, the high priest who served as
high priest in the days of King David. Not all the Sadducees were priests, however, and
their number included other aristocrats. On the other hand, evidently only a small
minority of the upper class were Sadducees.
o The Essenes
The Essenes are not mentioned in the New Testament; the information concerning
them is derived from other sources. Since 1947 manuscript and archaeological
discoveries have been made at Qumran on the north-west shore of the Dead Sea, and
they are thought to derive from the Essenes who dwelt there. The Essenes were a
protest movement which withdrew from the world. They believed that the high priest of
the Jerusalem Temple was elected on false pretences, which invalidated the whole
Temple cult. In addition, the calendar used by the Essenes and their way of interpreting
and observing the Law of Moses differed from the rest of Judaism. The Essene
community of Qumran saw itself as the only true Israel, "children of light" as distinct
from the "children of darkness" and their corrupt religious practices. The members of
the community lived a disciplined life dictated by the regulations and a strict system of
values. At the same time they - like many of their contemporaries - expected that God
would soon intervene in the course of history in a decisive manner.

THE QUMRAN COMMUNITY

The Qumran discoveries were made at the north- western end of the Dead Sea in the
years 1947- 56. In eleven caves in the desert there were found manuscripts of the Old
Testament, other religious texts and the writings of the religious group who lived at
Qumran: rules of the community, liturgical texts and doctrinal material. The texts
written on leather and papyrus scrolls were in the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
languages. Some of the manuscripts were carefully packed in clay jars; most, however,
were lying on the floors of the caves, at the mercy of damp and worms.
In the vicinity of the caves were excavated ruins of a group of buildings covering an area
of 100 x 80 metres. The first of these was built in about 150 B.C. The main building
contained assembly and work rooms and had a two-storey stone tower. Water collected
from high up in the mountains was stored in large rainwater storage containers and
tanks. Some tanks were used for ritual bathing. In the area was also found a large
cemetery containing over a thousand graves. The manuscripts were evidently concealed
in the caves for fear of discovery by Roman soldiers. The Roman army destroyed the
settlement in 68 A.D.
The oldest manuscripts found at Qumran were fragments of Old Testament manuscript
copies from the third century B.C. The majority of the manuscripts, however, date from
the two centuries preceding the turn of the era and the first century following it, that is,
the time when the group that wrote and copied the scrolls lived at Qumran. The number
of texts found is over two hundred. Many of the scrolls are, however, so badly damaged
that only odd fragments are left.
Many scholars believe the location to have been home to a Jewish sect, the Essenes
being the preferred choice; others have proposed non-sectarian interpretations, some
of these starting with the notion that it was a Hasmonean fort which was later
transformed into a villa for a wealthy family or a production center, perhaps a pottery
factory or similar.
A large cemetery was discovered to the east of the site. While most of the graves
contain the remains of males, some females were also discovered, though some burials
may be from medieval times. Only a small portion of the graves were excavated, as
excavating cemeteries is forbidden under Jewish law. Over a thousand bodies are buried
at Qumran cemetery.
[1]One theory is that bodies were those of generations of sectarians, while another is
that they were brought to Qumran because burial was easier there than in rockier
surrounding areas.
[2]The scrolls were found in a series of eleven caves around the settlement, some
accessible only through the settlement. Some scholars have claimed that the caves were
the permanent libraries of the sect, due to the presence of the remains of a shelving
system. Other scholars believe that some caves also served as domestic shelters for
those living in the area. Many of the texts found in the caves appear to represent widely
accepted Jewish beliefs and practices, while other texts appear to speak of divergent,
unique, or minority interpretations and practices.
Some scholars believe that some of these texts describe the beliefs of the inhabitants of
Qumran, which, may have been the Essenes, or the asylum for supporters of the
traditional priestly family of the Zadokites against the Hasmonean priest/kings. A literary
epistle published in the 1990s expresses reasons for creating a community, some of
which resemble Sadducean arguments in the Talmud.[3] Most of the scrolls seem to
have been hidden in the caves during the turmoil of the First Jewish Revolt, though
some of them may have been deposited earlier.
This is the location of the community of Jewish men (Essenes). They are the ones who
wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is a picture of the scriptorium where the Essenes
would have written the scrolls. Benches, inkwells, etc., have been found in this room.
Around 70 AD, as they saw the Romans approaching, these men hid their scrolls in caves
