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They correspond roughly to three spheres of apostolic influence and activity: (1) the apostolic tradition of Peter and James (as reflected especially in the Synoptic Gospels and the General Letters); (2) the apostolic tradition of Paul (as displayed in the letters which bear his name); and (3) the apostolic tradition of John (as embodied in the Gospel and Letters of John). [8] I will begin with the tradition of Peter and James, and then take up the traditions of Paul and of John.[9]
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It is usually overshadowed by the traditions of Paul and John, and read only in the light of their distinctive terminologies and emphases.
This is unfortunate, and constitutes an oversight that we as Messianic Jews (to whom this tradition is especially addressed) are especially well-suited to overcome.
When studied on its own terms and taken seriously in its own right, the tradition of Peter and James challenges many popular assumptions and raises important questions.
One of the primary themes in this tradition's approach to final destinies is the warning against presumption: the misplaced confidence that we will be rewarded at the end, while others (who do not possess our qualifications) will be punished.
The threatening words of John the Immerser, with which the story of Yeshua's mission begins, are typical:
John said to the crowds that came out to be immersed by him, You brood of vipers!
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Like the warning of John the Immerser, this teaching serves as an admonition against presumption based on Jewish identity. [11] Of course, it does not imply that all the "heirs of the kingdom" will be excluded, but instead contrasts the final destinies of many Gentiles with that of many Jews in order to challenge the comfortable assurance and exclusivism of the people of the covenant.
Yeshua's admonition against presumption extends beyond the claims of Jewish identity.
He issues the same warning to his own disciples, and makes clear that their confession of faith in him as Lord, their public association with him, and even their mighty deeds done in his name will be insufficient to ensure their final destiny:
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John the Immerser had proclaimed an imminent judgment on Israel as part of the birth pangs of the Messianic age (Matthew 3:1-12).
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Like the apostolic tradition of Paul, the tradition of John emphasizes "faith" as the proper response to the person and message of Yeshua.
John writes his Gospel with a clear and single purpose, and he conveys that purpose unambiguously at the end of the book: "But these [signs] are written so that you may come to believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31) What does John mean by "believe"?
And what does he mean by "have life in his name"?
As in Paul, faith involves the affirmation of certain truths.
In John faith focuses less on particular eschatological events enacted in Yeshua (i.e., his death and resurrection), and more on Yeshua's personal identity. [32] Faith affirms that Yeshua is the Messiah (John 11:27; 20:31; 1 John 5:1), the Son of God (John 11:27; 20:31; 1 John 5:5), who comes from and is sent by God (John 16:27; 17:8, 21).
But faith sees Yeshua as more than merely a faithful servant, entrusted with a unique redemptive mission: he is the Holy One of God (John 6:69), who dwells in the Father and in whom the Father dwells (John 10:38; 14:10-11).
He is the one who shares the Divine Name and nature (John 17:11-12), and faith in Yeshua acknowledges that he rightly proclaims, "I Am" (John 8:24; 13:19; see 8:58-59, 18:5-6).
In contemporary idiom, we could say that for John the central truth affirmed by faith is the deity of Yeshua.
However, John shows no more interest than Paul in purely intellectual assent to propositional truths.
One does not "have life" through affirming creedal formulas.
Believing that Yeshua is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) necessarily involves answering an invitation to enter and nurture a relationship.
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In John "eternal life" is received now, in this world.
It is a present possession, not one merely anticipated in the future. [34]
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life... . (John 3:36)
Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)
Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. (John 6:47)
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life. (John 6:54)
The present possession of eternal life gives confident hope for the future world (John 6:40, 54; 11:25-26).
However, John focuses not on that future hope, but on the life that those who believe receive now.
Yeshua gives eternal life to those who believe in him (John 5:21; 10:26; 17:2).
Moreover, the life he gives remains his own after he gives it away, for it is not a "thing" external to his person.
Yeshua gives life by giving himself.
For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself... ." (John 5:26)
I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35; see 6:53-58)
I am the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25)
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)
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This identification of Yeshua with "life" in John is linked to the book's emphasis on Yeshua's deity.
God is the only one who has life "in himself.
Yet, God has granted that Yeshua likewise have life "in himself," so that all would honor him even as they honor God.
To draw near to Yeshua is to draw near to God, and to draw near to God is to have life: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Yeshua the Messiah whom you have sent" (John 17:3).
Just as John focuses on eternal life as a present reality, so he envisions judgment as occurring now and not merely in the world to come:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God. (John 3:16-21)
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Thus, John dismisses neither the significance of deeds (in supposed contrast to "faith") nor the significance of the way one has lived before believing in Yeshua.[36] In this text, judgment is still according to deeds, and belief or disbelief is not so much the basis of judgment as it is the judgment itself, rendered by the one being judged !
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In the tradition of John, as seen above, faith in Yeshua leads to "eternal life," and disbelief in Yeshua brings condemnation, but both outcomes are viewed primarily as present realized conditions rather than future destinies (though they have definite implications for the world to come).
Nonetheless, the novel linkage between "disbelief" and judgment deserves comment.
Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:18)
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath. (John 3:36)
Who are those who "do not believe in the name of the only Son of God"?
Does this refer to every person in the world who is not explicitly a believer in his name?
The second passage above would imply that more than this is meant by "do not believe," as it is the one who "disobeys the Son" who endures "God's wrath," and disobedience requires knowledge of a command and a Commander.
This inference draws support from other texts in John.
In John 6:36, Yeshua says, "But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
In the verses that follow Yeshua contrasts these disbelievers with those who believe: "every one who sees the Son and believes in him has eternal life.
(John 6:40) Just as belief in Yeshua is preceded by an encounter with him in which the person "sees the Son," so disbelief is preceded by a similar encounter.
Elsewhere John describes this personal encounter with auditory rather than optical imagery:
I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as
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