Theophorus
Ignatiyos of Anteyochya
Shortly after Trajan succeeded to the empire of the Romans, Ignatius, the disciple of John the apostle, a man in all respects of an apostolic character, governed the assembly of the Antiochians with great care. (Martyrdom of Ignatius 1)
During the reign of Trajan, a new bishop took charge of the flock in Syrian Antioch. His name was Ignatius. He was the second Gentile bishop over the assembly in that city. The assembly at Antioch was a large, influential congregation, and the bishop of Antioch was a powerful man. Antioch, the city where Christians were first called "Christians," was the capital of Gentile Christianity. After the fall of Jerusalem, Antioch rose in prominence. The assembly at Antioch became the capital of Diaspora Christianity, but Jewish believers and Jewish leadership seem to have diminished in Antioch. The assembly at Antioch became predominantly Gentile. Jewish leadership no longer presided over the believers in Antioch.
The Christians in Antioch referred to Ignatius as Theophorus, which means "God-Bearer." His reputation for piety and wisdom apparently went much further than Syria. As the bishop of the famous Antiochian assembly, he commanded respect in all the daughter assemblies.
Ignatius lived and wrote at a critical transition point in the development of Christianity. His epistles provide valuable evidence about early second-century Christianity and its separation from Judaism. By the time Ignatius became bishop, the divorce between Christianity and Judaism was already in the past.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Persecutions in Anteyochya
Long before Ignatius was born, the believers in Antioch had undergone many trials and tribulations.
During the ministry of Paul of Tarsus, the Antiochian community repeatedly experienced internal tensions between Jewish and Gentile members of the community. The tense situation in Antioch forced the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 to intervene and offer a definitive ruling on the status of God-fearing Gentiles within the believing community. The ruling brought peace temporarily, but tensions between Jewish and Gentile believers must have continued to smolder.
As the Gentile side of the community grew to eclipse the Jewish side of the community, it created a precarious imbalance in the Antiochian Synagogue of the Christians.
When the Jewish War broke out, disaster struck the community (Lesson War in Galilee). The people of Antioch wanted to kill all the Jewish residents as the other cities in Syria did at the outbreak of the revolt. The presence of Roman legions in the city prevented them from carrying out their murderous intentions. Then, an apostate Jew named Antiochus accused the God-fearing Gentile believers of plotting with the Jews to burn down the city of Antioch. The people of the city launched a pogrom against the Gentile believers. They used the sacrifice test against anyone whom they suspected of collusion with Jews. They put to death all those who would not consent to worship the idols. Moreover, they introduced a new law forbidding Gentiles from observing the Sabbath. The law spread to other cities in Syria. Josephus says, "The rest of the seventh day was abolished, not only at Antioch, but the same thing which first began there was also done in other cities, in like manner." At that point, Sabbath-keeping became a sign of civic and imperial disloyalty. The new law disrupted Sabbath assemblies. Attendance at Sabbath synagogue services marked the God-fearers for persecution by the Gentiles. Believing God-fearers who did not show up to work or open their shops on Saturdays risked their lives. Ignatius was probably born during those turbulent years. We do not know if he was born into a Christian family or later converted to Christianity, but we do know that he was not Jewish.
At the conclusion of the Jewish War, anti-Jewish sentiment ran extremely high among the people of Antioch. They petitioned Titus to exile all Jews from the city. These conditions forced further separation between the Jewish and Gentile believers in Antioch. The fate of the Jewish community of Antioch hung by a thread. When they realized that their association with believers jeopardized their safety, they probably shunned the disciples of Yeshua more than ever. They might have even reported them to the authorities to avoid being implicated along with them.
The persecution under Domitian struck in Antioch when Ignatius was probably still in his thirties or early forties. That persecution initially arose in connection with the Jewish tax, Fiscus Judaicus. In those days, Ignatius saw many Gentile believers from Antioch accused of tax evasion, Judaizing, atheism, and finally of being "Christians." Ignatius seems to have become one of the leaders of the Antioch assembly during those dark years, and he helped sustain the believers under the weight of the trial. "With difficulty, Ignatius escaped the former storms of the many persecutions under Domitian, inasmuch as, like a good pilot, by the help of prayer and fasting, by the earnestness of his teaching, and by his constant spiritual labor, he resisted the flood that rolled against him" (Martyrdom of Ignatius I).
