Was first-century Judaism in a condition of continuing exile? Wright says Yes. Many have questioned him.
Perrin’s book, Jesus the Temple , offers an argument in support of Wright’s conclusion. Israel was driven from the land into exile because of a failure to keep Jubilee, a failure to release debt and restore property to the poor. In the first century, even though Israel was back in the land, the leaders were still refusing to keep Sabbath as required by the Torah. Even though they were back in the land, they were still in exile because the conditions that caused the exile still pertained.
Nehemiah saw the same thing. At the very center of Nehemiah, he’s dealing not with the people of the land nipping at his heels but with wealthy Jews who enslave fellow Jews through loans and mortgages (Nehemiah 5). They were still in exile because they were still doing what sent them to exile.
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