BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS

 

        There is a 400 year stretch between the close of the Old Testament with the Book of Malachi and the beginning of the New Testament with the Book of Matthew.  Through this 400 years and up until the death of Christ is still considered to be a part of the Dispensation of Law.  Though God was silent during these years he did use this time to prepare the Earth for the birth of his son and the spreading of the Gospel (Gal. 4:4).  Great historical events took place between the Malachi and Matthew.  Malachi closes his ministry with the world under Persian Rule.  Matthew opens with the world under Roman rule.  Between these two came the rise and fall of the Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great.  Alexander, with the rise and world-wide influence of the Grecian Empire gave the world a universally understood language.  The Greek tongue became generally known throughout the world.

            At the death of Alexander the Great the rule of Egypt and Palestine fell to Ptolemy, the general of Alexander’s army.  It was under the rule of the Ptolemies that the great city of Alexandria in Egypt was developed as the center of culture and learning.  The largest library in the word was established there and Jewish rabbis worked there to translate the Old Testament into the Greek language.  The version they produced is called the Septuagint.  During this time there was constant struggle between the Ptolemies and Seleucids (Syria).  In 198 BC control of Palestine shifted to Syria.  Where Alexander had encouraged the understanding and acceptance of Greek culture, the Syrians imposed Greek culture, language and religion on all of its subjects.  One Syrian king, Antiochus determined to unify the people, insisted on religious unification, but the unification was to be centered around himself as “the manifested god”.

            Antiochus set up his own high priest in Jerusalem, selling the office to the highest bidder, who plundered the temple riches to pay off his bribe. In the meantime, Antiochus defeated the Ptolemies, and even occupied Egypt. There Antiochus, at the head of his victorious army, was confronted by a representative of Rome who commanded Antiochus to vacate Egypt's rich land. Antiochus had spent 12 years as a hostage in Rome, and knew Rome's power well. Cowed, he turned back. But Antiochus was now furious, and he determined to concentrate on making Palestine a buffer state between Syria and Egypt. Immediately he began a crash program to Hellenize the Jews.

            Antiochus desecrated the Jerusalem temple, offering on the altar a pig in sacrifice to Zeus. And he forbad the practice of the Jewish religion. With this single command he sought to destroy the ancient Hebrew faith and lifestyle.  Even before his reign many Jews had yielded to the attraction of Greek thought and custom, and the accession of a ruler like Antiochus Epiphanes greatly increased the drift in that direction.  In Jerusalem, many Hellenized Jews accepted Antiochus' commands, but not so in the villages. In the small village of Modein, a priest, Mattathias, was ordered to make sacrifice to Antiochus. He refused. When another Jew volunteered to make the sacrifice, Mattathias killed the traitor and the Syrian legate, and fled into the Judean mountains with his five sons. This began the Maccabean rebellion in 166 b.c. 

            Mattathias died in 166 b.c., and the leadership passed to his third son, Judas. Judas, nicknamed Maccabeus ("hammerer"), led a growing revolt against the Seleucids. The dramatic exploits of the Maccabees, as they were popularly known, can be read in the apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees, which are included in Roman Catholic versions of the Bible. At one point Judas defeated an army sent by Antiochus.  But there were still inner struggles between bitterly divided Jews. After the death of Antiochus, Syria guaranteed the Jews religious freedom in 162 b.c. But Judas now insisted on political freedom as well, and the battle continued to 160. Judas appealed to Rome for protection, and his request was granted. But before Rome could step in, a swift Syrian attack led to a Jewish defeat and to Judas' death.  Other sons of Mattathias took up the struggle, and a long line of Maccabean (also called Hasmonean) leaders resulted. Though internal rivalries plagued the land, Judea finally realized a degree of autonomy as the Seleucids gradually lost their power and authority. 

