02-12-2008, 08:44 AM
I picked up this little piece from:
'Understanding the difficult words of Jesus (New Insights From a Hebraic Perspective)' [First Edition] by David Bivin and Roy Blizzard.
And while I strongly disagree with the New Testament coming to us first IN HEBREW (where is this Original Hebrew New Testament????????????) I definitely agree with what Bivins and Blizzard have to say here: "The idea that pacifism was a part of the teaching of Jesus was popularized in the writings of Tolstoy. Pacifism, however, is not today, nor was it ever, a part of Jewish belief. The Jewish position is summed up in the Talmudic dictum, "If someone comes to kill you, anticipate him and kill him first" (Sanhedrin 72). In other words, it is permissable to kill in order to defend oneself. Can it be, then, that Jesus was the first and only Jew to teach pacifism? It is very unlikely. We know that at least some of Jesus' disciples were armed (Luke 22:38 and Luke 22:50). Add to this fact that, at one point, Jesus even suggested to his disciples that they purchase swords (Luke 22:35-37), and we begin to ask ourselves, did Jesus really believe or teach pacifism? In reality, pacifism is a theological misunderstanding based on several mistranslations of the sayings of Jesus. The first of these mistranslations is in Matthew 5:21 where most English versions of the Bible read, "You shall not kill." This is a quotation of Exodus 20:13. The Hebrew word used there is "murder" (ratzach), and not kill (harag). In Hebrew there is a clear distinction between these two words. The first (ratzach) means premeditated murder while the second (harag) encompasses everything from justiable homicide, manslaughter and accidental killing, to taking the life of an enemy soldier in war. The commandment very precisely prohibits murder, but not the taking of a life in defense of oneself or others.
It is difficult to explain how English translators made this mistake since the Greek language also has separate words for "murder" and "kill," and it is the Greek word for "murder" (not "kill") which is used in Matthew 5:21. Even with no knowledge of Hebrew, the English translators of the New Testament should here have correctly translated "murder," and not "kill."
A second saying of Jesus on which pacifism is based is Matthew 5:39, usually translated, "Do not resist evil," or "Do not resist one who is evil." Could Jesus possibly have said this to his disciples? If he did, his statement contradicts other scriptures such as, "Hate what is evil" (Romans 12:9) and "Resist the devil" (James 4:7).
Again, Hebrew provides the answer. When we translate this verse back into Hebrew, we see that Jesus was not creating a new saying, but quoting a well-known Old Testament proverb. This proverb appears, with slight variations, in Psalm 37:1, 8, and Proverbs 24:19. In modern English we would translate this maxim: "Don't compete with evildoers." In other words, do not try to rival or vie with a neighbor who has wronged you. Jesus is not teaching that one should lie down in the face of evil or submit to evil; rather, he is teaching that we should forego trying to "get back at," or take revenge on a quarrelsome neighbor. As Proverbs 24:29 says, "Do not say, 'I will do to him as he has done to me, I will pay the man back for what he has done'."
Jesus is expressing an important principle which applies to our relationships with friends and neighbors. It does not apply when we are confronted with a murderer, rapist, or like person of violence; nor when we are facing the enemy on the field of battle. Jesus is not talkng about how to deal with violence. He is talking about the fundamentals of brotherly relationships, about how to relate to our neighbor. If, for instance, a neighbor dumps a pail of garbage on our lawn, we are not to retaliate by dumping two pails on his lawn. If someone cuts in front of us in traffic, we are not to try to catch up and run him off the road. Wanting to "get even" is, of course, a natural response; however, it is not our responsibility to punish our neighbor for his action. That responsibility is God's. We are to respond to our neighbor in a way that will disarm and shame him for his actions. Proverbs 25:21 says: "If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In so doing you heap red-hot coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you."
