THE NAZOREANS AND THE FAMINE OF ’46, Jackson Snyder

In this Passover preparation time, we recall the slavery, famine and degradation of our ancestors in Egypt. We look forward to eating the Passover and abstaining from leaven.

Here is a story of the famine that came upon Jerusalem ten years after Yahshua ate the last Passover with his disciples. It is a rather long story, but it is a seldom-told and important story. Read all of it – in parts if necessary. You will learn a lot about the Nazoreans of Antioch and Jerusalem, and you will also get to read excerpts from a several ancient texts that are also valuable but seldom taken from the shelf.

The Epistle of Barnabas (Bar Nabi) is used in this message.  This letter is included in the earliest New Testament manuscript we have, the Codex Sinaiticus.   If you’d like to read my translation of this early text (the only translation of it on the Internet), go to www.sinaiticus.com. Barnabas is very important for a number of reasons, including the fact that he makes it clear exactly when the Apostles believed Yahshua was returning. See if you can understand when Barnabas is talking about.

The Gospel of Yahuda, aka The Gospel of Thomas is also quoted. This work is very early and close to “the source.” It may have been written by Yahshua’s brother Yahuda (Jude) and refers to why the elder brother Ya’aqov (James) is named as the chief Apostle in Acts 15 and elsewhere.

Also used is the history of Flavius Josephus, possibly the son of the disciple Matthew. You can find his histories about everywhere. Josephus tells us about the famine in Palestine that occurred in 46 AD and Queen Helene’s help. Helene was a convert to the Nazorean Way. She was also under a Nazarite vow. Helene’s contributions helped stave off the famine (that Paul speaks of in 2 Cor 9).

May Yahweh bless you this set-apart season as you read of his great work among the Antiochan believers in 46 AD. –Jackson Snyder

Acts 11:19. Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews. {The rest is read in the course of the message.}

Epistle of Barnabas 15 1  And, moreover, concerning the sabbath it is written in the ten commandments, in which he spake on Mount Sinai unto Moses face to face: Sanctify ye the sabbath of the Lord with pure hands and a pure heart. 2  And in another place he saith, If my sons shall keep my sabbath, then will I place my mercy upon  them. 3  He speaketh, too, of the sabbath in the beginning of the creation: And God made in six days the works of his hands, and finished them on the seventh day, and rested in it and sanctified it. 4  Consider, my children, what signify the words, He finished them in six days. They mean this: that in six thousand years the Lord will make an end of all things, for a day is with him as a thousand years. And he himself beareth witness unto me, saying: Behold this day a day shall be as a thousand years. Therefore, my children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, shall all things be brought to an end.

Josephus Antiquities 20:1.3-2.5: Herod, the brother of Agrippa who had perished, was allowed to govern over Chalcis. He asked Claudius Caesar for control over the temple along with the sacred treasury, and the ability to choose the high priests, and he was given all that he had asked for.

Around this time lived queen Helena of Adiabene, along with her son Izates. They both began to follow the Jewish way, turning away from their past lifestyle . . . Her arrival was of great help to the masses in Jerusalem; for there was a famine in the land that overtook them, and many people died of starvation.

When it became necessary to obtain food abroad, queen Helena sent some of her attendants, with money, to the city of Alexandria to purchase as much grain as possible. She also sent others to the island of Cyprus to bring back dried figs. This whole process happened very quickly, and as soon as they had returned, they handed the provisions out to those who were in dire need of them. Because of this, she left behind a legacy and was held in great respect by the people and the nation at large. And when her son Izates became aware of this famine, he sent a large gift to the leaders in Jerusalem.

Luke 4:16. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the Sabbath day. And he stood up to read; 17. and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18. "The Spirit of Yahweh is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19. to proclaim the acceptable year of Yahweh." 20. And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21. And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Prayer of John Chrysostom (347 – 407) O Messiah our Elohim, who are yourself the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, and did fulfill all the ordered purpose of the Father, always fill our hearts with joy and gladness, now and forever, world without end.