            But in 63 b.c., when two Hasmonean rulers contended for control of Judea, and both appealed to Pompey (a Roman general) for support, Palestine was firmly annexed as part of the Roman world.  But Rome herself had not been stable. In the last ineffective days of the Republic (a form of government under which the Romans were supposedly led by a senate of many legislators) the central authority had broken down. In times of emergency, generals like Pompey and Julius Caesar, who won the loyalty of the armies they led, assumed the real power. After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 b.c., the Empire drifted into a decade of civil wars. The decisive battle was fought at Actium in 31 b.c. The victor, Octavian (Augustus) became Rome's "first citizen" and virtual dictator.  Augustus, with his other gifts, was a brilliant administrator. He succeeded in bringing to the Roman Empire a period of unmatched stability and prosperity. Thus the world into which Jesus was born had known some 25 years of Roman peace - a peace imposed by the power of Roman arms, and maintained by the administrative and political genius of the emperor.

            By Jesus' day the whole Western world was knit together by Rome's Empire—a single unit over which Rome maintained control. But the language and culture were Greek (Hellenic).   This means that there is a common language by which the Gospel could be quickly spread and a single political power (Rome) which wiped out old national boundaries, freeing men to travel safely throughout the known world.  Both of these would be vital in spreading the new faith.

            Jews did not stop writing for the centuries between the OT and the NT. The intertestamental period was a time of much literary production. We designate these writings as Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. They did not attain canonical status, but some of them were cited by early Christians as almost on a level with the OT writings, and a few were copied in biblical manuscripts. Some NT authors were familiar with various noncanonical works, and the letter from Jude made specific reference to at least one of these books (The Book of Enoch). They were ultimately preserved by the Christians rather than by the Jews.

Apocrypha meaning “things that are hidden,” is applied to a collection of 15 books written between about 200 b.c. and a.d. 100. These are not a part of the OT but are valued by some for private study. The word “apocrypha” is not found in the Bible. Although never part of the Hebrew Scriptures, all 15 apocryphal books except 2 Esdras appear in the Greek translation of the OT, the Septuagint. They were made a part of the official Latin Bible, the Vulgate. All except 1 and 2 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh are considered canonical (in the Bible) and authoritative by the Roman Catholic Church. From the time of the Reformation, the apocryphal books have been omitted from the canon of the Protestant churches. The Apocrypha represents various types of literature: historical, historical romance, wisdom, devotional, and apocalyptic.

First Esdras is a historical book from the early first century a.d. Paralleling material in the last chapters of 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, it covers the period from Josiah to the reading of the law by Ezra. In a number of places, it differs from the OT account. It is believed that this writing drew from some of the same sources used by the writers of the canonical OT books. The Three Guardsmen Story, 3:1-5:3, is the one significant passage in 1 Esdras that does not occur in the OT. It tells how Zerubbabel was allowed to lead the exiles back to Palestine.

First Maccabees is the most important historical writing in the Apocrypha. It is the primary source for writing the history of the period that it covers, 180 to 134 b.c. The emphasis is that God worked through Mattathias and his sons to bring deliverance. He did not intervene in divine, supernatural ways. He worked through people to accomplish His purposes. The writer was a staunch patriot. For him nationalism and religious zeal were one and the same. After introductory verses dealing with Alexander the Great, the book gives the causes for the revolt against the Seleucids. Much detail is given about the careers of Judas and Jonathan. Less attention is given to Simon, although emphasis is placed upon his being acclaimed leader and high priest forever. Brief reference to John Hyrcanus at the close suggests that the book was written either late in his life or after his death, probably shortly after 100 b.c.

Second Maccabees also gives the history of the early part of the revolt against the Seleucids, covering the period from 180 to 161 b.c. It is based upon five volumes written by Jason of Cyrene, about which volumes nothing is known. Second Maccabees, written shortly after 100 b.c., is not considered as accurate historically as 1 Maccabees. In places the two books disagree. This book begins with two letters written to Jews in Egypt urging them to celebrate the cleansing of the temple by Judas. In the remainder of the writing, the author insisted that the Jews’ trouble came as the result of their sinfulness. He emphasized God’s miraculous intervention to protect the temple and His people. Great honor was bestowed upon those who were martyred for their faith. The book includes the story of seven brothers and their mother who were put to death. The book clearly teaches a resurrection of the body, at least for the righteous.

