The Social Jesus: Beyond an Individualist Reading of the Capernaum Synagogue Incident

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To demonstrate the usefulness of a social approach to the Gospel narratives we will take a fresh look at the Capernaum Synagogue incident found in Mark 1:21-28 and Luke 4:31-37. … (Luke 4:31-37)

Luke (2 vols.; Anchor Bible; Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1981, 1985), 1:545; John Nolland, Luke (3 vols.; Word Biblical Commentary; Dallas: Word Books, 1989, 1993, 1993), 1:204.

Fishers and Hunters: A Fishy Reading of Jeremiah 16:16

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Revised: 16-Jun-2013

Among the more creative scriptural interpretations related to the fulfillment of prophecy in our day is one centering on Jeremiah 16:16. According to it, the “hunters” in this verse are the brutal pursuers of the Jewish people, such as the Nazis who systematically murdered millions of Jews.

Demands of Discipleship

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Matt. 10:37-38; 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; 14:25-27, 33 (Huck 62, 171; Aland 103, 217; Crook 118, 260-261)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'”

Not Everyone Can Be Yeshua’s Disciple

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Matt. 8:19-22; Luke 9:57-62 (Huck 49, 138; Aland 89, 176; Crook 93, 195)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'”

Matthew 1:1-25: In the Year of Jubilee?

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Considerable ink has been spilled regarding Matthew’s selection of the individuals in his genealogy (including three women: Tamar, Rahab and Ruth), and the differences between his list and that of Luke 3:23-38. … As Milik observed on the genealogy of Luke 3:23-38, we find seventy-six names. … Against this background Jesus’ first public words in Luke’s Gospel take on added poignancy as he read from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue of Nazareth: “…to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19; Isa 61:2).

Fathers Give Good Gifts Simile

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Matt. 7:9-11; Luke 11:11-13 (Huck 38, 148; Aland 70, 187; Crook 53, 212)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Revised: 6 February 2023

וּמִי בָּכֶם אָדָם שֶׁיִּשְׁאַל בְּנוֹ לֶחֶם וְאֶבֶן יִתֵּן לוֹ אוֹ שֶׁיִּשְׁאַל דָּג וְנָחָשׁ יִתֵּן לוֹ אוֹ שֶׁיִּשְׁאַל בֵּיצָה וְעַקְרָב יִתֵּן לוֹ לְפִיכָךְ אִם אַתֶּם שֶׁרָעִים יְדַעְתֶּם לִיתֵּן מַתָּנוֹת טוֹבוֹת לְיַלְדֵיכֶם עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה אֲבִיכֶם שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם שֶׁיִּתֵּן טוֹבוֹת לַשּׁוֹאֲלִים מִמֶּנּוּ

“Now what father is there among you who, when his son asks for bread, would give him a rock instead? Or if he asks for a fish, would give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, would give him a scorpion? Not a single one of you!

The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing

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Matt. 11:12-15; Luke 16:16
(Huck 65, 176; Aland 107, 226; Crook 125, 272)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Revised: 12 December 2022

מִימֵי יוֹחָנָן הַמַּטְבִּיל וְעַד עַכְשָׁיו מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם פּוֹרֶצֶת וּפוֹרְצִים פּוֹרְצִים בָּהּ שֶׁכָּל הַנְּבִיאִים וְאַף הַתּוֹרָה עַד יוֹחָנָן מִתְנַבְּאִים

“Since Yohanan the Immerser, and continuing into the present time, God’s redeeming reign has begun to increase, and the number of participants in his reign is on the rise.

“For all the prophets—and even the Torah—down to Yohanan tell of the coming redemption. But now the redemption is happening before your very eyes!”This translation is a dynamic rendition of our reconstruction of the conjectured Hebrew source that stands behind the Greek of the Synoptic Gospels.

A Woman’s Misplaced Blessing

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., the response to the raising of the widow’s son in Nain , or the response to the healing of a paralyzed man ), or it might have come in response to particularly impressive preaching. …

Brad Young and David Flusser noted the strong affinity between A Woman’s Misplaced Blessing and the Houses on Rock and Sand parable, which illustrates the necessity of doing as Jesus taught and not simply flattering Jesus with praise (Matt. 7:21; Luke 6:46).

“Prophet” as a Messianic Title

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Jesus also was referred to by such messianic titles as “Lord” (Luke 5:8), “Son of God” (Luke 1:35) and “Son of David” (Luke 18:38)….

Jesus the Prophet

Jesus claimed to be a prophet when he quoted the popular saying, “No one is a prophet in his own village,” going on to compare himself to Elijah and Elisha (Luke 4:24-27).

Sign-Seeking Generation

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Matt. 12:38-40; 16:1-2, 4; Mark 8:11-13; Luke 11:16, 29-30

Beyond an Inheritance

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Revised: 21-Oct.-2015

From the early centuries of the Christian era to our day, expositors of the Gospels have wrestled with the temporal dimension of Jesus’ teachings on the Kingdom of Heaven. Will the Kingdom of Heaven appear one day in the future when the Son of Man suddenly comes?

Selected Examples of Rewriting in Mark’s Account of Jesus’ Last Week

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Revised: 02-Jul-2013A revised and abbreviated version of this unpublished article (written in 2004) was published as “Evidence of an Editor’s Hand in Two Instances of Mark’s Account of Jesus’ Last Week?” in Jesus’ Last Week: Jerusalem Studies in the Synoptic Gospels (ed. R. Steven Notley, Marc Turnage and Brian Becker; Leiden: E. J.

The Programmatic Opening of Jesus’ Biography as a Reflection of Contemporaneous Jewish Messianic Ideas

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(Mark 1:1-11; adapted from RSV)

Mark’s programmatic opening of the Gospel narrative also appears in a slightly reworked and expanded form in Matthew 3:1-17 and Luke 3:2-22.

Jesus’ Yoke and Burden

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Revised: 25-Nov-2014″Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30; NIV). Although extraordinarily beautiful, Jesus’ saying recorded in Matthew 11:28-30 is enigmatic. What is this saying’s meaning, and what were Jesus’ “yoke” and “burden”?

The Hebrew Life of Jesus

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While attempting to translate the Gospel of Mark into modern Hebrew I came to the startling conclusion that there once existed a Hebrew Life of Jesus that was later translated into Greek, and that descendants of this literal Greek translation of the Hebrew Life of Jesus served as the basis of the Synoptic Gospels. We may, therefore, speak of a Hebrew source from which the Synoptic Gospels stem.

The Good Samaritan

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This article is a sample chapter from Windows into the Bible: Cultural & Historical Insights into the Bible for Modern Readers by Marc Turnage, which is reproduced on JerusalemPerspective.com with the kind permission of the publisher.

The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) is perhaps one of the most well-known of Jesus’ parables.