Jesus, the Sabbath and the Jewish Debate: Healing on the Sabbath in the 1st and 2nd Centuries CE

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The claim that Jesus was criticised by the Pharisees for performing cures on the Sabbath has been continuously repeated for almost 2,000 years. But a meticulous, unprejudiced evaluation of the relevant gospel texts shows that the historical Jesus was never criticised by historical Pharisees for performing Sabbath cures. In fact, Jesus and the Pharisees were in complete agreement for the need for cures on the Sabbath day. It is also clear that the Sabbath healing events in the gospels have preserved a significant part of the history of the early Jewish debate which sought to resolve the apparent conflict between the demands of Jewish law, and the performance of deeds of healing and/or saving life. This debate, from its Maccabean origins through to the end of the second century CE, is the subject of this book. The story of the debate has escaped the attention of historians partly because it relies on the evidence of both the early postbiblical Jewish texts and the Christian gospels, which are not generally studied together.

Reviews

This is a huge piece of work, the significance of which goes far beyond the particular issues of healing and saving life on the sabbath. It demonstrates, in great detail, the potential contribution which the New Testament sources may make to the internal history of Jewish law; it also contributes to our understanding of the development of Jewish law between the canonisation of the Pentateuch and the formulation of the Mishnah ... [Collins] is to be commended for the thoroughness of her investigation. * Journal of Semitic Studies *
It is a very useful summary with appropriate emphasis on the similarities between the practices of Jesus and and the rabbinic traditions of Jewish healers in the first century A.D. * Biblica (Bloomsbury Translation) *
[Collins] deep understanding of the rabbinic material will prove invaluable for ensuing studies in NT and early Christian and Jewish issues seeking to test and apply her conclusions. * Religious Studies Review *

Author Bio

Nina Collins lectured on Judaism and Modern and Classical Hebrew at the University of Leeds. Her publications include The Library in Alexandria and the Bible in Greek (2000).