Jacob Neusner and the Kingdom of Heaven

I finished reading "A Rabbi Talks to Jesus" last night. I wrote an earlier article about it, that you can read here. The primary reason I picked it up was so that I could re-read "Jesus of Nazareth" with a fuller appreciation of what Pope Benedict has to say about Jacob Neusner's brief (roughly 150 pages) but challenging book. The book's different strains of thought come together and are summarized in the final chapter.

"So if [Jesus is] right, then the Kingdom of Heaven will be here, and all the things he says will be, will be.

But if he's wrong, then what happens? Families destroyed, for what? Villages abandoned, why? And what then do we do when oxen gore and people contend."

I'm a little surprised and saddened by Neusner's inference here. Neusner's "Kingdom of Heaven" is in the here and now. It is where man has accepted the rule of God. This is a correct interpretation, and in keeping with the Christian understanding of the phrase, as Benedict explains in "Jesus of Nazareth." However, Neusner also comes to the conclusion that Jesus is exclusively speaking of the life to come. That's an understandable interpretation, and I am loathe to dispute the wisdom of Dr. Neusner, but he is incorrect.

The misunderstanding seems to be rooted in Jesus' very personal message that, in Neusner's view, neglects the more mundane, day-to-day matters. As Neusner puts it, "does God care what I eat for breakfast?" By rejecting the Kosher dietary rules (Matt 15:10), it seems that Jesus doesn't care. And what of the civil law? Should we still enforce the Mosaic law as it relates to resolving quarrels, dealing with thieves, or lending money (see page 134 of Neusner's book for more examples)?

The answer is one that Neusner almost certainly could appreciate. As Neusner quotes from the Mishnah,

"Heedfullness leads to physical cleanliness, cleanliness to levitical purity, purity to separateness, separateness to holiness, holiness to humility, humility to the shunning of sin, shunning of sin to saintliness, saintliness to the Holy spirit, the Holy Spirit to the resurrection of the dead."

Separateness. Separateness from what? Anything unholy. This could include your family or your village. God desires that families and communities be strong and unified, but they must be unified in God, who is our strength. If God calls us to be divided from our families and our communities, then we must obey Him. Moses was driven out of Egypt into the land of Midian. He was divided from his brother Aaron and sister Miriam for decades. When it pleased God, though, Moses was reunited with his family and with his people.

I agree with Neusner that this separateness is more personal and less public than that of the Mosaic Law. That said, God does bless many of us with families and communities that are part of His Holy Kingdom. The Kingdom is here and now, because we accept the authority of God. This may be in our community, or in our families, or it may be in a solitary existance as a hermit or a fugitive like Moses. Wherever God leads us, that is the Kingdom of Heaven.

This is what is meant by Christ when He tells us that He has come to fulfill the law. The ultimate culmination of God's call to be a separate and Holy people is to be "perfect" (Matt 19:21) by forsaking all that we have to follow Him, and where He leads us is the Cross and the ressurection of the dead.