When Domitian died and Nerva took power, the new emperor reformed the Fiscus Judaicus laws to distinguish between Jews and Gentile believers. At the same time, the Sanhedrin at Yavneh introduced the curse against sectarians, which disowned all believers in Yeshua.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Ignatius and the Death-Wish
Ignatius rejoiced over the peaceful state of the assembly when the persecution ceased for a little time, but he was deeply troubled that he himself had not yet attained a true love of Christ nor reached the rank of a disciple. For he believed that the confession of martyrdom would bring him into a more intimate relationship with the Master. (Martyrdom of Ignatius 1)
The death of Domitian brought a period of tranquility to the Christians of Antioch. The absence of persecution grieved Ignatius. He had a death wish, and he felt that he had missed his opportunity to give his life for the Master.
Ignatius epistles are saturated with Pauline phrases. He must have wished that he had been alive a generation earlier when Paul was teaching in Antioch. He imagined himself to be the apostle's successor, a second Paul. As such, he wanted to walk in the footsteps of Paul, even to the point of dying in Rome. He spoke of "Paul, the holy, the martyred, the deservedly most happy, at whose feet may I be found, when I shall attain to God" (Ephesians 12:2). So long as the persecutions continued, he believed he would have that opportunity. When the persecutions ceased, he felt that he had not been counted worthy enough to suffer for the sake of the Master's name.
Ignatius felt hopeful when Trajan reinstituted the persecution of the Christians in the ninth year of his reign, that is, 107 CE. His epistles speak gleefully about the prospect of being put to death, and he repeatedly announces his desire to "attain to God" by means of undergoing martyrdom. He wrote about his desire to "be ground up by the teeth of wild beasts ... and may they leave nothing of my body" (Romans 4:1-2).
Ignatius' morbid fascination with his own death shocks modern readers. From a Jewish perspective, it is difficult to understand such a macabre and self-destructive obsession. The Torah instructs us to choose life, not death. Even the Master went reluctantly to the cross. From Ignatius' perspective, he believed that he could become a "true disciple" of the Master only if he suffered like him. He prayed that "I might be permitted to fight with beasts at Rome, that so by martyrdom I may indeed become the disciple of Him who gave Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God ... Now I begin to be a disciple" (Ephesians I:2, 3:1).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Tribunal of Caesar
Trajan threatened them with persecution unless they agreed to worship demons, as did all other nations. He compelled all who were living godly lives to either sacrifice to idols or die. (Martyrdom of Ignatius 2)
The Trajanic persecution had been underway for several years when Pliny posed his questions about how to best conduct tribunals against Christians (II2 CE). A year later, Trajan's persecution seems to have arrived in Syrian Antioch about the same time that Trajan himself arrived in that place. In II3 CE, Trajan temporarily moved his imperial court to Antioch- the Roman capital of the east-to prepare for an invasion of Armenia.
While he was there, the Romans apparently arrested several believers in Antioch. The Martyrdom of Ignatius tells the story. They imposed the sacrificial test to ferret out Christians, and when they did find them, they offered them a choice between life and death. If they chose to sacrifice to the gods, they could live. If not, they would die.
Ignatius urged the Christians of Antioch to stand firm in their convictions, and he led by example. He boldly went to stand before the tribunal himself. His notoriety as bishop of the entire assembly earned him an audience with Trajan.
According to legend, when Ignatius appeared before Trajan's tribunal, the emperor said, "Who do you think you are, you wretch, that you dare to transgress our laws and persuade others to do so as well, so that they should perish miserably?"
Ignatius replied proudly, "No one ought to call Theophorus wicked, for all evil spirits have departed from the servants of God. But if you call me wicked because I am an enemy to these evil spirits, I am guilty as charged. For I have Christ, the king of heaven, within me, and by his power, I destroy the devices of these evil spirits."
(As mentioned above, the Christians in Antioch referred to Ignatius as Theophorus, which means "God-bearer.")
Trajan took the bait. He asked, "And who is Theophorus?"
Ignatius replied, "He who has Christ in his breast."
Trajan was not a mystic, but he replied with a similar claim about his own gods. He said, "Is it not obvious that we Romans have the gods within us and that they assist us in fighting against our enemies?"
Ignatius scoffed, "You are mistaken when you call the demons of the nations gods. There is only one God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them, and one Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, whose kingdom may I enjoy!"
