Vision Glorious

~ by Roberto Battistuzzi

A Jew is a Jew is a Jew and a Christian is a Christian is a Christian.

Introduction

Where does one start on a subject so vast, that affects the very core of our existence as Christians and society we live in? We need to set the scene. I’ll be starting with the principle’s Biblical origin and then with my own personal experiences and insight I have acquired over the years. We need to break up this subject into bite-sized pieces. Each piece has to be studied, meditated upon, and then put into practice. This subject could easily degenerate into some great discussion forum, with many intellectuals expounding each item, offering some great insights, & dissecting every thought. This must not be. It is a radical thought, which cuts through all our preconceived ideas of living for the Lord, Church, life and impact in the world.

I use the word “radical” because to many of us who have grown up in mainstream denominations, some of these concepts will challenge the very way we have lived our Christian lives. It has taken many years of the Lord working in my heart to get to this point, studying the Scriptures, mentored by a number of godly men and women, and being exposed to many Jewish friends both Orthodox and Born Again. Yet it is not “radical”, because it has always been in the Bible. The problem has been the Hellenistic Worldview that corrupted the early Church and drew it away from the true Jewish thought. Then, there were centuries of corruption by the Roman Catholic Church (read: Empire or Institution — a “church” it certainly is not) which has caused so much damage with its leaven that now we see today’s Protestant churches, some born in the fires of persecution, returning to these old practices of living their faith. For example, Catholics and many Protestants live their faith on Sundays and/or Christmas and Easter only. The rest of the week is their own. Church is a building or a Denomination, not the Community of Believers.

I recommend every believer to read the book Our Father Abraham by Marvin R. Wilson who does an excellent job at explaining the origins of our faith, all the way to Abraham as well as the difference between the Hellenistic and Jewish thought. I firmly believe that we as Christians¹ need to look at Community with a Hebrew Worldview. We need to go back into the origins of the Hebraic Community as the Lord intended them to be, in relationship with Him, with each other and with the world around them. I will get to the above mentioned phrase “A Jew is a Jew…later“, but we need to understand from the outset that we are a called out people, separated from the world ( Exodus 33:16; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18- a reference from Isaiah 52:11).

Definitions

Let us look at the definitions of the word community. In the Bible, the word “community” is also translated as “congregation”

COMMUNITY “common possession or enjoyment; communion; commonness; people having common rights, body of persons leading a common life” Chambers English Dictionary.
CONGREGATION: "the act of congregating: an assemblage of persons or things; a name given to the Children of Israel” Chambers English Dictionary.
HEBREW: (according to Strongs Concordance) “edah - fixture, assemblage, assembly, congregation, from ed - “witness”; also from a primary root uwd to “duplicate or repeat, protest, testify."

These are interesting. The Chambers definition of Congregation is very biblical as it appears that the very first mention of the word “community”² or “congregation” is in Exodus 12:3. It appears that the Lord had something specific in mind when he chose to use this word in relation to Passover. The Hebrew root ed - witness and uwd - duplicate have fascinating implications. For we are called to be “witnesses” and also to “duplicate”, or better “multiply."³ Which brings me to a concept to be expounded later when we read in Acts 2:42-47 that they broke bread in homes (LifeTeams!?).

Connections 

So we see that both in the Old and New Testaments, Community living is closely connected with Passover ~ Breaking of Bread. Let us look at some aspects:

• Community in the Old Testament began with the liberation of the Jews from Egypt and Pharaoh
• Community life is perpetuated in the New Testament by remembering the death of Jesus, Who, through the Cross and His shed blood has redeemed us from the World (Egypt) and Pharaoh (the devil).
• “a lamb according to each house” speaks of Family first. The Community begins with the Family, not a synagogue, church building or denomination.
• It was to be celebrated forever ( Exodus 12:14).
• It was to be celebrated in Jerusalem. Jews, no matter where they were, had to come to Jerusalem to celebrate it, around the Temple. This speaks of the Lord impressing on the Jews that they had to maintain their identity as Jews, even if they lived in other parts of the Earth. It forced them to remember this year after year.
• The last two points have kept the Jews as a separate Community for thousands of years. Through disobedience and repentance, persecution, further slavery, & Holocaust. It is in their very psyche.
• I love the final toast with the last cup of wine at Pesach (Passover): "Next year in Jerusalem!”  How much more for us should the Passover or Breaking of Bread keep our hearts knitted together as the Bride of Christ and keep our minds focused. “Next year in the New Jerusalem!” How much more should this keep us steady in times of trials, temptations, and persecutions. Would we still be united in heart and mind thousands of years down the line?

In part 2 ~ coming to Vision Glorious in a few days ~ I will show you some practical applications and personal experiences. My goal is that you’ll meditate on these principles for a few minutes and catch the beauty of how the Lord constructed community with Israel and what it means for us today.

Roberto Battistuzzi currently serves as Deacon to the Serenissima Bible Church of Northeast Italy where he specializes in ministry to the Italian people. Roberto & his wife Adele have two sons as well as providing full care for Roberto’s 92-year-old father, Pasqualle. Roberto works as a liason and translator for the US military at the regional hospital & Adele works in Church Administration. 

1. by this I mean Born Again Christians as defined biblically, not by human terms, for there are many that would define themselves as “christian”, simply because they belong to some church organization [back]
2. Jewish Publication Society, English-Hebrew Tanakh and NIV [back]
3. how about this for LifeTeams! (small groups) [back]