Once we discover how to correctly translate Matthew 5:39, we can correctly understand the verses which follow. Each verse is an illustration of how we react to a hostile neighbor. If, for example (Matthew 5:39), a friend insults and embarrasses us by slapping us on the cheek, we are not to slap him back, but instead offer our other cheek. This, by the way, is probably the best known of all the sayings of Jesus. It is also another of the sayings on which pacifism is based. Properly understood, however, it has nothing to do with battlefield situations, defending oneself against a murderer, or resisting evil. It is an illustration of how to deal with an angry neighbor, a "personal enemy." Mistranslation of Matthew 5:39 has created a theological contradiction. But, when this saying is understood Hebraically, rather than contradict, it harmonizes beautifully with the rest of Scripture. Our response to evil does have to be resistance! It is morally wrong to tolerate evil. Our response to a "hot-headed" neighbor, on the other hand, must be entirely different. His anger will only be temporary if we respond in a biblical manner: "See that none of you pays back evil with evil; instead, always try to do good to each other and all people" (I Thessalonians 5:15); "Do not repay evil with evil or curses with curses; but with blessings. Bless in return--that is what you have been called to do--so that you may inherit a blessing (I Peter 3:9); "Bless those who persecute you. Bless them. Do not curse them. Do not pay anyone back with evil for evil....if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live peacably with everyone. Beloved, do not take revenge, but leave that to the wrath of God" (Romans 12:14 and 17-19). The responsibility of the godly person is to defuse a potentially devisive situation by "turning away wrath." We are not to seek revenge. If a neighbor or friend has wronged us and is in need of punishment, God is the only one who can administer it properly: "Do not say, 'I will repay the evil deed in kind'. "Trust in the Lord. He will save you." [i.e., He will take care of it] (Proverbs 20:22). Our responsibility is not to react, not to respond in kind to a belligerent neighbor. We are not to "be overcome by evil" but to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).
Now, The Religious Society Friends (The Quakers), The Mennonites, The Amish (all Orders), The Church of the Brethren and The Church of God (Seventh Day), and many other various Christian Pacificist Churches would very strongly condemn the above.
But the fact is, is that Yeshua NEVER told anyone that they should NOT be a soldier, or that they should LEAVE the military.
He did in fact, advise His Disciples to BUY SWORDS, and when Shimun Keepa said that we have two swords, Yeshua responded by saying that that should be enough.
I see NOTHING to conflict with military service, and being a Disciple of Yeshua at the same time.
It was Bivins and Blizzard that brought this kind of unbalanced view that seems to come from shoddy Biblical scholarship, of what Messiah said....home to me, so that I could really understand it.
And correct it in my own studies.
In modern Israel, among Messianic Jewish Believers, that is no wall at all between serving in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) and being a strong Messianic Believer in Yeshua.
As you see in this very inspiring clip from Israeli News:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sEBAldf4L0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sEBAldf4L0</a><!-- m -->
I may have more to say about this subject tomorrow, after I sleep on it, and pray more about it.
Till then.....
Shlama in Yeshua, Albion
'Understanding the difficult words of Jesus (New Insights From a Hebraic Perspective)' [First Edition] by David Bivin and Roy Blizzard.
And while I strongly disagree with the New Testament coming to us first IN HEBREW (where is this Original Hebrew New Testament????????????) I definitely agree with what Bivins and Blizzard have to say here: "The idea that pacifism was a part of the teaching of Jesus was popularized in the writings of Tolstoy. Pacifism, however, is not today, nor was it ever, a part of Jewish belief. The Jewish position is summed up in the Talmudic dictum, "If someone comes to kill you, anticipate him and kill him first" (Sanhedrin 72). In other words, it is permissable to kill in order to defend oneself. Can it be, then, that Jesus was the first and only Jew to teach pacifism? It is very unlikely. We know that at least some of Jesus' disciples were armed (Luke 22:38 and Luke 22:50). Add to this fact that, at one point, Jesus even suggested to his disciples that they purchase swords (Luke 22:35-37), and we begin to ask ourselves, did Jesus really believe or teach pacifism? In reality, pacifism is a theological misunderstanding based on several mistranslations of the sayings of Jesus. The first of these mistranslations is in Matthew 5:21 where most English versions of the Bible read, "You shall not kill." This is a quotation of Exodus 20:13. The Hebrew word used there is "murder" (ratzach), and not kill (harag). In Hebrew there is a clear distinction between these two words. The first (ratzach) means premeditated murder while the second (harag) encompasses everything from justiable homicide, manslaughter and accidental killing, to taking the life of an enemy soldier in war. The commandment very precisely prohibits murder, but not the taking of a life in defense of oneself or others.
It is difficult to explain how English translators made this mistake since the Greek language also has separate words for "murder" and "kill," and it is the Greek word for "murder" (not "kill") which is used in Matthew 5:21. Even with no knowledge of Hebrew, the English translators of the New Testament should here have correctly translated "murder," and not "kill."
A second saying of Jesus on which pacifism is based is Matthew 5:39, usually translated, "Do not resist evil," or "Do not resist one who is evil." Could Jesus possibly have said this to his disciples? If he did, his statement contradicts other scriptures such as, "Hate what is evil" (Romans 12:9) and "Resist the devil" (James 4:7).