Trajan gave Ignatius an opportunity to recant his faith in the Crucified One, but when the bishop affirmed his faith all the more ardently, Trajan ruled, "We command that Ignatius, who claims to carry within him the Crucified One, should be fettered and escorted to the great city of Rome to be devoured by wild beasts for the gratification of the people." Trajan consistently sent prisoners, booty, trophies, and war reports back to Rome in preparation for spectacles and exhibits to honor his great triumphal return. He maintained the goodwill of the people and popular support for his campaigns by a steady flow of booty and captives.
The Martyrdom of Saint Ignatius says that when Ignatius heard the sentence issued against him, he cried out with joy and thanksgiving to God: "You have considered me worthy of expressing perfect love for you and have bound me with iron chains like your Apostle Paul."
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Journey to Roma
As he made the journey through Asia Minor under strict military guard, he fortified the assemblies in the various cities where he stopped with oral teachings and exhortations. He warned them, above all, to guard against the heresies that were then beginning to prevail, and he exhorted them to hold fast to the tradition of the apostles. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.36.4)
Ignatius set out for Rome overland in the custody of ten soldiers. Three fellow-believers accompanied him: "Philo, and Gaius, and Agathopus, who, being the servants of Christ, have followed me for the sake of God." Philo was "the deacon of Cilicia, a man of reputation who yet ministers to me." Agathopus was "a chosen man who followed me from Syria, having renounced this life" (Smyrnaeans 10:I; Philadelphians II:I). The three companions attended the bishop; the ten Roman soldiers abused him. He complained, "From Syria all the way to Rome I must fight with wild beasts, both by land and sea, both night and day, bound to ten leopards, that is, a band of soldiers. Even when they receive kindnesses, they behave worse" (Romans 5:1).
Roman prisoners were responsible for providing their own food and lodging. Ignatius sent Philo and Agathopus ahead of him to alert the believers along the way so that they could prepare hospitality and provisions before the bishop's arrival.
Ignatius considered his journey to Rome as similar to one of Paul's apostolic missions, and he wanted to address each assembly along the way with edifying words and encouragement. Each time Ignatius found hospitality in a community of believers, he spoke to them about his imminent martyrdom. He discoursed on the principles of Christian living. He urged them to submit to congregational authority under their bishop, their elders, and their deacons. He sternly warned them against the heretical Docetic teachings of the Gnostics. He urged the believers to stay rooted in authentic apostolic teaching.
Ignatius expected the Romans to march him to Ephesus and then ship him to Rome, so he sent word ahead to Ephesus and told the assemblies in the vicinity of Ephesus to expect his arrival. At a fork in the road at some point along the way through Asia Minor (perhaps at Laodicea), the Roman escort decided to take a different route. The new route took him through Philadelphia, Smyrna, and Troas. Ignatius realized that the change in plans meant bypassing the cities on the regular route: Tralles, Magnesia, and Ephesus. Ignatius dispatched messengers to the assemblies in those cities, informing them of the change and inviting them to send delegates to meet him in Smyrna. He also sent word to the bishop of Smyrna, telling him to anticipate his arrival.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Piladelfiya
Philo and Agathopus arrived in Philadelphia ahead of Ignatius. They found the local community of believers. Most of the believers received them well, but a few did not feel inclined to highly honor the visitors from Syria. This coolness implies some ambivalence about the relationship between the assembly in Philadelphia and the assembly in Antioch.
Philo and Agathopus made the arrangements for the bishop's arrival and then went ahead to other cities on the route.
When Ignatius and the Roman escort arrived at Philadelphia, he stayed with the assembly there for a few days and sent word ahead to the believers in each of the communities on his path. While among the Philadelphian believers, he was careful not to become a burden on the community in the financial sense, but he did address them with some teachings and exhortations.
The assembly gathered to hear the honored bishop of Antioch speak. Ignatius stood up in their midst and cried out in a loud voice, "Give heed to the bishop, to the elders, and to the deacons" (Philadelphians 7:1). This was the main message he brought to every assembly. Experience as the bishop in Antioch had taught him that people naturally resent authority-especially spiritual authority. He also knew that most of the mayhem that takes place in congregations arises from murmuring against the leadership. Therefore, his recipe for health in every assembly was the same: Submit to the leadership.
Ignatius continued, "Do nothing without the bishop; keep your bodies as the temples of God; love unity; avoid divisions; be the followers of Jesus Christ, even as He is of His Father" (Philadelphians 7:2).
