Jesus, the Jewish prophet was held as a Messiah by the early Jewish-Christians
Today, Christianity has very little to do with the teachings of Jesus. It comprises more of Pauls' teachings.| Jesus | Paul |
| Jesus was Jewish, as were his disciples. He was was born a Jew, raised a Jew, worshipped the Jewish God and strictly observed the Jewish Law and customs. Later, Jesus became a Jewish teacher, gathered Jewish followers and taught them what he considered to be the appropriate interpretation of Jewish Law. |
Paul (Saul of Tarsus 5-67 CE) was regarded as an upstart. He was doubted by many Jewish Christians and continually had to defend his authority. Paul opposed the conservative Jewish-Christians and their religious practices. As a result, Paul suffered much opposition to his new brand of 'Pauline' Christianity. Paul was attacked as a non-apostle who preached a different Gospel from that of the original disciples |
Previous Yeshua (Aramaic name) |
Previous Saul of Tarsus |
Birth Born of the virgin mother Mary in Bethlehem, Palestine |
Birth Born as Saul, a pharisee Jew in Tarsis (Turkey) |
Religion Jewish-Christianity/Judaism |
Religion Gentile Christianity/Pauline |
Occupation Carpenter |
Occupation Tasked with killing, imprisoning Early Christians |
Language Aramaic |
Language Greek |
| OTHER RELIGIONS | |
| Judaism: False Prophet | Judaism: Non-entity |
| Christianity: God/Son of God | Christianity: Apostle |
| Islam: Prophet of God | Islam: Pious man who never met Jesus |
| PERSONAL | |
Conversion Jesus was held up as a Jewish Prophet by a minority of Jews. Born of the vrigin mother Mary. Jesus is considered a great prophet in Islam. In the Quran, Jesus is said to have spoken as a baby. And so he was born into prophethood ?? (in contrast to many other prophets who God gave prophethood at a certain adult stage of their life) |
Conversion On the road to Damascus, while on assignment to harass Christians, Paul claimed he saw a vision of Jesus who gave him the authority of teaching in his name.Paul never met Jesus or any of his disciples. Previous to accepting Christianity, Paul was active in the prosecution, imprisonment and killing of Palestinian-Jewish Christians. Converted to Christianity after experiencing a personal near-death experience. Honoured as a great apostle by his followers |
Circumcision YES, Jesus was circumcised as were all Jewish-Christians. Physical practise |
Circumcision NO, Pauline Christianity rejected the need for circumcision. Regarded as Spiritual, not physical |
Food Jesus observed Jewish food laws. he never ate pork or swine"And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you". "Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch, they are unclean to you." "And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you. Ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass." |
Food Pauline Christianity rejected Jewish Kosher food laws |
Intoxicant As a Jew, Jesus would not have drunk alcohol or any other intoxicant |
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Greeting Jesus used the greeting of peace and taught his disciples to greet each other |
Greeting Less emphasis |
Usury Jesus forbade the dealing in interest/usury |
Usury Less emphasis |
Sex Sex is good, mandated by God as the first positive commandment in the Bible. (The marriage bed is undefiled.) |
Sex Sex is inherently sinful (in sin was I conceived). The sex act is always sin unless for the purposes of procreation. In marriage sex is no longer a "mortal" sin but only a "venial" sin. Christianity maintains that absence from sex is meritorious. |
| PROPHETHOOD | |
| Jesus presented himself as Messiah and King of the Jews. Jesus was a prophet | Initially, Paul was an enemy of Christianity tasked with destroying, killing, and imprisoning Early Christianns. Paul was not a prophet, but a convert who never met Jesus or was privelidged to have been with any of the Early Christians or disciples of Jesus. Paul presented Jesus as the risen Lord, Head of the body of Christ (Paul's gospel uses the title "Lord" whereas other synoptic gospels used "Son of Man" |
Prophecy One cannot know the time of the coming of the LORD nor should one speculate about the future; one should keep his garments white by continual repentance because His coming will be sudden and unexpected. |
Prophecy The LORD's coming is imminent; not to be unexpected for the believer since he will be able to interpret the "signs" of the LORD'S coming. Many offer exact predictions. |
Jesus A gifted human figure acting on God's behalf to proclaim his coming kingdom. Claimed to be a prophet |
Jesus Jesus Christ, a divine God-incarnate being who could impart eternal life to individual believers.
