Was Jesus a Poor, Illiterate, Itinerant, Peasant?

[@StructureinSound]

I love this Man. When I hear his voice it instantly relax's me. His unassuming, informed, casual knowledge, brings me fascinated to all sorts of questions. I wish I had even a moment in his presence, I would treasure it within forever.

[@mdlahey3874]

Thoroughly absorbing, as usual. Thank you, Dr. Tabor...

[@essenechurch]

A truly fascinating lecture. I always learn a new little nugget that I didn't know before in all of your videos. I'm so grateful for your research. Thanks!

[@bibitu26]

Great presentation, Dr. Tabor, as always

[@billcook7285]

This is the question I've been asking for 2 weeks. On time doc

[@SatSingh-mm4gg]

Like a prophet

[@billcook7285]

@SatSingh-mm4gg 😂🤭

[@n.c.1201]

I began to wonder why I became enjoyably obsessed with learning about Christianity (only after leaving the church). After watching your videos I realized that this research touches so many topics: history, mythology, theology, etc. ❤ Thanks for this wonderful research and time in putting together this historical view.

[@banba317]

Riveting; very enjoyable, informative presentation. Thank you.

[@todradmaker4297]

Thanks James, I always enjoy your talks. I really appreciate this kind of historical context to bring a greater understanding to bring the picture of the historical Jesus into a finer focus.

[@dcbonner756]

Bravo - much more diligent than most. A treasure.

[@alexmorgan2296]

Fascinating as ever). Convinces me . . .

[@aresaurelian]

Wonderful information. Thank you, Dr. James Tabor.

[@akamujude9418]

Great presentation Dr. T

[@Boxerr54]

The view of the brook and valley where John and Jesus may have hidden out is worth watching this for alone. What big ideas. Thanks James.

[@arcana_mystery]

Thank you so much for this presentation ❤

[@dalet9841]

thanks, really enjoyed the presentation

[@cfinstr]

This is a particularly excellent presentation. Thank you. Andrew of Southern California . 👍

[@studiodemichel]

Thank you, brother Tabor! 🙏

[@jimaparks]

So fascinating, James. I like how your new videos tie into previous ones, and I think, oh yeah! I know this from before. Like others, I have wondered whether Jesus was actually a poor, simple peasant. Seems like there are many legends where we like to see a poor man elevated to someone high and mighty. I speculate about the “lost years” of Jesus. If his family was indeed somewhat wealthy, maybe he was able to travel about on his own, to “find himself” to use the 60s counter-cultural term. Maybe the parable of the prodigal son had personal significance to Jesus. So in his youthful peregrinations, he learned about the wider culture of Israel and the surrounding areas. Maybe he met John the Baptist on his journeys, and they became hippie-like leaders of what we would call a cult. Maybe… Maybe…

[@republiccooper]

I have often wondered whether Jesus was poor. I thought he was wealthy because kings gave his parents gold, frankincense and myrrh at his birth and he had "fine raiment." But then on the poor hypothesis side, we have the fact that his parents offered doves as a sacrifice at his birth: those were the sacrifices offered by poor families who couldn't afford a larger animal.

[@jeffcokenour3459]

Blessings to you! Thank you for a terrific lecture

[@Ltngstrike]

Great video Dr. Tabor. Merry Christmas!

[@spitfirered]

I Love The Truth Of How Biblical Stories Are Told And Not Made Up Man's Version, Thank You Mr. Tabor, Wendy

[@therealanyaku]

This question has long rankled me, having focused on late antiquity and the early middle ages in university. Evidently the people calling Jesus a "Peasant" have a different understanding of that word than is taught in the broader study of History, and than is found in the Oxford Dictionary. A "Peasant" is normally considered an agriculturist who is to some degree bound to the land. Use of the word otherwise is considered by dictionary editors to be pejorative. Clearly throughout the gospels Jesus is not characterized as an agriculturist, and to thus characterize him contradicts our primary sources.

[@craigfairweather3401]

He can have still chosen agricultural workers as his primary audience. Hence he chooses a majority of his parable and preaching images from tasks associated with the agricultural year. We should remember that John Wesley came from a wealthy family and went to university but he mainly preached to crowds of the ‘lower classes’ and adjusted his imagery while retaining his knowledge.

