These aspects of Baptism, Ritual Cleansing and Child-rearing in religion are widely covered by the Didache outlining them in the manner in which they were conducted among First-Century Jews and Christians. Going by the title of “the doctrines of the lord by the twelve disciples", insights are drawn on the historical similarities between the works of Didache and the biblical content which seem to agree on almost every aspect. The beginning of the book outlines the two ways in the content. The first way is called the way of life and encompasses teachings on loving the Lord with totality of heart and treatment of one’s neighbors as oneself. The second way, called the way of death enumerates the sins that cause one to be cut off from God (Brown, 1998).
The first part begins with various teachings regarding Christian relationships with God and other people in the society. It asserts that one must love the lord with all heart and all that is within him. The person has to remember that God was watching over every action they did and could repay them according to their deeds. This is put categorically as “my son, flee from all evil and from all that is like it.” The teachings urge the people not to follow or observe any teachings on things deemed as omen (Cruttwell, 1985). To keep their souls pure, there was need to avoid ways of the darkness such as the practices of witchcraft and sorcery or divination. This is evidenced by the statement “My child, be not a soothsayer: for this leads to idolatry; nor given to charms, astrology, or lustrations, nor even be willing to look at them, for from all these things idolatry proceeds”. According to the Draper, 1996, other evils condemned were such as backbiting which was rebuked as it was seen as a form of blasphemy. The love of money and all forms of lying are condemned as being the source of ills in the society. Instead, keeping the mind pure by not allowing it to stray into evil thoughts was embraced as a source of purity. Meekness is also advocate for in every individual since it was the meek who would inherit the earth. Furthermore, Christians are encouraged to show perseverance in facing all forms of troubles and hardships (Egbert et al., 1884). This is affirmed by the statement “Be long-suffering, and pitiful, and guileless, and quiet, and good, and reverencing continually the words which you have heard”. Any trouble that could befall an individual was emphasized as being in the control of God. Purity of the soul is emphasized by “You shall not exalt yourself, nor give rashness to your soul. Your soul shall not be joined with the lofty, but you shall hold converse with the just and the humble”.
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Notably, there is significant stressing of according reverence to the preachers of God’s word where it is emphasized that the preacher was to be honored in the same measure that the lord was honored. The reason for this was that the preacher, while delivering the message was not actually the one speaking but the lord in him. In making judgments, there is emphasis on being just and showing no impartiality as stressed in the statement “You shall judge justly, you shall not respect persons in convicting of transgressions”. This would promote peaceful coexistence among the people in the society. They were required to be generous in their giving as opposed to receiving. It is clear from the teaching that God would bless those that gave than those that received (Jefford, 1989). Deeds of sharing with those in need were important as they would be rewarded by God who solely recompenses acts of godliness.
In matters of godliness, parents are urged to bring up their children in the way of the lord by the statement “You shall not remove your hand from your son or your daughter, but shall teach them from their youth up the fear of the Lord” ( Moule, 1955). Moreover, in showing the sovereignty of God, masters are urged to treat their servants in good faith without intimidation since it was God who had given both their spirits and were both answerable to him. The importance of this is stressed by “You shall not command with bitterness your slave or your maiden, who hope in the same God, lest they fear not the God that is over you both. For he comes not to call you by respect of persons, but those for whom he has made ready the Spirit”. On their part, slaves were to show total obedience to their masters as a way of reverencing God.
In reverencing God, the individual was not to abandon any commandment of God. Additionally, they were to perpetuate the commandments without adding or subtracting any aspect in God’s commands (Salmon, 1904). In case of sinning, the individuals are required to confess their sins before the church. It was forbidden to make any prayer or supplication with sin in the heart as it would obstruct God from responding to an evil conscience. This was the way to having a good life in the eyes of God and men. This shows the paramount importance of upholding the law of God. In upholding the law of God, the individual was required to shun any person who would teach doctrines otherwise from the law of God (Syreeni, 2005). This way, perfection in “bearing the yoke of the lord” could be achieved. They were further instructed not to eat of any meat that had been dedicated to idols.
Among First-Century Jews and Christians, baptism is depicted as a crucial element in their faith. The process of baptism was to be conducted in a specific manner with specific requirements. The priest was to conduct teachings on the essentiality of the doctrine to the people (Syreeni, 2005). On completion of the teachings, the priest conducted the ceremony in this manner; after invoking the trinity God; God the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, dipping the individual in running water followed as a way of cleansing the individual from sin. The running waters indicate the life in the water that had the power of cleansing (Egbert et al., 1884). In situations where the running water could not be available, the priest could use stagnant waters in the baptism. Provisions were also made for the nature of the water which could be warm if cold water could not be accessible. If neither of the waters were available for dipping, there was provision of pouring the available water thrice on the head of the individual while invoking the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Brown, 1998)..
