Thursday, March 1, 2007
An additional note on 'carpenter' vs. 'rabbi'
Check out Mark 6, especially v.3. Jesus returns here to Nazareth, his hometown, and is rejected by those who have known him since his youth. In amazement, they say of him, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon..." Granted, their words are chiding and derogatory, in the sense that a man would normally be known as the son of his father rather than the son of his mother. (The mystery of his birth left some believing Jesus was a bastard.) But, that, too, has layered meaning in the text, especially considering that God was actually Jesus' father. Also, there is question about whether or not Joseph was still alive at this point in the narrative. Anyway, the point is that Jesus was known by these hometown neighbors as a carpenter. Not totally conclusive, but do with it as you will.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
There were some discussions about Jesus going through rabbitical training to become a rabbi. I have always thought that Jesus would not have needed such training, but had the correct teachings within him. From Luke 2:41-51 we learn that Jesus was found in the Temple and knew it to be his Father's house. Passages like these make my think He would not need to learn the correct teachings from going through rabbi training. I have always thought Jesus was here to live amongst us as an example until it was the right time for Him to begin his ministries as a grown man. Has anyone found passages that indicate Jesus went through formal rabbi training?
In John 7, there is some interesting announcements made by Jesus on this topic. Specifically, verses 14-16;
"Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?" Jesus answered them and said "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me."
There is a dark period in Jesus' life from the time that he is 12 until the time that he comes back some 30 years (give or take) later. It isn't real clear as to whether or not Jesus went through formal rabbinical training, but based on this passage, I'd say that He did not.
It's still the topic of much debate.
Also, regarding the topic on point, Jesus was rejected by his own people. The Jews still do not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah.
I found a good article about this whole subject and thought I'd share it with you guys. It's a little long and it does talk about many of the things that have already been brought up.
Not to say that this is authoratative in any way but it also looks like it pulls from some good sources.
http://community.gospelcom.net/Brix?pageID=2753
Post a Comment