In Misquoting Jesus, Bart Ehrman offers an insightful summary of Jesus relationship to the Hebrew Scripture.

Christianity began, of course, with Jesus, who was himself a Jewish rabbi (teacher) who accepted the authority of the Torah, and possibly other sacred Jewish books, and taught his interpretation of those books to his disciples. Like other rabbis of his day, Jesus maintained that God’s will could be found in the sacred texts, especially the Law of Moses. He read these scriptures, studied these scriptures, interpreted these scriptures, adhered to these scriptures, and taught these scriptures. His followers were, from the beginning, Jews who placed a high premium on the books of their tradition.**

Ehrman provides a helpful starting point for thinking about Jesus’ experience. I agree that Jesus accepted the authority of the Torah and therefore adhered to and taught the material. I would nuance the term “studied” to avoid information-age assumptions. Jesus memorized and meditated on the text specifically, and in this way he “studied” it.

The story of the Hebrew Scriptures informed Jesus’ experience.

** Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: The Story behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (Harper Collins, 2009).

Matthew and Luke (both 4:2) relate that before Jesus’ preaching and healing activity he spent forty days fasting in the wilderness.

After Jesus had begun touring, however, fasting was not a regular practice in Jesus’ experience. In fact, the Pharisees and John’s disciples questioned Jesus about his gluttonous behavior (Mt 9:14; Mk 2:18; Lk 5:33).

At this point in the SpendaYearwithJesus story, Jesus is preparing to go to Jerusalem for the Fall Feasts. The religious authorities have rejected him. He has already predicted his demise, yet Jesus had “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Lk 9:51).

How should Jesus respond? How should he prepare?

A period of prayer and fasting during the harvest month of Elul seems an appropriate way to fill this gap in the record. If something like a fast occurred, however, it was exceptional.

What would Jesus pray? Like worshippers through centuries, the Psalms provide a basis for his prayers.

Check out the Psalms and the SpendaYearwithJesus story:  “Story-Nav: Prepare.”

The narrative of Hebrew Scripture tells the compelling story of the relationship of GOD with humanity. Much of the content focuses on the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. GOD changed Jacob’s name to Israel. So his children are called “The Children of Israel.”

Jesus identified with the story content personally because he was a son of Israel. Further, the story arc of the Hebrew Scriptures impacted Jesus’ culture. In six sets of three movements, we observe cycles of setback and progress, progress and setback. For the first-century participant, the question was whether Jesus contributed progress or setback to the cycle of Israel’s experience. It was a difficult question.

The narrative in 18 words:

• God, community, creation,
• fall, failure, flood,
• family, famine, forced-labor,
• exodus, wilderness, conquest,
• judges, kings, injustice,
• exile, sojourn, return

Jesus experienced two seasons: summer heat and winter rains. During the summer, the sun beamed through cloudless blue skies day after day. The time is also known as the dry season, and dry it was. Only morning dew brought moisture to the vineyards of Galilee. Otherwise, the sun’s rays baked the land including the rooftops.

So the intense summer heat and winter rain necessitated roof maintenance described as follows:.

The roof of the house was generally flat. To make it, branches were woven together and laid on the rafters and then covered with a thick layer of clay that filled the spaces between the branches and formed a smooth, hardened layer of plaster. To keep the roof from washing away, the owner performed a number of maintenance chores that included rolling over the roof after a heavy rainstorm with the device very like the modern lawn roller, applying a fresh coat of clay plaster each fall before the start of the rainy season, and replacing the entire roof or sections of it when needed. See Mark 2:1-4 for mention of cutting through a roof. (Jesus and His Times, 93-94)

Jesus lived at home as a carpenter most of his life. He was no stranger to manual labor. Mudding the roof was a likely part of his experience as it was for his neighbors.

The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1991).
Jesus and His Times, ed. Kaari Ward  (Pleasantville, New York: The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., 1987).

There is a delightful legend in the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew. It comes from Jesus’ youth when he and his parents were fleeing from the land of Herod’s rule south to land of Egypt.