in this area.
This is the lunchroom for the Qumran community. Notice in the background the Dead
Sea is visible.
 This is cave number 4 of the eleven caves that were found with scrolls. Fragments of
over 550 manuscripts were found in this cave. These and other manuscripts became
known to us as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
This is a close up photo of Cave 4
o The Zealots
The Zealots (Greek zelotes, zealot) was a general term for a person who was zealous for
a cause, in particular for the religious group he belonged to. One of Jesus twelve
disciples was a Simon who bore this nickname. Later the name Zealots came to refer to
a rebel organization which supported armed resistance to Rome. This group only
became a united, recognizable party just before the Jewish War.
o The Jewish Diaspora
Diaspora means dispersion. The term was used of Jewish communities living outside
Palestine. At the beginning of the Christian era there were Jews living all over the
Roman Empire and in the East beyond the frontiers of the Empire. They lived in the
country and in the towns, and they came from all social classes and professions. Their
customs were known everywhere, even if they were not always regarded favourably. On
the other hand, their strict monotheism and high moral standards attracted many, and
they often had influential patrons.
Sometimes non-Jews joined the Jewish community. Those who converted and became
full members were called proselytes. Becoming a member was preceded by ritual
purification (baptism) and in the case of male proselytes by circumcision. At the same
time the newcomers committed themselves to observing the commands of the Torah.
This was a great deal to ask, and the number of proselytes remained fairly
"God-fearers" was the name for non-Jews who instead of becoming proselytes were
satisfied with observing the Jewish way of life and taking part in the life of the Jewish
community as far as it was possible. This group later become fertile ground for early
Christian missionary work. Diaspora Jews also met in synagogues, the size and manner
of construction of which depended on the resources of the community. In large towns
there might be several. The head of the synagogue was the spiritual leader and senior
teacher of the community. Temporal matters were looked after by the council of elders,
the secretary acting as bookkeeper and correspondent. The synagogue servant was
responsible for maintaining the property and for keeping order and if necessary he led
the prayers.
Besides being a place of worship the synagogue had a Torah school. The synagogue also
functioned as a communal meeting-place and as somewhere where people from various
professions could meet together. Graeco-Roman society set its members certain
obligations, not all of which could be fulfilled by Torah-observant Jews. Thus they were
granted exemptions, for instance in relation to the cult of the emperor and service in
the army.
The Purity and Holiness Code
Regulations concerning purity and holiness are found in many cultures in different parts
of the world. The terms clean and unclean did not then refer to cleanliness and getting
dirty in the present sense of the words. Rather it was a question of the kind of actions,
substances, matters, objects and places which it was desired to place out of bounds for
the community. In early Judaism attitudes towards the purity and holiness code
contained in the Torah or Law of Moses varied: in the Diaspora, Jews were more liberal-
minded than in Palestine, among the Pharisees and Essenes stricter than outside these
groups. In any case the purity code seems to have grown in importance as the beginning
of the Christian era approached.
According to the Torah, a person became unclean if he or she touched something
unclean. As long as he or she was unclean he or she was not allowed to come in contact
with clean people or objects. In some cases uncleanness disappeared by itself after a
determined period of time had elapsed; sometimes to become clean one was required
to offer a sacrifice and/or perform ritual washing. Typical sources of uncleanness were
bodily secretions, corpses, unclean animals and wrongly prepared food.
Holiness, too, was based on being untouched. If the holy and unclean came into contact,
one or other ceased to exist: the holy became unholy or it destroyed the unclean thing.
Therefore the holy had to be separated from the areas of everyday life that were
susceptible to uncleanness so as to form an area of its own. This might happen in
several different ways. The way of protecting holiness might be a time-limit: feast-days
such as the Sabbath and the annual festivals were sanctified by excluding everyday
activities such as work. This made it possible to observe rites that demanded holiness at
these times.
The boundary might be one of space. The holiest was in the heart of numerous
concentric boundaries: Israel is a holy land, the holiest place of which is Jerusalem, the
holiest place of which is Mount Zion, the holiest place of which is the Temple, the
holiest place of which is the Holy of Holies. Further, the boundary might be between
people. Israel was a holy people, which was distinguished from the Gentiles by the fact
that Israel observed the Law of God. The concrete manifestations of this obedience
were male circumcision, the dietary rules and the observance of the Sabbath. The
