Elijah in the New Testament

I've heard it said that one reason people in Haifa can coexist in relative peace is because Moses never came here, Jesus never came here, and Mohammed never came here. However, Elijah – an important figure in Judaism, Christianity and Islam – did spend quite a bit of time in these hills. And if you travel around the area enough you will find various memorials, holy sites, and tributes to this great prophet. A discussion at an inter-faith event at one of these sights this spring prompted me to think about this question: who was Elijah to the writers of the New Testament? How is he portrayed by these early followers of Yeshua? Who did they understand him to be, and how did they understand his role and relevance to their lives?

As time passes, heroes of the past tend to be idealized or particular aspects of them are remembered more than others. In later Jewish tradition, Elijah is seen as the prophet who heralds the Messiah’s coming, makes surprise visits to people, works miracles, makes amends for an unjust sufferer, or even acts almost like an intermediate commentator between the sages and the divine. He also makes an appearance in the Qur’an in a recounting of his showdown with the priests of Ba’al.

There are 10 distinct mentions of Elijah in the New Testament. Of these, 7 are in a narrative context and 3 are in a context I would call homiletic. Here are the references. Below, I include some of my observations and interpretations of the individual passages to give some context for my conclusions.

    Narrative

1. The annunciation of John the Baptizer’s birth (Luke 1:2-25)
2. During John the Baptizer’s ministry (John 1:21-27)
3. Account of John the Baptizer in prison (Matthew 11:2-9 cf. Luke 7:18-30)
4. Rumors about Yeshua's identity (Mark 6:14-15, Luke 9:7-8)
5. Peter’s confession of Yeshua as the Messiah (Matthew 16:13-16, Mark 8:27-29, Luke 9:18-20)
6. The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36)
7. Yeshua’s crucifixion (Matthew 27:45-50, Mark 15:33-37)
   
   
   Homiletic
   
8. Yeshua rejected in Nazareth (Luke 4:23-27)
9. Paul writing about the remnant of Israel (Romans 11:1-6)
10. James writing about the power of prayer (James 5:13-18)

These passages paint an interesting picture of who Elijah was understood to be at the time of Yeshua and the first apostles. In the narrative passages, Elijah is portrayed as the archetypal prophet who when placed alongside Yeshua magnifies his glory. These stories highlight several roles of Elijah including the herald of Messiah, the restorer of all things, and the unexpected visitor. Although there is the expectation that Elijah is yet to herald Messiah’s coming in glory, his role heralding Yeshua’s first coming is accomplished through John the Baptizer. It is almost as if in John the Baptizer, Elijah is here as a visitor in disguise. These stories also deal with the people’s expectations of Elijah, mainly that he vindicates the unjustly accused, works miracles, and brings purity (through immersion).

The homiletic passages each draw on a particular aspect of a story of Elijah to support a point. When Yeshua was teaching in the Nazareth synagogue, he focuses on Elijah’s mission and audience in comparison with his own. In the epistles, the writers emphasize the common nature of Elijah making him relatable to their readers. Overall, though, these passages focus more on God’s work in the situations than on Elijah himself. In general, Elijah is portrayed as the archetypal prophet who despite his legendary status is similar and relatable to the reader.

For the most part, the narrative passages deal with Elijah as described in the prophets, while the homiletic passages deal with truths from the stories of Elijah’s life. So how did the New Testament believers see Elijah? He is portrayed as a visitor with a message of restoration and the coming of the Messiah. He is also a reminder that we serve the same God that makes him a great prophet. Therefore, Elijah’s greatness primarily serves to magnify the greatness of the Lord Yeshua.

Rabbi Eliezer, Jewish Believers in Yeshua and Martyrdom

During the spring semester I took a class on "Rabbinic Foundational Stories and Modern Jewish Identities." Our final assignment was to write a paper analyzing a foundational story from Rabbinic literature along a with a modern response to that story. Here is a short version or abstract of my paper. If you want more details, you can read the entire thing here.

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The relationship between Judaism and Christianity in late antiquity has been a subject of increased research in recent years. Many scholars have rejected simplistic explanations of the “parting of the ways” between a particular offshoot from a continuous parent vine in favor of a more nuanced concurrent development of religions based on common roots. The story of the arrest of Rabbi Eliezer b. Hyrcanus on suspicion of heresy (B. Avodah Zarah 16b-17a, Tosefta Chullin 2:24, Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 1:8:4) reveals the complex and multifaceted interaction between early Jewish and Christian communities. The context of this story identifies the heresy in question as Jewish believers in Yeshua. It shows the connection between even great sages such as Rabbi Eliezer and Jewish followers of Yeshua as well as giving a stern warning to those who may be tempted to seek Torah understanding from outside the safety of rabbinic orthodoxy.