Weary Willy

If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there. Some people are so unsure of their purpose in life that the only time they’re confident of where they’re going is when they drink prune juice.

Consider Weary Willy, a prisoner in Leavenworth whose temperament was studied and recorded in the book My Six Convicts (Donald Wilson). Although Willy hadn’t committed a serious crime, he was the willing patsy for a smarter criminal, doing the other man’s time. Day after day, Weary Willy shuffles up and down prison corridors. He’s not done that much wrong in his life; nor has he done that much good either. He has no vision other than to carry out another man’s sentence. From the cell, up the hall, down the hall, back to the cell – twenty-five years to life. And he’s not even doing that well because he has no mission in life other than to spend it, incarcerated, pacing back and forth. It’s sad, but sadder still is the fact that Willy isn’t unique. He represents millions of people – millions with no viable mission.

The Scandal of Converts!

Acts 11:19. Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews. 20. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, preaching Yahshua the Master. 21. And the hand of Yahweh was with them, and a great number that believed turned to Yahweh. 22. News of this came to the ears of the assembly in Jerusalem

Antioch is a city in Asia Minor, which, in the time of the Apostles, was the third largest in the Roman Empire and the capital of Syria. It was a very influential center of Greek culture since it was situated on the trade route between Rome and Jerusalem.

Due to persecution against the “Nazoreans” (Notzrim) in Jerusalem and Judea, many Jewish believers in Yahshua migrated and settled within the relative safety of Antioch’s ethnic melting pot. As immigrants, they gathered with other Palestinian Jews - people whose customs, traditions, language and culture were similar. And they followed the custom of Yahshua: They met with the “orthodox” Jews every Sabbath in the synagogue to learn and witness that Yahshua had come to seek and save lost Israel.

Other Jewish believers came from Cyprus and Cyrene to Antioch. (Cyrene is situated in modern-day Libya.) These newcomers to Antioch were more liberal and better educated, having been raised far from the traditions and poverty of Jerusalem. They’d been previously baptized in the Holy Spirit and arrived anointed to tell their stories of how Yahshua had influenced their lives outside the bounds of the Jewish cult.

Through the prophetic voice of these Cypriots and Africans, secular, pagan and godless people were repenting and believing that Yahweh was the Almighty One and that Yahshua came as his Son to reconcile all people. And "a great number believed" the testimony of the Cypriots and Africans. These proselytes from pork-eating paganism were brought out of the shrine and into the Antioch synagogue to learn the Torah every Sabbath right alongside the long-bearded Pharisee.

Needless to say, this influx of pagans scandalized the long beards.

“These are idolaters coming in! They’re not Jews! They know nothing of our Law and traditions. Do they bring defilement in with them? Shall we be accursed by Yahweh because they’re here? What should we do?”

These folks probably wanted their congregation to grow, but not to the extent of sacrificing their traditional way of thinking, meeting, acting, behaving and worshiping. These Greeks didn’t even know enough to stand for the Doxology. They didn’t even know the names of the books in the Torah. They didn’t even know “The Lord’s Prayer.” Did they really belong there? Shouldn’t they be put out?

Early on in his ministry, Yahshua commanded that, should he go away, his disciples should defer to Ya’aqov haZaddik (James the Just), his brother, for leadership and counsel.

(Yahuda / Thomas 12. The disciples said to Jesus, “We know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?” Yahshua said to them, “No matter where you are you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.”)

In their dismay, these Antiochan stalwarts of the faith sent word to Jerusalem.

“There are pigs coming in the synagogue! They don’t know the Law. They aren’t circumcised. Ya’aqov! What should we do now?”

This is where we again take up the text.

Bar Nabi – One Thumb Up

22b. Ya’aqov (James) sent bar Nabi (Barnabas) to Antioch. 23. When he came and saw the favor of Elohim, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to Yahweh with steadfast purpose; 24. for he was a good man, full of the Set-apart Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Master.