[@OudartPatricia-Claire]

❤Thanks for this add, James Tabor. For me, Jesus was formed by the Temple and sciptures, he was a high-level thinking wise man and acquired the fact to be in Us as today. John was the Teacher, it was natural to them to meet. I would like to live in this valley, But when you are there , in security, you know it is not a solution, you need to return to Jerusalem, to teach to the end. But the end has been the beginning of what we try today in memoriam. We will never end. That's why Jesus is the living expression of God is.❤ he was conscient of that, and he was right. That's why we can discuss Jesus' time archeology without fear. 😊.

[@truere4lity]

How absolutely refreshing

[@Steve-u9k4p]

Superb, ty

[@craigfairweather3401]

Thank you Dr. Tabor. I agree that Jesus was literate. Recently I developed a theory that Jesus focused his preaching on the agricultural workers as they gathered in large numbers for the start of the two halves of the agricultural year. I compared the chronology of Hendrickson (1976) with the agricultural year in Judea and Galilee.The commencements by Jesus of new geographaical areas as phases of preaching appear to correspond to two halves of the agricultural year: 1) April at and after Passover in the middle of 1st month of the religious year, 7th month of the civil year.) (which is immediately followed by the beginning of reaping processes near 22nd Nisan), 2) October at and after Tabernacles (from 15TH to 22nd of Tishri, the 7th month of the religous year and 1st month of the civil year). Tabernacles comes after the havest is fully completed. It is called the festival of ingathering and is immediately followed by the beginning of the plowing./sowing process at the end of October/ beginning of November). The teaching of Jesus frequently draws on imagery from the agricultural tasks of his major aufiences. As seen through Hendricksen’s timeline (1976) (combining John with the Synoptics): -5 BCE birth of Jesus GALILEE -December (27CE?) Immersion of Jesus, early disciples, to March, (28 CE?) first months in Galilee: Cana, Capernaum John Ch1-2 , for 4 months JUDEA -April to October (28 CE?) Judean preaching Ch 2:13-Ch 3. 9 months (Spring, Summer, Autumn) SAMARIA and GALILEE -November, 28 CE - March 29 CE journey through Samaria to Galilee, Cana and Capernahum Ch 4 Ch 4:1-6:71 5 months (Autumn, Winter) JUDEA-DECAPOLIS -April with visit to Judea in Ch 5 1 month, but opposition leads to change of plan: from May to October (29 CE?) the emphasis turns from public preaching to private instruction in relative seclusion Ch 7:1. 5 months (Spring, Summer, Autumn) JUDEA-PEREA-JUDEA -Oct to Dec, 29 CE Judean preaching, Ch 7:2-10:39 2 months (Autumn, Winter) - -Dec, (29 CE) to March, (30 CE) Perea preaching, Ch 10:40-12:11 4 months (Winter ) Here Jesus continues the preaching in Judea that he cut short in the previous April -April-May 30 CE Judea (Bethany, Ephraim, Bethany, Jerusalem, Arrest and crucifixion. Ch 12:12-21:25) (Spring)

[@mr.hamilton5393]

Good stuff

[@zyxmyk]

how could he be illiterate when it said he got up and read from the scrolls in the Synagogue?

[@andrewfarrington6627]

A great video James thank you. Question: do you think Jesus spoke other languages in particular Greek especially travelling so widely or just the native Aramaic and maybe bits of scriptural Hebrew from his boyhood studies in Synagogue?

[@s1n4m1n]

So what I’m getting from this is every description of some event in the Gospels could potentially be something Jesus personally experienced. For instance, the parable of the Good Samaritan is actually the experience of Jesus in the one needing help.

[@user-xm1mz1ep6w]

As presented in the Gospels, Paul's preaching to the Gentiles (sinners) is projected back onto Jesus. This was to have Jesus bless Paul's teaching and Paul's mission to the Gentiles and sinners after the fact (post-eventum). But Christ was a minister to the circumcision (Romans 15:8). Some scholars do not like the idea that Jesus [Barabbas] probably grew up thinking Judas of Galilee was a hero and a freedom fighter. Judas was the founder of what later became the Sicarios (Sicariot) movement.

