Just Jews? not all as well? (except Christians?, as we have already passed from judgement -Jn 5:24).
Yep. Just Jews.
I'm going to "purge the system" so this will probably be lengthy, and I'll end up having to divide it up into smaller posts
. Please bear with me.
Part 1:
There were no Christians in existence at Matthew 25. Jesus had not yet died, he'd not yet resurrected, and the Spirit's falling ala Pentecost had not yet occurred. None of the Messianic or Spirit-inhabiting prophecies had been fulfilled. That, however, does not mean Jesus' words back then do not apply to Christians. Jesus speaking in Matthew 25 is Jesus speaking at the half-way point (or more like the 7/8ths point of the promises God made to Abraham and Jesus. Prior to Calvary Jews awaited the coming Messiah and a few of them in Jesus' day (like Simeon in Luke 2, John the Baptist, Joseph of Arimathea, etc.) looked forward to the Messiah's arrival
and recognized Jesus was that guy. We might include outsiders like the Centurion and the Canaanite woman, but they are the exception to the rule, not the rule, just as in ancient times there was Rahab and Naaman. The author of Hebrews explains the relationship between Old and New, or what we might call pre-Calvary believers and post-Calvary believers.
Hebrews 11:37-40
They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.
Technically, the description the author of Hebrews just provided could apply to a plethora of people never mentioned in scripture, people all over the world. We must remember Abraham was just a guy living in Ur among what the Jews would call Gentiles or Goyim. Ethnically, Abraham's descendants were the Hebrews (Gen. 14), NOT Jews. In the chronology of scripture, the Jews do not come on the scene for several generations (2 Kngs 25). The latter get their name from the tribe of Judah, the tribe that was the largest and had the greatest amount of land and the land that covered the south/southeastern border of the promised land (which was eventually called Israel). By the time Jesus shows up there are some significant and important ethnic and theological divisions among the Jews. Ethnically there was the Jew versus Samaritan. The latter were not all from Samaria. They were Jews who'd intermarried with other cultures, other "nations" (
hagoyim), other religions. They dated at least as far back as Ezra and were reviled because they adulterated the Jewish religion and had allied themselves with the Jews' enemies. By the time of the incarnation they considered themselves a form of Judaism (hence the well woman's comment, "
You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?" and "
Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship," (Jn. 4). Can you imagine some first-century woman saying "
you people" to Jesus?
Theologically, the main divide was Sadducee versus Pharisee, but the Essenes and Zealots (ancient version of jihadists, but Jewish) were in the mix. Judaism had been adulterated by Hellenism (the preamble to John's gospel is a repudiation of Hellenism) but the newer sect, the Pharisees held on to ancient beliefs in a resurrection and life after death. As far as the record of the gospels go, only those of the Pharisaic persuasion converted to Christ. There is no record of any Sadducean ever converting. Nicodemus, Joseph, Saul were all Pharisees.
When Jesus died everyone mourned and thought him dead, and dead for good. Most of their "
mourning" was self-pity because they'd given up everything to follow him thinking he was going to chase out the Romans and rule Israel with moral righteousness, a pure justice and unequalled might. It did not matter that he'd explained it all to them before he died. Hard-headed folks.
The schmuck went and got himself killed
.