Some of the believers in Philadelphia were offended by his talk. They assumed that Ignatius must have obtained inside knowledge about dissension and internal strife in the Philadelphian assembly beforehand and now was taking advantage of that advance knowledge to appear as if he had spiritual insight. Later, Ignatius explained that he had no foreknowledge of the situation in Philadelphia, but that the Holy Spirit did:
For though some tried to deceive me according to the flesh, the Spirit, which is from God, is never deceived. It knows both from where the wind comes and where it goes, and it detects the secrets of the heart ... Some suspected me of having spoken this way only because I knew beforehand about the division caused by some among you. But God is my witness, for whose sake I am in chains, that I did not receive advance information from anyone. The Spirit proclaimed these words. (Philadelphians 7:2)
Ignatius probably also presented his convictions about the gospel superseding and invalidating the Torah and Judaism. He may have tried to prove to them that Christ had canceled the Sabbath. At any rate, he seems to have encountered resistance from some of the believers in Philadelphia. The Christians in Philadelphia demanded that he show them evidence for his claims from the Scriptures. He tried to prove his case from the Gospels, but they rejected this argument as circular. Some said, "If I do not find it in the ancient Scriptures, I will not believe." They insisted on seeing the proof from the Tanach.
Ignatius tried to present another proof from the Gospels, saying, "It is written …..", but they replied, "Is it? That is precisely the question that remains to be answered" (Philadelphians 8:2).
Despite the prickly exchanges in Philadelphia, the believers in that assembly treated Ignatius well and supplied his needs. After only a short visit, no more than a day or two, the Roman escort was ready to move on again.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Convergence in Zemirena
Moreover, he considered it important to testify to the apostolic tradition in writing and to give it a solid form for safety's sake. So when he came to Smyrna, where Polycarp was, he wrote an epistle to the church of Ephesus. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.36.4)
The assemblies at Tralles, Magnesia, and Ephesus sent representatives to greet the bishop of Antioch and supply him with necessities. The delegates from the three assemblies, and other smaller congregations, awaited Ignatius at Smyrna.
Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna. In his younger years, Polycarp had learned directly from the Apostle John. Legend says that John installed him as the bishop over the assembly at Smyrna. Polycarp and the Smyrnaean believers received Ignatius gladly. They refreshed him from his travels and showed him an outpouring of love. Ignatius was probably older than Polycarp, and he assumed a mentoring role with the bishop. As bishop of Antioch, he certainly carried more prestige than the bishop of Smyrna. For his part, Polycarp felt no need to defend his own ego or prestige. He doted on Ignatius and affirmed him and his service for the kingdom.
Ignatius responded to the show of support from Tralles, Magnesia, and Ephesus by quickly composing an epistle in the Pauline tradition to send back to each assembly. As his journey to Rome continued, he continued to write epistles to the congregations he visited along the way, including a personal epistle to Polycarp.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Ignatian Epistles
The Ignatian epistles grant historians a window on second-century Christianity. The Christianity practiced by Ignatius had already developed beyond its first-century associations with Judaism. Ignatius makes passing references to several institutions that had become normative for Christianity: the defined role of bishop as head over a community with elders and deacons beneath him, the central place of the Eucharistic meal, initiation into the assembly through baptism, the honoring of the first day of the week as "the Lord's Day," the foundational nature of the Pauline epistles, and the introduction of holy, celibate virgins as actors in the assembly. Ignatius repeats three primary themes in his epistles: (I) the importance of unity under ecclesiastical authority; (2) the struggle against false teachers; (3) his own impending death in Rome.
Ignatius understood ecclesiastical authority as a three-tiered, hierarchical structure: a bishop with subordinate elders who were assisted by a group of deacons. Ecclesiastical studies refer to this basic structure as a "monarchical episcopate," and Ignatius is the earliest witness to it. Some scholars suggest that he invented it, but that is not possible. Instead, he assumed that all the assemblies in Asia Minor and everywhere already governed their affairs under the three-tiered structure. He did not need to introduce it or argue for its advantages. The institution must have predated his correspondence with those assemblies. It seems to follow the model of the Jerusalem assembly, where James the Righteous presided over the apostles and the apostles presided over the deacons. Ignatius sometimes alludes to that origin by comparing the elders to the apostles. He considered the bishop of the assembly as nothing less than God's representative to the congregation. He insisted that no decision pertaining to the community should be made without the bishop's consent. He believed that, outside of submission to the local bishop, elders, and deacons of a community, a Christian could not have harmony with God. Perhaps he so heavily emphasized submission to a bishop because he used the authority of the bishopric to define authentic Christianity and discredit heretics. He believed that without a bishop, elders, and deacons, "no group can be called an assembly" (Trallians 3:1).