[@RamadaDiver]

I couldn't agree more with this video

[@VideoFunForAll]

"'John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.' - The gospel writer's attribution of this quote to Herod serves a clear literary and theological purpose in Mark's narrative strategy. Rather than being a historical record of Herod's actual words, this passage appears designed to speak to communities that revered John the Baptist. By acknowledging John's importance through the voice of his own executioner, while simultaneously directing attention toward Jesus, the text creates a persuasive bridge: it validates John's significance while arguing that his followers should now look to Jesus. This fits into Mark's broader pattern of depicting John as an essential but preparatory figure whose role was to point toward Jesus."

[@michaelsmith9453]

Why do you think that the quote was not Herod's actual words?

[@therealpils]

@@michaelsmith9453 indeed. it's far more likely Herod meant it pejoratively, as an annoyance he thought he'd got rid of only to be 'reincarnated' in Jesus, like an irritating fly.

[@VideoFunForAll]

@@michaelsmith9453 Oh, of course, I forgot, the writer of Mark was there when he said it 🤦‍♀

[@Justin_Beaver564]

What do we know about Jesus's relationship with John the Baptist?

[@mintoo2cool]

if this is true then then it makes rise of his movement even more remarkable.

[@mver191]

If Jesus was an illegitimate child wouldn't he be shunned, banned and excluded from almost everything, including working in Sepphorus? He would've been a social outcast. Maybe that was why he was so attractive to "unclean" people and outcasts. He gave them hope for salvation whereas they were doomed in Jewish society. He was one himself until he was 'saved/cleansed' by John's baptism and then started doing it himself.

[@brucemuckala2923]

Since Luke probably knew of Paul's teaching, all the stories of Gentiles being healed, etc. and believing in Tyrre, Sidon, etc, it could be Paul's message flowing through and influencing Luke's account regarding Gentiles.

[@douglasbrady6886]

What is the reference to Jesus being kin to House of David so important? If there was a King David he was adulterous and duplicious with others. Dr. Tabor your lectures and books are valuable to all.

[@jonjohnson445]

8:41 The question people should be asking is if Mark was written first, why is Matthew the first gospel in the bible? Unless people know why and I don't sense they do. If people know why, then there's a popular misconception they wouldn't have.

[@888Longball]

It seems rediculous to think that Jesus was illiterate. Not sure about poor, or itinerant. He was a Rabbi so must have read and studied the bible. There are passages that have him reading scrolls. As a stone mason, I actually wonder if he was trained to work on the new Herod's temple. He would need to be a priest to do that. It maybe that Joseph worked on the temple and when he talked about his father's house, he was being literal.

[@Eriugena8]

Well that makes sense they were stone builders. Those guys/gals are all sages. Plus…”on this rock I will build my church”, and all that.

[@LittleChap-r4u]

I wonder how well Jesus would have been received by his fellow Galileans if he had a serious education? Ultimately, it didn't matter. He wasn't the messiah, whether he thought so or not. Why? None of the tasks the messiah was supposed to make were accomplished.

[@gregwright9797]

Thank you. Perhaps Jesus also visited India.

[@peterraymond1853]

Love your work Can't take the text.. Hard to see The parchment colour makes it so hard to read along with the font..

[@danhaverland4140]

How is King Harod still alive in Mark 6? He died in 4 BCE. His son Harod was not a King

[@michaelsmith9453]

Might as well ask if Jesus was an Uber driver. Many would believe it.

[@AskthePoolman]

A gig economy job would be something that would make me wanna go against the fascists like Jesus did!

[@stocktim]

I’m not a scholar but I never thought Jesus was illiterate nor a “peasant”.

[@jasonnelson316]

Where are his writings?

[@Robert_St-Preux]

14:02 Hm. If Jesus carried on John's movement, I wonder rather if rather than the founder, he could better be seen in the same vein as a Brigham Young or a Judge Rutherford or a Marshall Applewhite: the second-in-command who takes the reins on the founder's death and allows the movement to survive? Except in his case, he became seen as the founder?

