SECTION I
Chapter 4. Palestine During the Times of Jesus

  During the times of Jesus, Jerusalem was a cosmopolitan center in the
ancient world. Pliny the Elder had saluted Jerusalem as the most celebrated
city in the East. (Natural History 5.15.70) Jerusalem contained a large
arena for chariot races, a gymnasium, and massive theaters. Its famous
Temple had been recently rebuilt by Herod to be one of the marvels of
the ancient world.

  However the rest of Palestine, relatively speaking, was considered
to be a poor, provincial (back country) area of the world.--And its people
(especially in the more semi-Jewish areas such as Galilee)  were generally
regarded to be more narrow-minded and fundamentalist, relative to the open,
expansive atmosphere that thrived in large hellenized cities--such as
Alexandria, Antioch, and Rome.

Life in Palestine during the time of Jesus

  During the times of Jesus, the vast majority of people who lived in
Palestine were poor peasants who did not know how to read nor write.
Most of their great traditions from the Old Testament were handed down
orally from one generation to the next.  The vast majority of the
people were generally farmers, laborers, fishermen, or tradesmen.

   Especially in the northern region of Galilee, along the Sea of Galilee,
there still lived many gentiles of Greek descent.  Many people were of
mixed descent-- from intermarriage between Jews, Greeks, Romans, Arabs,
and Phoenicians. Despite the victory of the Jews against the Seleucid
Greeks, Greek influence, especially in the northern regions of Palestine,
along the Sea of Galilee was strong.  Greek was the language of both trade
and commerce.

 However, even with the strong Greek presence in their region, Galileans
considered themselves to be loyal Jews! Galileans were also renown for their
passion for freedom, their quick tempers, and their famous revolutionary
leaders.  A large revolt was begun in 7 C.E. when Judas of Galilee and his
army of Zealots captured the city of Sepphoris.  Their battle cry was
"No ruler but God!" (That is, since the Romans promoted the worship of
pagan gods, accepting Roman rule was tantamount to accepting the worship
of pagan gods)

  The Romans brutally put down the Jewish revolt, crucifying thousands
of Jewish revolutionaries, and literally burning down Judas' home town
of Sepphoris to set an example against future activity.  We know that
Jesus himself must have known of this event, because besides occurring
during his early childhood, the town of Sepphoris was located LESS THAN
TEN MILES AWAY FROM HIS HOME TOWN OF NAZARETH, GALILEE!

Diaspora Jews

  Not all of the Jews lived in Palestine: In fact, by the times of Jesus,
it has been estimated that there were as many as 4.5 million Jews living
OUTSIDE Palestine, compared to 1 million Jews living INSIDE Palestine.
Known as Diaspora Jews (ie, those Jews who did NOT return to Palestine after
the Babylonian Exile), these Jews tended to be more hellenized and cosmopolitan
than their Palestinian Jewish counterparts--and settled down in many of the
largest cities of the ancient world--including Alexandria, Rome, Antioch,
Tarsus and Ephesus. Generally prosperous and hard-working, many diaspora Jews
were admired by  their pagan neighbors for their tradition of monotheism,
strong moral ethics, and stable family life. The Jews were also world renown
for their generosity in providing assistance to the poor and other works of
charity.

  During this time and up through the early centuries C.E., the diaspora
Jewish community was active in proselytizing gentiles towards Judaism, in
the hope that Israel would be the 'light of the gentiles'. Many converts
did not become full Jews in the religious sense--but were known as
"God-fearers".  They typically were not circumcised, and practiced some
of the more simple, basic Jewish beliefs and rituals. When Christianity
began to be spread throughout the ancient world, many of its earliest
converts were made among these "God-fearer" groups.

Parties during the Time of Jesus

  Under Roman rule, a large number of parties arose, many of these political
as well as religious in nature.  The three largest traditional parties were:
the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes--although there were a large
number of smaller parties and sects as well.

--The Sadducees.