Ignatius vehemently opposed schismatic teachings. He primarily wrote against the Docetic beliefs of the proto-Gnostics, who denied the physical, human body of Christ and His physical birth, suffering, and resurrection. In his native city of Antioch, Ignatius had probably contended with the teachings of Menander, a Samaritan disciple of Simon Magus, who used demonic, magical arts to deceive the people of Antioch and spread his poisonous ideas. Another early and highly influential Gnostic by the name of Saturninus had also set up shop in Ignatius' hometown. Ignatius spoke of the Gnostic teachings as spiritual poison.
In addition to fighting Gnostics, Ignatius considered the practice of Judaism heretical and completely antithetical to Christianity. He taught against those whom he considered "Judaizers," and he tried to convince his readers to lay aside Jewish practices such as Sabbath-keeping.
Ignatius used his current predicament and impending martyrdom to bolster his credibility. He filled his epistles with seemingly self-absorbed references to his bonds, his captivity, and his inevitable execution. He imitated Paul's prison epistles where the apostle boasts about his chains. Ignatius frequently spoke of becoming a worthy disciple or attaining to God by means of his death.
Technical Note: The letters of Ignatius exist in three basic forms: (I) a long recension, (2) a middle recension, (3) a short recension. The long recension is a fourth-century, expanded version of the original letters with the addition of six spurious letters (forgeries) attributed to Ignatius. The short recension is a Syriac abridgement of the middle recension. Eusebius knew the middle recension, and most Ignatius scholars agree that the middle recension preserves the most authentic versions of the originals. Only the following Ignatian letters should be considered authentic, and only in the middle recension: Philadelphians, Ephesians, Trallians, Magnesians, Romans, Smyrnaeans, and Polycarp. For a summary of the epistles and brief commentary on their contents, see Chronicles of the Apostles, chapter 5I.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Against Judaism
Do not be deceived by strange teachings, nor with old fables, which are worthless. For if we still live according to Judaism, we acknowledge that we have not received grace. (Ignatius, Magnesians 8:1)
Ignatius epistle to the Magnesians offers important testimony that, even in the second century, many Gentile Christians still identified closely with Judaism. Ignatius, however, was not one of those who cherished the association with Jews and Torah. Ignatius warned the Magnesians against Jewish teachings, midrash, and Jewish tradition. From his perspective, grace and Torah were incompatible. He declared that any Christian who lived "according to Judaism" had not received God's grace. Ignatius came to this conclusion by misunderstanding the writings of Paul:
I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Torah. You have been severed from Messiah, you who are seeking to be justified by Torah; you have fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:3-4)
The writings of Ignatius shamelessly imitate and freely quote the Pauline epistles, but they misappropriate the teachings of Paul regarding Judaism and Torah. Ignatius clearly misunderstood Paul's epistle to the Galatians and several other key Pauline texts in the same manner that most Christians since his time have misunderstood them. The early church quickly lost the original context of Paul's writings as epistles to the Gentiles, arguing against requiring Gentile believers to become Jewish. Regardless of what Paul really meant, the early and standard reading of his epistles took them as a forceful rejection of Torah and Judaism. It was not what Paul actually said, but what his early readers thought that he said, that became Paul's contribution to the emerging shape of Christianity.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Lord’s Day VS. The Sabbath
If, then, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things came to possess a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death (which some deny), the mystery through which we came to faith and for which we patiently endure, so that we may be found to be the disciples of Jesus Christ, our only Master-how could we live apart from Him? His disciples were the prophets themselves as they waited for Him as their Teacher in the Spirit. And then, when the one they waited for came, He raised them from the dead. (Ignatius, Magnesians 9:1-2)
From the perspective of Ignatius of Antioch, Christianity was not a sect of Judaism at all. Instead, Christianity and Judaism functioned as rival religions that had always existed in opposition to one another. Ignatius understood Judaism as the religion of the Jews who, in their spiritual blindness, did not see Christ. Christianity was the religion of those who understood that the Torah was really only about Christ and should not be literally observed.
Ignatius believed that the Old Testament prophets had foreseen Christ and therefore became Christians.
