Connecting the Bible to modern Judaism: From Jesus’ time to today

Many of us are familiar with the Judaism of the Bible, but few of us understand how it has developed over time or how it differs from modern Judaism. We also struggle to reconcile the early church presented in the book of Acts with the typical modern Western church. Exploring the development of these two faiths and how they interact will help connect the Bible to today.

Jesus and the Jewish Context

When we read the New Testament, it’s easy to forget that Jesus and His early followers were Jewish. He interacted with the Jewish people of His day, engaging in debates about the Law of Moses that were common and culturally accepted.

When Jesus walked this earth, the headquarters for Judaism was in Jerusalem, where the temple system was in full operation. There were several Jewish sects at the time, and Jesus often interacted with them.

Pharisees

The most prominent Jewish sect in the New Testament was the Pharisees. These were the rabbis, who focused on teaching the people how to observe the law of Moses. Different schools of thought existed within this sect regarding the interpretation and application of the law. Jesus sometimes spoke against the hypocrites in their ranks, and because of this, Bible readers tend to view this sect negatively. However, their contemporaries viewed them as respected spiritual leaders, and Jesus actually agreed with much of their teachings.

Sadducees

The second sect mentioned in the New Testament is the Sadducees. They were primarily made up of the aristocratic priestly class and were found mainly in Jerusalem, where they oversaw the temple and the sacrificial system. The Sadducees strictly followed the law of Moses but disagreed with the Pharisees over the authority of the oral law. They were often accused of corruption due to the overbearing temple tax system that enriched them and their leadership in the Sanhedrin, which had a quasi-governing role under the Roman authorities.

Essenes

During the Second Temple period and the time of Jesus, another sect, the Essenes, celebrated religious purity, which included self-denial, ritual purity, communal living, and mysticism. Many scholars detect possible Essene influences in the early church practices and emphasis.

Zealots

Finally, the Zealots—a Jewish political movement during the Second Temple period (the first century A.D.)—fiercely opposed Roman rule in Judea and advocated for violent rebellion to achieve Jewish independence. The Zealots were a considerable force in the First Jewish-Roman War (66–70 A.D.), ultimately leading to the destruction of the Second Temple.

The Transformation of Judaism after A.D. 70

In A.D. 70, after a three-year siege of Jerusalem, Roman forces destroyed the city, including the temple and, thus, the headquarters of the Jewish faith. Without a temple, the priesthood and the sacrificial system came to a halt.

The destruction of Jerusalem was devastating to Judaism—it dispersed the people and their leaders and, as a result, changed the mosaic of Judaism. The only sect that survived was the Pharisaic tradition of Judaism, which became known as rabbinic Judaism. A rabbinical center in the Galilee and another in ancient Babylon led the development of a Jewish faith that could be practiced outside of the Land of Israel and without a temple sacrificial system. Rabbinic Judaism later split into the major streams seen today, some of which are more orthodox—even ultra-orthodox—and others that are less strict and more assimilated, but it helped Judaism
adapt and survive in exile.

Christianity

The destruction of Jerusalem also affected the early church, which had started as a Jewish movement headquartered there. Eventually, Gentiles began accepting Christ, and many of the epistles in the New Testament reflect the difficulty of unifying Jew and Gentile within the churches. As these churches throughout the Roman Empire became increasingly Gentile, they began losing their understanding of and appreciation for the Jewish roots of their faith.

Because of the destruction of Jerusalem, as well as growing persecution of Christians, there was now no centralized Jewish leadership with the authority to steer the growth of this new faith. Instead, leadership centers developed in Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome.

Tension also arose between the mainstream Jewish world and the Jewish followers of Jesus, who were resented for having fled the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. When they then refused to follow Simon Bar Kokhba as Messiah, the division turned to bloodshed in a revolt against the Romans in AD 132. The split between the church and the synagogue was final.

The Roman Empire had considered Judaism a legal religion, and once Christianity was considered a separate faith, it was deemed illegal and was greatly persecuted. But all that changed in the fourth century when Emperor Constantine became a Christian, and, within a few decades, Christianity was declared the state religion of the Roman Empire.

Christians now had the upper hand and began to distinguish their faith from that of the Jews. Their preaching against the Jewish faith birthed a new theology—supersessionism, known today as Replacement Theology— that proclaimed the church had replaced the Jewish people in God’s plans and purposes. That theology and a teaching of contempt for the Jewish people produced centuries of laws that denigrated the Jewish people.

This sad history of Christian antisemitism paved the way for the Nazis’ final solution—the extermination of the Jewish people. While space does not allow a full explanation of the full history and development of Christian antisemitism, Christians today must know of its existence and the importance of standing against it.

The tide began to change some 500 years ago when the Bible was translated into the vernacular, and the printing press produced mass quantities. For the first time in many centuries, Christians could read the Bible for themselves and learn of the Jewish roots of their faith and the eternal promises God made to the Jewish people.

Connecting the Past to Today

Christianity has almost come full circle—beginning as a sect of Judaism, it developed into a gentile body severed from Judaism and is today increasingly Bible-based with a growing appreciation of its Jewish roots. The Evangelical movement, based on the authority of Scripture, is the fastest growing and will one day be the largest segment of the Christian world.

By understanding the roots of Judaism in the Bible and tracing its evolution through history, we gain insight into modern Israel and the Jewish people today. From the Pharisees and Sadducees to Rabbinic Judaism and the diverse communities of modern Israel, the Jewish faith has continuously adapted while maintaining a connection to God’s covenant with Israel. Judaism is not just a religion—it’s a living tradition, a culture, and a way of life rooted in history yet thriving in today’s world.