What Happened?: How Biblical Judaism Became Christianity

By Michael Calpino

When Yahushua (Jesus) arrived on the scene in the early first century and began preaching, he did so as a Jew in a Jewish context. His talmidim (disciples) we all Jews who practiced Judaism as it was understood in the second temple period. So how did what was simply another sect of Judaism become Christianity? What were the historical and theological changes that resulted in an anti-Semetic religion claiming a Jewish Messiah?
This work, drawing on a variety of historical sources, traces the history of the Natzrim (the followers of the Nazarene) from "Pentecost" to Constantine. It explains the historical reasons for the abandonment of Judaism and the theological justifications developed to support it. In addition, it explains the role of Jew and Gentile in the early community and what they could or should be.
The consequences of these changes were, and are, catastrophic for both Jew and Gentile. By understanding them, we can rebuild what Yahushua intended for his people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781387385867

Book preview

What Happened?: How Biblical Judaism Became Christianity

What Happened?

How

Messianic Judaism

Became

Christianity

The history of

Yahushua HaMashiyakh,

His Talmidim and

Rabbi Sha'ul

and what became

of the truth they taught.

Mikha'el

Copyright ©1996

J & M Publishing Co.

Reading, PA

All rights reserved.  No part of this book may be

reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion

of brief quotations in a review, without permission

in writing from the author or publisher.

michaelcalpino.com

Introduction

The history that follows is an attempt to accurately portray the events following the death and resurrection of Yahushua HaMashiyakh (Hebrew for Jesus the Messiah) up until the time when those who called themselves his followers had become the reigning power in the Roman Empire during the reign of the emperor Constantine.  This history is crucial for two very different groups and thus it is written to both audiences.  This  will pose some difficulties as these two groups are Jews and Christians.  One of the major difficulties in writing to both these audiences is in the use of language and terms.  For example, using the name Jesus.  To a christian it is the only name under heaven by which a man can be saved and is held in deepest reverence.  To a Jew it is the name of the persecutor, a curse word, the name of the great heretic.  Things like redemption, salvation, and holiness, for example, mean different things to Jews and Christians even though they use the same religious writings, for the most part, to define them.  There are also the historical assumptions each group brings to the table, particularly about each other, that color their understanding of history.  The vast majority of both Jews and Christians accept the Christian’s version of the history of the first and second century.  The Christians do it to justify their deviation from their own accepted holy writings and the Jews their justification for rejecting without consideration the claims of Yahushua and his followers. 

So to these two groups, I say the following.  First to the Jew.  Yahushua was a Jew as were all his Talmidim (Disciples-see ‘terms’ at the end of this book for definitions of unfamiliar terms).  These men, who believed Yahushua was the promised Mashiyakh, were Torah observant Jews who remained a part of the synagogue and participated in the Jewish life characteristic of their time.  To this audience I present these facts in the hope that they would, as much as it is possible given the facts of history for the last two thousand years, reevaluate the claims of the Talmidim regarding Yahushua; claims made by Torah observant Jews who loved their people, the Torah, and their customs, and believed Yahushua had fulfilled the prophesies of the Mashiyakh.

My second audience is the 'Church'.   There is a lot of talk, particularly in charismatic and fundamentalist circles, about recreating a New Testament Christianity.  There is a belief that the 'apostles' and the early 'believers' were the ones, being closest to the source, who really understood what it meant for a group of people who believed the Messiah had come to function as individuals and as a community.   This is a premise I accept.  However, I don’t think too many Christians understand all the implications involved in accepting that premise.  Too often those who idealize the early followers of Yahushua think that they were a lot like whatever Christian group is making the assertion, except they dressed differently.   These men and women, the Natzrim (followers of Yahushua from Natzaret), were nothing like the people who called themselves 'Christians' in the second century.  They did not celebrate the 'Eucharist' and did not worship on Sunday.  Christmas and Easter were foreign to them (but not to the pagans).   The Natzrim were Torah observant Jews and Geyrim who believed the Mashiyakh, the perfect Torah observant Jew, had come.

There is much that will be eye opening to both groups.  Jews often reject Yahushua because they believe he is a Gentile's god; or a heretic who sought to abolish the Torah.  They believe this because those who have called themselves by His name have told the Jews for nineteen hundred years that they have been rejected by God; their beloved Torah was, at most, a temporary injunction and that they, as a people, are guilty of diecide.  Because of these assertions, the Jewish people have been subjected to the most horrible forms of persecution by those who claim a Jewish Messiah.  Yahushua and His Talmidim would have been horrified by these developments for they loved the Torah and the Jewish people, they were their own.

'Christians', on the other hand, will find much of what is said very disturbing.  Let me first say that the issue is not primarily about what Christians call 'salvation', and the Jews, a place in the 'olam haba.  God's grace and mercy are the only source of salvation for Jew or Goy  [The treatise ‘Israel, the Goyim and the Eternal Destiny of Man’ discusses this subject in detail].  Judaism has generally recognized that the Goyim who follow the basic laws of God, the 'Noachide commandments', will have a share in the world to come.   One does not have to be a Jew and follow all 613 commandments of Torah in order to be 'saved'.   As such, I am not a 'judaizer' as some will no doubt claim.  A 'judaizer', in the sense that it was originally intended, was one who said that "unless they (the Goyim) are circumcised and obey the Torah of Moshe, they cannot be saved."(Acts 15:1, 5)   The issue is, on the other hand, all about what it means to be a legitimate follower and representative of Yahushua.   Does the history of the Talmidim (and the intent of God revealed in the Scriptures), support the notion that they were creating a new religion; i.e.