The Apostle and Sender saying (Matt. 10:40; Luke 10:16) not only gave assurance to Jesus’ emissaries as he sent them out on their first healing and teaching mission, it also offers us an extraordinary glimpse into Jesus’ high self-awareness as the shāliaḥ, or official representative, of Israel’s God. In this segment of the Life of Yeshua commentary, David N. Bivin, JP’s editor-in-chief, and Joshua N. Tilton envision how Jesus’ Apostle and Sender saying may have been worded in Hebrew and explore the Jewish backgrounds of this profound saying.
The Programmatic Opening of Jesus’ Biography as a Reflection of Contemporaneous Jewish Messianic Ideas
In this study Professor Ruzer suggests that there was a broader first-century Jewish context behind the narrative strategies employed in Mark’s prologue to Jesus’ messianic biography. On the other hand, he also demonstrates that Mark 1:9-11 can be used to recover an early phase of a pattern of messianic belief, seemingly shared by wider Judaism, that continued into the rabbinic period. In other words, New Testament evidence can be an important witness to broader trajectories in early Jewish messianic beliefs.
Character Profile: Rabban Gamliel the Elder
The ancient Jewish sage Rabban Gamliel is mentioned not only in rabbinic literature, but also twice in the New Testament. Marc Turnage introduces us to this important figure in the history of Judaism and Christianity.
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 01
In Lesson One of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert L. Lindsey examines the story of the youthful Jesus asking and answering questions in the Temple.
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 13
In Lesson Thirteen of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert L. Lindsey examines the story of the sheep and the goats (Matt. 25:31-46).
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 12
In Lesson Twelve of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert L. Lindesy discusses the significance of Jesus’ title “Lord.”
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 11
In Lesson Eleven of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert L. Lindsey discusses the story of Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah of God (Luke 9:20; cf. Matt. 16:16; Mark 8:29).
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 10
In Lesson Ten of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert L. Lindsey discusses “Son of Man” as a messianic title from Daniel 7:13 in the saying, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners’” (Matt. 11:19 // Luke 7:34). Lindsey also discusses the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) in which the title “Son of Man” appears.
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 09
In Lesson Nine of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert L. Lindsey discusses Jesus’ riddle about the Messiah and David’s Son (Matt. 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44) and the Healing of the Paralyzed Man story (Matt. 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26).
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 08
In Lesson Eight of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert L. Lindsey discusses messianic titles in the Hebrew Scriptures and Jesus’ saying about Jonah and Solomon in Matt. 12:38-42.
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 07
In Lesson Seven of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert L. Lindsey continues his discussion of Jesus’ sermon in the Nazareth synagogue.
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 06
In Lesson Six of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert L. Lindsey examines the story of Jesus preaching in the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4:16-21).
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 05
In Lesson Five of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert L. Lindsey examines Jesus’ saying about the son who knows the father (Matt. 11:27 // Luke 10:22).
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 04
In Lesson Four of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert Lindsey examines the story of Jesus’ temptation.
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 03
In Lesson Three of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert Lindsey examines the story of Jesus’ baptism.
The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: Lesson 02
In Lesson Two of The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus series, Dr. Robert L. Lindsey examines the interrogation of Jesus by the chief priests and the origin of the Son of God concept.
The Gospel of John’s Jewish-Christian Source
In an important study entitled The Gospel of Signs, Robert Fortna correctly identified a Jewish-Christian source embedded in the Fourth Gospel. This article is based upon the conclusions of Fortna’s research and explores their significance. I will also point out additional evidence Fortna overlooked that clarifies the origins and intentions of the Jewish-Christian source embedded in the text of the Fourth Gospel.
Jesus’ Place in First-century Judaism and His Influence on Christian Doctrine
The main aims of this contribution are, first, to show what Jesus’ place was among the various trends of the Judaism of his time and, second, to estimate the impact on Christianity of his teachings and of his life and death.