Yusef bar Nabi (Barnabas), who was from Cyprus (like some of the evangelists who stirred up the Antioch synagogue) served Ya’aqov (James) in Jerusalem. Bar Nabi was speedily dispatched to observe the situation and make recommendations to headquarters in Jerusalem. (Bar Nabi means “Son of a Seer.”) Bar Nabi, like James and Peter, strictly kept the Torah, including Sabbaths, feasts and food ordinances. But after surveying the situation in Antioch, he did not condemn the evangelists or their movement. No, but he did admonish them all to be faithful to Yahweh no matter what.

Here’s the gist of bar Nabi’s admonition in his own words from his letter we know as:

The Epistle of Barnabas 21 (excerpts): It is well that those who’ve learned the judgments of Yahweh should walk in them. For he who keeps these shall be glorified in the kingdom of God; but he who chooses other things shall be destroyed with his works. There will be a resurrection and a retribution. I beseech you who are in authority, show kindness. For the day is at hand on which all things evil shall perish. Yahweh is near, as is His reward. So be good lawgivers one to another; continue to be faithful counselors of one another; do away with all hypocrisy. And may Elohim, who rules the world, give to you wisdom, intelligence, understanding, knowledge of His judgments – with patience.

My friend, you can’t go wrong if you’re faithful to the Commandments and to one another.

Bar Nabi was a spirit-filled Apostle with the gift of faith. His faith made him wise enough to see past the current confusion to the greater picture – that Jew and Gentile might become one in Messiah, as the prophets foretold. He was a man ahead of his time. Yet no little help would be necessary if his vision of Yahweh’s will for the assembly in Antioch was to become real.

Bar Nabi was also experienced in business matters (Acts 4:36,37). He wasn’t so overtaken by his vision that he didn’t perceive the lack of a common purpose among the believers at Antioch. He exhorted them to acquire a steadfast purpose – find a mission – some heavenly reason to be together. Why? Because “if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there.” The only way that Bar Nabi’s prophetic vision could come to pass would be if the two factions at Antioch kept the religious law and unified in spirit and action. Any assembly that wants to go forward absolutely must see a vision of tomorrow and set about in unity to make it happen. This is what is meant in verse 23 by “a steadfast purpose.”

No congregation is ever meant to evolve into a religious hobby club or retire as a monument to the past. Bar Nabi stilled the storm by calling them all back to faithfulness, but he could readily perceive that Antioch simply didn’t know how to walk through the tremendous door of opportunity that conflict had opened. But he knew what to do about that, and that it wouldn’t be a quick fix. So Bar Nabi exhorted them to “be faithful,” then he said goodbye to the Antioch assembly temporarily. Like MacArthur, he promised, “I shall return!”

What Is a Christian?

25. So Bar Nabi went to Tarsus to look for Shaul (Paul); 26. and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the assembly, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians.

Tarsus is about 100 miles west of Antioch by boat, and Bar Nabi catches the next passage. When he and Shaul return together, they begin a leadership training seminar in Antioch that lasts an entire year. Not three nights, not four Sunday School moments, but twelve full months of intense training on the subject of what it means to be a steadfast, Spirit-driven congregation.

You’ve got to hand it to those Antiochans. Of course some people left. But those that Yahweh had chosen to redeem Bar Nabi’s vision didn’t quit and they didn’t split. The task forces, committees and focus groups that Shaul and Bar Nabi put together raised a stir in that city because the residents witnessed Old-liners and Greenies working together side by side for a common religious purpose – and certainly for the first time in history. They became Christians.

For your information, “Christian” is a title borrowed from the world of paganism. (Oh, so you knew that already!) The believers in Antioch didn’t call themselves Christians; outsiders did. To be called a Christian then was a smear. Literally! “Christ” simply meant “smear.” Calling the assembly “Christians” was like saying, “They are smears.” (“Smear” has extremely insulting connotations.)

But the very fact that outsiders called these Nazoreans of the Antioch synagogue by a common name, even if it was derogatory, proves that they were seen as having a common purpose. People who had once hated each other were coming together. That’s what’s supposed to happen in a synagogue.

Synagogue means “a coming together place.” This public demonstration of unity may never have happened had not Shaul and Bar Nabi sacrificed an entire year teaching the commandments of Yahweh and the testimony of Yahshua.