  The Sadducee party was primarily comprised of the wealthy landowners and
priestly families.  Many of them were powerful priests who controlled the
rites and practices in the Temple at Jerusalem. During this time, religion
and politics were tightly intertwined so that the Sadducees were also the
official heads of Judaism under their leader the Head Priest, who officiated
at the Temple.  According to the historian Josephus, the Sadducees made up a
small percentage of the total population of Judea, only numbering some 6000
men. (ANTIQUITIES XVIII, i.3,4)

  Highly conservative, the Sadducces stressed the SACRED nature of Mosaic
law, and with it the rituals and its strict, literal interpretations of
law.  Over the centuries, many hebrew priests and scholars had written
down different interpretations and commentary on the Mosaic Law, so as to
relate it to their times. The Sadducces rejected this tradition (unlike
the Pharisees), as it had evolved AFTER the times of Moses--and therefore
was not part of the ORIGINAL writings.

  The Sadducces were the OFFICIAL representatives of Judaism during the
times of Jesus (and until the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in
the Jewish Roman war of 66-70 C.E.). In this role as leaders of Judaism,
they were responsible for the collection of all taxes, which were used to
pay tribute to their foreign Roman rulers, as well as for their own local
administration.

  The Sadducees typically accepted the reality of Roman rule, and were
thus willing to "co-operate" with their foreign rulers in keeping the peace.
Some of their reasons were FINANCIAL in nature.--Revolts against Rome
would mean that people were not tilling the fields and making their
tax payments. The Sadduccees depended heavily on their 'cut' of the taxes.
Many Jews, especially among the poorer classes, hated the landholdings and
extravagant lifestyles of their leaders, which were financed largely by
heavy taxation. Not surprisingly, to the common people, the Sadducees were
often perceived as "selling out" to their heathen oppressors. The Jewish
writer, Josephus wrote that the Sadducees' policies frequently alienated
the people.

  The Sadduccean source of authority was based upon their control of the
Temple at Jerusalem. Focusing on the letter of the law instead of its
spirit, the Sadducces stressed the importance of performing all rituals
and sacrifices within the Temple. In this way, the Sadduccean conservatives
used the symbolism and authority of the Temple at Jerusalem to maintain its
base of power among the common people.

--Pharisees

  The Pharisees called themselves 'haberim' meaning companions/brothers
of the covenant. Whereas Sadduccees came primarily from Jewish aristocratic
and the priestly families, Pharisees were comprised of the middle class,
educated Jews-- such as priests who taught in the local synagogues, and
scribes. The Pharisees, like the Sadduccees accepted the Torah as absolute--
However they also stressed (unlike the Sadducces) "oral" traditions
(ie detailed legalistic interpretations of the Torah) which were studied
and considered as sacred as the written Torah law itself. Their intent was
to correctly interpret God's laws for the people, so that they could
properly observe His laws--thus invoking His divine assistance through
His covenants. The Pharisees came to be acknowledged as the ultimate
authorities on current biblical issues. (Around the first century C.E.,
after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, the Pharisees replaced
the Sadduccees as the official spokesmen for Judaism, and their traditions
formed the basis for much of modern Judaism.)

  In addition to their keen abilities as interpreters of the law, the
Pharisees were also renown for their far reaching social work. For example,
tithing, or the giving of one tenth of all one's income to charity, was an
established rule among the Pharisees. The Pharisees believed in angels,
spirits, and that righteous Jews would raise from the dead to inherit a
messianic kingdom. (The Sadducees, held only to Mosaic law and its literal
interpretations, and thus did not believe in either angels or life after
death.)

  As might be expected, the two parties had very different views on the
Roman occupation of Palestine.  The Sadducees believed in the PRACTICALITY
of supporting the Romans (once again to maintain their social position and
benefits).  The Pharisees looked upon Roman rule as God's punishment for
the people's sins. Several of the leaders of revolts against Rome were
Pharisees.

  The Pharisees, who derived their support from the local people and
synagogues, were commonly seen as the champions of the people against
the interests of the wealthy classes. Unlike the rigid adherence to
centralized rituals, the Pharisees advocated decentralizing these functions--
allowing ritual rites to be performed within each individual's home.