Shared God's nature and attributes |
Mission Jesus mission was confined to the Jewish nation. He warned fellow Jews of the coming kingdom of God Jesus did not seek to increase his movement by attracting Gentiles to convert |
Mission Pauline Christianity sought to increase converts by making Chritianity more attractive to Gentiles (non-Jew) |
Teachings Jesus, a human figure acted on God's behalf. Jesus taught his followers about the coming kingdom of God |
Teachings Paul taught his followers that Jesus was a divine God-like figure through whom universal salvation was attained. Jesus was himself the actual kingdom of God (eschatological event). Paul did away with the Jewish roots and customs and preached the worship of Jesus Christ alone would lead to salvation (re-interpretation of eschatology) |
Miracles Jesus was blessed with many miracles as a sign to his people. He raised the dead; healed the blind; and cured the leper. Jesus believed miracles were due to God |
Miracles Paul did not perform any miracles |
| SCRIPTURE | |
Gospel Gospel of Jesus (Yeshua) |
Gospel Gospel of Paul |
Scripture Old Testament |
Scripture New Testament |
Scripture Jesus received the Good News scripture. This scripture no longer exists. Limited influence exists in Matthew, Source Q, James letters (in New Testament). Scriptures writings were destroyed in calculated attempt to. Anyone found with early scripture was ..... |
Scripture Pauline Christianity / New Testament (written by unknown authors). Pauls writings were gathered together to form the Pauline corpus in the New Testament. His works gloss over the internal conflicts that were common in the earlier periods. It displays a distinct pro-Roman bias and designed to show the Roman world it had nothing to fear from the growth of this new religion |
Old Testament All men and under the laws of God; to the Jew he was given the Noahide Laws & Mosaic Law as a foundation; to the Gentile he was given the Laws of Noah only. It is the obedience to the laws of God that brings blessing, social order, and blessings from God. |
Old Testament The Law is evil and we are delivered from the commandments of God by faith in Jesus. The Law has passed away and we are under grace. |
Bible Hebraic background of the whole Bible (even the New Testament). Proper understanding only possible when viewing the Bible in its original history, culture, and language. |
Bible Hellenization of Scripture (viewing the Bible through the eyes of Greek culture and language instead of Hebrew). |
| THEOLOGY | |
Roots Jewish Christians practised strict obedience, conservative and observant to Jewish law and customs. They was a Jewish sect |
Roots Gentile Christians denied their Jewish Christian roots and 'invented' a new religion |
Faith Expressed as a response to a belief system through obedience and good deeds |
Faith Faith in God, elevating belief above tangible action and obedience. Agreement to an accepted set of doctrine brings acceptance. |
Foundation MonotheistJewish Christians had similar 'monotheist' theology to the Jews. For example, God intervened in the ministry, the death and resurrection of Jesus, and Jesus being a prophet |
Foundation PolytheistFor Pauline Christianity to appeal to the masses (Gentiles), polytheist practises were introduced into Pauline Christianity as a normal and natural belief. For example, Jesus who was a human being, a prophet acting on Gods behalf, suddenly became a divine God-like figurehead who alone deserved all worship |
Law Mosaic Law (strict observance)Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them |
Law Grace. Jesus abolished the law and commandments Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; |
Original Sin There is no provision for willful sin except repentance and restitution. Man is cut off from God. The Jewish view challenges the doctrine of "eternal security" or "once saved always saved" and the resultant imbalance of "grace and not law". Jesus preached to seek forgiveness from the Father. He himself prayed for the Father to forgive him. |
Original Sin Claimed that Jesus died for our sins and only Jesus could forgive usMan may sin and still be pardoned by God in the next life no matter how he lives if he only "believes" in Jesus. This results in the unbiblical doctrines concerning "once saved always saved"and "eternal security of the believer". Purgatory is the "fire-escape". |
Redemption Jesus did not believe in redemption by his blood (Matthew 5:17-20) |
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Kingdom Jesus proclaimed the coming kingdom of God. Jewish Christians were therefore awaiting of an age to come, the kingdom of God, a cosmic or supernatural event to be experienced by the community |