Now when they [Joseph, Mary, and the child Jesus] were journeying on, Joseph said to Jesus: ‘Lord, we are being roasted by this heat; if you agree, let us go alongside the sea, that we may be able to rest in the coastal towns.’ Jesus said to him: ‘Do not fear, Joseph; I will shorten your journey; what you were intending to traverse in the space of thirty days, you will complete in one day.’ And while they were speaking, behold they perceived already the mountains of Egypt and began to see its cities (Ps.-Mt. 22.1).**

Anyone who has been on a journey under adverse circumstances relates to Joseph’s plea.

Picture failed air conditioning on summer road trip or screaming child on airplane or rush hour gridlock. Oh, how nice it would be to have the relief of just thirty minutes compressed into one!

We need to pause at this point, however, and ask a question. Does Jesus break rules of time and space uniquely to bring relief? (Careful, think of Jesus’ compassion in feeding large crowds.)

Questions of authenticity surround every story about Jesus and cut to the heart of Jesus’ identity.

In the 8th or 9th century someone recorded this story about a legendary shortcut. I invite you to follow SpendaYearwithJesus and consider the questions and options for yourself.

** Wilhelm Schneemelcher, New Testament Apocrypha, trans. R. McL. Wilson, Rev. ed., vol. 1, 2 vols. (Louisville/London: Westminster John Knox/James Clarke, 2003), 464.

Do you ever wonder where church song writers get their material? If you’re a church-goer, you might have sung recently, “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name be the glory” (Ps 115:1). Or another popular line, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever” (Ps 118:1).

Jesus also sang (or chanted) these lines–at least four times a year, in fact. We call these Psalms, 113-118, the Hallel. The Mishnah (the 2nd century code of the Rabbis) gives their title and use.

At Passover, Israelites brought their lambs to the temple for butchering and sacrifice, and while the priests were preparing the meat … “[The Levites meanwhile] proclaimed the Hallel Psalms [113-118]” (m. Pesahim 5.7)

[In between courses] “The first Passover requires the recitation of the Hallel Psalms when it is eaten” (m. Pesahim 9.3).

According to the Mishnah, the devout also recited the Hallel at the Feast of Huts (Tabernacles) (m. Sukkah 3.9; 4.1) and possibly also on New Year’s day (m. Rosh Hashshanah 4.7) in the fall.**

L. Finkelstein makes the case from the Babylonian Talmud and Rabbinic practice that the Hallel was recited at the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) in the winter and at the Feast of Pentecost (Weeks) in the spring.++

Jesus and his disciples would have known the Hallel (Psalms 113-118) pretty well by repeating it at least these four times a year — year-after-year. I imagine that it was like some of the popular stadium-event tunes we hear repeatedly today.

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** Jacob Neusner, The Mishnah: A New Translation (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988).
++ Louis Finkelstein, “The Origin of the Hallel,” Hebrew Union College Annual 23 (1951): 319–337.

The late summer period of Jesus’ last year. A time of preparation – for the winter rains and for the fall feasts. In Capernaum, homebase for Jesus’ family and closest disciples, the residents live in a rare tension. They, at least their leaders, must determine whether to silence Jesus.

The Hebrew Law states that from time to time prophets will make predictions and perform miracles and then propose worship of previously unknown gods … as a test of loyalty. The penalty for this mutiny is death by stoning. (Deut 13:1-11)

Throughout human history in culture after culture, mutineers and traitors receive the stiffest legal penalties. The Hebrew law is no different. But for the people of Capernaum, the law continues:

If that prophet-scoundrel leads his neighbors  to worship other gods, if they all conspire together, then the town must receive the mutiny-punishment as well. (Deut. 13:12-17)

Conspiracy to commit treason is treason and receives treason’s penalty. Rules always sound so clean and forceful when read from the rulebook. But on the ground in human experience, there are always complicating factors. A major theme of Jesus’ experience, a theme that appears over and over in the Gospels, is this conflict over Jesus’ identity — teacher … false prophet … The Prophet … Messiah … And the people of Capernaum lived in the tension, at least for another month…