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Sea Scrolls.
The New Testament was written in Greek, and Jesus spoke in Aramaic. The Qumran texts
are written in Hebrew and sometimes Aramaic, and has been shown to contain information that
is echoed in the New Testament. Prior to the discovery of the Scrolls, the teachings of Jesus had
been considered as original, though influenced by Old Testament teaching. However, the
Qumran documents now indicate the existence of a basis for His message. The Community Rule,
which was discovered in Cave 1, has proven to be one of the most important discoveries in
Qumran. It is a record of the rules and regulations of the Qumran community, where all must
make a “Covenant before God to obey all his commandments.” One of the basic tenets of
Christianity, the baptism of purification, is discussed. It says that the convert “shall be cleansed
from all his sins by the spirit of holiness uniting him to its truth ... And when his flesh is
sprinkled with purifying water and sanctified by cleansing water, it shall be made clean by the
humble submission of his soul to all the precepts of God.” This has led to the theory that John the
Baptist had lived at Qumran until he was called by God to be the forerunner of Jesus. Author
Charles Francis Potter, in his book The Lost Years of Jesus, attempted to explain the “eighteen
silent years” of Jesus, between the ages of 12 and 30, as being spent at Qumran.
In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:44-46), it says: “And all that believed were together, and
had all things in common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as
every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple...” This shows
that common ownership was part of the early Christian philosophy. The Community Rule stated:
“All ... shall bring all their knowledge, powers and possessions into the Community...”; “They
shall eat in common and pray in common...” and “...his property shall be merged and he shall
offer his counsel and judgment to the Community.”
Also in Acts, the Church leadership is shown to be made up of twelve Apostles, which
according to Galatians, were led by James (the brother of Jesus), John and Peter. In the
Community Rule, the Qumran group were governed by a ‘Council’ of twelve people, with three
priests that were in leadership roles, though it is not known if they were part of the twelve.
It also talks about a ‘Meal of the Congregation’ which is a ritual very much like the ‘Last
Supper’ and the subsequent communion ceremony; while other documents contain parallels with
the Sermon on the Mount, and the concept of the battle between the darkness and the light.
The Qumran texts contain references to what’s been identified as a messianic figure known
as the “Teacher of Righteousness,” which some have tried to identify as being Jesus, however,
there are no references as to the divinity of this person, so it couldn’t be Jesus. In addition,
because of the age of the document, this person would have been living well before the time of
Christ. However, recently released fragments do allude to Jesus. An unpublished Aramaic scroll
fragment out of Cave 4, mention the “Son of God” and the “Son of the Most High,” in a similar
manner as Luke 1:32, 35. It is the first time these references have appeared in any outside text.
Newly released fragments out of Cave 4 even prophecy the coming the coming of Jesus, as the
Messiah. Fragment 4Q285 said that a “staff shall rise from the root of Jesse ... the Branch of
David ... and they will put to death the Leader of the Community.” Fragment 4Q521 said: “The
Heavens and the earth will obey his Messiah ... He will not turn aside from the Commandments
of the Holy Ones ... For the Lord will visit the Pious Ones and the Righteous will call by name ...
He shall release the captives, make the blind to see, raise up the downtrodden ... He will heal the
sick, resurrect the dead, and to the Meek announce glad tidings.”
Much has been made about this small group of men, who for forty years had been silent
about the contents of the Dead Sea Scrolls which were in their possession. With some being