[@jasonshapiro9469]

If you learned everything you know about the time and place jesus lived in from sunday school you probably are going to be way off

[@jperez7893]

i hope they find a mosaic made by joseph or jesus giving them as the makers like the meggido mosaic

[@uncleambient]

The historical Jesus was King Izas Manu (Emmanuel) of Edessa. His family started the Jewish revolt against the Romans in AD 66 and surrendered the city to the Romans in AD 70 when Jerusalem fell. He was then apparently crucified but was taken down early due to his royal status and survived. He was a Nazarene Jewish convert as was his Mother. Read ‘Jesus King Of Edessa’ by Ralph Ellis for more details.

[@therealpils]

Hmmm, Ralph...the trustworthy fellow human, like every other fellow human...except for Jesus (interpreted by matt/mark/luke/john/paul in the spirit/mind of Jesus/God)

[@TerryVogelaar]

In Luke 4:16-21 Jesus is reading from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue. And apart from that text, he often says: "It is written". How can people think he was illiterate?

[@I_Am_Monad]

To sum up, we find ourselves between an illiterate peasant Jesus and a sophisticated urban scholar Jesus--the full spectrum of possibility. And this inability to narrow it down lingers, unavoidably, because EVERYTHING we hear or discover about Jesus is presented through the literate sophistication of urbane Greek authors who never knew Jesus or his home turf. No matter how much we "excavate" the Galilee, we are always left to "speculate" about the disparate gospel texts and their common subject, Jesus. Examinations of the gospels do not help us to see Jesus more clearly. They help us to see more clearly how each of the gospel writers wished to imagine Jesus.

[@dissatisfiedphilosophy]

Your presuppositions are wrong. The writers of the gospels were not literate Greeks, other than Luke.

[@dissatisfiedphilosophy]

@I_Am_Monad Yes I read Koine, though I am only an amateur at the moment until I begin graduate school. The Septuagint is routinely quoted in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, certainly. The presupposition is that Greek was unknown among Palestinian Jews which is wholly incorrect; several recent texts discuss the evidence for Greek knowledge among, at the very least, most learned rabbis, but even as we see from archeological findings of building documents of synagogues, these employed Koine in attributing their namesake. And Koine being known by figures like figures like John the Son of Zebedee isn’t that wild considering how elementary the Greek is in his gospel and his first epistle, for just one example; others have made the case for Matthew, the tax collector, being learned in Greek as the author displays a strong grasp of different words for money-related nouns and specialized terms in that semantic domain, which would have been known by someone who is a tax collector and someone who knows a solid amount of Greek.

[@44point5]

Only a few more days to Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. I hope everyone is enjoying the Saturnalia.

[@neclark08]

...a suggestion to Improve the instructional value of the maps at the start of videos like this -- with minimal 'confusion potentioal' for yourself, please consider adding Enlarged views of the cities you need to take time pointing-out & 'apologizing for' the poor resolution of 'Red Dot' cities. If using PowerPoint, all you need do is 'copy' the slide of the 'wide-view/Red-Dot map' - then take a 'framed-shot' including the 'Red Dot(s) of interest & convert/add as it's own slide.

[@zdzislawmeglicki2262]

We can't tell. The first 30 years of Jesus life is an enigma. He might have been educated. There are suggestions in the New Testament of Jesus referring to Tanakh during his ministry. He might've been involved with the Essenes. Some believe him to have been a fully qualified Rabbi.

[@therealanyaku]

Luke 4:17-21 clearly indicates Jesus could read.

[@zdzislawmeglicki2262]

@@therealanyaku The story, appearing in Luke only, may not be true, or… Jesus might have recited the passage from memory, pretending to read. Well… I think it likely he was educated, but Luke 4:17 may not be enough to actually prove it. Rather, his ability to quote from the scripture on many occasions, including some really exotic verses, tells us that he knew the scripture.

[@RamadaDiver]

​@@zdzislawmeglicki2262 It says he closed the scroll . It's not from memory

[@zdzislawmeglicki2262]

@RamadaDiver He might have unrolled and rolled up the scroll and still recited the verses from memory. How were the rabbis to check him? By looking over his shoulder? Here is what makes the whole passage in Luke suspicious to me. Jesus himself reads the passage from Jeremiah and says that he is the Messiah foretold in the passage. I don't think he would have done so in reality. This looks like a Christology statement thrown into the text by the writer to make a theological point.

