Page 139 - Biblical Backgrounds student textbook

is problematic if one understands the cultural background of the Jews. The only place in which one may
wonder is the baptism of Gentile converts to Judaism. Even in that case however, the baptism is an
initiation into the group purity rituals and lifestyle, it is never seen as bestowing eternal salvation. To
equate it to that in the Christian use is to import meaning into baptism that it did not have in that time.

Another important point that shows the unity of much Jewish and Christian thought regarding baptism
is found in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that
there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same
judgment.For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you,

my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or
“I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were

you baptized in the name of Paul?I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus

and Gaius,so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the

household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)For Christ

did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom,
lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (ESV)

Notice that as in the Jewish customs the Christians were aligning with their baptizer as the one whom
they followed. Some followed Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter), and some Christ. Paul says this is nonsense!
He says he was sent to preach the Gospel not primarily to baptize. That they were dividing needlessly
when Christ was not divided. This confirms that they still saw baptism very similarly to Jewish baptism.
Yet there were changes in the Christian meaning of baptism. Also, it confirms that Paul saw the Gospel,
not baptism, as the most important issue. It further shows us that Paul did not consider baptism as part
of the Gospel. This background is very important for pastors to understand when reading Scripture.

Jewish Sectarianism
The Jews were not simply a single unity who thought the same way and pursued the same goals, even
their perception of exile and how to bring it to an end differed widely. In order to understand the
cultural makeup of the Jewish world we need to be able to summarize the major groups we know of in
that culture. Let’s briefly explain who the groups were and how the show up in the Bible.

The Pharisees:

The Pharisees are thought to have arisen after the Maccabean revolt. The first time they are mentioned
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anywhere is when they were being persecuted for resisting the Hasmonean dynasty. They were
influential among the people because of their focus on personal purity and piety. This as we mentioned
was part of a culture that was seeking to entice Messiah to return and establish the Kingdom. They often
controlled the synagogue and therefore held great influence in an honor/shame society. They cared
deeply about the Word of Yahweh and are responsible for most of the commentaries on it that survive.
The Midrash is the rabbi’s commentary on what we call the Old Testament. The Targums were the
Arabic translations of the Old Testament. The Mishnah, though it was compiled well after Christ’s time,
was primarily focused on legal issues in Old Testament interpretation. Between 200AD and 500AD they
compiled the Mishnahs, and the commentary on the Mishnah, into what is known as the Talmud’s. You

180 Gary M. Burge, Gene L. Green, and Lynn H. Cohick, The New Testament in Antiquity (Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Zondervan, 2009), 63.

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