Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven

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Matt. 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30 (Huck 189; Aland 254-255; Crook 294-295)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Preliminary research on the Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven incident was carried out in 1986-1987. Seventeen Jerusalem School seminar sessions were devoted to this pericope: eight seminars were held February-June 1986, and a further nine seminars between November 1986 and May 1987.


Jerusalem School Seminar participants engaged in discussing the Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven incident.

He Could No Longer Openly Enter a Town: A Synoptic Study in Light of an Early Luke

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(Luke 3:1)…. as well as his reading from the Haftarah (the prophetic portion that follows the Torah reading) before preaching in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:16-27).

Four Soils Interpretation

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Matt. 13:10, 18-23; Mark 4:10, 13-20; Luke 8:9, 11-15
(Huck 91, 93; Aland 123, 124; Crook 145, 146)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Updated: 23 May 2024

וַיִּקְרְבוּ תַּלְמִידָיו וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ מַה הוּא הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה וַיֹֹּאמֶר לָהֶם זֶה הוּא הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּרַע זֶה דְּבַר אֱלֹהִים וְהֵם עַל הַדֶּרֶךְ אֵלּוּ הַשּׁוֹמְעִים אֶת הַדָּבָר וְאֵינָם מְקַבְּלִים אוֹתוֹ וּבָא הַשָּׂטָן וְעוֹקֵר אֶת הַדָּבָר מִלִּבָּם וְהֵם עַל הַסֶּלַע אֵלּוּ הַשּׁוֹמְעִים אֶת הַדָּבָר וּמְקַבְּלִים אוֹתוֹ בְּשִׂמְחָה וְעִקָּר אֵין לָהֶם וּבִשְׁעַת נִסָּיוֹן הֵם סָרִים וְהֵם בַּחוֹחִים אֵלּוּ הַשּׁוֹמְעִים אֶת הַדָּבָר וּמְקַבְּלִים אוֹתוֹ וְהִרְהוּרִים וְהוֹן וְתַעֲנוּגֵי הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הוֹלְכִים וְחוֹנְקִים אוֹתָם וְהֵם בָּאֲדָמָה הַטּוֹבָה אֵלּוּ הַשּׁוֹמְעִים אֶת הַדָּבָר וּמְקַבְּלִים אוֹתוֹ בְּלֵב טוֹב

Yeshua’s disciples approached him and said, “What is the meaning of this parable?”

So Yeshua replied, “The meaning of the parable is this: the seed represents the word of God.

Woes on Three Villages

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Matt. 11:20-24; Luke 10:13-15 (Huck 66, 139; Aland 108, 178; Crook 127, 202)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'”

Lost Sheep and Lost Coin Similes

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Matt. 18:10-14; Luke 15:3-10 (Huck 133, 172; Aland 169, 219, 220;
Crook 188, 265, 266)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Updated: 3 August 2024

וַיִּמְשׁוֹל לָהֶם אֶת הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה לֵאמֹר מִי אָדָם בָּכֶם שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ מֵאָה צֹאן וְנִדַּחַת אַחַת מֵהֶן הֲלֹא יַנִּיחַ אֶת הַתִּשְׁעִים וְתִשְׁעָה עַל הֶהָרִים וְיֵלֵךְ וִיבַקֵּשׁ אֶת הָאֹבֶדֶת עַד שֶׁיִּמְצָא אֹתָה וּכְשֶׁהוּא מוֹצֵא אֹתָה שָׂם עַל כְּתֵפוֹ בְּשִׂמְחָה וּבָא לְבֵיתוֹ וְקֹרֵא לְאוֹהֲבָיו וְלִקְרוֹבָיו לוֹמַר לָהֶם שִׂמְחוּ עִמִּי שֶׁמָּצָאתִי אֶת הַשֶּׂה שֶׁלִּי הָאֹבֶדֶת אָמֵן אֲנִי אֹמֵר לָכֶם כָּךְ יֵשׁ שִׂמְחָה בַּשָּׁמַיִם עַל רָשָׁע אֶחָד שֶׁעֹשֶׂה תְּשׁוּבָה מֵעַל תִּשְׁעִים וְתִשְׁעָה צַדִּיקִים שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם צוֹרֶךְ בִּתְשׁוּבָה

