By Mark D. Nanos
Shema Israel, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai Echad:
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”
The Shema Israel has arguably been the most important ideological claim of Judaism since early Israelite history. This call to listen to God is followed by the injunction to love God, that is, to be loyal and serve with all of the effort one can summon. This call includes both observance, and reflection, kavannah, the intention of the heart. It captures the very essence of Torah, the Teachings of God that Israel is, on behalf of all humankind, privileged, but also responsible, to listen to, and embody.
To this day, the Shema Israel is uttered in sacred prayer twice a day. Jewish children learn it as their first prayer, and Jews hope that it will be the last words on their lips. R. Akiva recited the Shema when executed by the Romans following the failed Second Revolt against Rome, understanding the commandment to loyalty “with all thy soul” to signify “even if He takes thy soul,” and the call to martyrdom continues in subsequent interpretive tradition….
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What does all of this Jewish tradition about the oneness of God have to do with Paul? I submit that the Shema Israel is the central conviction of Paul’s theology.
He often refers to God’s oneness at critical points in arguments. It functions theologically and polemically. But he does not really explain the Shema as much as appeal to it, suggesting that for Paul the concept of God’s oneness functions at the ideological level. Its explanatory power is assumed to be self-evident. This is true not only for himself, but his arguments presume it to be the case for his audiences also. Yet that would not work for those unfamiliar with its propositional bases, or importance in Jewish communal life and liturgy.
In other words, while most interpreters of Paul and most discussions of a topic like “Paul and the Jewish tradition” would be concerned to show how Paul emerged from the Judaism of his time, they would do so from a conceptual framework in which Paul is no longer a representative of Judaism, but of a new religion, Christianity. Instead, I suggest that Paul practiced Judaism, and his groups represented a Jewish coalition upholding that the end of the ages had dawned, and thus, that the awaited day when members of the other nations would turn to Israel’s God as the one God of all humankind had arrived. He spoke for a Jewish subgroup that upheld faith in Christ, to be sure, but this was not a new religion, nor did he imagine that it would ever be one. He was a reformer, involved in the restoration of Israel, and the gathering of the nations initiated thereby…
TO READ THE REST OF “Paul and the Jewish Tradition: The Ideology of the Shema” CLICK HERE
Thank you,I Love this!
Rom. 3:31 Do we then nullify the Law/Torah through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law/Torah” … (Just wanted to acknowledge Shaul/Paul making this assertion… because that is where the Shema is found.)
Deuteronomy 6:4
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
The article above was very interesting and the comments in this blog have been very thought provoking. I shall be feeding on this food for thought for some time. Thanks for the comments and responses.
I am very proud to be a Christian, who loves Jesus & who delves deep into the Holy Bible.
This is the way I see it.
Jesus was hated by the Jewish leaders of His day. Nicodemus was an exception, but he hid his allegiance from the Sanhedrin while Jesus was living,he did not want to be excommunicated. After Jesus was crucified he came to the forefront & used his influence & money to show his devotion to Jesus.I believe he died a poor man. Joseph of Aramathea was another secret follower. He used his own tomb to protect the Body of Jesus.
When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early church who were united in their love for each other & the Lord Jesus , 3000 jews were baptised daily..The Gospel didn’t go to the Gentiles until the stoning of Stephen. Stephen’s face was lit up like an Angel’s as he recited the history of God’s people. Saul was minding the outer garments of the stone throwers. He was zealous to kill all these followers of Jesus & set off for Damascus with his helpers to exterminate all he found. I can only guess that the courage of Stephen & his dying remarks. “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” made an indelible impression on Saul’s mind. On the road to Damascus Jesus appeared to him in a blinding flash of light and the man who hated this new sect was blinded & Jesus spoke to him” Saul,Saul why do you persecute Me ?’ Saul said “Who are you Lord?’ “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” Saul’s men heard the voice but didn’t see anything. Acts 9.
Saul had to be led, & set out for Damascus to find Ananias. Ananias was told to expect Saul, but protested vigourously informing the Lord that Saul hated the new sect. (This new sect was called “Christians “first in Antioch. ) So Saul’s name was changed to Paul & he was “born again” and now loved what he used to hate & became God’s chosen vessel to reach the Gentiles. Now the Jews were his enemies & they sought to kill him.The Israelites were looking for a Messiah who would kill off the Romans & protect them from their enemies.Jesus came as a “suffering servant” he was Holy, He died so we might live, If we humble ourselves & accept His sacrifice for our sins,and love Him & keep His Commandments He will save us when He returns the second time as King of Kings & Lord of Lords. There is no male or female, no Jew or Greek, everyone who loves Him & obeys Him will be saved. We will all be children of Abraham.
Jesus is Eternal, He created the Universe,He is the Rock who led the Israelites in the Wilderness,He parted the Red Sea & drowned the Egyptians.
