Some Jewish Corrections

But you did not learn Christ in this way,  if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,  Ephesians 4:20-21 NASB

Christ/ Jesus – It’s easy to correct the  translations of “Christ” and “Jesus.”  Just replace these with “Messiah” and “Yeshua.”  Is that all that’s necessary?  Well, not quite.  You see, once we make these vocabulary changes, we also change the meaning of Paul’s statement.  We need to ask a few questions.

What does it mean to “learn the Messiah”?  The Greek verb is manthánō, “to accustom oneself to something,” “to experience,” “to learn to know,” “to understand.”  It even has overtones of receiving direction from an oracle.  Consider what these nuances mean in relation to the Messiah.  Doesn’t Paul imply that the teachings of Yeshua form the basis of practical living?  Isn’t that what Paul means when he opens the discussion with “you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk”?  To learn the Messiah is to accustom yourself to his way of being, to experience the world from his perspective, to understand what he understands, and to know the truth of his directions.  And what does that mean?  What it means is that Yeshua is our principal rabbi when it comes to interpreting the Tanakh and putting it into practice.  Just as so many first century Jews followed the teachings of other rabbis, so those who follow the Messiah must adopt his instructions, his exegesis, and above all, his obedience to YHVH.  This sets the assembly that Paul addresses apart from all other groups in Ephesus.  In Paul’s view, identifiable behaviors express radical changes in personal worldview.

Paul goes on the write, “as truth is in Jesus.”  Of course, we know he didn’t write “Jesus.”  He wrote the Greek equivalent of Yeshua, i.e., Ἰησοῦς for יְהוֹשֻׁעַ and usually after the Exile יֵשׁוּעַ.^[1]   Interestingly, in the Greek text the term Ἰησοῦς is preceded by the definite article.  In other words, literally the text reads “just as is truth in the Yeshua.”  Translators have altered the text for English grammatical reasons.  But Paul might not be thinking of the name of a person here.  “Insofar as a consensus among Greek grammarians exists, it is that names of persons normally are not preceded by the article (they are anarthrous), but may be preceded by the article (be arthrous) if the reference is anaphoric.”[2]  That is to say, the use of the definite article with a personal name is really a reference to a prior mention of the person.  So, this verse doesn’t really say, “as truth is in Jesus,” because “Jesus” is really just a substitute for the previous mention of the Messiah.  If we were consistent in English, we would have to translate this as “as truth is in the Messiah [whose name is Yeshua].”  But Christian readers are used to the idea that the truth is in Jesus, so the translators adopt this colloquialism.  Paul is thinking something else.  He tells his audience that the instructions of the Messiah—his way of life—is the truth.  “You learned the practical instructions about living from the Messiah, and those instructions are true,” is one way to put it.  By the way, you might notice that Paul doesn’t use the definite article with “truth.”

What conclusion can we draw from these two verses?  In opposition to the sociopathic, morally suspect, and envious behavior of those in Ephesus, Paul’s assembly is to be characterized by obedience to the Torah as interpreted by Yeshua, the Messiah.  No claim for justifiable behavior divorced from this foundation is valid.  The assembly has but one principal and one principle: Yeshua and obedience to YHVH.  Paul even suggests that there are some in this assembly who had first-hand instruction from Yeshua.  They should know.  So should we.

Topical Index: Jesus, Yeshua, manthánō, teach, experience, understand, Ephesians 4:20-21

^[1] Foerster, W. (1964–). Ἰησοῦς. In G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, & G. Friedrich (Eds.), Theological dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed., Vol. 3, p. 284). Eerdmans.

[2] https://commons.und.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1313&context=sil-work-papers#:~:text=Insofar%20as%20a%20consensus%20among,if%20the%20reference%20is%20anaphoric.