National Revelation

Of the 15,000 religions in human history, only Judaism bases its belief on national revelation -- i.e. God speaking to the entire nation. If God is going to start a religion, it makes sense that He would tell everyone, not just one person.

The rabbis make much of their national revelation, and say they find it persuasive that God would approach the people Israel this way. Catholics agree. Catholics expect that, to be consistent, the rabbis would accept all of God’s revelations to the whole people Israel.

Recall that the Crucifixion took place on Pesakh, Passover. Each year, every Jew traveled to the Temple for three major festivals, Pesakh, Shavuot, and Sukkot. The whole Jewish nation was there. At the moment Jesus died,. Mt 27:51 “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” Even the Roman centurion, seeing all this, said, Mk 15:39 “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

Every Jew felt the earthquake. Every Jew knew what had occurred. Lk 24:13 “That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?’ And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’”

In fact, the theophany at the moment of Jesus’ redemptive sacrifice is remarkably similar to the theophany on Mt. Sinai. Ex 19:16 “On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.” And in both cases, the focus was on one man. Only Moses went up on Mt. Sinai. And only Jesus was lifted up on the Cross.

Some Jews may try an argument that “our theophany was bigger than your theophany,” but such an argument presupposes that we can measure God’s sovereign will with a yardstick of our own choosing. In both theophanies, God’s self-revelation to the whole people revealed His power, His authority, His ability to do what no man could do. Recall Elijah’s experience on Mt. Horeb. 1 Kgs 19:11 “And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”

Judaism, unique among all of the world’s major religions, does not rely on “claims of miracles” as the basis for its religion. In fact, the Bible says that God sometimes grants the power of “miracles” to charlatans, in order to test Jewish loyalty to the Torah (Deut. 13:5).

Wait a minute, you just said that God announced the giving of the Torah in a miraculous theophany. Ex 19:16 “On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. …”

The Torah describes at least seven miracles explicitly for belief.. Six were done before Pharaoh to persuade him. Ex 8:10 “Moses said [to Pharaoh], ‘Be it as you say, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. The frogs shall depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.’” Ex 8:22 “But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there; that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.” Ex 9:14 “For this time I will send all my plagues upon your heart, and upon your servants and your people, that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.” Ex 9:29 “Moses said to him, ‘As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.’” Ex 10:1 “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your son’s son how I have made sport of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them; that you may know that I am the Lord.’” Ex 11:7 But against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, not a dog shall growl; that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel.”

The seventh was done before all Israel as a sign of the Moab covenant. Ex 29:5 “I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out upon you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet; you have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink; that you may know that I am the Lord your God.”

Does this objection say that if God had not done any of the miracles the people Israel would still have believed, that God performed these miracles for no reason? Catholics believe that God performs every miracle to accomplish a specific purpose, and we think Jews believe that, too.

There were other miracles intended “that you may know.” He brought the people Israel out of bondage with ten miraculous plagues as well as a miraculous cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night and a miraculous parting of the Red Sea. On the desert He gave them manna to eat. God intended that these miracles inspire belief. Ex 16:4 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings against the Lord.”

Even after so many miracles, Moses had to cry out to them, Ex 17:2 “Why do you find fault with me? Why do you put the LORD to the proof?” And a moment later he cried out to the Lord, Ex 17:4 “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” Can anyone assert seriously that if Moses had merely announced the Torah to the Israelite slaves in Egypt, they all would have believed?

Some Jews try to respond by quoting, Deut 13:5 “But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God.” That applies to idolators. Deut 13:6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known …” The prophecies of Jesus recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures are abundant. See Personal Qualifications and Where’s the Temple? for just a few.

Maimonides states (Foundations of Torah, ch. 8):

The Jews did not believe in Moses, our teacher, because of the miracles he performed. Whenever anyone’s belief is based on seeing miracles, he has lingering doubts, because it is possible the miracles were performed through magic or sorcery. All of the miracles performed by Moses in the desert were because they were necessary, and not as proof of his prophecy.

Maimonides’ point that the miracles for which Moses was God’s intermediary were necessary introduces an unwarranted assumption that miracles that sustain earthly life do not contribute to belief.

On the feast of Shavuot, the matan torah, the day on which our Father gave the Torah to Moses, the sixth day of Sivan, when every Jew in the world who could travel was at the Temple, God gave this miracle:

Acts 2:5 “When the day of Pentecost had come, [the Apostles] were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

Was this not an example of national revelation? We do not know whether all the Jews in the world gathered in Jerusalem for Shavuot could hear Peter’s voice, but we know it was a Acts 2:6 multitude.

Even if all the Jews in the world did not personally hear Peter’s words in their own language, does Jewish theology dismiss miracles of God that are not visible to the whole world? Consider this miracle:

Ex 3:1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here am I.” Then he said, “Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Why would God appear from a bush that was burning but never destroyed? At the time, he had been raised in Pharaoh’s household, where he would have learned to worship Pharaoh and the Egyptian idols. In Midian he was described as Ex 2:19 “an Egyptian.” Could the burning bush not have been to help Moses believe?