Tobit is a historical romance written about 200 b.c. It is more concerned to teach lessons than to record history. The story is of a family carried into exile in Assyria when Israel was destroyed. The couple, Tobit and Anna, had a son named Tobias. Tobit had left a large sum of money with a man in Media. When Tobit became blind, he sent his son Tobias to collect the money. A man was found to accompany the son Tobias. In reality he was the angel Raphael. Parallel to this is the account of a relative named Sarah. She had married seven husbands, but a demon had slain each of them on the wedding night. Raphael told Tobias that he was eligible to marry Sarah. They had caught a fish and had preserved the heart, liver, and gall. When burned, the heart and liver would drive away a demon. The gall would cure blindness. Thus Tobias was able to marry Sarah without harm. Raphael collected the money that was left in Media, and the blindness of Tobit was cured by means of the fish’s gall. The book stresses temple attendance, paying of tithes, giving alms, marrying only within the people of Israel, and the importance of prayer. Obedience to the law is central along with separation of Jews from Gentiles. It introduces the concept of a guardian angel.

The book of Judith, from 250 to 150 b.c., shows the importance of obedience to the law. In this book Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Assyrians, reigned at the time the Jews returned from exile. This shows it is not historically accurate, for Cyrus of Persia was king when the Jews returned from exile (538 b.c.). The story may be based upon some event where a woman played a heroic role in the life of her people. In the story Nebuchadnezzar sent one of his generals, Holofernes, to subjugate the nations in the western part of his empire. The Jews resisted so Holofernes laid siege to the city of Bethulia (unknown except for this reference). Because of a shortage of water, the city decided to surrender in five days if God did not intervene. Judith had been a widow for three years and had been careful to obey all the law. She stated that God was going to act through her to save His people. She went with her maid to the camp of Holofernes, claiming that God was going to destroy the people because of their sin. She promised to show the general how he could capture the city without loss of a life. At a banquet a few days later, when Holofernes had drunk himself into a coma, she cut off his head and took it back to the city. The result was a great victory for the Jews over their enemies. This book places emphasis upon prayer and fasting. Idolatry is denounced, and the God of Israel is glorified. The book shows a strong hatred of pagans. Its moral content is low, for it teaches that the end justifies the means.

The Apocrypha contains additions to the OT book of Esther. The Hebrew text of Esther contains 163 verses, but the Greek contains 270. These additions are in six different places in the Greek text. However, in the Latin Vulgate they are all placed at the end. These sections contain such matters as the dream of Mordecai, the interpretation of that dream, the texts of the letters referred to in the canonical book (Esther 1:22; 3:13; 8:5, 10; 9:20, 25-30), and the prayers of Esther and Mordecai. The additions give a more obviously religious basis for the book. In the OT book of Esther, God is never named. This omission is remedied by the additions that were probably made between 125 and 75 b.c.

The Song of the Three Young Menis one of three additions to the book of Daniel. It follows Dan. 3:23 in the Greek text. It satisfies curiosity about what went on in the furnace into which the three men were thrown. The final section is a hymn of praise to God. It emphasizes that God acts to deliver His people in response to prayer. This writing, along with the other two additions to Daniel, probably comes from near 100 b.c.

The story of Susanna is added at the close of the book of Daniel in the Septuagint. It tells of two judges who were overpowered by the beauty of Susanna and sought to become intimate with her. When she refused, they claimed they had seen her being intimate with a young man. Authorities believed their charges and condemned the young lady to death. Daniel then stated that the judges were lying, and he would prove it. He asked them, separately, under what tree they saw Susanna and the young man. When they identified different kinds of trees, their perjury became apparent. They were condemned to death, and Susanna was vindicated.

The third addition to Daniel is Bel and the Dragon, placed before Susanna in the Septuagint. Bel was an idol worshiped in Babylon. Large quantities of food were placed in Bel’s temple each night and consumed before the next morning. King Cyrus asked Daniel why he did not worship Bel, and Daniel replied that Bel was only a man-made image. He would prove to the king that Bel was not alive. Daniel had ashes sprinkled on the floor of the temple and food placed on Bel’s altar before sealing the temple door. The next morning the seals on the doors were intact, but when the doors were opened the food was gone. However, the ashes sprinkled on the floor revealed footprints of the priests and their families. They had a secret entrance and came at night and ate the food brought to the idol. The second part of the story of Bel and the Dragon concerned a dragon worshiped in Babylon. Daniel killed the dragon by feeding it cakes of pitch, fat, and hair. The people were outraged, and Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den for seven days. However, the lions did not harm him. These stories ridicule paganism and the worship of idols.

