Chris Evangelista
Catherine Sider-Hamilton
WYB1501HF
30 November 2011
Jesus and Judaism: The Essenes
The Essenes were a Jewish sect that existed for approximately three hundred years between the second century BCE and the end of the first century CE. Little is known about the sect; and in fact, the term “Essene” does not even occur in the New Testament. Nonetheless, important Greek and Latin writers such as Josephus, Philo, and Pliny describe the sect in their writings. Since the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 at the Qumran caves on the northwest shores of the Dead Sea, many scholars have tended to associate the community living at Qumran with the Essenes.[1]
The Jewish historian Josephus provides the most extensive descriptions of the Essenes. In his work The Jewish War, Joseph describe the Essenes as a group living out strictly disciplined lives: “These Essenes reject pleasures as an evil, but esteem continence, and the conquest over our passions, to be virtue.”[2] They also seem to prefer solitude and celibacy; so their means of growth is primarily through enlisting “other persons’ children”. They don’t however seem to reject marriage altogether (or at least part of the sect did not).[3] They do reject wealth, choosing to live ascetic lives, and holding their property in common (in fact, this was a law in the community). They seem to also take purity laws seriously, allowing it to affect what substances they come in contact with and how they dress as well. They do not seem to have a centralized location, but are scattered through out various cities, though they do move around from time to time.
They are probably best known for their piety towards God, and follow what seems to be a daily monastic routine, and are quite disciplined in their interaction with each other:
Nor is there ever any clamor or disturbance to pollute their house, but they give every one leave to speak in their turn; which silence thus kept in their house, appears to foreigners like some tremendous mystery… [and] They dispense their anger after a just manner, and restrain their passion.[4]
They do not exclude others, though potential members are not easily admitted. They must live like an Essene for a year and must prove themselves to be allowed to partake in some of the rituals. They are further tested for another two years before being fully admitted to the group.
There is not very much information given about the socio-economic status of members of the Essene community, though given the description of their daily lives, it would not be hard to imagine the Essene being somewhat similar to the early church. They probably mostly poor, though they might occasionally be able to attract a wealthy convert who would, as required, share his wealth with the community. There does not seem to be any mention of employment in their routines, though their frugal and austere lives would probably mean that the group could do with very little. Furthermore, they were most likely revered as holy men and were most likely provided the benefits of such a status, such as donations of food.
The Essenes seemed to have respect for the temple, though not necessarily for the priests who were running it: “when they send what they have dedicated to God into the temple, they do not offer sacrifices, because they have more pure lustrations of their own.”[5] It would seem that they consider their own piety to be greater than that of the priests, and would not allow the priests to offer their sacrifices for them. This must have caused some tensions with the governing Jewish authorities. Indeed, they were “excluded from the common court of the temple.”[6] They certainly had a high reverence for the Torah, and even have a law subjecting anyone who “profanes” Moses’ name to capital punishment.
The Essenes believed that they had an immortal soul that is confined to their bodies, seeking release: “[souls] are united to their bodies as in prisons, into which they are drawn by a certain natural enticement”.[7] They believe that their good conduct will be rewarded after their death, and that bad conduct would be punished. There is nothing in their belief system that suggests a strongly held eschatological hope. Rather it would seem that they strive for the what they believe in that comes after death, and their austere lives are the means of getting there.
Because of all these I would guess that the Essenes probably would not have thought highly of Jesus and his disciples, for although they held some similar beliefs – namely, a similar distaste for the ruling authorities – they would have differed considerably in their beliefs about conduct. For example, Jesus’ declaration and call “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel”[8] would have fallen on deaf ears. The Essenes likely would have had no concept of a kingdom of God “coming at hand”, and would have rather looked towards the afterlife for this fulfillment. Furthermore, Jesus’ call to repent would not have made sense to them as their strict discipline would have lead them to believe that they did not have anything to repent from.
Their distaste for Jesus and his followers would likely have also been fueled by Jesus’ reaction to the woman anointing him with costly perfume in Mark 14:3-9. They likely would have reacted like some of the disciples who responded: “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii2 and given to the poor.”[9] Surely, their austere lives would have blinded their eyes to Jesus’ explanation that the woman was anointing his body for burial.
Taking the law and ritual purity to an extreme might have also placed the Essenes at odds with Jesus, who regularly interacted with impure people. They would have likely seen Jesus dining with sinners as abhorrent. On other ritual matters, they probably would have likewise questioned Jesus on fasting, like those who did in Mark 2:18-22, and would have certainly wondered at some of Jesus’ teaching about the Sabbath, though not necessarily objected to it in the same way the Pharisees did.
What probably would have placed the Essenes most at odds with Jesus is his “low view” of Moses in comparison. In terms of teaching, they may have been confused with what Jesus was doing. For example, Jesus affirmed Moses’ teachings, such as his interaction with the Pharisees in Mark 7, when he used Moses’ teaching against the scribes. But then, they would have been concerned when Jesus reinterpreting or taking Moses’ commandment about divorce in Mark 10:4 too far. What probably would have solidified their opinion of Jesus on this matter would have been that Jesus elevated himself above Moses to equality with God, as is suggested in him forgiving the sins of the paralytic in Mark 2:5, when he seems to declare himself as God’s son in Mark 8:38, and generally the times when Jesus referred to God as “Father”, such as in his prayer in Mark 14:36.
In conclusion, I believe that Essenes would have had mixed feelings about the Jesus of History as presented in Mark. They would have seen Jesus and his disciples as both allies and rivals: allies against the Jewish authorities whom they likely believed to be wrong in their theology and practices, but rivals in their interpretation of the law and of conduct. As such, I think some Essenes would have grown to accept Jesus’ message, and may have even converted to Christianity, while others would have hated Jesus and his message.
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