Before any form of baptism could be carried out, the baptizer had to fast and pray for divine intervention on the day that the baptism was to take place. The baptized was also to fast for the same reasons as the baptizer. This fast was held a day or two prior to the day of fasting and incorporated everyone who was willing to fast with the baptizer and the baptized ( Moule, 1955). During the fast, specific requirements were made on the fasting individuals. To be effective, the teachings of the lord Jesus that “do not pray as the hypocrites…” instead, they were to follow the Lord’s Prayer that follows “Our Father which is in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done in earth as it is in heaven . Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debt, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, power and the glory forever”. On completion of the fasting period, the baptism took place (Draper, 1996). Children were baptized as an indicator of their purpose of inheriting the blessings of the covenant between the Jews and God. This was also in accordance with the constitution of the apostles that required baptism of infants by stating “baptize your infants”.
In the matter of Eucharist, everyone was required to partake of it as a way of thanking and celebrating God for sending Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of the world. There were two phases of the Eucharist i.e. the cup and the bread. In sharing the cup of Christ, thanks were given to God for the provision of the fruit of the grapes of David to symbolize the blood of Jesus (Draper, 1996). The same was done when it came to breaking the bread, thanking and glorifying God for the opportunity to partake of it. However, the Eucharist was only for those that had received baptism since the lord has forbidden indiscriminate sharing of the Eucharist in stating “Give not that which is holy unto dogs.” Additionally, anyone who had disagreements or disputes was not to touch the Eucharist as they would profane it.
Thanksgiving was to be made on all food since it was God’s command. This was a reflection of the grace that God has unceasingly bestowed on them for ensuring they enjoyed food and drink to their full. It was also an acknowledgement of God’s power since he was the source of everything that they had or even hoped to have. Supplication was made for the church requesting God to protect it from evil. They also requested God to keep the members of the church in unity (Egbert et al., 1884).
The church was also commanded to embrace the massagers of God as it reflected the receiving of God in their hearts. If he taught on the righteousness of God, they were required to receive him in the manner in which they would receive the lord “he teach with a view to adding righteousness and knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the Lord”. However, if the massager embarked on teaching doctrines opposed tom their faith, they were required to turn a deaf ear to the teachings he brought as they were not from God. They were also taught on differentiating between true apostles and false prophets (Brown, 1998).
In differentiating the true disciples from false ones, the number of days spent in the area was a major determinant. According to the guidelines, a true apostle would only stay for duration of two days (Moule, 1955). If he exceeded, he was to be deemed a false prophet. Another aspect was the requirements that the apostle would make. If the apostle asked for bread and a resting place, he was genuine. On the contrary, the apostle who would ask for money was a direct indicator that he was a false prophet. Reverence was to be accorded to spiritual communication since anyone who showed defiance to the spirit would never receive forgiveness from God. However, the character of the person speaking in spirit was to be evaluated and compared to that of the lord. If they did not seem to rhyme, then he was a false prophet (Moule, 1955). This was guided by the teaching that “by their characters a false prophet and a true prophet shall be known”. Additionally, if the prophet ordained a table while in the spirit, he was not to partake of it, an otherwise behavior would depict him as a false prophet. Moreover, a prophet that behaved contrarily to his teachings was also deemed to be a false prophet (Cruttwell, 1985). Prophets that were willing to stay with the people were to be considered and their maintenance looked into. This was in accordance with the teaching that “the laborer is worthy of his wages”. Therefore, they were to bring all the first fruits from their fields and vineyards as well as from their livestock to the prophets who had the rank similar to a high priest. These first fruits would be given to the poor if the priest was not available (Brown, 1998)...
In appointment of Bishops or other heads of church, they had to check on the character of the appointees. It was a requirement for the bishop to show truthfulness, approval and no sign of covetousness. On appointment, everyone had to honor them since they were one with the prophets of God. In matters of service, the people of the church were to admonish each other in total peace as it was fitting in the service of God. The same peace and harmony was required in prayer an in giving of alms to reflect their unity in Christ. In their service to Christ, the people were to be diligent and completely devoted (Egbert et al., 1884). They were to keep their lamps burning according to the statement “Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins be loosed, but be ready: for we know not the hour in which our Lord comes”. Gatherings were encouraged as they provide platforms for sharing in matters of faith that could profit their souls. This is in preparation for the second coming of Christ.
