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And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. For centuries now the Jewish people have been accused of rejecting the Messiah, of being the force that provoked His execution. This accusation gains momentum each year in spring when people remember the crucifixion. This understanding of the Biblical by Christianity could simply have to do with the semantics of the English New Testament, mostly due to the repeated statements, ’And the Jews …’, which have hang on the Jewish nation for two millennia and have been the source of much atrocious persecution from the beginning of the second century C.E. on. Paul, the chosen emissary of the Master warned against this attitude of non-Jewish believers against the Jewish nation in his famous ‘do not be arrogant against the branches’ (Romans 11:18) olive tree analogy. Could there have been a misunderstanding? The aftermath of the story of Chanukah may bring us some illumination. After pushing away the Syrian army, the Maccabees sat themselves on the throne of Jerusalem. Because many believed that only a son of David could sit on that throne (because the Messiah would be a son of David) this created a divide among the people. A Judean official begged Rome for help, which Rome obliged by taking over Judea and its government, including Temple appointments (Maccabees 1 and 2). At that time Herod, the Roman appointed King of Jerusalem persecuted many who were actually from the lineage of David, so they fled to Galilee. Many in Judea resisted this situation, mainly the Zealots and the Assenes, so it was only the few collaborators from the Judean leadership who had a problem with Yeshua; the rest of the people loved Him. Most Jewry also lived outside of Israel. Could then the, ‘and the Jews …’ refer to the Jewish nation in general? In the narration of the story of Joseph we see how he concealed his true identity from both the Egyptians and his brothers. We also see that Joseph did not reveal himself to his biological family until Benjamin, the brother who did not persecute him as he was not part of the ordeal, was present (Genesis 41-45). In the same manner, the Messiah today and for now 2,000 years has concealed His Jewish identity from the gentiles, and did not reveal Himself to His brothers either. He is waiting for the arrival of Benjamin, the brother who was not part of the persecution ordeal. Could ‘Benjamin’ be today’s Jewish Messianic movement? The Scriptures said that Joseph revealed himself to his brothers at the ‘second’ visitation. If the hardening in part (Romans 11:25) was part of the greater plan of the Almighty, persecutors of the people of God will have to answer to Abba for what they have done (Jeremiah 2:3).
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Inquisition, persecution, anti-semitism, Jews, Bible, KJB, Maccabees, Chanukah, ,
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