Stewards of God’s Keys

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Pirke Avot, also known as The Sayings of the Fathers, or, simply Avot, is unquestionably one of the most valuable rabbinic texts for comparative study with the synoptic gospels.Note that the last chapter of Avot, chapter 6, known as “Acquisition of the Torah,” is a later addition. See Hanoch Albeck’s comments to Order Nezikin in The Mishnah (Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, and Tel Aviv: Dvir Co., 1988), 351, 381.

Hidden Treasure and Priceless Pearl Parables

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Matt. 13:44-46 (Aland 132; Huck 101; Crook 154)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Revised: 24 October 2022

‏ לְמַה אֲדַמֶּה מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם לְמַטְמוֹן בַּשָּׂדֶה שֶׁמָּצָא אָדָם וְטָמַן אֹתוֹ וּמִשִׂמְחָתוֹ הָלַךְ וּמָכַר כֹּל מַה שֶּׁהָיָה לוֹ וְלָקַח אֹתָהּ הַשָּׂדֶה וְעוֹד אָמַר לְמַה אֲדַמֶּה מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם לְאִישׁ תַּגָּר הַמְּבַקֵּשׁ מַרְגָּלִיּוֹת טוֹבוֹת וּכְשֶׁמָּצָא מַרְגָּלִית אַחַת יְקָרָה הָלַךְ וּמָכַר כֹּל מַה שֶּׁהָיָה לוֹ וְלָקַח אוֹתָהּ

Then Yeshua told them this parable: “What comparison can I make to illustrate the worth of belonging to my band of disciples? It’s like a man who stumbled upon buried treasure in a field. What did he do? He reburied it, and in his excitement he sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field and obtain the treasure.”

Choosing the Twelve

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Matt. 10:2-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16; Acts 1:13 (Huck 72; Aland 49; Crook 72, 103)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Updated: 20 January 2023

וַיְהִי בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וַיִּקְרָא לְתַלְמִידָיו וַיִּבְחַר מֵהֶם שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה שְׁלִיחִים שִׁמְעוֹן פֶּטְרוֹס וְאַנְדְּרַיי אָחִיו וְיַעֲקֹב וְיוֹחָנָן וּפְלִיפּוֹס וּבַר תַּלְמַי וּמַתַּי וְתוֹמָה וְיַעֲקֹב בֶּן חַלְפִי וְשִׁמְעוֹן הַקַּנַּאי וִיהוּדָה בֶן יַעֲקֹב וִיהוּדָה אִישׁ קְרִיּוֹת שֶׁהָיָה מָסוֹר

And in those days Yeshua called his disciples together and chose twelve of them to be his emissaries to Israel. Their names were Shimon Petros and Andrai (his brother), Yaakov, Yohanan, Pelipos, Talmai’s son, Matai, Tomah, Yaakov Halfi’s son, zealous Shimon, Yehudah Yaakov’s son, and Yehudah from Keriyot, who was a traitor.

Gospel Origins: From a Hebrew Story to the Canonical Gospels

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The most fascinating, thrilling and challenging story in the world is that of Jesus as it is recorded in the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament. Without the Gospels we would know precious little about the way Jesus lived and taught, for these remarkable books are the only extensive and reliable sources we have for the life of Jesus.

Discovering Longer Gospel Stories

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Matthew, for example, placed Jesus’ teaching on anxiety (Matt. 6:25-34) after Jesus’ words about serving two masters, whereas Luke (Luke 12:22-31) placed the teaching on anxiety after the parable of the rich fool, even though Luke also preserved Jesus’ words about serving two masters (Luke 16:13).

Gergesa: Site of the Demoniac’s Healing

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One of the miracles performed by Jesus during his stay with the Sea of Galilee fishermen is known in Christian tradition as the “Healing of the Demon-possessed Man” and also, more popularly, as the “Miracle of the Swine” (Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39).

The Best Long-term Investment—Making Loans to God

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— /wp:paragraph –>(Matt. 6:19-20)

Jesus’ homily, which has been preserved in Matthew 6:19-24, contributes a small but priceless piece to a larger canvas—stewardship in the faith and piety of late Second Temple-period Judaism.

Deliver Us From Evil

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The Good News Bible, New Century Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible and New Revised Standard Version all render Matthew 6:13b as keep us, save us, rescue us, or deliver us “from the evil one.” … — /wp:shortcode –>

Matthew 6:13b includes the prepositional phrase apo tou ponērou, which may mean “from the evil one” or “from the evil (thing).” … The second occurrence of ponēros follows the preposition ek (“from, out of”) and, therefore, appears in the same ambiguous form of the gender as in the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:13b).