[@RamadaDiver]

@zdzislawmeglicki2262 So in your scenario . The rabbis didn't correct his memory of the text Which means jesus had perfect memory of the text ?. Then he doesn't need the text with such a good memory

[@oldpossum57]

One thing that strikes me about the christians is how much they ignore the jesus cultists. If there was an itinerant, messianic preacher of a coming apocalypse, we only ever heard of him because of the cult followers. Joseph Smith would just be another Yankee con man if it weren’t for the cult of followers. I grew up among working people, not much education, but wonderful story tellers. The women tended to believe in pious miracle stories, the famous ones like crying statues and vials of holy blood, and also the local stories of miraculous cures and the second sight. Then men told tall tales. All of them knew how to celebrate the transformation of the mundane into the mythic. Imagine the dusty streets of ancient Jerusalem, with families gathered together around a guttering fat lamp, still hungry whatever the meal was, telling stories of marvels. Tabor’s “Royal family” of Jesus is modern myth. The real mythographers were poor urban storytellers, who took an obscure (and also rather annoying-I think) preacher and made him a miracle worker, a son of god. As usual, the least important person in the process is the screenwriter.

[@VivekaAlaya]

That's the current view of the Jesus College group, however they ignore all the rabinic tradition, the nazarenes and tanain and pharisees. they ignore the essenes..its too narrow minded

[@lisaking4291]

The naked archeologist, said, that {Jesus/yeshua} had a wife and this conversation is very taboo in regards to religious beliefs, that such is actually a true thing, it convays dilemma to the catholic church Christianity story line, but the destroying of religious scripture texts was in fact, a always happening thing, for instince the {Dead Sea Scrolls}, were in hiding from thoses who were hunting for them, and were never Reclaimed by those whom put them there for safe keeping.....

[@oldpossum57]

May have been able to read a little: Luke has a story about him reading from Isaiah. No stories about him being able to write. The son of a carpenter, raised in a hamlet in the countryside, would never have attended school. The temple worship of the time was based on priestly practices, not Torah study. I wonder what his familiarity with scriptures can be determined from gospel stories? Obviously what can be attributed to the original “character” as opposed to the manipulations of later writers like Matthew and his predeliction for finding “fulfilled prophecies” everywhere. So certainly innumerate, able to read some but unlikely to write. Wholly ignorant of higher culture. Some knowledge of Isaiah and perhaps others. Impoverished certainly. Highly superstitious and credulous. These describe his followers, most of whom were even less literate or completely illiterate.

[@whtiequillBj]

is it known if John the Baptist is teaching from anyone before himself?

[@davidbaker8483]

Why would the gospel start with his genealogy, then?

[@allenperrott6649]

Good question from a faith perspective... the reason why is that the anonymous authors of the four gospels/Acts and redactors/ interpolators of Paul's letters are presenting a particular narrative about Jesus that had developed over the four decades leading up to the writting of the gospel attributed to Mark.... the gospel of Christ continued to develope along Hellenistic lines of reasoning and hence the expansions observed in the three later gospels, as they were consecutivly written over the next 30 to 50 years. The historical person, ministry and teachings of Jesus and Paul, we are beginning to discover, are completely different than portrayed by the New Testament authors... if you would like a text that highlights this difference, check out. 2 Corinthians 5:16, where it states that if we once knew Jesus in the flesh r ( historical reality) we now no longer know him in this way but know him according to the spirit (the manipulated image according to the gospel of Christ). These are certainly not the words of Paul, but the interpolation of later anonymous New Testament authors in control of Paul's material and usurper his authority as an authentic apostle witnessing to Jesus and his authentic gospel of the Sacred Way (Isaiah 35:8). This understanding is a hard pill to swallow from a sincere faith perspective, however, if we are serious and devoted to putting our faith in the authentic person of Jesus, then the ministry of historical critical biblical scholarship is an irreplaceable aid to helping us discover just who he was and what he was actually all about. When one lifts the protection of belief to scrutinize the truth of the New Testament gospel of Christ witness to the person of Jesus, it is being discovered increasingly, that this witness is false and misleads us away from the authentic historical truth of his ministry, gospel and teachings in the Sacred or Holy Way of Yahweh to the diverse peoples not only of Galilee, but the decidedly gentile cities of the Decapolis, as Dr. Tabor is revealing to us. This evidence hidden from our understanding by the strenth of the Christian gospels completely goes against our understanding that Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. The truth pointed to by Dr. Tabor's analysis is that Jesus was actually sent to the gentiles and not to the Jews at all. Once we start setting the all-encompassing witness of the gospels/Acts witness aside, as persons of faith, we are set free to observe the existance of an opposite witness hidden inn the texts of the authentic person o Jesus in the flesh... this does not, I must highly emphasize, discount any personal experiences with the person of Jesus, neither any words nor his help, but it does clear away the false beliefs passed on to us by these first generations of anonymous Christian authors who left the physical realities of the authentic Jesus of Nazareth far behind. This is why the mythesists can claim that the Jesus and Paul of the four gospels/Acts witness are completely fictional characters... and be completely right. They are, we are discovering, literary faith recreationsfar removed from the authentic historical figures, ministries and teachings of Jesus and Paul... in the flesh. If our faith is to be based on the elements and structures of authentic reality, as it must, then it remains for us to proceed further to unravel just who Jesus and Paul really were and the content and teachings of the gospel of the Sacred Way.