After the year, these Antiochan “Christians” retained shared values, theology, diet, ordinances, morals and understandings. They desired, prayed for and received diverse gifts and graces and used them in the service of Yahweh. They came to love one another through the smearing.

But their common mission hadn’t yet manifested. When it arrived, it did so by means of a supernatural event – a miracle.

(By the way, the insult of being called a Christian backfired. “Smeared” has another meaning – “anointed,” as in “smeared with oil.” Christ, in the case of Yahshua, came to mean “the Anointed King,” while “Christian” still means “follower of the Anointed” (Luke 4:18). So that which was meant as an insult turned for good by the Holy Spirit. However, Christians of today have practices more like Greeks in the Shrine of Mithra than the Nazoreans of the Antioch Synagogue!)

The Famine of ‘46

27. Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world; and this took place in the days of Claudius (41-54 AD). 29. And the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brethren who lived in Judea; 30. and they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Bar Nabi and Shaul.

Agabus was a wandering prophet. “Agabus” means “locust” as in “locust plague,” a favorite subject of the Hebrew prophets. Yahweh foretold a disastrous “locust plague” through this gifted man: a "great dearth" - a famine. The famine swept into Palestine in 46 A.D during the reign of Claudius Caesar. Well-documented in secular history, many important people of good will helped to bring relief to Jerusalem.

Shaul and Bar Nabi saw the famine as an opportunity to bring unity of purpose to the assembly at Antioch. “Hadn’t the famine first been prophesied right here in this place?” they exhorted. “And didn’t our Master minister throughout Israel?” they preached. “And aren’t his brothers and sisters and disciples and the whole menagerie of his followers yet there?” they cried. “And aren’t they hungry there in the Holy Land of our fathers?” they repeated. “How many of you here are from Jerusalem – raise your hand!” Bar Nabi commanded. A few raised their hands. “So doesn’t this give us a hint as to just who Yahweh is calling to help with relief?” he proclaimed.

Over and over they preached relief – mission – purpose – single-mindedness. Shaul and Bar Nabi insisted that purpose grow out of mission. The believers in Antioch, spurred on by the call to good works, finally began to act. The interesting thing about the offering they received for Jerusalem is that both Jew and Gentile united. Though diverse, they acquired a one-mindedness through the teachings of the Apostles, the vision of Yahweh, and agapē for one another.

“Steadfast Purpose”

Let’s go back for a moment to Acts 11:23 and Bar Nabi’s speech to the Antiochan Nazoreans.

Weymouth’s New Testament says that Bar Nabi “encouraged them all to remain, with fixed resolve, faithful to Yahweh.” The Revised Standard Version says, “he exhorted them all to remain faithful to Yahweh with steadfast purpose.” The King James says that he “exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto Yahweh.” What is this “purpose of heart” that drove the mission toward the vision?

We can explain it in intellectual terms. The Bible word prothesis, here translated purpose, means “placing an action in view” or “exhibiting” something – i.e. putting something on display. The word is used in the Old Testament (reshiyth) to describe the showbread – twelve loaves of wheat bread representing the twelve tribes of Israel set out on the table in the sanctuary of the temple. The loaves were split into two rows of six, signifying that the tribes of Israel were likewise split, yet all Israel remained before Yahweh and, by the mouth of prophets, would be ONE in the end.

Of the showbread, the Law demands,

Every sabbath [the priest] shall set it in order, a memorial, even an offering to Yahweh, and everlasting covenant, and a statute for all your generations (Leviticus 24:8).

So the significance of purpose for the Antiochan assembly and for us folks today is that our vision, mission and “purpose of the heart” is instituted not by Shaul and bar Nabi, not by an ecclesiastical authority, but by the heavenly Father, who expects our Elohim-given purpose, like the presentation of the showbread, to be carried out before Yahweh and all people forever. His purpose carries cosmic authority and awesome responsibility, and is to be powered naturally and supernaturally – with teaching and with gifts. Everyone involved is to take ownership and get on board. No exceptions. Ours is an everlasting covenant. Reward or retribution await.