According to Ignatius, when the prophets received that revelation, they abandoned the Torah and began to live as Christians under grace instead of law. He explained that the Jewish people persecuted the Old Testament prophets because they testified about Christ:
For the godly prophets lived according to Christ Jesus. This is why they were persecuted. They were inspired by His grace to persuade the unbelieving that there is one God, who has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ His Son, who is His eternal Word, which came forth from silence, and who in all things pleased Him who sent Him. (Ignatius, Magnesians 8:2)
He believed that Christ rewarded the Old Testament prophets for their devotion to Him by resurrecting them (after His own resurrection) and bringing them to heaven with Him. This early version of the harrowing-of-hell eschatology had the advantage of leaving most Jews in Hades while rescuing Bible heroes familiar to Christian readers.
He also told the Magnesians that the Old Testament prophets had been brought up observing the Torah, but when they foresaw Christ, they quit observing the Sabbath and began to keep the Lord's Day (i.e., the first day of the week).
In the days of Ignatius, the Christian observance of the Sabbath was in transition. Naturally, Jewish believers remained fully Sabbath-observant, but Gentile believers had an ambivalent relationship with the Sabbath. In some places, Gentile believers continued to assemble on the Sabbath and cease from work on that day. In other places, Christians no longer rested on the Sabbath or used it as their principal day of assembly. They continued to regard it as the holy Sabbath, but they believed that the death of the Messiah had canceled the obligations associated with it. Ignatius belonged to this latter opinion.
Ignatius did not believe that the Sabbath had changed from the seventh day to the first day. He did not consider the Lord's Day to be a new Sabbath, but he believed that it was inappropriate for Christians to keep the Sabbath at all. He believed that Christians should make the Lord's Day their principal day of assembly because it represented the resurrection of Christ, but he did not advocate observing the first day of the week as a day of ceasing from labor.
Ignatius argued that to keep the Sabbath was to live apart from Christ.
Did the bishops from Asia Minor share his opinions about Judaism and Sabbath observance? At the very least, they must have considered his opinions reasonable. The bishops in Asia Minor looked to Ignatius as a superior authority. The blessed Polycarp, who was almost certainly Sabbath observant himself, recommended Ignatius' epistles to the Philippians without hesitation. He apparently had no insurmountable difficulties with Ignatius' anti-Torah language, even though he himself and his community observed Passover (and presumably other Jewish sanctities).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
In Accordance with Christianity
Therefore, let us not be ungrateful toward His kindness. If He were to reward us according to our works, we would cease to be. Since we have become His disciples, let us learn to live according to the principles of Christianity. For whosoever is called by any other name besides this is not of God. (Ignatius, Magnesians 10:1)
"The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch" (Acts II:26). Originally, the term referred to the particular sect of Judaism that identified with Yeshua of Nazareth. By the time of Ignatius, it no longer signified a sect of Judaism; it signified a competing religion.
Ignatius understood Judaism as the religion of the Torah. He understood Christianity as the religion of Christ, who supplanted the Torah. Ignatius was troubled by so-called disciples of Yeshua who lived according to the principles of Judaism. His theology had no room for Jewish believers who practiced Judaism or God-fearing Gentile believers who chose to do so. To him, anyone who did not "live according to the principles of Christianity" was not a Christian, and "whosoever is called by any other name besides Christianity is not of God."
What were the principles of Christianity that he had in mind? In this context, the principles of Christianity included a repudiation of the Torah's ceremonial laws and all practices considered characteristically Jewish.