The next four apocryphal books are examples of Wisdom literature. The Wisdom of Solomon, which was not written by Solomon, was probably written about 100 b.c. in Egypt. The first section of the book gave comfort to oppressed Jews and condemned those who had turned from their faith in God. It shows the advantages of wisdom over wickedness. The second section is a hymn of praise to wisdom. Wisdom is identified as a person present with God, although it is not given as much prominence as in some other writings. The final section shows wisdom as helpful to Israel throughout its history. This writing presents the Greek concept of immortality rather than the biblical teaching of resurrection.

The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach is also known as Ecclesiasticus. It emphasizes the importance of the law and obedience to it. Written in Hebrew about 180 b.c., it was translated into Greek by the author’s grandson shortly after 132 b.c. The book has two main divisions, 1-23 and 24-51, each beginning with a description of wisdom. The writer was a devout Jew, highly educated, with the opportunity to travel outside Palestine. Thus he included in his writing not only traditional Jewish wisdom but material that he found of value from the Greek world. He pictured the ideal scribe as one who had time to devote himself to the study of the law. Chapters 44-50 are a praise of the great fathers of Israel, somewhat similar to Hebrews 11. Wisdom is highly exalted. She is a person made by God. She goes into the earth to seek a dwelling place. After she is rejected by other people, she is established in Zion. Wisdom is identified with the law.

The book of Baruch is also in the wisdom category. It is a combination of two or three different writings. The first section is in prose and claims to give a history of the period of Jeremiah and Baruch. However, it differs from the OT account. The second section is poetry and a praise of wisdom. The final section is also poetic and gives a word of hope for the people. As in Sirach, wisdom and law are equated. It was written shortly before 100 b.c.

The Letter of Jeremiah is often added to Baruch as chapter 6. As the basis for his work, the author evidently used Jer. 29:1-23, in which Jeremiah did write a letter to the exiles. However, this letter comes from before 100 b.c. It is a strongly worded condemnation of idolatry.

The Prayer of Manasseh is a devotional writing. It claims to be the prayer of the repentant king whom the OT pictured as very wicked (2 Kings 21:10-17). Second Kings makes no suggestion that Manasseh repented. However, 2 Chron. 33:11-13,18-19 states that he did repent and that God accepted him. This writing from before 100 b.c. is what such a prayer of repentance might have been.

The final book of the Apocrypha is 2 Esdras, written too late to be included in the Septuagint. Chapters 1-2 and 15-16 are Christian writings. Chapters 3-14, the significant part of the work, are from about 20 b.c. This writing is an apocalypse, a type of writing popular among the Jews in the intertestamental period and which became popular among Christians. Second Esdras contains seven sections or visions. In the first three, Ezra seeks answers from an angel about human sin and the situation of Israel. The answer he receives is that the situation will change only in the new age that God is about to inaugurate. The third section pictures the Messiah. He will remain 400 years and then die. The next three visions stress God’s coming intervention and salvation of His people through the preexistent Messiah. The final section states that the end will be soon and reports that Ezra was inspired to write 94 books. Twenty-four are a rewrite of the canonical OT while the other 70 are to be given to the wise. The last two chapters of 2 Esdras contain material common to the NT.

As Palestine accepted Roman rule the Maccabees' vision of a free and independent Palestine seemed buried. But the dream was not lost. Its roots were sunk deep in Old Testament prophecy and promise. One day God's Messiah would appear. And then the empire would be theirs!  So the land waited.

   Augustus, good administrator that he was, ordered a census of the Roman world for tax purposes (Luke 2:1-6). In Palestine, Joseph went back to his hometown of Bethlehem to be enrolled. Mary, who was of the same family line, went with him, even though it was nearly time for the birth of her first child.