Kingdom Gentile Christians focus on the personal relationship of the individual believers with the divine Jesus Christ in the here and now. The coming kingdom was Jesus himself. Accepting Jesus as God was translated to having reached the kingdom of God |
Salvation Righteous non-members of the assembly will also have a share in the world to come and be saved ("righteous Gentiles"-the righteous of all nations-Noahide Laws) (Matt. 25:1, Rom 2:12-15). Through participation in the new age ushered in by Jesus, the returning Messiah. Required repentance, baptism, and faith as instructed in the Hebrew Bible And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. |
Salvation Belief that Jesus Christ, a God-like figure sacrificed himself or his Son for humankinds sinsRequired faith in Jesus as God For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. |
Crucifixtion Jesus did not wear the cross |
Crucifixtion Pauline Christianity emphasized the crucifixion of Jesus. Paul raised the status of Jesus thereby effected a new way to God on the cross. So now access to God was through Jesus Christ alone and belief in Jesus dying for men's sins |
Holy Spirit The Spirit, an impersonal, external force like a wind that enabled individuals to perform particular feats of strength. Jesus was possessed of the Spirit |
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit become the third in the Trinity (of God) |
Trinity Jesus never preached the Trinity. Their is no mention of Trinity in the Bible |
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Apocalyptic High |
Apocalyptic Low |
Atonement Atonement was not taught by Jesus |
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| WORSHIP | |
Place Jesus and Jewish-Christians were Jews. Jewish-Christians were akin to a poor, despised, Jewish apocalyptic sect. Urgemeinde, early primitive church. Jesus would have worshipped in the Temple and synagogue. The authority of the original Jerusalem church held sway (i.e. authority of James and his conservative wing). The primitive church, the Urgemeinde was an apocalyptic sect. OR A community of Jews called to proclaim to their fellow Jews the imminent end of the world. Jesus prayed with his face on the ground The synagogue is the core of the religious and secular life of the community. It is not an ecclesiastical structure, and the leaders are paid no salary. It is not hierarchical but rather emphasizes the priesthood of all members of the community. |
Place At the Council of Jamnia (90 CE), Jewish Christians were expelled from the synagogue. Pauline churches of the Diaspora. Universal institution founded to transform the world and spread the message of Pauline Christianity. Dismissed the Jewish Temples and synagogues in favour of Church. Church was an established, respected Gentile instutition with its own creed, body of inspired scripture/canon, and offices and office-bearers. Gentile Roman.The church is a building or something one does on Sunday, a religious service instead of a community. It does not have the same organizational structure and leadership levels as ancient Judaism & the early Church (Nasi, Chazan, etc.) It is ecclesiastical and hierarchical. |
Assembly Met once a week on the Sabbath except for Festivals (emphasis is building families). |
Assembly Usually twice-three times a week unless special events then can meet nightly (emphasis is building a congregation). |
Worship The strongest emphasis is placed on teaching and study of Torah (discipleship) to build spiritual maturity in the person. |
Worship Preaching has replaced teaching; focus on evangelizing the already saved Sunday after Sunday instead of instructing & teaching them for growth & spiritual maturity through the release of their gifts and service. |
Baptism Practiced continued immersions throughout life to enter into a heightened Presence of God. |
Baptism Baptized only once into Messiah. |
| GOD | |
| Monotheism, belief in one supreme God who was omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient, oneness of God as opposed to Trinity |
Dualism/Trinitarianism/Polytheism, belief in one God in three different appearances. The doctrine of the Trinity had not yet been accepted by the Church in the 3rd Century |
Access Jewish Christians were preparing for the coming day of the Lord through prayer and communal sharing of goods. The appeals to their fellow Jews to repent and prepare for the new age as predicted in the Hebrew Bible Jesus said righteous deeds is the only way to paradise and eternal life (Matthew 5:17-20) |
