Yeshua in Context >> Archive
Yeshua's Exalted Identity (Synoptic Gospels)
Many think the idea of Yeshua as an exalted figure (prophet, Holy One of God, Messiah, divine-man) is primarily the domain of the Gospel of John. But in the synoptic gospels (Mark-Matthew-Luke) we read quite a bit about the identity of Yeshua as something greater than a rabbi: ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: 1a - Intro to the Gospels , Besorah/Gospel/Good News , Divinity of Yeshua , Identity of Yeshua , Messiah , Son of Man
Passover and Yeshua's Last Week (Based on John)
What happened when in the week leading up to the crucifixion of Yeshua? What if we ask this question of the Gospel of John instead of the more common approach of following Mark-Matthew-Luke (the synoptic gospels, as they are called)? It's tempting to turn to Mark or Matthew for information, but suppose we simply follow the Fourth Gospel to see what we can learn? Let me begin with just a brief note on my appreciation for the accuracy of the Fourth Gospel on matters related to the Temple and feasts of the Torah. I first began to consider the possibility that John was more precise that the synoptic gospels at the Society of Biblical Literature meeting in New Orleans in 2009. Paul Anderson (The Fourth Gospel and the Quest for Jesus) ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: Cross , Gospels as History , Last Supper , Passion Narratives , Passover , Temple and Torah
REVIEW: Anthony Le Donne's Historical Jesus
Historical Jesus: What can we know and how can we know it?, Anthony Le Donne, Eerdmans, 2011. This short and very readable volume is valuable but flawed. The reason I say that: great information on historical "knowing" and application to historical Jesus studies, but poor application to the Jesus story once Le Donne turns his attention to it. First, the part I think is good. When it comes to historical knowledge, how we know history, Le Donne explains in layman terms why modernism overreached. Modernism was too optimistic in some ways and too skeptical in others. It assumed we could find "the facts, just the facts" and view history objectively, in a one to one correspondence. All knowledge, even memory, is interpretation, says Le Donne, in what I deem to be a ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: Ascension of Yeshua , Book Reviews , Gospels as History , Hebrew Bible as Testimony
PODCAST: Lamb of God #1
Passover is coming. It's a good time to meditate on many themes. One that get's less attention -- I think -- than it should is the lamb of God thread in the gospel of John. There is probably a lot more to it than you think. And it is good. Lamb of God #1 ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: DHE (Delitzsch Gospels) , Disciples & Named Characters , Eyewitnesses , Passover , Yeshua as
Low and High Versions of the Yeshua Story
THE YESHUA STORY, LOW VERSION At last, in the days of the Second Temple a great Son of Israel arose in Galilee. He was a Hasid whose piety and Spirit-endowment worked healings. He was a teacher who spoke of the kingdom, the malkhut hashamayim, the world to come. The Temple authorities and the would-be rabbis in Judea opposed him. His miracles bothered them, since he was not one of them. His fanatical following scared them and was enough to convince the Roman governor to kill him. But the God of Israel raised him and he ascended to be the heavenly Messiah. God revealed that the death of Yeshua was a substitutionary atonement for all who would believe. At the end of the age, God will send him back as the Messianic ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: Divinity of Yeshua , Identity of Yeshua , Messiah , Yeshua as
REVIEW: The Jewish Gospels by Daniel Boyarin
Daniel Boyarin is Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture and rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley. In the foreword by Jack Miles, he is called "one of two or three greatest rabbinic scholars in the world." I'm not qualified to assign numbers to who is or isn't the world's greatest Talmud scholar, but it is easy to say that Boyarin knows his Talmud better than any but maybe a few dozen people in the world. So, it might surprise you to know that Boyarin thinks Judaism and Christianity are compatible. His goal, stated on pages 6-7 is to help Christians and Jews to stop vilifying each other. He doesn't follow Jesus and isn't asking fellow Jews to do so. But he demolishes all ideas that Christian devotion to Jesus is contrary ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: Answering Objections , Background to Gospels , Book Reviews , Divinity of Yeshua , Identity of Yeshua , Judaism Today & Yeshua , Messiah , Paradox , Spectacular Commentary
Symbolic Actions and Kingdom Enactments
Isaiah spent most of his career in sackcloth, but for three years went about barefoot and in his undergarments as a sign of what was to come (Isa 20:1-3). Ezekiel laid on his side for three hundred and ninety days (Ezek 4:4-5). Zechariah broke two staffs over his knee and threw thirty shekels into the treasury of the house of the Lord (Zech 11:7-14). These are symbolic actions, a kind of prophetic message in and of themselves. Yeshua also engaged in symbolic actions and what I call kingdom enactments. Symbolic Actions Declaring High Authority The Triumphal Entry (Mk 11:1-11; Mt 21:1-11; Lk 19:29-44; Jn 12:12-19) - Riding deliberately into the city as per Zechariah 9 with crowds hailing him, Yeshua is making a claim of messianic identity. The Temple Cleansing (Mk 11:15-17; Mt 21:12-13; ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: 1a - Intro to the Gospels , Aims of Yeshua , Enactments and Symbolic Actions , Gospel Genres , Identity of Yeshua , Kingdom Future , Kingdom Present , Miracles , Son of Man
PODCAST: Divinity1
To some people, the idea of Yeshua's divinity was probably something developed late. It must have involved a departure from Jewish thought. It must have been the result of syncretism, mixing pagan notions with the original understanding of Yeshua as a Jewish teacher or as Messiah. But what is the real explanation for the origin the idea of Yeshua's divinity? Divinity1 ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: Background to Gospels , Divinity of Yeshua , Formation of the Gospels , Greco-Roman Background , Identity of Yeshua , Judaism Today & Yeshua , Podcasts
PODCAST: Lamb of God #2
March 23rd, 2012 | Add a Comment
Sometimes we understand a story best only after we have read to the end. Like a detective story, the Gospel of John has some revelation that waits until 21:24. And when we read a second time, once we understand, there are some connections between Messiah, Passover, Temple sacrifices, and the eyewitness experience of the Beloved Disciple that add new layers of meaning to Yeshua as our Passover. Lamb of God #2 ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: Background to Gospels , Cross , Detailed Commentary , Eyewitnesses , Hebrew Bible as Testimony , Literary Features , Passover , Podcasts , Sacrificial System , Yeshua as