Welcome To JP

Jerusalem Perspective (or “JP” for short) is an online journal dedicated to the study of the life and teachings of Jesus. We believe that it is essential to approach Jesus’ life and teachings from an historical perspective that is sensitive to the cultural setting of the Jewish people in the land of Israel in the first century.

Illustration by Helen Twena.

Jerusalem Perspective is a valuable resource for scholars, pastors, students, teachers, Bible study leaders and everyone who has an inquisitive mind. We have a lot to offer, and this page is intended to help you get started!

To give you a sense of what Jerusalem Perspective is all about, we’ve made a number of free articles available to the public. Basic Membership, which allows you to read a number of sample articles from our Premium Content, is free and allows you to receive updates from Jerusalem Perspective.

If you haven’t signed up for our email series yet, we encourage you to do so now. Over the next 100 days you will receive weekly emails that will introduce you to various aspects of our site. You will also receive announcements about newly published articles and eBooks, upcoming events and special sales. Enter your email address and name and click the “Keep Me Informed” button. Email: For Email Newsletters you can trust

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Jewish Culture in the First Century

• David Bivin (editor of JP), “At the Feet of a Sage”
• Shmuel Safrai, “Master and Disciple”
• ——, “The Role of Women in the Temple”
• David Flusser, “Gamaliel and Nicodemus”
• Mendel Nun, “‘Let Down Your Nets’”
• ——, “Fish and the Sea of Galilee”
• R. Steven Notley, “First-century Jewish Use of Scripture: Evidence from the Life of Jesus”
• ——, “John’s Baptism of Repentance”
• David Pileggi, “Who Were the Essenes?”
• ——, “The Library at Qumran”
• Joseph Frankovic, “Jehovah and PIPI”
• Jack Poirier, “Were the Pharisees ‘Legalistic’?”
• Joshua Tilton, “A Goy’s Guide to Ritual Purity”
• Ronny Reich, “Six Stone Water Jars”

Life and Teachings of Jesus

• David Bivin, “Jesus and the Oral Torah”
• ——, “Was Jesus a Rabbi?”
• ——, “Was Jesus a Confirmed Bachelor?”
• Shmuel Safrai, “Sabbath Breakers”
• ——, “Synagogue and Sabbath”
• David Flusser, “Parables of Ill Repute”
• ——, “Jesus and the Essenes”
• Robert Lindsey, “The Kingdom of God: God’s Power Among Believers”
• ——, “‘Verily’ or ‘Amen’—What Did Jesus Say?”
• Randall Buth, “That Small-fry Herod Antipas, or When a Fox Is Not a Fox”
• ——, “Your Money or Your Life”
• R. Steven Notley, “By the Finger of God”
• ——, “Jesus and the Essene Passover”
• Jakob Petuchowski, “The Theological Significance of the Parable in Rabbinic Literature and the New Testament”
• Chana Safrai, “Jesus’ Devout Jewish Parents and Their Child Prodigy”
• Joseph Frankovic, “Remember Shiloh!”
• Brad Young, “The Lord’s Prayer”

Studying the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke)

• Robert Lindsey, “An Introduction to Synoptic Studies”
• ——, “Unlocking the Synoptic Problem: Four Keys for Better Understanding Jesus”
• David Flusser, “Flusser on Lindsey’s Synoptic Hypothesis”
• ——, “Foreword to Robert Lindsey’s A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark”
• David Bivin, “A New Solution to the Synoptic Problem”
• Halvor Ronning, “Why I Am a Member of the Jerusalem School”
• R. Steven Notley, “Anti-Jewish Tendencies in the Synoptic Gospels”
• ——, “Book Review: Robert Lindsey’s A Comparative Greek Concordance of the Synoptic Gospels”
• Joseph Frankovic, “Pieces to the Synoptic Puzzle: Papias and Luke 1:1-4”
• Randall Buth, “Matthew’s Aramaic Glue”