Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy: A Journey into a New Christianity Through the Doorway of Matthew's Gospel

by John Shelby Spong

Let me go back now and examine, as best we can, the meaning behind the words we just read. “After the reading of the law” is a reference to the Sabbath Torah tradition. The most important part of the synagogue worship was a reading from the books of Moses, as they were called—the first five books in the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These five books were the “holy of holies” in the Jewish scriptures. In traditional synagogue practice, the Torah was read in its entirety at public worship throughout the Sabbaths of a single year. Getting through the Torah in that time frame meant that each Sabbath Torah reading might last thirty to forty minutes. This reading of the Torah progressed from beginning to end, starting on the first Sabbath of the new year with the book of Genesis and ending on the last Sabbath of the year with the completion of the book of Deuteronomy. It was read from sacred scrolls, which were kept in the tabernacle and were solemnly and ceremoniously brought out for reading. A given Sabbath’s scroll would be opened to the place where the previous Sabbath’s reading had concluded. One did not skip around in a scroll! There was some question as to when the Jewish year actually began. The Torah itself, however, is determinative: It describes the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, as coming on the first day of Tishri, the seventh month of the year (Lev. 23:24). If Tishri is the seventh month, then the year had to start with Nisan. This w...