holiness of the priests was to be greater than that of the ordinary people. One of the
characteristic features of the Pharisees was that they endeavoured to observe the purity
code of the priests.
In general purity and holiness codes have a tendency to be reinforced when the identity
of the community is threatened. Boundaries remind the members of the community
who they are. For the same reason the purity and holiness code played an important
part when Christianity diverged from Judaism. When the principal external identifying
 features of Judaism were no longer required for membership in the community, Judaism
was left behind. Christianity had become an independent movement.
o The Temple
The Temple was the most important symbol of the Jewish people, the centre of life,
where the national, the cultural, the religious and the political were fused. The first
Jerusalem Temple was built by King Solomon. The Babylonians destroyed it in 587 B.C.
At the same time the upper classes of the kingdom of Judah were exiled to Babylon.
After conquering the Babylonian Empire, Cyrus, the king of Persia, granted the Jews
permission to return to their homeland and build a new temple. Five hundred years
later King Herod initiated a massive rebuilding project, the aim of which was to restore
the splendour of Solomons Temple. The Temple was dedicated in 18 B.C., but the
project was only completed in the 60s A.D. Its size and beauty were widely known, but it
was destroyed in the turmoil of the Jewish War in 70 A.D.
A new temple could no longer be built because the Jews were expelled from Palestine
half a century later. Today the site is occupied by mosques, so both archaeological
excavations and the construction of a new temple are impossible. All that remains is a
section of the Temple wall, the so-called Wailing Wall. The outer court of Herods
Temple was called the Court of the Gentiles. Inside it was the Temple area, divided off
by a wall, to which all but Jews were forbidden entry on pain of death.
The outer part of the Temple area proper was the Court of the Women, then the Court
of the Men. Only priests were permitted to proceed further, to the altar. On this altar
were performed the daily animal sacrifices. The inner vestibule of the Temple was called
holy. Here were the seven-branched candlestick, the table of the shewbread and the
altar. The holy was divided from the holy of holies by a curtain, inside which the high
priest was allowed to go once a year, on the Day of Atonement, to offer a sacrifice for
the whole people.
In the outmost court of the Temple were traders, from whom pilgrims who had
travelled from afar might purchase sacrificial animals. The money-changers exchanged
foreign currency for silver shekels, with which the Temple tax and the price of the
sacrificial animal were paid. In the Temple area was also the Antonia Fortress, one of
Herods palaces, which was located in the north-west corner of the area. From the
fortress it was possible to maintain order in the Temple, especially during Passover. It
may have been in the Antonia Fortress that Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to be
crucified.
In the Temple there served both priests and Levites. The latter did not participate in the
sacrificial cult but took care of the music, guarding and cleaning of the Temple.
o The Temple Sacrifices
The priests offered numerous sacrifices in the Temple every day, since the Law of Moses
obliged Jews to purify themselves and atone for their sins by offering a sacrifice. In
addition, thanksgiving offerings were sacrificed. The victim might be a sheep or a dove;
flour and wine might also be offered as a sacrifice. In addition to the sacrifices brought
by individuals, communal sacrifices were offered every day in the Temple. - An example
of the sacrifice is a sheep
The animal’s throat was slit and the blood was collected in a bowl for throwing on the
altar. The animal was skinned and the fat was burnt in the fire on the altar. The hide and
part of the meat was put to one side, for the priests gained their living from the
sacrifices during their term of service in the Temple. The rest of the meat was given to
the person who brought the offering. He left the Temple to eat it with his friends and
family.
A burnt offering was an offering which was burnt whole in the fire on the altar (the
blood and hide were removed before the offering was burnt). Because the sacrificial
animal had to be flawless, it was most convenient to buy it in the Temple. The pilgrim
who came from afar took a substantial risk in bringing the sacrificial victim with him, for
it might injure itself on the journey and no longer be fit to be sacrificed.
o The Synagogue
Both in villages and in towns the Jews gathered for worship in the synagogue, where
other community matters were also dealt with. The synagogue was the place for trials,
teaching, care of the poor and accommodation of Jews from elsewhere. In the
synagogue the first Christians, too, preached their message, and the activities of the
synagogue offered a model for the first Christian communities.
Sources: http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/ index?qid=20110126192041AAjqF5r
http://www.helsinki.fi/teol/pro/_merenla h/oppimateriaalit/text/english/judaism. Html
Gonzalez, J: The story of Christianity
……………………………CONTINUATION on JEWISH RELIGIOUS CULTURE………………………………………