From the “doctrines of the lord by the twelve disciples”, many similarities are evident to the teachings in the new testament on Christianity. To begin with, the apostles’ role has not been transited to the rule of a permanent bishop. Notably, the mention of teachers and apostles is depicted in similar manner to the New Testament, where they visited churches to deliver the message of God. In like manner is the hypocrisy of Jews that is depicted in both materials (Egbert et al., 1884). The disparity that comes in is that no mention of scriptural readings is made in the churches. The writer of the content seems to have been a disciple of one of the apostles since his content is put forward as reported speech contrary to the letters of apostles that are put in direct speech. The writer shows similarity to the views of disciples in the hypocrisy of the manner of fasting that the Jews practiced. However, there is no mention of his opinion on the judaistic practices of observance of the Sabbath (Jefford, 1989).
There is similarity in the indiscriminate consumption of meat with the exception of meat that had been dedicated to idols. This serves as proof that he was not aligned in any manner to the Ebionites but probably had interactions with them (Jefford, 1989). In depicting Christ, he gives segments of his interpreted statements rather than the direct statements made by Jesus. In the matter of baptism, he mentions the full trinity to indicate the divinity of Jesus. However, his mention of “vine of David” depicts the traditional tendencies by Jews to refer to Jesus (Egbert et al., 1884). The mention of first fruits is depicted in like manner to the Old Testament book of Malachi which outlines the importance of offering first fruits.
A general outlook on the way of life shows it to be based on the New Testament teachings of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount (Draper, 1996). The various aspects that attest to this include; “loving God the creator and love for your neighbor as you love yourself, bless those that curse you, pray for your enemies and treat others as you would have them treat you”. The book is divided into the way of life and the way of death which is parallel to the teachings of Jesus in “the sermon on the mount” on the narrow and wide paths.
In chapter two, the book sheds light on the hypocrisy of men urging them to “not hate any man but some thou shalt rebuke and for some thou shalt pray, and some thou shalt love, for thy soul is good”. It also highlights the importance of going to church with a clear conscience. The outline of the Lord’s Prayer seems to be directly lifted from the version of the gospel of St. Matthew (Draper, 1996). Concerning the Eucharist, the book gives first priority to the cup then the bread follows. This is in the same manner that Paul has outlined it in first Corinthians chapter ten verse sixteen. Another major similarity notable in this context is the mention of “give not that which is holy to the dogs” which is directly similar to the same text in Matthew chapter seven verse six (Jefford, 1989). The prayer outlined after consuming the Eucharist shows the liturgy of the process which is not available in the New Testament. Notably, the extensions of the prayer by the prophets show that they were unlimited in making prayer while the rest had to conform to the liturgical prayer.
The criteria of appointing bishops and deacons is similar to the criteria in Paul’s letter to the church of Philippians in chapter one verse one where he states that they should “therefore appoint for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the lord, men meek and not lovers of money, and true and proved; for they also serve for you the service of the prophets and teachers” (Egbert et al., 1884). This similarity indicates that he probably compiled the book after having interacted with Paul’s letters. Towards the end of the book, there is mention of the second coming of Christ and the antichrist is also described. Notably, the manner of description of the coming of Christ is totally in accordance with the first letter of Paul to Thessalonians chapter four verse sixteen and seventeen; “the lord shall come and all his saints with him” (Jefford, 1989).
In conclusion, “the doctrines of the lord by the twelve disciples" seems to be a compilation from a person who had interacted with the already existing scripture. A general outlook on the first division of the book, way of life shows it to be based on the New Testament teachings of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount. The various aspects that attest to this include; “loving God the creator and love for your neighbor as you love yourself, bless those that curse you, pray for your enemies and treat others as you would have them treat you”. The division of the book into the way of life and the way of death is also parallel to the teachings of Jesus in “the sermon on the mount” on the narrow and wide paths. There are numerous other constant similarities to scriptures found in the New Testament especially the gospel according to St Matthew and the Pauline letters. There also traces of scriptures from the Old Testament such as first fruits which is drawn from the book of Malachi. Therefore, “the doctrines of the lord by the twelve disciples" can be viewed as a compilation of various texts from the bible, only with specific changes.
References
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Cruttwell, T.N. (1985). The Teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles through the Twelve Apostles.
Draper, J. A. (1996). The Jesus tradition in the Didache. The Didache in Modern Research, 72-91.
Egbert C.N, William J. Churchill J.W, Edward G.H Hincks.Y ( 1884) The Andover Review: A Religious And Theological Monthly. Vol1.-January-June.
Jefford, C. N. (1989). The sayings of Jesus in the teaching of the twelve apostles (Vol. 11). Brill.
Moule, C. F. D. (1955). A NOTE ON" DIDACHE" IX. 4. The Journal of Theological Studies , 6(2), 240-243.
Salmon, G. (1904). Teaching Of The Twelve Apostles. Trinity College
Syreeni, K. (2005). The Sermon On The Mount And The Two Ways Teaching Of The Didache.
