To What Extent Is Jesus’s Attitudes Towards Outcasts a Departure from Judaism? Essay Example

in the healing of the leper, Jesus sent the leper after being cleansed to the Pharisee to reaffirm and confirm his healing. Proving that Jesus did respect the hierarchy of the Jewish community. On the other hand, another interpretation of Jesus sending the healed man to the leper could be that of a way of rubbing it in and demonstrating God’s power to the skeptical Pharisees. Tuckett’s interpretation of Jesus’ parable the Great Banquet (Luke 14:16-24) is one of the gentiles replacing the Jews as God’s chosen race, possibly emphasizing another example of Jesus departing from Judaism.

However, history would beg to differ as it teaches us Jesus by descent was a Jew as his mother Mary was a Jew and if your mother was a Jew you by descent were an accepted Jew. Throughout Jesus’s life, he still kept hold of his fundamental Jewish beliefs such as reading from the Torah and preaching in the Synagogue, which we gather from the Inaugural Sermon (Luke 4:14-30). This in addition to his sending of the leper to the Pharisee proves he was still respectful and abided by the majority of Jewish laws.

As Tuckett writes “Jesus was teaching daily in the temple, presence in the temple is a regular pattern for the Luken Jesus” proving that it was not just one occurrence but it was a regular practice much like any other Jewish male of his time. In conclusion, I am of the personal belief that Jesus’s messages and attitudes towards outcasts were a departure from Judaism as first and foremost speaking with outcasts and hanging around with them alone was seen as wrong; much more dining with

them in their home such as Jesus did with Zaccheus in Luke 19:1.

So Jesus really could not stay a devout Jew and still teach a message of hope to outcasts. Despite his attempts which I believe were in vain of going to the temple and preaching in the synagogue, I think that his attitudes towards outcasts were a departure from Judaism as they believed they were the “chosen race” and a Tuckett writes “Disciples are to go out in Jesus’ name and proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nation” not just Jerusalem as the Jews believe. By Alex Quayson