A collection of redactional words and phrases characteristic of the editorial style of the author of Mark.
Tower Builder and King Going to War Similes
The Tower Builder and King Going to War similes explain why Jesus thought full-time discipleship was not suitable for everyone.
A Nativity Meditation for 2014
Again and again in the nativity narratives communication somehow breaks down. The story of Jesus’ birth begins with scrambled communications, but that is not where the story ends. In the course of the story, God works through imperfect people to give them the perfect gift of the Messiah.
Demands of Discipleship
“Anyone who wants to join me but puts family ties or love of self ahead of me cannot possibly be my full-time disciple. Anyone who is not prepared to die cannot possibly be my full-time disciple. Anyone who does not renounce his possessions cannot possibly be my full-time disciple.”
Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven
In order to join Jesus band of full-time disciples the rich man would have to adopt a radically different lifestyle than the one to which he was accustomed.
LOY Excursus: The Kingdom of Heaven in the Life of Yeshua
In this excursus to the Life of Yeshua commentary, David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton delve into the ancient Jewish concept of the Kingdom of Heaven and discuss the ways in which Jesus made use of this concept in his own unique style.
Hidden Treasure and Priceless Pearl Parables
Supposing that these twin parables once belonged to the same narrative-sayings complex as the Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven incident enables us to understand their message. Jesus’ demand that the rich man sell everything wasn’t an onerous or unreasonable request; to the contrary, Jesus had offered the rich man an extraordinary bargain.
Widow’s Son in Nain
In Widow’s Son in Nain, David Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton ask “Which Nain was the town where Jesus raised the widow’s son?” and “What is the meaning of the people’s exclamation that a prophet had arisen among them?” The possibility of a Judean ministry early in Jesus’ career and of the messianic connotations of the Widow’s Son in Nain story are discussed in detail in this segment of the Life of Yeshua commentary.
LOY Excursus: Greek Transliterations of Hebrew, Aramaic and Hebrew/Aramaic Words in the Synoptic Gospels
One of the clues that the Synoptic Gospels descended from a Hebrew Life of Yeshua is the number of foreign words that were transliterated into Greek from either Hebrew or Aramaic (it is often impossible to distinguish Hebrew from Aramaic in Greek transliteration).
Healing Shimon’s Mother-in-law
The Healing of Shimon’s Mother-in-law, a tender story of familial intimacy, offers a unique glimpse of Jesus’ compassion.
The Hebrew Life of Jesus
Despite the popularity of the modern suggestion that the Synoptic Gospels are the end result of several decades of oral transmission, the internal evidence indicates that this is not the case. Dozens of pericopae in Matthew and Luke translate to Hebrew so easily and so idiomatically that we must conclude that the Synoptic Gospels are the result of literary transmission.
A New Approach to the Synoptic Gospels
My solution to the synoptic problem leads to a very different assessment of the Gospels than is common in New Testament scholarship today.
From Luke to Mark to Matthew: A Discussion of the Sources of Markan “Pick-ups” and the Use of a Basic Non-canonical Source by All the Synoptists
The first article I wrote on the interrelationships of Matthew, Mark and Luke to each other and to other canonical and non-canonical sources appeared in the journal Novum Testamentum. With further research, however, I refined my hypothesis.
Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark
Jerusalem Perspective presents a newly revised version of Robert Lindsey’s groundbreaking essay on the Synoptic Problem, which served as an introduction to his Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark.
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.
The Times of the Gentiles and the Redemption of Jerusalem
In this article David Flusser applies the methods of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research and the insights of Robert Lindsey’s solution to the Synoptic Problem to Jesus’ prophecy concerning the destruction and liberation of Jerusalem.
A New Two-source Solution to the Synoptic Problem
Shortly after Robert L. Lindsey’s eureka moment (“Luke is first!”) on February 14, 1962, and at Professor David Flusser’s urging, Lindsey submitted the following article to the editors of Novum Testamentum. The article was published in the journal’s November 1963 issue as “A Modified Two-Document Theory of the Synoptic Dependence and Interdependence,” Novum Testamentum, Vol. 6, Fasc. 4 (November 1963): 239-263. Lauren S. Asperschlager, David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton have updated and emended the article to bring it in line with the modifications Lindsey made to his hypothesis over the following 30 years. Pieter Lechner has created the tables and graphics.
My Search for the Synoptic Problem’s Solution (1959-1969)
As a consequence of my endeavor to produce a Modern Hebrew translation of the Gospel of Mark I began to develop a different picture of the interrelationship of the Synoptic Gospels than that which is espoused by most New Testament scholars.