The historical Jesus

Tina Leonard is challenged by an analysis of the parables of Jesus

I am part of a small Quaker group using the ‘Friendly Bible Study’ method to study Mark’s gospel. Often we come across problems relating to our lack of knowledge of the context in which Bible stories are set; for example, why was Jesus visiting people who herded pigs? I would like to recommend a very interesting book, A Rabbi Looks at Jesus’ Parables by Frank Stern, which explains the context and also counters some of the misunderstandings about Pharisees, who are often given a bad press.

Redemption and hellfire

To my surprise, I have found myself drawn to consider redemption and hellfire – not the sort of things I normally spend any time thinking about. But, as the author reveals which biblical texts the parables of Jesus refer to, time and again I have been forced to contemplate what exactly it was that Jesus was alluding to. And it seems to be pretty graphic and unpleasant – dire warnings indeed, no Jesus meek and mild here!

Part of the attraction, for me, in looking at the parables is the possibility of avoiding the theology of the gospel writers. But, removed from this milieu, what did the parables mean in their original context? The Jewishness of Jesus is essential to his life and teachings. We cannot fully understand his teachings without understanding this context. How would contemporary listeners have understood his parables?

Jewish ideas

The author takes a set of parables and compares the versions in the three synoptic gospels, and looks at the two parables in John. He shows how Jesus built on Jewish ideas, explains where he differed from tradition and, finally, describes teachings original to Jesus.

Frank Stern suggests that Jesus used parables to hide information that he alone understood and wanted to convey only to his supporters: dangerous secrets that contradicted conventional wisdom. The initiated understood and others were confused, intrigued or annoyed. The book reveals these hidden and dangerous secrets.

The Bible

First, Frank Stern explains how Jews read the Bible. Each sentence contains myriads of information: simple meaning, hinted at additional insights, advice for proper living and inspiration, and secret knowledge, only accessible to the trained reader. The foundation of first century Jewish teaching was Midrash. This was the process of interpretation by which teachers extracted their understandings of God’s will from Biblical texts and articulated the ideas that became the rules that were the basis for Jewish life.

Jesus’ teaching fitted this pattern and he used his listeners’ understanding of Jewish tradition as a platform on which to build his own teachings. But his goal was to change his audience’s perceptions of traditional images. His characters often behaved in unconventional ways that forced his listeners to re-evaluate their understanding; the abused and neglected became the heroes, the acknowledged leaders and teachers the villains.

Jesus’ parables are filled with allusions to the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. His teachings echo their dire predictions of death, destruction and exile. The leaders of Old Testament times had been supposed to serve as shepherds to the people of Israel. They had failed, leading to defeat and exile. Jesus warned that current leaders were behaving as immorally as leaders of the past, putting the future of their people at risk again.

In the parable of the Good Shepherd Jesus drew heavily on Ezekiel 34:8-15. As he applied the images of God the shepherd, rescuing his flock, his listeners would have heard the words of Ezekiel thundering in the background and realised that Jesus was comparing the leaders and teachers of his own era with those in Ezekiel, and denouncing them for their neglect of their flock, the Jews of first century Palestine.

A special relationship

So, why did most Jews reject Jesus? Frank Stern suggests that it was because Jesus insisted that he was the only teacher with the correct understanding of God’s will. Jesus taught that he was a prophet, as authentic as Hosea, Isaiah and Ezekiel. He was the chosen successor to Moses and able to interpret the Law of Moses with greater insight and authenticity than the acknowledged sages and teachers of his time. He shared information with his disciples that even former prophets didn’t know and could perform miracles, marvels and wonders. He, like Moses, claimed a special relationship with God. He believed that the biblical period came to an end with John the Baptist, and that the Kingdom of God had already started. God would make his final judgement and the apocalypse would carry it out.

Jesus felt compelled to change people’s beliefs and behaviour to avoid them dying painfully in the approaching holocaust. Unless the leaders and teachers repented only the poor, blind, lame, humble and meek would survive. Those who saw themselves as righteous, but despised others, were doomed – for example, those Pharisees who accepted seats of honour in synagogues and at public feasts. In the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus taught that any person who responded to the needs of others with love would inherit eternal life, whereas anyone who ceased caring, no matter what the circumstances, sinned.

The Pharisees

However, Frank Stern points out that Jesus had more in common with Pharisees than Sadducees, or any other major group in the Jewish community. Jesus agreed with their overall philosophy, their fundamental principles, and their interpretations of Jewish law. Most of the ideas Jesus taught were Pharisaic, although he disagreed on some issues, such as fasting, and healing on the Sabbath.

Many of his followers were Pharisees, such as Nicodemus, and he ate and debated with Pharisees. It was not their ideas he condemned but the behaviour of those who didn’t live up to their own high ideals; his mission was to get people to repent. While many of his teachings were familiar to first century Jews, he did assert one unique idea. He defined the righteous as those who accepted his teachings. He was the only teacher with the correct understanding of God’s will. The only way to avoid the coming conflagration was to join his fellowship, follow his teachings and repent; his teachings alone guaranteed eternal life, abundance and joy.

A special union

This was an audacious new suggestion as in Jewish tradition salvation wasn’t dependent upon following any one sage or teacher, but on thoroughly comprehending the will of God and applying that understanding to life. There were a myriad of paths to access God’s will, such as via study of the dietary laws and laws governing ritual purity, and exploring the Psalms. Ultimately, each one led to the other. But Jesus said he understood God’s will because of his special union with God, and one could not be saved without joining his community.

As his mission progressed he became more outspoken. He was the vine, the ideal shepherd, the son of man who would separate the righteous from the wicked on Judgement Day. The king was not God. The father was God. The king was Jesus. These were all audacious new ideas and led to his rejection and trial.

So, I am left with an image of a charismatic, driven man, with a great sense of the urgency of his ministry and the imminence of the conflagration.

A Rabbi Looks at Jesus’ Parables, Frank Stern, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, ISBN: 9780742542716, £21.95.

For information: www.read-the-bible.org/FriendlyBibleStudy.htm

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