Identifying the Qur'anic "Nasara" - the Quasi-Jewish Nazarene Sect and the Qur’anic audience

By: Mikhah Ben David

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Jesus says he did not come to abolish the Torah or Nevi'im (Matthew 5.18), and that both would endure as long as the physical universe is maintained (Matthew 5.18); Revelation 1.1; 21.8 says that those who violate the Torah are punished by suffering in the hereafter. The Gospel accounts report that this was not just lip-service, as Jesus kept Shabbat (Luke 4.16) and the Jewish Holy Days like Sukkot (John 7.2; 7.10; 7.37) and even Chanukah (John 10.22). The most well-known Jewish festival he kept was Pesach. We read proofs of this in his instructions to “keep the Passover” (Matthew 26.18), which is the equivalent of “eat the Passover” (Mark 14.14), which we are told he did (Matthew 26.21; Mark 14.18). Jesus's criticisms of his fellow Jews were not criticism for Jewish practice, but were centered on the masses not keeping the Torah given by Moses (John 7.19); there was no criticism of Jewish Law itself. Throughout the Christian accounts, Jesus is recorded as having argued only about proper halakhic interpretation, no different than rabbis have debated from school to school, branch to branch and sect to sect ever since, for example whether one is to wash their hands before eating (Matthew 15.20 contra m. Ber. 8.2); Jesus' view being essentially koach dehetera' `adip, “the power of the permissive argument is preferable” (b. Ber. 60a; b. Besah 2b; b. Qid. 60b; b. Git. 41b; 74b; b. Nid. 59b.) So what changed? Learn more: to purchase the remaining sections on the Nazarene sect, and to learn all about the relationship with and history of the Mandaean sect.