Can You Help Me? Part 2

Yesterday, I asked the question, "Why did the disciples who had just seen the risen Yeshua go back to fishing?" My point was that it seemed strange that after having witnessed the risen Lord that they would go about their secular tasks. Why were they not running through the streets proclaiming the resurrection? The answer may in part be found by understanding the way the early followers of the Way approached the message of Yeshua versus how the modern church does. The modern evangelical church has its eyes looking heavenward longing for a life in eternity. The early followers of the Way focused on the teachings of Yeshua, not teachings about Him. The document known as "Q" which is composed of teachings found in Matthew and Luke that are not found in Mark give us an early glimpse into early church practices. If "Q" was written in the 50's, it was written long before Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John was most likely the last gospel written, most likely in the 90's. This means that "Q" was the gospel of the early church. One very interesting point of "Q" is that it contains no references to the resurrection of Yeshua. It focused on what He taught and how He lived. The focus was on the now as opposed to the hereafter. In subsequent centuries under a heavy load of Greek thought, that all changed. With the infiltration of Greek philosophy and an emphasis on metaphysics into the church, a separation from the Hebraic roots occurred. Therefore, it became more important to focus on the life in eternity purchased for us through Jesus Christ, then to focus on the teachings of Yeshua the Jewish rabbi. Perhaps this is one reason that the disciples went fishing. The resurrection was not the central issue for the church; the central issue of the Way was to follow the teachings of Yeshua that the Kingdom of G-d had come. And that would never stop you from fishing.