Introduction
Judaism and Christianity are two separate world religions, each with its traditions, histories, denominations, commentaries, etc. However, this was not always the case, as Christianity was originally a sect of Judaism, and all original Christians were Jews. So, how did a first-century reform movement within Judaism evolve into a predominately Gentile religion, sometimes with great hostility toward its Jewish forebears?
The split between Judaism and Christianity started during the First Jewish–Roman War (AD 66–70) when the Zealots fought against the Roman Empire. The Jewish Christians refused to join the war effort with their Galilean and Judean compatriots, instead fleeing to the Jordan Valley town of Pella. In his book Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius of Caesarea (AD 260–340) wrote, "The people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, given to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella. When those that believed in Christ had come there from Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea" (Bk. 3, Ch. 5, § 3). This warning coincides with the Olivet Discourse in which Jesus cautioned, "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel [9:27]—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains" (Matt. 24:15-16). Today, we mistakenly read this passage as a future event when, in fact, it was a historical one. The sack of Jerusalem in AD 70 was not unlike the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, in the national memory of Israel. When the Roman general Titus (AD 39–81) entered the Jerusalem temple, his soldiers burned it down and looted its treasures. Even today, Jews visit what was once its Western Wall to lament the loss of their temple, and the Arch of Titus in Rome still memorializes this victory. A bas-relief on the Arch, built eleven years afterward in AD 81, illustrates Roman soldiers plundering the Jewish temple and carrying away its menorah. Matthew wanted to "let the reader understand" that Titus was the one who committed the desolating sacrilege by standing in the Jerusalem temple and stealing its holiest implements reserved for the Levites alone (see Lev. 24:9).
No Question of Jewish Identity
As a demonym, the basic definition of Jew is "a person from the land of Judah/Judea." However, as an ethnonym, a Jew is someone who is a covenant member of Israel, with circumcision being the mark of their citizenship (see Gen. 17). Originally, Israel had twelve tribes, each named for a son of the patriarch Jacob with Judah being of them (Gen. 49:28 ff.). God had given Judah's father Jacob the name Israel (H3478), "one who strives for God" (see Gen. 32:28). After the glorious reign of King Solomon, his successors divided Israel into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judea (see 1 Kgs. 12:1-24; 2 Chron. 10). In about 722 BC, Assyria conquered Israel and forced its ten tribes into exile (see 2 Kgs. 17:5-23), leaving only the two tribes from Judah. That said, Jesus traced his Jewish heritage through the line of Judah (see Matt. 1:2-3; Luke 3:33; Heb. 7:14). Likewise, Paul of Tarsus defended his Jewish heritage when he wrote, "[I was] circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee" (Phil. 3:5).
Jesus' twelve apostles were all Jewish. They represented the twelve tribes of a fully restored Israel (see Matt. 19:28). When Simon Peter gave his Pentecost sermon, he exhorted, "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah" (Acts 2:36). In response, about 3,000 Jews were baptized and devoted their lives to Jesus as their national Messiah (see Acts 2:37-42). Luke, the writer of Acts of the Apostles, testified about these new Jewish believers in Jesus: "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts" (2:46). Yes, the first Christians still worshiped in the Jewish temple! A theology of the church replacing the Jews as a new Israel would not develop for yet another century, as neither Jesus nor Paul taught this. When Paul visited Jerusalem one last time, he went to the temple. He completed the purification rites of his nazirite vow, sacrificing a turtledove or pigeon, a lamb, and a ram according to the Law of Moses (see Acts 18:18; 21:26; cf. Num. 6:1-21). Paul demonstrated his faithful observance of Judaism: "I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar" (Acts 25:8).
Parting Ways: From Jerusalem to Jamnia
Jesus' brother James led the Council of Jerusalem around AD 50 (see Acts 15:1-35). Paul's first missionary journey was very successful between AD 46 and 48 but caused a rift between his Gentile converts and the Jewish-dominated church in Jerusalem. The Jewish Christians believed Gentiles should undergo circumcision, thinking the church was some form of "greater Israel." James heard both arguments at the council, deciding: "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood" (Acts 15:19-20). James appealed to the Covenant of Noah, a list of seven laws God expects from all nations (cf. Gen. 9:1-17; see "Doctrine & Praxis," pp. 8–9). This resolution worked for the Jewish elders because they understood the Covenant of Noah was a precursor to the Law of Moses, so they did not contradict it. In essence, the Council of Jerusalem treated Christian Gentiles as foreigners among Jews, realizing that both groups had equal access to Jesus. At first, the elders viewed the Christian Gentiles as gerim (H1616) or naturalized foreigners living in Israel (see Num. 15:15-16). However, James ruled they were zarim (H2114) or nochrim (H5237), foreigners residing for a short time in Israel (see 2 Chron. 6:32). This was a fair hearing for both Jewish Christians whose national constitution was the Law of Moses, and the Christian Gentiles who came from many nations. Given James' wisdom and patience, the Council of Jerusalem should have prevented at least the Jewish and the Gentile expressions of Christianity from parting ways. Nevertheless, its resolution was a temporary one.
