Subject: Re: Jesus Plays Favourites?
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 9:51:16 +0800
From: Nigel Mitchell < 
Newsgroups: aus.religion.christian
> To clarify, I was saying there where many jewish factions with
> different beliefs, customs, and lifestyles who all beleived in God.
> When Jesus came to us he treated them all equally and fairly, telling
> them of the new covenent and God’s wishes for us.
> 
> Graeme seems to think that’s ridiculous.
> Does anyone else share this view, if so, could it be explained to me?


I am not sure what Graeme is getting at, but 
Jesus certainly did not favour one group 
amongst the Jews over any others. He had 
Pharisees, Saducees (or at least, Priests), 
Scribes, Zealots, and almost certainly Essenes 
amongst his followers. He spoke and prayed in 
Synagogues and the temple, and his followers 
continued to do so after the resurrection. 
There was not one group within Judaism which 
Jesus or the early Christians singled out 
either positively or negatively, although if 
you accept the dates put on NT books by modern 
scholarship it is possibhle to discern a 
growing antipathy towards the Pharisees as the 
century progressed, for which there are easily 
explained historical reasons.

Jesus was consistently and fiercely outspoken 
against those who used the scriptures as a legal 
system. He made it very clear that God’s 
love for us and the Love he wished us to show 
towards each other override all other concerns, 
including scripture. Some amongst the Jews 
elieved that salvation was to be had by properly 
understanding the scriptures and obeying what 
they told us to do. Jesus utterly rejected and 
opposed such views, from wherever they came.

But perhaps that is not what you meant either, Mike?
cheers
N+