[@jf5177]

Establish validity and it’s also unverifiable. Just how Paul in his letters makes the claim that he was Jewish and from the Tribe of Benjamin. He makes the claim “I was circumcised in the 8th day just how you were.” He says things like this because it can’t be verified, but nobody claims to be Jewish saying “I was circumcised just like you!” Paul is lying and also admits he’s a con-artist “To the Jew I was a Jew, to the Gentile I’m a Gentile. Changing his skin depending on who he is speaking to.

[@RamadaDiver]

​@@jf5177 You claiming he is lying can't be verified

[@BoyWanderer1988]

WISE MEN brought him GOLD and... he wore a seamless coat... he fed 5,000 men plus women and children without dipping their money box although Judas dipped the money box oft because it was replaced "oft." I guess he was poor, he had Peter pay the tribute tax via a fish.😂

[@conniefearnside2279]

I can't believe anyone actually holds that opinion of Jesus - I'm just tuning in... itinerant yes, but all the rest is imagination. His knowledge of Jewish law alone tells you he is not illiterate. I'm going to listen as I hope to learn something! There are those who claim that Nazareth never even existed....

[@denisefuentes7905]

You can make up any magical fantasy thinking idea you want.

[@danielferguson3784]

The answer is no. Jesus was from an influential family, with connections to the Jerusalem Temple, with important friends, & hence importance enemies among the elite. He annoyed the Jewish leaders so much that they felt they needed to remove him from the scene. His Messianic claim to 'Kingship' was based on a supposed decent from King David. If he was just another peasant trouble maker he would have simply been disposed of, without recourse to trial by Sanhedrin, or referral to Pilate & Herod. He attracted far too much attention for an illiterate peasant, people feared, & some hoped, that he would lead a revolt against the Herods, the Priesthood, & the Romans, & usher in the era of the Messianic age. Nor was he, or Joseph his father, a simple 'carpenter', but rather a 'builder', teckton. likely involved in the development of Sepphoris. Even men from leading Jewish families had to have a 'trade' or skill, by which they could earn a living if needed, as the apostle Paul was a 'tent-maker', but never seems to use this as a means of support. Presumably Paul had family ? resources. Jesus likely also was able to travel around without worrying about sustenance. He moved in high circles, entered 'gentry' houses, & was followed by the Ladies of Jerusalem. Only someone of such high status could even have been considered as a possible Messiah, or a person worthy of the Resurrection. The 'simple peasant' Jesus is a myth of later history. Jesus didn't hate or despise the Romans. He praised the Centurion that asked for his help, & he agreed that the taxes should go to Caesar as they were due. His message was for the whole world, not just to reform Judaism. He warned against, & foresaw the destruction of the people, & the Temple, in the great revolt of 66ad. At that time the Christians had to separate themselves from the main body of the Jews, & to intellectually distance themselves from Judeism.