John's gospel includes three references to Jewish followers of Jesus being put out of the synagogue (see 9:22; 12:42; 16:2). However, this does not mean John dates between AD 70 and 100, as some liberal scholars posit. During Jesus' ministry, synagogue leaders did threaten to excommunicate Jesus' disciples. These were localized threats, not yet reaching the level of a national ban across Galilee and Judea. Jesus distinguished between them when he warned: "They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God" (John 16:2). John probably wrote his gospel between AD 64 to 70 since he made no allusions to the destruction of Jerusalem. However, when he penned Revelation around AD 90, John did imply the lack of a temple (see 21:22) and Christians being thrown out of the synagogues (cf. 2:9; 3:9; see "Revelation: Then, Now & Not Yet"). Tensions between the Jews and Christians reached their breaking point after AD 70, however, when the emperor Vespasian (AD 9–79) enforced the fiscus Judaicus, the "Jewish tax." The fiscus Judaicus forced Jews to give money to the Jupiter Capitolinus temple in Rome instead of the Jerusalem temple Vespasian had destroyed. The emperor Nerva (AD c. 30–98) reformed the tax in AD 96, officially recognizing Judaism and Christianity as separate religions. While the Christians no longer had to pay the fiscus Judaicus, the Roman Empire would go on to persecute the church until the Edict of Milan in AD 313.
In AD 68, the pacifist rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai faked his death and told his disciples to carry him out of besieged Jerusalem in a casket. Afterward, he sought an audience with the Roman general Vespasian, whom he conveniently prophesied would become emperor. When Vespasian did ascend to the throne, he granted ben Zakkai's request to build a Pharisee academy at the coastal town of Jamnia (Hebrew: Yavneh; H2996). The Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, moved there from Jerusalem. Yochanan ben Zakkai had been a student of the well-known rabbi Gamaliel, who also taught Paul (see Acts 5:34; 22:3). Today, modern Rabbinical Judaism traces its lineage to the Pharisee sect, but most especially to the revisions of ben Zakkai. In AD 90, his Sanhedrin held the Council of Jamnia, which reinterpreted Judaism as a religion without a temple and allowed diverse opinions. However, the rabbis at Jamnia also banned the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament quoted exclusively by the New Testament writers. They reordered the Hebrew Bible to de-emphasize messianic and apocalyptic readings, instead focusing on reinforcing Law observances. By AD 90, the parting of ways between Judaism and Christianity was complete. The rabbis of Jamnia published the Birkat ha-Minim (H1293; H4327), or "Blessing on the Heretics," i.e., Jews with unorthodox kinds of beliefs. Many Jewish synagogues still recite it to this day. It reads:
For the apostates let there be no hope . . . Let the nozerim ["Nazarenes," believers in Jesus of Nazareth; see Acts 24:5] and the minim [Jewish heretics] be destroyed in a moment. And let them be blotted out of the Book of Life and not be inscribed together with the righteous. Blessed are you, LORD, who humbles the arrogant.
Conclusion
The Second Jewish–Roman War (AD 132–135) resulted in the total separation of Judaism and Christianity. A messiah claimant named Simon bar Kochba (d. AD 135) led Jewish insurgents to overthrow the Roman government of Judea. He successfully led an independent Israel for two years but was ultimately defeated at the Masada fortress. The Jewish Christians did not join bar Kochba because he claimed to be a messiah, thereby conflicting with their belief in Jesus. However, Jesus warned, "For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come" (Matt. 24:5-6). Simon bar Kochba was undoubtedly the most notable of these false messiahs. Because Rabbinical Judaism denied—and still denies—that Jesus is the Messiah, they gave up on the idea of literal fulfillment of messianic prophecies. Rabbinical Jews gave up hope and settled for a religion without salvation, a messiah, or the kingdom of God. Instead, the Romans dispersed the Jews across their empire, forbidding them to enter Judea at the threat of death. Unfortunately, Christianity as a Gentile religion would take some dark turns toward persecuting and killing Jews, leading up to the Holocaust (Hebrew: Shoah: H7724b) from 1939 to 1945 (see "Auschwitz & Biblical Studies"). Nevertheless, we Christian Gentiles are responsible for remembering our Jewish heritage and reconciling the parting of ways.
Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of the universe; you established your covenant with Abraham and his seed. Hear the prayers of your church that the people through whom you brought blessing to the world may also receive the gift of salvation through Jesus the Messiah our Lord. Amen.
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