When Rabbi Eliezer is arrested, he is tried by a Roman judge. The peculiar trial concludes quickly and abruptly without any actual defense by R. Eliezer. He is able to get the charges dismissed through a clever play on words rather than by cursing Yeshua or denying his affinity with or sympathy to the minim (heretics). Although the legal matter of R. Eliezer’s arrest is settled, the issue still must be addressed in his own conscience and in the community, and the story turns to a discussion of halakhah and interaction with a disciple of Yeshua.

This story suggests several facets in the relationship between Rabbinic Judaism and Jewish Christians. There seems to be enough contact between these communities to make it worth raising the issue in the literature. The discussion itself displays fairly standard halakhic procedure on the part of Yeshua and his disciple, which suggests that the conflict between communities is still an inherently Jewish and internal issue. The conclusion of the matter, however, is that a wise Jew will avoid the Jewish believers in Yeshua and their halakhah or face serious spiritual and moral danger. Conformance to standard rabbinic halakhah as opposed to that of the minim is crucial to maintaining Jewish identity.

Daniel Boyarin responds to this text in his article “Martyrdom and the Making of Early Christianity and Judaism” by emphasizing these ideas in support of his thesis that ideologies of martyrdom developed and ultimately distinguished the Jewish and Christian religions due to the close connection between these communities in the first several centuries. The story serves as a launching point for establishing this connection in the context of a potential martyrdom scenario. He treats the story as foundational both in the development of the philosophy of martyrdom and the blurred lines between Christianity and Judaism in the era of the second to fourth centuries. 

Boyarin discusses the development of Judaism and Christianity in this period. He notes that “without the power of the Orthodox Church and the Rabbis to declare people heretics and outside the system – ‘neither Jews nor Christians,’ in Jerome’s words in his famous letter to Augustine – it remains impossible to declare phenomenologically who is a Jew and who is a Christian.” In his discussion, Boyarin argues that the story speaks to the close relations between the nascent Jewish and Christian communities that in turn reflects how conceptions of martyrdom spread among these communities. The details reflect a closeness between early Jews and Christians that the story itself is trying to subvert. Although we cannot necessarily say anything about the actual historical affiliations of R. Eliezer, he affirms that in this period, it was entirely possible to be both a Pharisee and a follower of Yeshua. Therefore the story opens a window into the complex relationship between followers of the Rabbis and followers of Yeshua in which they are “both recognizing and denying at one and the same time that Christians are us.”

Boyarin’s scholarship and application of stories such as these extends to other expressions of Jewish identity. His work is cited extensively by leaders and members of the modern Messianic Jewish movement as affirmation of the Jewish identity of Jewish believers in Yeshua, even though many elements of his theology and views regarding Israel are probably at odds with mainstream Messianic views. However, scholarly recognition that belief in Yeshua is (or at least was at one point) a valid expression of Jewish identity is very promising for the present Messianic community’s struggle for acceptance from both Rabbinic Jews and Gentile Christians – a struggle that, as Boyarin notes, is very ancient.

Boyarin, Daniel. "Martyrdom and the Making of Christianity and Judaism." Journal of Early Christian Studies 6.4 (1998): 577-627. Print.

Masada

While reading about Masada in Hebrew class, I started reflecting on that story. It’s a story of bravery and heroism. How 1,000 Jews (including women and children) in the mountain fortress held against an army of 10,000 Romans until the bitter end. And even then, they would not accept defeat – choosing death by their own hands rather than life as slaves to the Romans. That would have been a fate worse than death for them. The story of Masada has been glorified. It’s a powerful, inspirational story. It instills national pride. It motivates soldiers in the IDF to be willing to die for their country. But it also begs the moral question of suicide. Is there really a situation (even in war) where hope is lost to the extent that an individual or a whole community should take their life? There are several instances of suicide in the Bible (some, like King Saul, are in the context of war); however none of these are portrayed positively. I also think about the battles of ancient Israel which had worse odds than the siege at Masada. Gideon defeated the entire Midianite army with 300 men. Not that you should always expect a miraculous victory, but God is able to turn the worst defeat into victory. I pray I will never have to be in that situation, but I hope that I would trust in God to be my shield and my salvation. I found Psalm 27 to be very insightful in light of Masada. Here is the Psalm with emphasis added for phrases I found especially resonant with the story of Masada.

27 The LORD is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evildoers assail me
    to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
    it is they who stumble and fall.

³ Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
    yet I will be confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire in his temple.

⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;^*
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will lift me high upon a rock.

⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up
    above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
    sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸ You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
⁹     Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
    O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
    O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
    but the Lord will take me in.

¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord,
    and lead me on a level path
    because of my enemies.
¹² Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
    for false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they breathe out violence.

¹³ I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living!
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;^**
    wait for the Lord!

^*There were 2 women and 5 children who escaped to tell the story by hiding in pipes

^**חֲזַק וְיַאֲמֵץ לִבֶּךָ (chazak veya’ametz libekha)