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the
synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll
of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place
where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news
to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of
sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favour.”
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The
eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, 'Today
this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' All spoke well of him and were
amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
Luke 4:6-22

Sabbath
- people of Jesus’ times were deeply religious and they expressed their deep faith
in one God, Yahweh, through their celebrations of special days and holidays one of
this day was the Sabbath.
- once a week Jews celebrate this, it begins as the sunsets on Friday evening and
last until sunset on Saturday.
- it celebrates the commandment of God, “Keep holy the Sabbath day”.
- the Sabbath day of the Lord’s day is the last day of the week, on which God rested
after creating the world and everything in it.
- “queen of the week” since it makes every week special in the home where it is
celebrated.
 Jewish Religious Culture

I. Pre-exilic Israelite Feast

a. The Sabbath
- Shabbat (Hebrew word) shabat (verb) “to cease”.

Important reasons of this Feast

 Humanitarian Reason
- stresses that one cannot work without resting and that one must also be
given time to worship in the memory of God’s saving actions in Egypt by bringing
them to a “resting place” (Deut 12:9, Ps 95:11).
 Theological reason
- emphasizes that just as God worked for six days and made the seventh day
holy as much the people do.
- second reason gave the Sabbath its predominantly religious character.
* after the exile, the celebration was made to observe Yahweh's lordship over all
creation.
b. Feast of Weeks/Pentecost
- “Harvest Feast” (Exod. 23:16), “Feast of the Wheat Harvest” (Exod. 34:22), or “Feast
of the Week” (Deut. 16:9-10).
- This event happens after seven full weeks after the Sabbath when the first barley
sheal was offered to God.
- it means that it happens fifty days later, hence, the Greek derived word “Pentecost”.
- From a religious perspective the Feast of Weeks was seen to coincide with the date
of Hebrews’ arrival at Mt. Sinai and thus took on the added stature of the
commemoration of the Sinaitic covenant.
c. Feast of Tents/Tabernacles
- sukkot (Hebrew word) also called Tabernacles.
- Booths, Tents, and Huts (Deut 16:13-16: Lev 23:34).
- Feast of Ingathering it is likewise mentioned in Exod. 23:16 and 34:22.
 - (Unleavened Bread and Weeks), this is the most important and best attended so
much so that this is referred to as the Feast (1 Kng. 8:2-65) and is the climax of the
agricultural year.
- (Passover and Feast of Weeks), this has an added religious import since the sukkot
(huts) were liturgically interpreted as the huts that the Israelites had lived in after
than the more historical tents that have been their dwelling place in the desert.
- Jesus was mentioned to have attended this feast in John 7:2-39.

II. Later Old Testaments Feast

a. The Day of Atonement
- Yom Kippur (this is one of the better-known Jewish feast)
- though not mentioned in canonical New testament books, during the New
Testament times, this prestigious feast came to known as “the Day” which is
celebrated on the 10th of Tishri (September-October), the seventh month.
- Leviticus 16 (ritual details)
- this is a day of complete rest, penance and fasting
- Special atonement was offered for the sanctuary, the clergy and the people.
b. Feast of Hanukkah or Dedication
- hanukka (Hebrew word) which signifies “inauguration” or “renewal”.
- “Feast of Dedication” apart from being known this is also known to Josephus
(Jewish historian), as the “Feast of Lights”.
- Jesus was also mentioned celebrating this feast in John 10:22.
c. Feast of Purim
- Josephus claims that this is celebrated around the 14 th and 15th of Adar (Feb.-
March) in memory of the triumph of the Jews against those who could have
been their exterminators.
- “Book of Esther” whole background of this feast
- These feast are significant for the Jews, awareness of these feast and their
meaning for the Jews can clarify to us, readers of the New Testament the
religious world of Jesus' times.
SCRIPTURES PASSAGES
Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying;
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and
believe in the good news.”
Mark 1:14-15

Symbols of Life

What religious or Liturgical celebration is most important for you?

Why do you say so?