            All history had converged on this moment. Augustus in Rome would never dream that God had guided him to power to bring world peace. Alexander never imagined that God was using him to establish a common language as a medium through which a new revelation of God's grace could be communicated to all men. Even Antiochus in his maddest dreams could never know that, in the rise and fall of the Maccabeans, whose revolt he caused, Israel would be led to realize anew that only in the prophet's promised King could she have hope.

   It's no wonder that so much of our New Testament is composed of the Gospels—four tellings of the story of that one life. Each Gospel looks at Jesus from a slightly different perspective, telling His story in a way that a different segment of the population of Jesus' world could best appreciate, and come to believe in the Saviour.  We ourselves fail to realize how much of our New Testament is given to four portraits of our Lord. The four gospels cove 102 pages of text, while 134 pages record the rest of the New Testament. Why this emphasis, and why four portraits?  Christ and Christianity needed to be presented to four distinctly different groups known in that world:  the Romans, the Greeks, the Jews and those who with its inception had embraced the Christian faith.  Reading the Gospels, it's clear that each writer selected and organized his material for a distinct purpose. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all cover similar material in their three portraits of Jesus. For this reason, they are called the "synoptic" (meaning to give an account from the same point of view) Gospels.

            Mark is generally agreed to have been the first Gospel written, probably penned in Rome for Gentile (both Roman and Greek) believers.  He gives no genealogy of Jesus for it would be of little importance to prospective Gentile converts. Jewish coloring is absent, and where Palestinian customs and names are included, Mark explains them for a non-Jewish audience (Mark 3:17; 5:41; 7:11; 7:34).  The Gentile converts would not be interested in Jewish prophecies but rather in the immediate claims of Christ; therefore, Mark stresses the “doings of Jesus more than the “sayings”.  For instance, Mark records 19 miracles but only four parables.  The book is brief—a mere 661 verses, and seems to be a fast-moving, eyewitness account of Jesus' life, with great emphasis on the Passion Week and on Christ's culminating act of redemption.

   Both Matthew and Luke probably took Mark as a guide, in that they seemed to generally follow his chronology and sequence of events, though each made changes in emphasis.

            Luke is the most comprehensive Gospel, covering more of Christ's life than any other. Although Luke was written to both Jews and Gentiles, it is believed that Luke primarily had Greek readers in mind.  Luke seemed particularly sensitive to Jesus' humanity, stressing His relationships with men in need, and including individuals left out in other accounts. Luke mentioned 13 women not found elsewhere in the Gospels. He also included several case histories of men whose ways of life made them social outcasts, yet who were transformed by Jesus' touch.  Luke's stated aim (Luke 1:1-4) was to provide a clear, accurate historical account. He combined detail with a beautiful and sensitive portrait of the personality of Jesus, and of Jesus' love for all men.

   Matthew. The first of the Gospels in our New Testament was probably written after Mark, and has a distinct and clear purpose. It was written to demonstrate to the Jew familiar with the Old Testament that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. Because of this emphasis, Matthew is the bridge between Old and New Testaments.  The writer uses about 60 references to Jewish prophecies and traces the genealogy of Jesus back through David to Abraham.  Jews would not consider any as candidate for the throne of Israel who did not fall in the covenant line of Promise.   In addition, Matthew gives great prominence to Jesus' teaching, with five blocks of teaching included which are absent from Mark.

            The message of John is for all Christians.  John's Gospel is distinctly different, and focuses on presenting Jesus as the Son of God. Where Matthew and Luke launch the story of Jesus with His birth, John traces the origin of our Lord back into eternity itself (John 1).  In keeping with his purpose, John selected incidents and events that were different from those reported by the other three evangelists. John reported different speeches, usually ones set in Judea. These are often long, theological, and argumentative. Against the background of Judean unbelief, Jesus presented Himself as the Bread of heaven, the Giver of life, the true Light, and the ultimate Truth.

   From the very earliest days of the church, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John have been accepted as apostolic accounts of Jesus' life and ministry. They have always been viewed as one collection. Through these ancient eyewitness accounts, we are uniquely introduced to Jesus.

   In these Gospels we meet our Lord. In these accounts of His words and actions, we realize that, as on this Man all history seems to converge, so on Him we too must converge our faith and our lives. We must recognize Jesus not only as Israel's promised King.  We must also acknowledge Him as our Redeemer.