Access Salvation was through belief in Jesus Christ as a divine-figure who was sacrificed for humankinds sin |
| OPPOSITION | |
Satan The adversary is a created being who is in complete subjection to the sovereignty and will of God. |
Satan Dualism; there are two equal forces of good and evil in the universe and they are constantly fighting it out (derivation of Persian captivity). |
Evil Permitted self-defense, legitimacy of defending oneself. |
Evil Passive resistance, pacifism. |
Wealth There is no merit in poverty. |
Wealth There is merit in poverty. |
Spiritual The sanctification of all of life to God; down to earth and focus on living in the kingdom of God now; not just other-worldly (after death). |
Spiritual Departmentalizes life in sections: secular and spiritual. |
Giving 1/3 of your gifts go to the 1) Teachers, choir, maintenance, 2) 1/3 to the benevolence (poor/almsgiving), 3) 1/3 goes to yourself to build yourself up in God (festivals) |
Giving Give to churches and ministries; no oversight of the direction of the funds. Does not follow the Biblical tithe. |
Man Man is born good and is accountable for their sins after the age of puberty until which the responsibility lies with parents. From the age of accountability one is considered a responsible adult who can choose not to sin. |
Man Man is born evil, a "victim" of original sin; man therefore has no choice but to sin. |
Life Life is seen as a preparation for the world to come. Trials & temptations are from God's hand and are blessings in disguise because they refine our character (James 1:2). |
Life Prosperity; One can write your own ticket by speaking to God, Satan, or the situation using scriptural promises as a formula. Trials & tribulations are a curse, not from God but from Satan, and there is no reason we should experience them if we are uttering positive confessions. |
Israel The world is divided into 2 camps: Jews & Gentiles, chosen and not chosen. One is either born a member of the chosen people or become a member as a proselyte. |
Israel Not a part of Israel, but is a Gentile replacement of the chosen of God. The Jews have been rejected and replaced as God's chosen people by the Gentile church (replacement theology). The church is the "new Israel". Israel is spiritualized and when you read "Israel" in Scripture you are to think of the church, not of physical Israel (at least when blessings are concerned and not the curses; the curses are left for "physical Israel"). The world is divided into 3 camps: Jews, Gentile Christians, and Gentile pagans. Christians have lost their Jewish roots and identity. |
| COMMUNITY | |
Era Palestinian-Jewish Christians(0-70 CE Apostolic Period) 30-years from the birth of Jesus to the fall of Jerusalem |
Era Hellenistic-Jewish/Gentile Christians(70-135 CE Sub-Apostolic Period) From the fall of Jerusalem to the Bar Kokhba Revolt or date of the last New Testament writings |
Capital Palestine (Jewish world) |
Capital Graeco-Roman. Europe (Hellenistic world) |
Community Aramaic speaking conservative Jewish-Christians. They where conservative and strict Palestinian Jews who were suspicious of the liberal Hellenistic Jews. Jesus preached to a small community of Jewish followers. The Twelve Disciples:1. Simon Peter (brother of Andrew) 2. James (son of Zebedee, older brother of John) 3. John (son of Zebedee, brother of James) 4. Andrew (brother of Simon Peter) 5. Philip of Bethsaida 6. Thomas (Didymus) 7. Bartholomew (Nathaniel) 8. Matthew (Levi) of Capernaum 9. James (son of Alphaeus) 10. Simon the Zealot 11. Thaddaeus-Judas (Lebbaeus) 12. Judas Iscariot |
Community Greek speaking liberal Jewish-Christians who admired and eventually adopted Greek institutions and thought. Gentiles (Non-Jews). Pauls teachings were adopted Graeco-Roman. Europe (Hellenistic world) |
| FESTIVALS | |
Fast Jesus observed Lent and fasted for more than one month
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Fast Less emphasis |
Sabbath Saturday - Jesus observed Saturday as a Sabbath day as commanded in the Ten Commandments. |
Sabbath Sunday -
Emperor Constantine 306-337CE designated Sunday a holiday with Jewish Sabbath-like regulations. As based on later traditions-early Church councils of the 4th century. (loss of Jewish roots) |
Lords Supper Every week partook of 3 meals: Friday evening to begin Sabbath, followed by two Sabbath meals. |
Lords Supper Name given to Christian Communion consisting of a cracker and a cup of grape juice. |
Holy Days Celebrates the Festivals of the Lord according to Leviticus 23
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