The New Testament and the People of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God Book 1)

by N.T. Wright

We must, instead, envisage a Judaism which comprehended at least three strands: (a) the anguish of 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch, lamenting the fall of the Temple as if their hearts would break; (b) the pragmatism of Johanan ben Zakkai, calmly recognizing that Hosea 6:6 had long ago spoken of Israel’s god desiring deeds of lovingkindness rather than sacrifice; and (c) the smouldering fire of rebellion, crushed once again by pagan might but seeking nevertheless the way by which to reverse the catastrophe and to build the true Temple.56 (We might also include (d) the young Christian church, still thinking of itself as in some way part of a wider ‘Judaism’ but interpreting the fall of Jerusalem in the light of its own theology.)