Is there any advantage to understanding 1st century Judaism when reading the New Testament?

When we read a passage in the Bible, such as the one we will examine below, we will make assumptions about the narrative based on our own personal perspectives and experiences. However, if we understand the narrative from the perspective and experiences of one living in 1st century Judaism, we will come away from the narrative with a different and more accurate understanding of the text.

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised, To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down: and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, To-day hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears.” (Luke 4:16-21, ASV)

When we read this, most envision Yeshua (Jesus) getting up from his seat in the congregation and going to the podium from which he read from the Book of Isaiah. When he finished his reading, he retook his seat in the congregation and with everyone staring at him, he spoke to them. However, if we explain just one tradition that distinguishes Judaism from Christianity, we will have a clearer understanding of this passage: Christian preachers teach from a standing position, but Jewish rabbis teach from a sitting position. With this tidbit of information, we now know that in this instance Yeshua was the rabbi, not a congregant. Once he finished reading from the scroll, which is done from a standing position, he took his seat on the bimah[1] and began to teach. Now, read the passage above again, but this time from this newly learned perspective and you will see more clearly what was happening.

Even more clarification exists if we are open to understanding the Jewish culture of the New Testament period. Yeshua did not just “choose” this passage in Isaiah that spoke of Himself and His ministry. This passage was that Sabbath day’s scheduled haftarah. From ancient times to the present, each Sabbath service includes two regularly scheduled readings. The first is from the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy), which is read section by section throughout the year. The second reading is the haftarah, specific and regularly scheduled passages from the Writings and the Prophets of the Tanakh (Old Testament).

On a side note, when discussing the Old Testament, we mentioned that the Great Isaiah Scroll found in the Dead Sea Caves may have been a copy made directly from Isaiah’s original scroll and that this scroll may have been used in a synagogue. Therefore, it is possible that the Great Isaiah Scroll could be the very same scroll from which Yeshua read in the synagogue.

One other thing must be pointed out. Yeshua was a devout Jew who not only obeyed and followed the commands of God as outlined in the Torah, but also the traditions that were developed within Judaism, as long as those traditions did not violate the commands of God. In this passage, we see that it was Yeshua’s “custom” to attend synagogue. As we previously discussed, the whole concept of the synagogue was created during Israel’s exile in Babylon and therefore is a tradition of Judaism, not a command of God.

[1] A Hebrew word meaning “high place” that is used to designate an elevated platform at the front of the synagogue from which the rabbi reads and teaches.