וּמִי אִישָׁה שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָה עֲשָׂרָה דִּינָרִים וְהִיא מְאַבֶּדֶת דִּינָר אֶחָד הֲלֹא תַּדְלִיק נֵר וּתְכַבֵּד אֶת הַבַּיִת וּתְבַקֵּשׁ עַד שֶׁתִּמְצָא אֹתוֹ וּכְשֶׁהִיא מֹצֵאת אֹתוֹ קֹרֵאת לְאוֹהֲבוֹתֶיהָ וְלִקְרוֹבוֹתֶיהָ לוֹמַר לָהֶן שְׂמַחְנָה עִמִּי שֶׁמָּצָאתִי אֶת הַדִּינָר שֶׁאִבַּדְתִּי אָמֵן אֲנִי אֹמֵר לָכֶם כָּךְ יֵשׁ שִׂמְחָה לִפְנֵי מַלְאֲכֵי שָׁמַיִם עַל רָשָׁע אֶחָד שֶׁעֹשֶׂה תְּשׁוּבָה

Then Yeshua told them this parable: “Imagine you have a hundred sheep and one of them strays from the flock. Won’t you leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go search for the one that got lost until you’ve found it? And when you’ve finally found it, won’t you carry it home on your shoulders and invite all your nearest and dearest and tell them: ‘Come celebrate with me! I’ve found my missing sheep!’?

Quieting a Storm

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How to cite this article:
Joshua N. Tilton and David N. Bivin, “Quieting a Storm,” The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction (Jerusalem Perspective, 2022) .

Call of Levi

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Matt. 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32; 15:1-2
(Huck 53; Aland 44, 93; Crook 67, 97)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'”… All three evangelists also agree to place the Bedridden Man narrative (Matt. 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26) immediately before the Call of Levi story, and to place Why Yeshua’s Disciples Do Not Fast (Matt. 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22; Luke 5:33-39) immediately afterward. … (Luke 5:27-32) as well as the version from FR (Luke 15:1-10), omitting the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin similes from Anth.’

Teaching in Kefar Nahum

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— wp:heading {“level”:3,”className”:”has-text-align-center”} –> Matt. 4:13-16; 7:28-29; Mark 1:21-28; Luke 4:31-37

In Luke’s Gospel Teaching in Kefar Nahum (Luke 4:31-37) follows the account of Jesus’ visit to his hometown in Nazareth (Nazarene Synagogue; Luke 4:14-30). This story order is distinctly odd, since in Nazarene Synagogue Jesus mentions having performed miracles in Capernaum (Luke 4:23), even though Luke had not yet recorded either a miracle or a visit to Capernaum. Because of Jesus’ remark in Luke 4:23, the author of Luke would have done better if he had made Nazarene Synagogue the sequel to Teaching in Kefar Nahum rather than its prequel. … These redactional changes emphasize the positive response Jesus’ teaching elicited from his hearers (Luke 4:15, 32), a response that contrasts with the negative reaction to Jesus’ teaching in Nazareth.

Yohanan the Immerser’s Eschatological Discourse

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Matt. 3:11-12; Mark 1:7-8; Luke 3:15-17 (Huck 4; Aland 16; Crook 19)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'”… — wp:block {“ref”:18046} /–> Conjectured Stages of Transmission

Despite evidence of a fair amount of redactional activity in the opening verse of Yohanan the Immerser’s Eschatological Discourse (Luke 3:15), the numerous Lukan-Matthean minor agreements against Mark in this pericope, as well as the overall ease with which Luke’s version reverts to Hebrew, suggest that the author of Luke copied Yohanan the Immerser’s Eschatological Discourse from his Hebraic-Greek source, Anth.The high Lukan-Matthean verbal agreement (above 80%) in the Purifying the Threshing Floor saying (Matt. 3:12 // Luke 3:17), which is included in Yohanan the Immerser’s Eschatological Discourse, also supports our conclusion that Anth. stood behind both the Lukan and Matthean versions of this pericope.

“Let Down Your Nets”

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The process of washing a net in the morning after a night’s fishing, as mentioned in Luke 5:2, is specific to the trammel net…. (Luke 5:1-7)

Because of the limited fishing grounds at Heptapegon, two crews were working in partnership that night.

The Desert: Waiting for God

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John the Baptist’s disciplined life in the wilderness—facing constant danger, without human comforts, dedicated to God alone—was so extraordinary that people wondered if he “might be the Messiah” (Luke 3:15). … Later, after exhausting days spent ministering to others, Jesus “would withdraw to deserted places and pray” (Luke 5:16), finding new strength and teaching us to root our actions in prayer.

Sending the Twelve: “The Harvest Is Plentiful” and “A Flock Among Wolves”

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Matt. 9:37-38; 10:16a; Luke 10:2-3 (Huck 58, 139; Aland 98-99, 177; Crook 102, 197-198)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'”

Fishers and Hunters: A Fishy Reading of Jeremiah 16:16

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Revised: 16-Jun-2013

Among the more creative scriptural interpretations related to the fulfillment of prophecy in our day is one centering on Jeremiah 16:16. According to it, the “hunters” in this verse are the brutal pursuers of the Jewish people, such as the Nazis who systematically murdered millions of Jews.