While I can not say that I agree with the all final conclusions (what scholar would admit it even if he did?!), I find this selection of arguments by Prof. John Robinson very stimulating and helpful.
I think you would too http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/john_robinson.pdf
He authored them in 1962 way before everyone else got serious about rediscovering the Jewishness of the Gospels. Enjoy and write back to tell our study group, what do you think.
Thank you for posting Robinson’s old work. However, I’d quibble that he was the first to take the Jewishness of the Gospels seriously. That the Gospels present Jesus as the Messiah of Israel is a long-standing commonplace of Evangelical writing and preaching.
As an “educated layman”, I long ago reached the conclusion that John probably saw himself as both evangelist and Israelite prophet. This allows both his supposedly “anti-Jewish” polemic and his affirmation of Jesus’ Jewishness to make sense. After all, Moses and the prophets said some harsh things about their own people, too.
Enjoyed this, especially as I actually had already bought AT Robinson’s Harmonising of the Gospels as part of a study from Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s book on Life Of Messiah from a Jewish Perspective (also in mp3 format), where he uses AT Robinson’s book as a framework. This study was by far one of the most insightful studies undertaken and highly recommended. I can also just echo the surprise of what other’s have already noted about what Robinson already did in 1922!!
Thank you for this very informative Blog site.
Dear Dick, thank you so much for your comments. I agree that that early on is what sets him a part and makes it so fascinating :-). Do you have Arnold’s Mp3s? Dr. Eli
Yes I do have them, it consists of 100 mp3 files. Can be obtained from ariel.org website.
Quite challenging – I always assumed the book of John was written to Gnostics. I never noticed the dearth of Gentiles in John.
Likewise the book of Genesis is about the genesis of the earth; but that is quite subordinate to the main theme – the genesis of the Jewish people. Why so much attention on these people? Are they more important? No, it is God’s soveriegn choice to use them and their culture to tell the world about God’s glorious character.
Thank you Dr. Eli, my identity was engineered (in the beginning) outside of the church. Thus even my testimony (law leading me to faith) is foreign and un-useful in todays evangelism. I will have to compare “under” law and “under” grace and continue onward and forward and as always above my skill level. (lol)
I understand from Exodus 32:16 that the tablets were the work of God. Thus God drawing people near would lead people (of that time) to faith in Christ. The article has caused me to question if the church or the New Testament has eliminated God’s work (the law leading to faith in Christ) making John appear anti-Jewish. I am not trying to be mean I am just trying to understand how believing in Jesus before the gospel (law) and after the gospel messes with our identity.
When identities engineered by religious power-brokers they will always follow unnatural patterns in which thinking people will not always feel comfortable. Dr. Eli
Religious power-brokers – the false prophets irrespective of dogma or doctrine. Yeshua by any standard the most anti-religious to exist. Hence my conviction we are far better off to study the Word and through forums like these aim to educate ourselves on the truth.
Thank you Dr Eli
Dirk, welcome to our study group. Dr. Eli
I vry much like the article and thank you for sharing it with us.
Elsewhere in a previous comment I touched the issue of the development of the different recensions of the Jewish Bible as studied by Frank Moore Cross. If we look again to his work we will see clear evidence sustaining Prof. John Robinson remarkable analysis of the fractures Jewish community and the existence of a clear Greek Jews which would be the ones who needed the Greek recenssion of the Bible, the Septuagint and the succesive Babylonian Talmud tradition.
For me it makes perfect sense and this essay is a welcome addition to our considerations.
Ramon, a number of people told me that they find your comments very helpful. Thank you very much.