of this millenarian chronology of his day, or it remains unintelligible. Passionately did Jesus strive to convey this message of the impending crisis to the people. Ardently he strove to warn them of the approaching catastrophe. He was profoundly perturbed and impatient because the people did not seem to realize it: "Ye hypocrites, ye know how to interpret the face of the earth and the heaven; but how is it that ye know not how to interpret this time?" Though he would not, because he could not1o definitely state the exact hour of the coming of the Kingdom and advised against speculation upon the subject," he nevertheless was completely overwhelmed by the thought of its nearness: "And being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation (i. e. cannot be ascertained through the popular methods of calculation). Neither shall they say, Lo, here! or there! but lo, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."12 "Verily I say unto you, there are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."13 The crash and doom of the world was at hand and therefore there was no longer time for the ordinary pursuits of life, for its commonplace commerce and traffic, for concerns about food, raiment, and shelter: "Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink, for, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?"14 The end is approaching! The unquenchable fires of Judgment are upon us! Therefore, "Seek ye first His kingdom and • Luke 12.56. 10 Matt. 24.36: "But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the son, but the Father only" Cf. Yoma 9b: "To my heart alone have I revealed it, not even to the ministering angels." 11 Cf. Acts 1.6-7: "They therefore when they were come together asked him saying, Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel. And he said unto them, It is not for you to know time or seasons," referring to the "times" and "seasons" of Dan. 7.25 and 12.7. 12 Luke 17. 20-21. 13 Matt. 16. 28; also 10.23. 14 Matt. 6.31. His righteousness."15 A man must disencumber himself of all those things which are likely to keep his mind and soul entangled in the affairs of this perishing world. Wealth, Jesus felt, would of all things prove the most difficult obstacle in the way of men's preparation for the Kingdom. Wherefore he counsels a rich man who seeks after the perfection which will admit him into the Kingdom: "Sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor."16 There is no time to waste. A disciple cannot be spared from the desperately needed ministry of proclamation even long enough to go and bury his own father.17 Jesus does not permit himself the enjoyment of even a moment's relaxation in the bosom of his family.18 He is convinced that many could be saved from the impending doom, but that there were too few "laborers for the harvest."19 Jesus' attitude toward the Law was determined by his views concerning the approaching end. He did not oppose the Law in part or in whole. He did not seek to abrogate it. He did not wish to substitute for it. It was not necessary. The incoming Millennium would of itself do away with the Law entirely. This was the view commonly held by the contemporaries of Jesus. 20 However, "until all things be accomplished," the Law must be obeyed. Not, however, as most men obey it, formally and mechanically, but with a soul-searching intent and intensity, so that it may prove a real help to that spiritual lustration required for initiation into the Kingdom. Jesus' real attitude to the Law is admirably summed up in Matt. 5.17-20: Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the prophets; I come not to destroy but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away 15 Matt. 6.33. 16 Matt. 19.21. 17 Matt. 8.21-22. 18 Matt. 12.46-50; Mk. 3.31-35; Luke 8.19-21. 19 Matt. 9.35-38. 20 Cf. Nid. 61b: xa$ ¬ny↳ nisva niya. (“All commandments are abolished in the world to come.") from the law, till all things be accomplished. Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. But I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus proceeds to indicate what he means by a righteousness which exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.21 In no instance does he call for a new Law or the abrogation of the old Law, but for the correct "intensive" attitude toward the existing Law.22 Why should men fulfil the law with such inner intentness? Not that they will thereby bring the Kingdom about. The Kingdom comes through the grace of God, not through the works of men: "For it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."23 Its advent is pre-ordained in the cosmic scheme. It is inevitable. It cannot be hastened or retarded. But those who will fulfil the Law in truth and in sincerity will be spared the "pangs of the