Again, Hebrew provides the answer. When we translate this verse back into Hebrew, we see that Jesus was not creating a new saying, but quoting a well-known Old Testament proverb. This proverb appears, with slight variations, in Psalm 37:1, 8, and Proverbs 24:19. In modern English we would translate this maxim: "Don't compete with evildoers." In other words, do not try to rival or vie with a neighbor who has wronged you. Jesus is not teaching that one should lie down in the face of evil or submit to evil; rather, he is teaching that we should forego trying to "get back at," or take revenge on a quarrelsome neighbor. As Proverbs 24:29 says, "Do not say, 'I will do to him as he has done to me, I will pay the man back for what he has done'."
Jesus is expressing an important principle which applies to our relationships with friends and neighbors. It does not apply when we are confronted with a murderer, rapist, or like person of violence; nor when we are facing the enemy on the field of battle. Jesus is not talkng about how to deal with violence. He is talking about the fundamentals of brotherly relationships, about how to relate to our neighbor. If, for instance, a neighbor dumps a pail of garbage on our lawn, we are not to retaliate by dumping two pails on his lawn. If someone cuts in front of us in traffic, we are not to try to catch up and run him off the road. Wanting to "get even" is, of course, a natural response; however, it is not our responsibility to punish our neighbor for his action. That responsibility is God's. We are to respond to our neighbor in a way that will disarm and shame him for his actions. Proverbs 25:21 says: "If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In so doing you heap red-hot coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you."
Once we discover how to correctly translate Matthew 5:39, we can correctly understand the verses which follow. Each verse is an illustration of how we react to a hostile neighbor. If, for example (Matthew 5:39), a friend insults and embarrasses us by slapping us on the cheek, we are not to slap him back, but instead offer our other cheek. This, by the way, is probably the best known of all the sayings of Jesus. It is also another of the sayings on which pacifism is based. Properly understood, however, it has nothing to do with battlefield situations, defending oneself against a murderer, or resisting evil. It is an illustration of how to deal with an angry neighbor, a "personal enemy." Mistranslation of Matthew 5:39 has created a theological contradiction. But, when this saying is understood Hebraically, rather than contradict, it harmonizes beautifully with the rest of Scripture. Our response to evil does have to be resistance! It is morally wrong to tolerate evil. Our response to a "hot-headed" neighbor, on the other hand, must be entirely different. His anger will only be temporary if we respond in a biblical manner: "See that none of you pays back evil with evil; instead, always try to do good to each other and all people" (I Thessalonians 5:15); "Do not repay evil with evil or curses with curses; but with blessings. Bless in return--that is what you have been called to do--so that you may inherit a blessing (I Peter 3:9); "Bless those who persecute you. Bless them. Do not curse them. Do not pay anyone back with evil for evil....if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live peacably with everyone. Beloved, do not take revenge, but leave that to the wrath of God" (Romans 12:14 and 17-19). The responsibility of the godly person is to defuse a potentially devisive situation by "turning away wrath." We are not to seek revenge. If a neighbor or friend has wronged us and is in need of punishment, God is the only one who can administer it properly: "Do not say, 'I will repay the evil deed in kind'. "Trust in the Lord. He will save you." [i.e., He will take care of it] (Proverbs 20:22). Our responsibility is not to react, not to respond in kind to a belligerent neighbor. We are not to "be overcome by evil" but to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).
Now, The Religious Society Friends (The Quakers), The Mennonites, The Amish (all Orders), The Church of the Brethren and The Church of God (Seventh Day), and many other various Christian Pacificist Churches would very strongly condemn the above.
But the fact is, is that Yeshua NEVER told anyone that they should NOT be a soldier, or that they should LEAVE the military.
He did in fact, advise His Disciples to BUY SWORDS, and when Shimun Keepa said that we have two swords, Yeshua responded by saying that that should be enough.
I see NOTHING to conflict with military service, and being a Disciple of Yeshua at the same time.
It was Bivins and Blizzard that brought this kind of unbalanced view that seems to come from shoddy Biblical scholarship, of what Messiah said....home to me, so that I could really understand it.
And correct it in my own studies.
In modern Israel, among Messianic Jewish Believers, that is no wall at all between serving in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) and being a strong Messianic Believer in Yeshua.
As you see in this very inspiring clip from Israeli News:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sEBAldf4L0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sEBAldf4L0</a><!-- m -->
I may have more to say about this subject tomorrow, after I sleep on it, and pray more about it.
Till then.....
Shlama in Yeshua, Albion