Did the other bishops and the Christian assemblies to whom he addressed his epistles share these views? This question asks for a snapshot of a religion in transition, whereas the reality is more like a motion picture. The assemblies of Asia Minor were slowly changing under the influences of the Fiscus Judaicus, the exclusionary curse from Yavneh, and the persecutions of first Domitian and then Trajan. In the motion picture, the assemblies are at various stages in the transition. Some may have embraced Ignatius' views without hesitation, but others were far less anti-Jewish than Ignatius and the assembly in Antioch. Some congregations and bishops, Polycarp, for example, were only two decades removed from the teaching of John the son of Zebedee. Within the context of this transition, Ignatius sounds like he is attempting to persuade the Magnesians to abandon the Torah and Jewish practices. He wrote, "Since we have become His disciples, let us learn to live according to the principles of Christianity." The language implies a transition from one state to another, but within the context, the previous state was Judaism. Ignatius was pushing the congregations in Asia Minor to disassociate from Jewish practice and Judaism.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Utterly Absurd Old Leaven
Cast out, therefore, the evil leaven, the old, sour leaven, and be transformed into the new leaven, which is Jesus Christ. Be salted with Him, lest any one of you become putrefied, for by your odor you will be tested. (Ignatius, Magnesians 10:2)
Ignatius compared Judaism to the old leaven that must be cast out at Passover. Jesus Christ is the new leaven. The old leaven of Jewish ways spiritually putrefied the believer. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. A little Judaism spoils the whole church. Ignatius was drawing his inspiration from Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians: "Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed" (I Corinthians 5:7). In this case, Ignatius hijacked the language of the passage and repackaged it into a condemnation of Judaism and Torah. Paul applied the leaven metaphor completely differently. In Paul's epistle, the leaven was not Judaism; it was sexual immorality, malice, and wickedness. The new leaven was not Christ; it was "sincerity and truth" (I Corinthians 5:8). Ironically, outside a Jewish context where Passover is both understood and practiced, the leaven metaphor falls flat.
Ignatius had no patience for Jewish believers and God-fearing Gentiles who continued to keep the Sabbath and other ceremonial aspects of Torah.
He considered it "utterly absurd" for a believer in Christ to practice Judaism:
It is utterly absurd to profess Christ Jesus and to practice Judaism. For Christianity did not base its faith on Judaism, but Judaism on Christianity, and every tongue believing on God was brought together in it. (Ignatius, Magnesians 10:3)
Contrary to the evidence and the obvious historical truth, he argued that Christianity did not grow out of Judaism. According to Ignatius, Judaism grew out of Christianity. In other words, the true Old Testament religion of Israel was Christianity, but the Jews, in their spiritual blindness to Christ, perverted their observance of the Scriptures into the manmade religion of Judaism. These bigoted assumptions about Jews and Judaism are still prevalent among many believers today.
Ignatius went on to address a few more matters in his epistle to the Magnesians. He warned them about the dangers of Gnostic teaching and urged them to be obedient to their bishop. He sent greetings from the believers in Smyrna, the delegates from Ephesus, and the other assemblies represented at Smyrna. Then he asked them to pray for the assembly he had left behind in Antioch, which was still weathering a season of Roman persecution:
Remember me in your prayers, that I may attain to God. And remember the assembly which is in Syria, of which I am not worthy to be considered a member. I ask for your love and united prayer in God, so that the assembly which is in Syria may be deemed worthy of being refreshed by your assembly. (Ignatius, Magnesians I4:1)
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Tro’as
The Roman detachment responsible for transferring Ignatius and the other prisoners to Rome left Smyrna. Ignatius said goodbye to Polycarp and the believers in Smyrna, and he sent the bishops from Ephesus, Tralles, and Magnesia home with their letters.
The soldiers conveyed Ignatius along to Troas, where he found hospitality and reception in the local believing community. He was keenly aware that Paul had visited Troas many times.
While Ignatius waited at Troas, he received good news from Antioch. The persecution had lifted, and things had returned to normal. Ignatius said, "It is reported to me that the assembly at Antioch in Syria now possesses peace" (Ignatius, Philadelphians 10:1; cf. Smyrnaeans II:2; Polycarp 7:1). Ignatius sent letters back to two assemblies he had visited: Philadelphia and Smyrna. He also sent a short letter to Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Sepulchers of the Dead
If any man preaches Judaism to you, do not listen to him. For it is better to hear about Christianity from a circumcised man than to hear about Judaism from one who is uncircumcised. But if either of them fails to speak about Jesus Christ, they are, in my judgment, monuments and sepulchers of the dead, upon which are written only the names of men. (Ignatius, Philadelphians 6:I)
Ignatius warned the believers in Philadelphia against listening to those who advocated Jewish observances like the Sabbath or other ceremonial aspects of Torah. He probably knew Jewish Christians who did not practice Torah. If even a Jewish Christian did not practice the Torah or teach Judaism, why would a Gentile Christian do so? Ignatius remarked that he would rather hear a Jew teaching about Christianity than a Gentile teaching about Judaism. He considered any Bible teacher who did not teach about Jesus to be a tomb full of dead men's bones, an allusion to Matthew 23:27: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones." Our Master Yeshua used that turn of phrase to condemn hypocrisy, which looks good on the outside but hides corruption beneath the surface. He was not condemning the Pharisees because they failed to speak about Christ. Ignatius misappropriated the simile and used it to paint all non-Christian Jews and Jewish teachings with the same brush.