Three Little Magic Words

As the purpose of the Antiochan Nazoreans still stands today for us in Acts 11:28-30, our reason to be should be exhibited as the showbread. Everyone who reads this message should know exactly what we’re about without a second thought.

The sign outside one church I led had a simple mission statement consisting of three action verbs written in red. I asked the Sunday School classes for four weeks in a row before anyone could remember the three red action verbs.

To know them wasn’t really that important, except that memorizing them was meant to be the first step in doing them. And we must do them to realize our reason to be. What else are we to do but win, disciple and glorify? If not these, then we’re only to be judged as lacking later on.

The Antioch Congregation had its vision resisters – those who would have liked everything to remain comfortable and slothful – those who wouldn’t even read their own sign. And some are simply unwilling to do anything to fulfill those three words.

When Jerusalem was suffering famine, the Gentiles of the congregation wouldn’t have had any natural inclination to help. They had no real religious or blood connection with either Jerusalem, Nazoreans or Jews. Relief was something the old guard – the minority – felt called to do.

But the Gentiles of the new era caught the vision of the old guard. Both new and the old became caught up in the mission of fund raising. We’re fortunate to have a written, first-hand report of the actions of a similar congregation when it fulfilled the same mission.

I’m speaking of the Corinth assembly that was also fund raising for the relief of Jerusalem. Paul records the efforts of the Corinthians in:

2 Corinthians 8:2. These believers suffered hard testing. However, even though they were very poor, they gave very generously. They were so happy. 3. They gave as much as they could – even more than they should –because they really wanted to. 4. They begged us again and again for the privilege of having a part in helping the set-apart ones. 5. They did not do as we expected. No, the first thing they did was to give themselves to Yahweh. Then they gave themselves to us to be used in whatever way the he wanted. (SIM)

What this testimony plainly reveals is that, like in Antioch, this synagogue had no bankroll or savings accounts with thousands of shekels to spare. But they got on board with Yahweh by being obedient to his commandments then they begged to do more. No, they didn’t hoard and gripe – they didn’t demonstrate a “depression mentality” (Shaul and Bar Nabi wouldn’t stand for it) – but they happily impoverished themselves for the privilege of relieving the holy ones.

And What of Your Mission?

The congregation at Antioch listened and learned, planned their work, then worked their plan; they became unified by their purpose of heart. No other congregation after Jerusalem became so closely identified with Apostles and Prophets than Antioch. Antioch is where Shaul and Bar Nabi began their long joint ministry. And it was in Antioch where revival and universal evangelism first broke out. This is where believers were first called Christians – smeared ones. Here foreign missions were born.

Later, Antioch became home to many important Christian writers whose works are still prized today: the Epistle of Bar Nabi that we have quoted, Ignatius, Lucian, John Chrysostom – all on account of that first pairing of Jews with Gentiles in a common Nazorean purpose of heart.

And today in the modern world, if you can believe this, the Antiochan Orthodox Church is one of the fastest growing movements back to authentic Christianity (says Bishop Sanchez). Why? Because even now the Antiochans retain the same purpose of heart that’s recorded in a book we call Acts of the Apostles.

I wonder what the historians will say about our congregations? Will believers read of our exploits a thousand years hence? Will our mission make enough difference to change the course of human events or even one human life? Will we care enough at this stage to acquire a vision and fulfill the three little red verbs on the sign? Will those on the outside see our good works and either insult us or glorify the Father for us? Will we win, disciple, glorify? What you’ll do now, right now, will determine that.

But I’ll leave you with BarNabi’s benediction from his letter while you make up your mind.

Benediction: Epistle of Barnabas 21: And may El, who ruleth over all the world, give to you wisdom, intelligence, understanding, knowledge of His judgments, with patience. And be ye taught of El, inquiring diligently what the Master asks from you; and do it that ye maybe safe in the day of judgment. While yet you are in this fair vessel, fulfill every commandment. Farewell, ye children of love and peace. Yahweh of Shekinah and of all grace be with your spirit. Amein.