Jesus & the Prophets – commenting in general … (11/05/18)
It is well worth remembering that Matthew 5:17 has Jesus clearly stating: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the prophets, for I have come not to abolish but to fulfill them.” As such, no examination of Jesus’ radical reform of the former (“the Law” – the 613 regulatory Mitzvot sprinkled throughout the Hebrew Bible’s first five volumes, previously discussed at length therein) can be truly complete without also examining how he felt about the latter – namely, “the prophets”1 (the supposedly divinely-inspired Old Testament writings of Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the 12 “minor prophets”2, and – at least for the sake of this treatise – Daniel & Psalms as well3); writings that were well-known by Jesus’ fellow Jews, writings that were sacredly respected by the religious authorities of Jesus’ day, and writings that Jesus went out of his way to both illuminate and challenge during his ministry.4
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1 While quite a few Christian scholars have been known to divide the Hebrew Bible (what they tend to call “the Old Testament”) into five sections, Jewish scholars (those more in tune with the way Jesus would have viewed the sacred texts in his day) tend to divide it into three – the Torah (the first five books of the Bible, those containing “the Law” – also called the Pentateuch), the Nevi’im (also called “the prophets”), and the Ketuvim (also called “the writings”). The latter consisted of books of wisdom (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes), poetry (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, and Esther), and history (Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and 1 & 2 Chronicles), while “the prophets” include the history-laden works of the “former prophets” (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings), the longer works of the “major prophets” (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) and the 12 shorter works of the “minor prophets” (see Note 211) … Admittedly, some scholars believe that Lamentations (supposedly written by Jeremiah himself) belongs alongside the other “major prophets.” Others place the heavily historical 1 & 2 Kings in with the other Ketuvim and consider the potently prophetic Daniel to be a “major prophet” as well … Regardless of how they are categorized, it is important to NOTE that Jesus either directly referenced or indirectly alluded to a vast swath of them during his ministry – a three year mission intended & designed to radically reform the way these texts were to be read, worshiped, &/or practiced by his fellow Jews.
2 These books (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi) are listed chronologically in most Bibles, and are labeled as “minor” not due to their less vibrant content, but rather because of their much shorter length.
3 Even though many modern scholars do not feel that these two books officially belong to “the prophets”, Jesus’ regular reference & frequent allusion to both meant that he obviously felt otherwise.
4 While it is true that Jesus did not directly comment on all of the writings of “the prophets” (rarely alluding to or even completely ignoring the writings of Joshua, Judges, Kings, Joel, Obadiah, Nahum, and Haggai), he commented either profusely &/or potently on others (including & especially Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah).
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