Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: Rabbi Jesus

In Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, authors Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg spend a lot of time explaining what it means for Jesus to be called a "Rabbi". I'm not going to describe it all, but they make their case well through describing the cultural characteristics and practices of being a rabbi in the first century.

In Chapter 4, "Following the Rabbi", they explore the custom of how students of a rabbi, or, disciples (talmidim in Hebrew) would literally leave their homes and families to live with and literally follow their rabbi wherever they went. Rabbis traditionally married later, and spent their time traveling throughout Israel, teaching from the Tanakh (the Law, Prophets, and writings, or what we now call the Old Testament). Because a rabbi was a respected position in Israel and hospitality is a vital cultural practice, the rabbi and his disciples stayed in the homes of the people they taught. 

The authors point out just how extreme this act of following was for the disciples of the rabbi. Everything he did, he did alongside them. In turn, they served him in every way except for untying his sandals (a servant's job). It was more of an apprenticeship than school. 

But the relationship went even beyond that. On page 63, the authors state, "During the time of Jesus, one's rabbi was considered to be as dear as one's own father, and it was traditional for disciples to show the same reverence for their rabbi as their father, or even more." There were even common statements that show this even deeper: "If a man's father and his rabbi are both taken captive, a disciple should ransom his rabbi first."

The authors point out that it's no wonder that Peter said things like, even if I have to die with you, I'd never disown you" (Mark 14:31). And how even more shocking is his betrayal of Jesus... and even more so, Judas'! "Peter's devotion was in direct contrast to Judas' disloyalty, highlighting how unthinkable it would have been for a disciple to betray his rabbi with a kiss! By understanding the traditional bond between the rabbi and disciple, we can also sense the depth of Peter's anguish after denying Jesus three times" (page 64).

Reading that really struck me. I always pictured it in the terms of, "They spent 3 years with Him and grew very close, so the betrayal was terrible," but now, thanks to Spangler and Tverberg, I have an even deeper sense of the horror and anguish they must have felt.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It might not be a Jewish holiday, but there are so many examples in the Bible of (and commands to) give thanks.

There's so much I am thankful for, but going along with the theme of this blog, I am so thankful for all I have learned about Israel and Biblical history. I'm thankful for those have gone before me in studying these things, that I can learn from them, and for all the teachings out there (and so many to discover) of Jewish culture and ancient times.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: Things left Unsaid

In chapter 3 of Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, authors Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg explore the concept of "stringing pearls".

Early rabbinic tradition shows as classic technique where a rabbi would quote part of a verse and leave the rest unsaid. It was the job of the audience to know (or find) the reference (and context) to understand the full extent of this reference. 

Jesus Himself used this technique as well. There are places in the Gospels where He replies to someone or says something that seems innocuous to a modern reader, but then the next passage talks about how the people were enraged and wanted to kill Him. To us, it seems extreme, especially because what He said wasn't that provoking. But the authors point out that what Jesus was saying was what He wasn't saying. In fact, they state, "There are times when knowing what Jesus doesn't say is becomes as important as knowing what He does say.....The passages from which Jesus quoted provide background for understanding His meaning more fully. If we miss His reference, we may miss His point" (page 42).

For instance, an example of this will be Matthew 21:16, where Jesus quotes Psalm 8:2, "Have you never read, 'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise?' But the rest of the verse in Psalm reads, "because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." How does that change our understanding of the story?

The authors say this can happen with just a simple word or phrase. A good rabbi could make references like this, linking verses together from the law, the prophets, and the writings, which is the process of stringing pearls. They would link these verses based on those very words or phrases. Every culture has symbolism or specific references. For instance, if you say "towers" in the United States, people will think of the September 11, 2001. The authors also use the example of a 'bloody glove' that we'd know references OJ Simpson's famous trail in 1996. These are references are things that other cultures might not necessarily pick up on. Add into the mix that modern, Western readers are reading a translation, and we can miss a lot.

Here is an example the author's give that I find fascinating: When Jesus said in Matthew 13:33: "The kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all the way through the dough", the words "a large amount of flour" are actually the words for "3 seahs" in Hebrew.

This is a very specific references, that everyone would have pick up on, a reference "to the story of when God and 2 angels visited Abraham. As Abraham was hurrying off to catch his fattest calf, he caught up with Sarah and told her, 'Quick.... get 3 seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread' (Genesis 18:6). Three seahs is is about fifty pounds of flower, enough to feed a hundred people! These huge quantity of bread that Sarah baked for just 3 strangers must have awed ancient listeners, and the details of the event would have stuck in their minds... [In fact] the fact that Sarah's leavening was sufficient for such a huge baking project must have seemed like a tiny miracle" (pages 43-44). 

Knowing this reference, suddenly the words "a large amount of flour" seems extremely specific instead of general!

Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: Anointing a King

There is so much good stuff in Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus! The authors Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg explore how the Jewishness of Jesus can transform a Christian's faith—and it's so true!

In this post, I'm going to talk about something stood out to me from the first chapter, which builds on a topic I explored in this post, about what it means to have a king.

The authors open with a reference to the story of Mary anointing the feet of Jesus in John 12. This is a story that is studied a lot in churches, and I've personally heard a lot of teachings on it—on the expensive nature of the perfume (about a year's wages), of the rudeness of the host in not having Jesus' feet washed, in the shocking nature of Mary wiping His feet with her hair, that she was also preparing His body for burial (Matthew 26:12), of how she gave the greatest gift as an act of worship.

But I've never heard this before.

The authors clarify (what is also in Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus) that "Messiah" means "the Anointed One". They state: "The word 'Messiah' alludes to the ceremony used to set apart someone chosen by God, like a king or a priest. Instead of being crowned during a coronation, Hebrew kings were anointed with sacred oil perfumed with extremely expensive spices. Only used for consecrating objects in the temple and for anointing priests and kinds, the sacred anointing oil would have been more valuable than diamonds. The marvelous scent that it left behind acted like an invisible 'crown,' conferring an aura of holiness on its recipients..... In the ancient Middle East, the majesty of a kind was expressed no only by what he wore—his jewelry and robes—but by his royal 'aroma.'" (pages 20-21)

But it doesn't stop there, because the authors point out that Mary's perfume likely lingered on Jesus for days, and could possibly still have been smelled while He was on the cross.

And what about this Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16:
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?"

Knowing this important aspect of Jewish first-century culture definitely does what the authors claim: gives a much richer Bible study and understanding!