  The Pharisees' goal was to instruct the people on how to live their
lives according to the laws in the Torah.  Because it was believed that
Israel had suffered as a punishment from God for not obeying His laws,
it would be natural for groups to emerge to study and interpret God's
laws so that the people would know how God wanted them to live.  Thus, unlike
the Essenes who gave up on the rest of the world and sought a pure community
devoted for the 'Elect' (see below), the Pharisees devoted themselves
towards helping the common people follow God's laws.

Depiction of Pharisees by the Gospel Writers as Enemies of Jesus

  The gospel stores typically portray the Pharisees as a scheming, jealous,
wicked group of Jews who were opposed to Jesus and his teachings. This
opposition to Jesus is generally presented by the gospel writers as proof
that Jesus brought a new and novel doctrine--and one which was diametrically
opposed to Jewish laws and beliefs.

   However, as we shall explore in much more detail in later chapters, the
gospel writers were writing some thirty to sixty years AFTER these events,
and in a country and culture outside of Jewish Palestine. One overriding
concern of the gospel writers appears to have been to redefine Jesus in terms
that removed his ties to being a Jew. One strategy for accomplishing this was
to show Jesus' views to be in conflict with current Jewish laws and traditions.

  For example, Jesus is presented as committing blasphemy when he cured
the paralytic with the words, "My son, your sins are forgiven" (See Mark 2:5).
The Jewish scribes respond that Jesus has committed blasphemy, for 'Who can
forgive sins but God alone?'

  However, this was NOT considered a blasphemy by Jews! Illness was frequently
associated with sin. Therefore the healing process was also perceived to be
associated with the forgiveness of sins.  Throughout Jewish tradition, prophets
were held out as men who were inspired to speak God's will.  It was thus
natural for a prophet to heal by forgiveness of sins.

  Indeed, there is a passage from one of the DEC.E. SEA SCROLLS found
at Qumran, whereby a man is healed as follows: "I was afflicted with an
evil ulcer for seven years.. and a "gazer" [healer] pardoned my sins.
He was a Jew from among the [children of Judah and he said:] 'Recount
this in writing to [glorify and exalt] the name of the [Most High God].'"
(Vermes, JESUS THE JEW p 67-68 quoting from the Dead Sea Scroll, the PRAYER
OF NABONIUS. Vermes also notes that the term "gazer" which is applied to
the Jewish healer also appears four times in the Book of Daniel, where the
term is linked to the description of a magician and astrologer. In
the Qumran text, per Vermes this imputation is not implied.)

Was Jesus Influenced by the Pharisees?

  The synoptic gospel writers seem to suggest that Jesus was unique in
employing parables to illustrate biblical lessons. However, the Pharisees
were also renown for using parables to illustrate their teachings.  Even
Jesus' colorful expressions such as 'a camel going through the eye of a
needle' and 'take the beam out of your own eye' are Pharisee expressions that
can be found in the Jewish Talmud.  (Maccoby, MYTHMAKER p 44)  Like Jesus,
the Pharisees expressed scorn for an absolute literal interpretation of Jewish
law.-- For example, their writings posed the following philosophical
question to the stiff interpretation of the "eye for an eye" law found
in the book of Leviticus:  'What happens if a one-eyed man knocks out
someone's eye?' Their teachings point out that the victim of a crime
should be compensated based on the severity of the crime.

   Jesus' commandments to love both God and one's fellow neighbor
were an established part of Pharisee thought.  The Jewish SHEMA (which
dates from the Pharisees and is currently cited by modern Jews in their
temple services) states:

  'Hear O Israel: the Lord our God is the only Lord; love the Lord your
  God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.'
  (Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 13b)

  Jesus' second commandment, 'Love your neighbour as yourself' is found
in Leviticus 19:18. The Pharisees also had a tradition stressing the same
theme.  Rabbi Hillel stressed 'What is hateful to you, do not to your
fellow creatures. (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a). Rabbi Akiba repeats
Jesus words exactly saying "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"
in answering what he believed was the greatest principle in the Law.
(Sifra 89b, Genesis Rabbah 24:7.)