“In the beginning was the WORD. The WORD was with GOD.The WORD was GOD. The same was in the BEGINNING with GOD . All things were made by HIM & without HIM was not anything made that was made John1:1-3
At creation, the 3 members of the GODHEAD were present. The Holy Spirit moved upon the waters Gen.1 :2 …Gen 1:26 ” Let us make man in our image”
There is only one GOD, but the GODHEAD is composed of 3 persons. The Father, Son & Holy Spirit,they are all GOD but have different functions, like water, steam & ice.
JESUS’ name before he was incarnated was Michael. “And there was war in Heaven,Michael & His Angels waged war with the dragon. & the dragon & his angels waged war.And they were not strong enough & there was no longer a place found for them in Heaven.And the great dragon was cast down, the serpent of old, who is called the devil & Satan,who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down & his angels were thrown down with him. R ev. 12: 7-9
Lucifer was Satan’s name in Heaven he was the anointed cherub that covers the Ark, the first of God’s creation,he was very beautiful. God created us all with freedom of choice,Lucifer got lifted up because of his beauty & wanted to be like GOD ,he whispered to the angels that GOD ‘s LAW was unjust . He insinuated ulterior motives to GOD & managed to deceive a third of the angels. That caused the War in Heaven. The other worlds have watched this dreadful battle play out. God did not destroy Lucifer straightaway as the inhabitants of other worlds would serve God from fear. Satan has fully revealed himself now, as this world is a spectacle to the Universe, they watched aghast as Satan tried to get JESUS
to worship him, & as he tried to get JESUS to sin.
The Prophet DANIEL was given visions of the history of this world. He was a eunuch in Babylon when
K ing Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which he couldn’t recall. He was going to kill all his wisemen because they couldn’t tell him what his dream was all about. The LORD revealed the dream to Daniel.It prophesied all this world’s history,.Nebuchadnezzar. saw a metal man which was struck by a stone cut out without hands which struck the metal man on the feet & it disintegrated to the 4 corners of the earth. The stone cut out without hands grew to be the Kingdom of God which replaced all the other kingdoms & lasted forever.Babylon was the Head of Gold, Medo/Persia was the chest & arms of silver,Greece was the belly of bronze, & Rome was the legs of iron. Pagan Rome became Papal Rome, there will never be another world kingdom.We are in the toes of time now, and just as iron does not mix with miry clay the world is all divided countries. No one can agree about anything.
N ebuchadnezzar did not want his kingdom to be overthrown so he built a metal man of gold & wanted everyone to worship the image. Daniel’s 3 friends would not bow down to it, so they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace . Jesus walked in the furnace with them,the king saw the Son of God & when the King ordered them out, there was no smell of burning on them they were unharmed.
Daniel was also given a 2,300 day prophecy,starting with the decree of Cyrus to restore and rebuild Jerusalem in 457 BC A prophetic day is a year. In this prophecy 490 years were allocated to the Jews.That takes us to 33AD. Daniel foretold the advent of the Messiah,he said He would be cut off in the midst of the 69th Week, and when Stephen was stoned in AD34 then the gospel went to the Gentiles. Jesus was baptized in AD27, crucified in AD31 & Stephen was stoned in AD34.
The word Trinity is a modern word & not mentioned in the Bible, but the word GODHEAD appears 3 times.
Acts 17:29, Romans 1: 20, Co 2: 9 . We are also admonished to be baptised “In the Name of the Father,Son & Holy Spirit so He can’t physically come into our hearts, but the Holy Spirit can & He loves us ,feels our pain, & guides us just as Jesus would do,similarly He cannot die on the cross for us as He doesn’t have flesh like us. The Father oversees the Universe, He has a body as described in Ezekiel chapter 1, but it isn’t flesh. Jesus has taken on flesh forever,HIs scars will never heal,we are very precious to Him. The Father will put all things under the power of Jesus, there is no other name, given among men whereby we must be saved Acts 4:12
Noeline,
I agree with most all you have shared except Michael and Yahshua being one and the same. The “Shema” is a call to “all” IsraEl = Power of/with God = People of God! In Mark 12 :29 Yahshua reminds us of it’s importance; It is the “first” commandment!
Hear, O, IsraEl…… !?! ….
If people of God today heard His call they would understand what He meant by “No Jew (Jewish) or Greek (Gentile) in Him, because all in Him are “One” and they are He named them IsraEl! He is the King, and His subjects are One with Him!
As it stands: Jews are keeping a separate identity, and Gentiles (Greeks) are doing the same! As I see it; Both houses, house of Israel/Ephraim and House of Judah (Jews) are not hearing His call (Shema). If they did, they would stop separating themselves into their chosen corners, endlessly learning and never coming to the knowledge of the the “truth” or His call to the “One”!
God bless,
Yours,
Simon Zelikman/Christian Israelites
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Interesting. In a way it was a new religion but really harking back to the intent of the jewish faith of the old testament
I have read the article and have saved it for further study. It is an interesting article.
Interesting and enlightening post, the high point for me being, “all thy soul,” with its connection to martydom. Thanks for sharing this.
This study fits very well with the concept of Unity from Psalm 33. Great lesson, great work.