Neither in his personal conduct, nor in the Sermon on the Mount, did Jesus consider himself to be superior to the Torah’s commandments.
Jesus’ Temptation and Its Jewish Background
How Jewish tradition informs our understanding of the temptation narrative.
Like Children Complaining
Were Jesus and John the Baptist like children who played a dance and a dirge? Or was Jesus’ generation one that complained like whining children about the prophets who came to warn it?
The Historical Jesus, a Tanna? Charity and Deeds of Loving-Kindness in the Gospels and Early Rabbinic Thought
When nearly precise rabbinic parallels to stories and sayings in the Gospels exist, it may indicate that the Gospels are preserving traditions of the early Jesus movement and, perhaps, the historical Jesus.
Jerusalem Seminary Offers Unique Hebraic Learning Experience
Jerusalem Seminary was created to provide unique training in Israel for English speakers.
Carrion Birds
Carrion Birds describes the enormity of the destruction Jesus foresaw. Israel would be rendered carrion to be picked over by the Roman legions.
“Torah and the Kingdom of Heaven” complex
Examining how the author of Matthew constructed the Sermon on the Mount and recovering the sermon Jesus preached, which lies behind it.
Indiscriminate Catastrophe
The consequences of persisting in violent struggle with the Roman Empire would be suffered by the innocent and the guilty alike.
Get the Real Deal with JP
Some of JP’s content has been plagiarized on another website. This unfortunate incident highlights the quality, value and usefulness of what you read on JP.
Preserving and Destroying
Jesus’ Preserving and Destroying saying may play off two different senses of the noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”).
Lesson of Lot’s Wife
Lot’s wife serves as a warning that overattachment to possessions can come at the cost of one’s life.
Days of the Son of Man
In Jesus’ saying, the Son of Man does not function as the agent of destruction, any more than Noah did in the time of the flood or Lot did in the last days of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Sign-Seeking Generation
What was “the sign of Jonah”? This LOY segment offers a new and surprising answer.
Teaching with Authority: The Development of Jesus’ Portrayal as a Teacher within the Synoptic Tradition
When Jesus’ teaching is falsely portrayed as entirely new, it obscures what in Jesus’ message is truly unique.
Innocent Blood
How well-read was Jesus? The LOY segment entitled Innocent Blood probes the possibility that Jesus read and quoted a no-longer-extant Second Temple-period Jewish literary work that warned against violent religious extremism.
Audio JP: Like Lightning from Heaven (Luke 10:18): Jesus’ Apocalyptic Vision of the Fall of Satan
Listen to Joshua Tilton’s JP article “Like Lightning from Heaven (Luke 10:18): Jesus’ Apocalyptic Vision of the Fall of Satan.”
Audio JP: “Shake the Dust from Your Feet”: What Did the Apostles’ Action Signify?
Listen to Joshua Tilton’s JP article, “‘Shake the Dust from Your Feet’: What Did the Apostles’ Action Signify?”
Audio JP: Gergesa, Gerasa, or Gadara? Where Did Jesus’ Miracle Occur?
Listen to Ze’ev Safrai’s JP article “Gergesa, Gerasa, or Gadara? Where Did Jesus’ Miracle Occur?”