   Rabbi Hillel's rule is often referred to as the Silver rule, because
it asks everyone not to do anything to others which is hateful to yourself.
(Jesus is commonly seen to have IMPROVED this with his version "Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you."  Referred sometimes as the
Golden rule, it is similar in concept, but treats the issue from a POSITIVE,
as opposed to a NEGATIVE perspective.)(See Section VI, Chapter 3 for a
more detailed discussion on the Golden Rule)

   In regards to observing the Sabbath, the Pharisees are depicted
as being so angry with Jesus' loose interpretations on this, that
they scheme to kill him! (see Mark 3:6; Matthew 12:14)  In the gospel of
John, it is shown how Jesus cleverly argued to the Pharisees that since
circumcision was permitted on the sabbath, that healing should be
allowed too. (John 7:23)

   However, a reading of the Pharisee law books shows that the Pharisees
agreed with Jesus and even put forth the VERY SAME ARGUMENTS as Jesus does
here, in their teachings regarding healing on the sabbath.  For example,
Rabbi Akiba taught that the "safeguarding of life must have precedence
over the Sabbath.":

  "If punishment for murder has precedence over Temple worship, which
  in turn has precedence over the sabbath, how much more the safeguarding of
  life must have precedence over the Sabbath." (MEKH., ed Lauterbach, III,
  p. 198. See also pp. 39-40 as quoted by Vermes in JESUS THE JEW, Fortress
  Press, 1973, p 181).

  In Mark 2, an interesting scene appears with Jesus and his disciples:

  One sabbath he [Jesus] was going through the cornfields; and his
disciples as they went, began to pluck ears of corn.  The Pharisees
said to him, 'Look, why are they doing what is forbidden on the sabbath?'
.. He ..said to them, 'The sabbath is made for the sake of man and
not man for the sabbath;  therefore the Son of Man is sovereign even over
the sabbath."

  The saying, "The sabbath is made for the sake of man and not man for the
sabbath" was a known Pharisee maxim. (Maccoby, op cit., p 39).  However,
the plucking of corn, together with all other manual agricultural labor,
was forbidden on the sabbath according to Pharisaic law, not to mention
stealing corn from a field one did not own.  However, Pharisaic law did
regard it a duty to steal in order to save life.  If Jesus and his men
were so hungry, that they could be considered close to starving, then Jesus
was in perfect compliance with Pharisaic law, which considered that the laws
of theft were not held to apply in case of danger to life. (Ibid p 42)

  One would probably ask at this point, what possible motive could some
gospel writers have in exaggerating Jesus' hostility to the Pharisees?  As
we shall see (see Chapter 9), by the time the gospels were written, a majority
of Jews had rejected the belief in Jesus as the messiah.  There were also
strong POLITICAL motivations for blaming the Jews (and not the Romans) for
the execution of Jesus. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in
70 C.E., the Sadducees had lost their religious authority--and the Pharisees
became the representative authority of Judaism. Thus around the times when
the gospels were composed, early Christians saw the Pharisees as the official
spokesmen for Judaism.

    Although the Pharisees did NOT hold many of the EXTREME views attributed
to them by the gospel writers-- another active political/religious group
that existed during the times of Jesus did hold such views.  They were known
as the Essenes. Interestingly, the New Testament NEVER REFERS TO THEM, even
though we know from other sources that they were considered to be another
important sect within Judaism.

--The Essenes

  The Essene sect of Judaism was described in detail by some ancient writers,
notably Josephus, Philo, and Pliny the Elder. The Essenes, as with many
religious groups, evolved and splintered up into different groups over
hundreds of years of activity in Israel.(Footnote: Early works such as some
of the books of Enoch were probably written by a "Proto-Essene" group
sometime between 250 and 150 B.C.E.)

   The Essene settlement was formed around 150 B.C.E. as an ascetic religious
community in the middle of the desert along the Dead Sea. A group of devoutly
religious Jews had followed their "Righteous Teacher" into the wilderness to
separate themselves from the wickedness they saw all around them.  There, in
the barren desert, they would be there first to greet God's heavenly armies
on the way in destroying the present world in all its wickedness.