Messianic times" and will be privileged to enter the Kingdom. Similarly was Jesus' attitude toward the government determined by his apocalyptic premises. He was not a revolutionist. He did not attempt to deliver his people from the yoke of Rome. He counseled no political action. It was no longer necessary. The Millennium was near and Rome would be crushed by a power greater than that of man. Her doom was sealed, even as the doom of all malefactors of society. Therefore until the hour of universal reckoning is come, "render unto Caesar the things that 21 Matt. 5.21 ff. 22 Jesus' attitude toward divorce (Matt. 5.31-32) was the attitude of the school of Shammai, and was expressed within the framework of the Law. So also were his strictures concerning oaths and his pacifist doctrines (Matt. 5.33– 39) shared by many Pharisees of his day. 23 Luke 12.32, are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."24 The thought of the approaching end dominates almost all the writings of the New Testament. Paul was as much convinced of the imminence of the new order as Jesus.25 So were those to whom Paul addressed himself. Like Jesus, he advised his followers not to speculate about the apocalyptic "times and seasons" of Daniel. The great cataclysm is at hand, but it will come "as a thief in the night," and no one can know the exact hour.26 Paul never assumed that Jesus would bring the Kingdom about. Jesus merely proclaimed the gospel of repentance in view of the world's approaching crisis. His death and resurrection were in the eyes of Paul the supreme proof of his divine commission to make this proclamation. It further established beyond a doubt that he was the Messiah, awaiting the pre-ordained moment of the actual inauguration of the Kingdom to reappear. Jesus may have doubted his own Messiahship and may have looked forward to the coming of the Son of Man-the real Messiah. If he believed himself to be the Messiah, he clearly did not make this the essential part of his proclamation. Paul, however, was certain that Jesus was the Messiah. The vision which had come to him of the resurrected Jesus proved to be the all-compelling fact in his life.27 So that Paul proclaimed not only the imminence of the end but Jesus as the Christ, who is soon to reappear with the advent of the Millennium. It followed, therefore, that one's preparation for the Kingdom must include not only the intensive ethical selfdiscipline preached by Jesus but also an acknowledgment of the Messianic rôle of Jesus. Thus a dogma of faith was added to a code of conduct. This is the vital distinction between the gospel of Jesus and the gospel of Paul. Paul was keenly aware of this distinction. He baptized not according to "John's baptism," which was "the 24 Mk. 12.17. 25 I Cor. 1.7 ff., 4.5, 7.29 ff., 10.11; Rom. 13.11 ff.; I Thess. 3.13, 4.15-18. 26 I Thess. 5.1 ff. 27 I Cor. 15.12 ff. baptism of repentance,"28 but "in the name of the Lord Jesus."29 To Paul it was insufficient to know "only the baptism of John."30 When Jesus died his disciples and followers continued in their profound convictions touching the imminence of the Kingdom. This was This was now coupled with another conviction, that Jesus would return with the coming of the Kingdom, to complete his Messianic work. Their chief prayer was their Master's prayer, "Thy Kingdom come," and their motto as summarized in the Didache was, "Watch for your life's sake; let your lamps not go out, and your loins not be relaxed, but be ready; for ye know not the hour in which our Lord cometh."31 As the crisis approached in the life of the nation with the sack of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, the Messianic excitement of the people was at fever heat. While the Temple was burning a prophet appeared announcing that the Messiah was at hand. "A false prophet was the occasion of these people's destruction, who had made a public proclamation in the city that very day that God commanded them to get up upon the Temple and that there they should receive miraculous signs of their deliverance. Now there was then a great number of false prophets suborned by the tyrants (i. e. the Zealots-the militant patriots) to impose upon the people, who denounced this to them that they should wait for deliverance from God."32 Josephus also recounts a Messianic calculation popularly held at the time of the destruction based upon "an ambiguous oracle that was also found in their sacred writings, how 'about that time, one from their country should become governor of the habitable earth.'"' Josephus applies this prophecy to Vespasian. Tacitus recounts the high Messianic expectation, based 28 Acts 19.4. 29 Acts 19.3-5. 30 Acts 18.25. 31 The Didache, Chap. XVI. Cf. Matt. 25. 1 ff. 32 Josephus Wars VI. 5.2. 33 Ibid., VI. 5.4. |