The Ignatian passages against Judaism indicate that many of the believers whom Ignatius encountered in Asia Minor were still practicing and teaching Torah and Jewish observance. When Ignatius challenged them for this in Philadelphia, they asked him to prove his position from the Scriptures. He could only point to passages that he had misunderstood. He dismissed the Tanach as merely a precursor to Christ with no ongoing value beyond the objective of revealing Christ (Philadelphians 9:I-2).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Dawn of a New Era
The Philippian community copied and disseminated the epistles of Ignatius and the epistle of Polycarp. The epistles became popular in the early church and were read publicly and privately along with the apostolic epistles.
What happened to Ignatius? According to Eusebius, "Report says that he was sent from Syria to Rome and became food for wild beasts on account of his testimony for Christ." According to the late and apocryphal Martyrdom of Ignatius, Ignatius death wish was granted in Rome. He faced wild beasts in the arena during the closing ceremonies of the Saturnalia celebrations, and there he died.
The writings of Ignatius of Antioch present several mysteries and intriguing points of departure to explore, but none is more relevant for our study of the The Sent Ones than his sharp repudiation of Judaism, Torah, and all things Jewish.
Ignatius was a hero of the faith, a defender of apostolic truth, a passionate soldier for the kingdom, and a brave martyr for the sake of Messiah's name. Despite his vitriolic attacks on Judaism and Jewish practice, his morbid fascination with martyrdom, and his fawning idolization of the Apostle Paul, he was a spiritual giant whose writings should be studied and meditated upon by devout believers everywhere. Therefore, his stance against Judaism and Jewish practice needs an answer. He cannot be dismissed as an apostate or an innovator. As much as he was a leader in the church, his views and beliefs were also products of the church he led.
Ignatius used the terms "Christian" or "Christianity" seventeen times in his seven epistles, ordinarily in contest against Judaism. His hostile invectives against Jewish sympathizers and practices within Christianity would have no strength unless they stood upon a condemnation of Judaism in general. Ignatius believed that Judaism was, at best, irrelevant and, at worst, demonic. He dismissed anyone associated with Jewish teaching, interpretation, or practice. He could do so because the larger Christian environment of which he was a part had already decided that the gospel and the writings of Paul invalidated Judaism and Torah.
How did things come to such a state? If the Yeshua movement started as a sect of Judaism, how do we explain Ignatius, only eighty years after Yeshua, declaring Christianity incompatible with Judaism? This transformation seems startlingly fast. The answer to this important question concerns the impetus for Christianity to emerge as a religion distinct from Judaism, an event that scholars refer to as the parting of the ways. Throughout the entire study in Acts and beyond, we have discovered that a whole host of contributing factors combined to bring about the caustic divorce between Christianity and Judaism. The following list of topics highlights a few of the main factors that led to the parting of the ways.
Mainstream Jewish hostility toward Yeshua and his followers
Tension between Jewish and Gentile believers
Pervasive anti-Semitism of the Roman world
Misunderstanding Paul's teachings to Gentiles
The Jewish War and its polarizing effect
The Jewish Tax and its polarizing effect
Expulsion from the synagogue from Yavneh
Attrition of apostate Gentile believers to Judaism inspiring backlash
By the time Ignatius took his position as bishop in Antioch, the above factors had combined to create a new religious identity. Ignatius did not invent this new religious movement; he was simply the result of it.
Nevertheless, the case should not be overstated. The Christianity of Ignatius was a recent development, and it had not yet taken root everywhere. As demonstrated above, Ignatius seems to have been troubled to find a great deal of Jewish practice, including Sabbath observance, in the assemblies of Asia Minor. His ideas about the invalidity of the Torah seem to have met resistance in Philadelphia and other assemblies to which he traveled. This is not surprising in view of John's presence in Asia Minor only two decades earlier. Church history says that Polycarp and the bishops of Asia Minor proved to be the last holdouts for the observance of Passover (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 5.23-24). They may have been the longest holdouts for other aspects of Jewish observance, too.
The cosmopolitan Ignatius may have been a little bit ahead of his time, but it did not take the rest of Gentile Christianity long to catch up with him in disassociating from Torah and Jewish practice. After his death, the popularity of his epistles contributed to the process and accelerated it.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.