  The Essenes came into the limelight with the discovery of the Dead Sea
Scrolls in 1947 in an area in Qumran, Israel just west of the Dead Sea. After
the area was excavated, the burned ruins of an ancient Jewish settlement
was discovered. Historians, at first identified this as a settlement from the
Essene Jews.  (Footnote: later archeological evidence showed that Qumran site
was probably not the remains of the Essene settlement in the desert of the
Dead Sea, but instead possibly a commercial resort or even military fortress.
The Essenes probably lived in caves in the Qumran area.)

  The Essene community stressed "secret knowledge" for the Elect. Around the
first century B.C.E., a follower of the "Righteous Teacher" claimed that the
Jewish prophets had only recorded events without understanding God's secrets.
However God gave the Righteous Teacher insight into "all the mysteries of
the words of his servants the prophets."

   The Essene community also emphasized the dualistic nature of the world in
the battles between the "sons of light" and the "sons of darkness".  The
Roman pagan armies had taken control of Palestine around 63 B.C.E., in what
was perceived as the dreadful power of demonic forces upon the earth.  The
situation appeared hopeless:  Not even with the help of God's angels, or
the "sons of light" could the "sons of darkness" be defeated.  It would be
necessary for God himself to enter the battle and end the war. (Many scholars
believe that this imagery shows how Persian dualism and Greek philosophies
had already impacted early Jewish thinking before the birth of Jesus!)

  (footnote:
  The Qumran texts speak of a "Wicked Priest" with whom the Righteous Teacher
had bitter fought in Jerusalem.  The "Wicked Priest" is probably a reference
to either Jonathan or Simon, the Hasmonians who had displaced the traditional
priestly family--or Zadokites, from whom all high priests had been descended,
before the Hellenistic Period. The bitterness was greater because the Essenes
had probably assisted in the Macabbean overthrow of the Seleucids, and now
were observing a reinstatement of what was to them an illegitimate succession
of high priests)

 Other Essene settlements,  according to Philo and Josephus lived in other
Israeli villages and cities, including Jerusalem itself. (Recent archaeological
digs have confirmed the Essene gate in the walls of Jerusalem, which was
referred to by Josephus and by the Qumran Temple scroll)

  Some scholars have argued that Jesus could NOT have been influenced by
the Essenes, because they were isolated, and reserved their rites in secret,
for only fully initiated members. However, as pointed out by James Charlesworth
this appears unlikely because ancient and non-Essene historians such as
Josephus were able to describe their beliefs and rites in great detail.
As Prof. Charlesworth put it, "If Josephus knew so much about the Essenes,
is it likely that his contemporaries, the authors of Mark, Matthew, Luke and
John, could not have known something about the theology of the Essenes?"
(Charlesworth, JESUS WITHIN JUDAISM, p 60)

  According to both Philo and Josephus, there were approximately four thousand
Essenes in Palestine, out of which only three hundred lived in Qumran.  These
same historians also stressed that Essenes preferred to live on the edge of
villages and cities.  Thus, it appears likely that Jesus could have talked with
one or more Essenes during his travels.

Was Jesus Influenced by the Essenes?
(Note: This section heavily references Charlesworth's JESUS WITHIN
JUDAISM for its analyses.)

  The importance of the Dead Sea scrolls is that they describe the beliefs
of a group of religious Jews who were contemporaries of Jesus.  Although
not Christian themselves, they held many beliefs that many theologians once
claimed were unique to Jesus.  For example it is now known that BOTH the
Christian community and Qumran Essenes stressed that God's fulfillment of
promises and prophecies was imminent! They also shared many themes and the
same special terminology.--Such terms as "son of Man" and "poor in Spirit"
are now known to have been in common usage by the Essenes prior to when
Jesus lived.

  Both Jesus and the Essenes emphasized mankind's sinfulness and the need
for God's grace, and the ever presence and power of Satan (or Belial) and
the demons in this world. Both stressed the "sharing" of possessions with
"brothers" and living a simplistic holy life. Any member that had two coats
was urged to give the other to his needy brother, and wear the remaining
coat until it had worn out. Whereas most Jews (including the Pharisees)
believed that God had mandated for men to marry and have children (ie be
fruitful and multiply), some Essenes, like Jesus, did not marry but
instead practiced celibacy.

