Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations home > Interfaith Relations > Jewish > Speaking and Signing

Matthew has often been called the most Jewish of the gospels. Its very first verse already strikes this note: "An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Luke takes his genealogy all the way back to Adam, but Matthew's main concern is to root Jesus in the history of his people.

Yet Matthew also depicts Jesus as constantly engaged in conflict with Jewish leaders, and his chapter 23 contains some of the most violent polemic in the gospels. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" says Jesus. He calls them "blind fools" and "blind guides," and exclaims: "You snakes, you brood of vipers!"

We are reminded by the fervor of these words that much of the New Testament, indeed most of it, was forged in the fires of controversy. In Matthew's case, it was the controversy between the new Christian movement and its parental faith, a conflict that centered on the question of who were the legitimate heirs of the ancestral covenant. It was no merely theoretical matter. It had a sociological expression involving direct competition, particularly in cities such as Antioch where this gospel may have originated, with church and synagogue on opposite street corners, so to speak. Matthew 10:16 and the following verses depict a conflict so intense as to include even physical violence.

The Gospel of Matthew, it is generally agreed, was written after the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, and reflects the special bitterness of that time. Christians, who had been warned that "All who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matt. 26:52), were charged with shirking their duty in defense of Jerusalem. They in turn could and did point to the city's desolation as demonstrating God's judgment on a faithless people. It was not a good moment in "interfaith relations"!

Jesus undoubtedly made a strenuous critique of the religious establishment of his day, as the prophets had before him. But in his words as reported in Matthew, we also have an overlay deriving from that later, post-A.D.70 period. If we don't want these texts to contribute to Inter-Religious hostility and stereotyping today, we need to find some way of distinguishing between these layers. It may mean not using certain passages at all, or accompanying their use with an historical explanation somewhat along the preceding lines.

Matthew has Jesus using the terms "Pharisees" and "hypocrites" practically as synonyms. It is quite possible, however, that Jesus meant to rebuke particular Pharisees whom he had diagnosed as insincere, or even the whole current generation of Pharisees, but not Pharisaism as such. Some scholars maintain that Jesus was closer to Pharisaism than to any other option within Judaism in his day. The Pharisees taught their followers to pray to God as Father, they believed in the resurrection, and they tried to be faithful in word and deed to what they understood to be God's will. After the destruction of Jerusalem, it was clear that the Zealots had failed. The priests --without a Temple--had lost their function, as had the Sadducean aristocracy. Meanwhile the Qumran community had been obliterated. Only the Pharisees--who were really a lay renewal movement--remained to rebuild Jewish life, and they are considered to be the direct ancestors of rabbinic Judaism, the form of Judaism practiced today. This is one reason to be sensitive in the use of the term.

Most Christians are ignorant of the history of post-biblical Judaism, and of the remarkable powers of self-renewal that it has shown, again and again. A study of a brief history of Judaism or of the writings of great Jewish thinkers, such as Martin Buber or Abraham Joshua Heschel, will prove illuminating. Perhaps the best antidote to anti-Jewish stereotypes is for Christians to meet Jews face to face in situations where personal sharing is possible. Living room dialogues such as the Interfaith Circles program (see For Further Reading) are one vehicle for this, as well as visits to synagogue services, especially if the rabbi or an informed lay person is asked to explain the service.

The Jews in the Fourth Gospel
Cycle A is the Year of Matthew, but as in the other cycles, it also uses readings from the Gospel of John, especially in the Lenten and Easter seasons. It is here that we face the problem that those who oppose the gospel are referred to not as "scribes and Pharisees" or other particular groups, but simply as "the Jews," as if Jesus and his disciples were not Jews themselves, and as if all Jews opposed them--a usage that has fostered the notion of universal Jewish guilt for Jesus' death.

The usual explanation for the vilification of the Jews in the fourth gospel is that it was written at a time, late in the first century or even early in the second, when the separation between church and synagogue had become so complete that a "we-they" situation obtained, and all Jews whatsoever (except "those who believed in him") were lumped together as Jesus' opponents. Another intriguing possibility, suggested by many scholars, is that the phrase hoi Ioudaioi in the fourth gospel does not mean "the Jews" but "the Judeans"--that is, people from Judea. Evidence supports the presence of considerable antagonism in New Testament times between Judeans and Galileans, with the former regarding the latter as untutored provincials, lax in their observance of the law, and a source of dissident and rebellious movements. Conversely, the Galileans regarded the Judeans as part of the "power structure,A willing to collaborate even with the hated Romans to maintain their privileges. The Jesus movement, as a Galilean movement, was almost destined, from this standpoint, to come into conflict with the Jerusalem authorities.

