“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." Matthew 5:17
The above was from the gospel this past weekend and it has been sitting in my mind. To me, this makes it abundantly clear that Jesus was not brought on this earth to start a new religion (Christianity), but to revise the old laws and make them 'modern.' In fact, nowhere in the four gospels can you find the word Christians or christianity. Not until letters written by Paul, does this word come about. This is something I have been trying to get across to those who do not share my faith (in an organized religion sort of way.) Jesus was NOT about ushering in a new religion or forsaking the Jewish people cuz his Father said so. This is the way I have tried to go about this adaptation as well.
Now Matthew is the most Jewish of the bibles. His book gives lots of insight to Jewish customs and ceremony. In fact, most of the gospels, with their telling of the story, seem to assume that many people would be of the Jewish faith and have an understanding of celebrations and laws, so much so that as a believer 2000+ years later, I can get a little lost. Little things that get left out or remain unexplained to me in my christain worshipping because they are inherently Jewish. Take the liturgy of the Eucharist: in my mass, the priest says, "On the day he was given up to death, a death he freely accepted, He took bread and gave thanks." Whaaaaaa? It isn't bread. It isn't supposed to be bread. Unleavened bread is really like a cracker and I'm pretty sure it's not called bread. So why do the Christians call it bread instead of what it was - matzah? And why aren't we told what he said when he gave thanks? Pretty sure it's a Jewish prayer over the matzah, so, of course, my church leaves that out.
As the Catholic Church gets ready to embark on a whole plethora of changes, I really hope that it will return to Jesus's teachings, and not what bishops and popes have deigned "the truth." Recently, even the word Yahweh has been replaced in songs because apparently, using that Jewish word for God is offensive? To whom - Jews? Try singing that old fave, "Yahweh, I know you are near..." Nope. Now it's "O Lord." Whatev.
OK. I'm rambling a bit. The essence of what I'm trying to say is that Passion is adapted from Bible with historical information to back it up. Specifically, Jewish prayers and customs that Jesus would have taken part in. Let's face it: Jesus was a Jewish man with a Jewish mother and Jewish friends. That's why the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin got all up in his grill. If he wasn't Jewish, they wouldn't have given two hoots about what he was saying. He would have been considered a gentile or Roman quack. But the very fact that he was Jewish was what was alarming to them. I wonder those in the Jewish faith even think about Jesus as one of their own. Hmmmmmmm.
Although the quote from above comes from early in Jesus' ministry, I think I may have to move that into the Last Supper scene. According to John, Jesus was a chatterbox at the Last Supper, reminding the disciples about everything that he'd taught them in the last three years, so I don't know why this couldn't qualify.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." Matthew 5:17
The above was from the gospel this past weekend and it has been sitting in my mind. To me, this makes it abundantly clear that Jesus was not brought on this earth to start a new religion (Christianity), but to revise the old laws and make them 'modern.' In fact, nowhere in the four gospels can you find the word Christians or christianity. Not until letters written by Paul, does this word come about. This is something I have been trying to get across to those who do not share my faith (in an organized religion sort of way.) Jesus was NOT about ushering in a new religion or forsaking the Jewish people cuz his Father said so. This is the way I have tried to go about this adaptation as well.
Now Matthew is the most Jewish of the bibles. His book gives lots of insight to Jewish customs and ceremony. In fact, most of the gospels, with their telling of the story, seem to assume that many people would be of the Jewish faith and have an understanding of celebrations and laws, so much so that as a believer 2000+ years later, I can get a little lost. Little things that get left out or remain unexplained to me in my christain worshipping because they are inherently Jewish. Take the liturgy of the Eucharist: in my mass, the priest says, "On the day he was given up to death, a death he freely accepted, He took bread and gave thanks." Whaaaaaa? It isn't bread. It isn't supposed to be bread. Unleavened bread is really like a cracker and I'm pretty sure it's not called bread. So why do the Christians call it bread instead of what it was - matzah? And why aren't we told what he said when he gave thanks? Pretty sure it's a Jewish prayer over the matzah, so, of course, my church leaves that out.
As the Catholic Church gets ready to embark on a whole plethora of changes, I really hope that it will return to Jesus's teachings, and not what bishops and popes have deigned "the truth." Recently, even the word Yahweh has been replaced in songs because apparently, using that Jewish word for God is offensive? To whom - Jews? Try singing that old fave, "Yahweh, I know you are near..." Nope. Now it's "O Lord." Whatev.
OK. I'm rambling a bit. The essence of what I'm trying to say is that Passion is adapted from Bible with historical information to back it up. Specifically, Jewish prayers and customs that Jesus would have taken part in. Let's face it: Jesus was a Jewish man with a Jewish mother and Jewish friends. That's why the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin got all up in his grill. If he wasn't Jewish, they wouldn't have given two hoots about what he was saying. He would have been considered a gentile or Roman quack. But the very fact that he was Jewish was what was alarming to them. I wonder those in the Jewish faith even think about Jesus as one of their own. Hmmmmmmm.
Although the quote from above comes from early in Jesus' ministry, I think I may have to move that into the Last Supper scene. According to John, Jesus was a chatterbox at the Last Supper, reminding the disciples about everything that he'd taught them in the last three years, so I don't know why this couldn't qualify.
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