  The "War-Scroll" found at Qumran describes a final battle, reminiscent
of Persian dualistic beliefs (see Section IV Chapter 1 and and Section
VI Chapter 1).  Here is described a divine battle between the sons of light
and the sons of darkness--leading to the destruction of the earth, and
the setting up of a new Kingdom for the Elect on Earth. Some scholars
believe Revelation's description of Armageddon, and a kingdom that
will last a thousand years, were influenced by the beliefs of the Essenes.

  The literature of the Essenes also represents them as "fishers of men"
(see Hymn 8 THE DEAD. SEA SCROLLS IN ENGLISH (PENGUIN 1968)) The Essenes may
have been aware of the Egyptian mysteries and astrology. The year 150 B.C.E.
corresponded roughly to the initiation of the age of Pisces (the Fishes).
Jesus' use of the term 'fishers of men', his association with fishermen,
along with the fish miracles all make use of this symbolism.  This was
continued by the early Christians, who used the symbol of the fish as a
secret sign and the use of the term episkopos (overseer) a Greek work
containing within it the Latin word for 'fish' (piscis) to designate the
early Christian community leaders.  (Peter Lemesurier, THE ARMAGEDDON
SCRIPT, St Martin's Press, p195)

Differences Between the Teachings of Jesus and the Essenes

  Although Jesus employs similar terminology and concepts with the Essenes,
he REJECTED certain of their tenants in establishing his own theology.
It is a fascinating exercise to compare and to analyze the probable
"negative" influences the Essenes had on Jesus' thoughts and practices.

  While both the Essenes and Jesus stressed a God of vengeance who
would soon come, destroy the wicked, and set up a new world order. The
Essenes (at least the sect of Essenes whose writings were found at Qumran)
believed that salvation was available only for the "elected" few (ie
themselves).  Jesus on the other hand, took the message of the Kingdom of
God for all the common people (including sinners) to hear and partake in.
Note Mark's first quote of Jesus: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom
of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the good news." (Mark 1:15).

   When Jesus said, "You have heard that it is said 'You shall love your
neighbor and hate your enemy', the gospels indicate that he was directing
this saying against the Pharisees.  However, a study of Pharisee literature--
both before and after Jesus--never turned up any such saying.  With
the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, it has been discovered that the
Essenes had a similar saying.  There is an Essene Community Rule which
exhorts the faithful to "love all the sons of light, and hate all the sons
of darkness".(Community Rule, V-VI. Vermes G., the DEAD SEA SCROLLS IN
ENGLISH (Penguin 1968).

  The Essenes daily routine revolved around elaborate rituals of purification.
Many of their bitterest feuds between the Pharisees and Sadduccees dealt
with what they believed were "improper" observances of these purity rules.
Jesus went to the other extreme.-- He commonly associated with the
lowest (unclean) rungs of society, including prostitutes, lepers--even
the hated tax collectors!  When challenged on this, Jesus reportedly
replied, "I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17).
The Essenes believed in isolating themselves from "sinners" so that at
least their group would be saved during the coming Destruction of the
World by God. (We know this is true of the Essene group at Qumran--however
this may not have been as representative of ALL the Essene groups)

  John the Baptist, like the Essenes, lived an ascetic lifestyle in
refusing to drink wine or eat meat.  Jesus, on the other hand, appears
NOT to have lived an ascetic lifestyle. That is, in Matthew 11:19, Jesus
is quoted as saying the following regarding his opponents: "John came
neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of
man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a glutton and a
drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'  That is, although
Jesus ate and drank wine, his opponents falsely interpreted this to claim
that he was both a glutton and a drunkard. However, from this one can
observe that (unlike John) Jesus did eat and (at least moderately) drank
wine.

