Revised: 22-Aug-2012
J
erusalem Perspective has launched an attempt to reconstruct a Hebrew Life of Yeshua, which, according to church tradition, was written in Hebrew by Yeshua’s disciple Matthew. If this tradition is reliable, then the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke would be grandchildren or great-grandchildren of that conjectured Hebrew biography. An attempt also has been made to reconstruct the first Greek translation of that Hebrew gospel, a more immediate ancestor of Matthew, Mark and Luke. No matter how imperfect these two reconstructions, the exercise of creating them throws much light on the words of Yeshua. The insights gained from the exercise are included in the commentary that accompanies each reconstructed text. Matthean, Markan and Lukan pericopae not included in the outline were assumed to be secondary.
Free samples of the “Counting the Cost of Discipleship” complex are available: nine pages of the commentary (pp. 1, 37-44 [renumbered 1-9] of a separate 96-page document), and six pages of the text.
It is essential to read the Introduction to this projected 120-part work, “Introduction to The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction” (27 pages), before studying the “text” and “commentary” documents.
Below is a map (outline) of the conjectured Hebrew biography. Texts and commentaries will be highlighted and linked as they become available for download.
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I notice the absence of Mat 21:21-22, Mark 11:22-24, Luke 17:6, Is there a reason for this? Are there any other scriptures not included in the map?
The account of the withered fig tree (Matt 21:20-22; Mark 11:20-26) does not appear to have a Hebrew undertext, and therefore no attempt will be made to reconstruct it; however, it’s text will be discussed in the commentary on the “Epileptic Boy Healed (Mt 17:14-21; Mk 9:14-29; Lk 9:37-43a; 17:5-6)” (see this pericope’s placement in the map above). On the other hand, the Matthean and Lukan versions of the “Epileptic Boy Healed” pericope are very Hebraic, and thus, an attempt will be made to reconstruct this story.
Following the timeline, how do we justify the scripture where Jesus says he would be in the earth three days and three nights, if he died on Friday? Can the Jewish calendar be traced back to the year when we believe Jesus died to determine what day Passover actually fell?