The Jews in Liturgy and Hymnody
Since the decision was made following the Second Vatican Council to delete the phrase "the perfidious Jews" and to remove the infamous "reproaches" (described as "the reproofs addressed by the crucified Savior to his ungrateful people") from the Good Friday liturgy, the major causes of offense to Jews in the Roman liturgy have been eliminated, and the LBW does not contain either of these elements. Eucharistic and other prayers do need to be monitored, however, as to what kind of image of the Jews and Judaism they present.

The same consideration applies to hymns, which play a powerful role in interpreting biblical texts. Hymns for Lent, and especially Good Friday, seem to fall into two groups, those that emphasize what "they" did, and those that confess that "we" are responsible. Even a song such as Sydney Carter's "Lord of the Dance" has this problem, especially if we forget that the "they" in "they whipped and they stripped and they hung me high" refers to the Romans, not the Jews. At the opposite pole is a hymn like "O Sacred Head Now Wounded," with its acknowledgment: "Mine, mine was the transgression." This may be called an existential interpretation of Jesus death, rather than an historical explanation. The two are not contradictory. In fact they can be complementary, if we see that the motives of the actors in the original passion drama, including both perpetrators and bystanders, are similar to our own. The hymn "Ah, Holy Jesus" gives this existential approach its classic expression (Lutheran Book of Worship, #123).

On occasions when one wishes to stress the continuity between Judaism and Christianity, one can easily find many hymns that celebrate our common faith in the God of creation and of providential care. Every time we sing or say a Psalm we are also celebrating that common faith. The song "Shalom" (With One Voice, #724)--with the words given in both English and Hebrew--is well known especially to Jewish young people, and could be used in an interfaith setting. Both the words and the tune, which can be sung as a round, are of Israeli origin. In Jewish usage, instead of repeating Shalom chaverim, the second part of the verse reads L'hitraot, l'hitraot, shalom, shalom: "We'll see you again, we'll see you again, shalom, shalom."

For Further Reading
Cunningham, Philip A. Proclaiming Shalom: Lectionary Introductions to Foster the Catholic and Jewish Relationship. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1995. Suggested introductory remarks that highlight the Jewish context of the lessons and convey a positive image of Judaism. Usable also for most of the Revised Common Lectionary.

Interfaith Circles. A 24-unit discussion program designed for Christian-Jewish living room dialogue groups. For information write Interfaith Resources, Inc., 1328 Oakwood Dr., Anoka, MN 55303, or phone (612) 421-1896.

Jegen, Carol Frances, BVM, and Rabbi Byron L. Sherwin. Thank God: Prayers

We Have in Common. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1989. A collection of classic prayers from Jewish and Christian liturgies that can be used with integrity by persons of both faiths.

Neusner, Jacob. The Fortress Introduction to American Judaism: What the Books Say, What the People Do. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1992.

Action Recommendations

1. Do background reading to enrich your understanding of Jesus' Jewishness and the Jewish background of early Christianity.
2. Learn more about the history of Judaism since New Testament times and about Judaism today. Invite a rabbi to speak at an adult forum or other event.
3. Recognize that Jesus' critique of religious hypocrisy applies to us, not just to others.
4. Interpret references to "the Jews" to mean "the Jewish authorities," "some Jewish leaders," "the Judaeans," "the people present," etc., according to the context.
5. Arrange for adults and/or youth to visit a synagogue service. Arrange with the rabbi to have an explanation of the service beforehand and a question period afterward.
6. Use the Interfaith Circles program (see For Further Reading) as the basis for a series of "living room dialogues" with six to eight persons from each faith.
7. Point out our indebtedness to the Jews for the Psalms, other elements of the liturgy ("Alleluia," "Amen"), and the whole history of God's dealings with God's people.
8. Read contemporary Jewish thinkers such as Buber or Heschel and consider using one of their books as the basis for an adult study program.
9. During Lent and Holy Week, stress how "we" are responsible more than what "they" did. Use hymns that convey this message.
10. Be alert for expressions of anti-Semitism or other forms of bigotry in your community and speak out forcefully against them.
11. Consider not pronouncing the name "Yahweh," and avoiding biblical translations where it is used. Say "the Lord" instead (an equivalent to the Jewish custom of saying adonai in place of the name of God).

Reprinted by permission from Sundays and Seasons: Worship Planning Guide
Year of Matthew (Cycle A), 1998-99
Copyright 1998, Augsburg Fortress, Publishers

© Evangelical Lutheran Church in America | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us | ELCA Home |