  As mentioned earlier, the Pharisees were blamed in the gospels for
attitudes and beliefs that they, in fact, did not possess. One of the more
fascinating discoveries from the Dead Sea scrolls writings at Qumran, is
that the ESSENES sect did appear to fanatically observe the Sabbath in
exactly the SAME way Jesus complains about (ie instead of the Pharisees!)
From the discovery of various documents found in the Qumran caves, it is
known that the Essenes allowed no work to be performed on the Sabbath--not
even the lifting of a pebble or the brushing away of dust. Even the MENTION
of "work" was forbidden!  Likewise they were not allowed to lend anything
on the Sabbath, even to a friend.  The Essenes believed that their strict
observation of the Law would thus guarantee the revitalization of the
nation's Covenant with God (for themselves, the Elect).

   One example is given where the Essenes warned that if a beast had fallen
into a pit on the Sabbath, to help it out would also be a violation of
the Law. Interestingly, Jesus used this exact example in arguing against
the strict observances of the sabbath, saying: "What man of you, if he has
one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it
and lift it out?" (see Matthew 12:11, Luke 14:5)  Prior to the Qumran
discovery, scholars had assumed Jesus HC.E. to be referring to the Pharisees,
but could NOT locate the source of the verse Jesus was referring to among
Pharisaic writings.

  There is another interesting analogy between Jesus and the Essenes:
One of the beatitudes given by Jesus begins with "Blessed are the Poor
in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5:3).  Luke quotes
one of Jesus sermons as  "Blessed are you poor", omitting the "in Spirit".
This is a common Jewish theme, appearing for example in the Psalms of Solomon
where the poor are identified with the faithful ones. Based on what we know
of the times, many people were extremely poor, many were forced off their
land from high taxes, and their were large bands of robbers and political
unrest in the area.  Jesus' message can probably be interpreted literally to
mean "bless the poor".  Indeed, probably the majority of the multitudes that
heard Jesus' sermons and followed him, were extremely poor and literally
believed that these sayings applied directly to themselves.

  The Qumran Essenes also used the term "the Poor", and "the Poor in Spirit"
although they applied it exclusively to themselves.  Their "poorness" resulted
from them giving up all their material possessions to the commune, and having
a lifestyle that would be comparable to that of later Christian monks in an
ascetic monastery.

    The term "the Poor One" was applied to their community leader, the
"Righteous Teacher".  The Righteous Teacher, after suffering at the hands of the
"Wicked Priest" at the Temple in Jerusalem, led his followers out into
the desert to form a monastery at Qumran monastery.  The Righteous Teacher
reflected on his tortures,  praised God, who had "delivered the life of the
Poor One. (See 1 QH 5:13-15)

--Other Groups

  Not all groups of Jews fell nice and neatly into the categories of
Sadduccee, Pharisee, or Essene. --For there was a large number of sects
operating during Roman times, many of whom had the expressed POLITICAL goal
of gaining an independent Jewish state.  The Zealot party, (founded around
10 C.E.), advocated revolutionary activity against the Romans and refused to
pay tribute, on the grounds that the Romans worshiped PAGAN gods, as opposed
to the true God, Jehovah.

  A number of other parties--various Essene-like sects, were known to be
baptizing people along the banks of the Jordan River. There has been
much speculation regarding the symbolic nature of the baptism itself. Very
likely this was to symbolize the washing away of one's sins. The prophet
Ezekiel spoke of symbolically using water to cleanse Jews from their
exposure to heathen practices during the Babylonian Exile: "For I will
take you from among the heathen, ...and will bring you into your own land...
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean..."
(Ezekiel 36:24-5) The prophet Elisha had also directed the Syrian leper
Naaman to cleanse himself of his leprosy by washing himself in the Jordan.
(2 Kings 5:10).

  As we have seen from the writings by Josephus, during the times of Jesus,
there arose various prophets who believed that they were seized by the spirit
that had inspired the likes of Isaiah and Jeremiah.  In this way they
prophesized on the impending Kingdom of God, and offered purification for
those who sought forgiveness for their sins and a hope for the future.

   Josephus also included a short section on Jesus Christ in his histories.
As such, these represent the earliest NON-Christian writings on Jesus.
Unfortunately, critics have shown that Josephus' original writings have
almost certainly been tampered with (ie "corrected) by later Christian
copyists. But as we shall see, by taking out the obvious "altered" lines,
what remains is a most important and insightful look into what Josephus
probably originally wrote on the subject.