[@peahummer2360]

Rabbinic Judaism must take notice! Yes, He did annoy the Pharisees and Noahide Jewish leaders, by exposing them as being of the 'seed of Esau'. They hated him so much that they felt they HAD TO remove him from the scene. However, THEIR DENIAL of Him has sealed their fate, the house of Essau will become stubble and there shall not be ANY REMAINING of it, for the LORD spoke that a fire shall kindle and devour them.

[@denismarcoux9136]

For your argument, you rely on the texts as if everything in them was historical fact and not stories construed to build up some speculation or other on who Jesus actually was. We have ample examples of poor illeterate persons who gathered influence and followers.

[@benjaminbritton4567]

😮

[@rosierose3257]

Very good information

[@brianphillips5576]

What greater peasant has ever been recorded or followed? Lets follow His words and watch the man's soul be saved. Forgive, confess, love, seek, pray, fast, give.

[@angloaust1575]

What say the scriptures

[@888Longball]

Weren't 99.9 percent of people peasants then?

[@gothicov]

I don't understand why you believe so deeply in the connection between Jesus and Nazareth. The only connection between the Messiah and Nazareth is the similarity of the Hebrew word for "branch" and the name of the settlement Nazareth that the author of the gospel saw. We already know with a high degree of probability that the author of the gospel used the Greek translation of the Torah, and not the original Hebrew, hence the misunderstanding of some other prophecies.

[@alonewoof8769]

a homeless dude, definitely not a jew

[@KendraAndTheLaw]

Dunno. But I am.

[@humanjesusspecialist]

Where did the money from Magi go? Did Joseph spend it on booze?

[@RamadaDiver]

He gets the gifts from the Magi and then flees to egyot . So probably spent on that trip and buying a new home in nazareth

[@dinaldcurchod3296]

No, Jesus was the son of god and a stepson of Joseph, the carpenter who was not poor but a successful tradesman.

[@AskthePoolman]

Jesus had soft hands only thing he put oil on was other people‘s feet! Actually, he was a real person. A real good guy, not some anti-union American tradesmen.!

[@theodoridi]

Yes to all three…..and “crazy”?

[@chasx7062]

Jesus was awokened by the Holy Spirit, thus Jesus was definitely Woke heheh

[@Peejayk]

James your methodology is poor. You simply cannot take passages from any gospel (especially outside of Mark) and determine they are historical because “it makes sense” to you. You are misleading non scholars. The gospels are written by early Christians in order to fulfill messianic prophecies. Eg Gospel writers could have made up that Jesus came from Galilee because Isaiah 9 says so. That he was from Nazereth also seems to be made up based on prophecy (unclear which)- because Mathew says “he will be called a Nazarene”. Please don’t link passages from here and there just because it makes sense to you - you need to have better methodology

[@RamadaDiver]

That's not his argument . He's useing multiple idenpenent sources that show no sign of copying for the specific claims he's makeing . It's called corroboration

[@Peejayk]

@ sorry what are these multiple independent sources? Eg Just because say Luke has material unique to it, it DOES not make it an independent source. Luke does not mention his source in the first place. If he is a creative writer,as we know the gospel authors were, he has the authority to add things without any sources whatsoever. He is not bound to any sources. Do you think he had a source for the virgin birth narrative? Or the resurrection scenes? How come they are vastly different from Mathews? The reason is not his source but his license to fulfil his ideological goals.

[@RamadaDiver]

@Peejayk If the criteria you use for Luke being dependent on mark is they use word for word copying ( even tho Luke doesn't say he is useing mark as a source) You are basing your criteria on shared exact words . Even tho Luke doesn't mention mark . Luke doesn't have these shared words with mark . It's unique and independent of mark

[@RamadaDiver]

@Peejayk The resurection scenes have nothing to do with Tabors case . It's not even discussed

[@Peejayk]

@@RamadaDiver Luke, having unique words/ material does not make it independent of Mark. There is approximately 70% of Markan material in Luke! Luke is dependant on Mark for a large part of his gospel- This is called dependence: please understand the difference. It means that Luke could not have written his gospel without Markan material. When Luke introduces new material eg conversations between the thieves on the cross- this does not mean he automatically uses a source! Luke builds on the Markan material to advance his theology/ ideas. Read Robyn Faith Walsh's book on the origin of the Gospels (including Mark) where she covers anonymity in antiquity and creative writing within gospel material and how ancient writers use other texts as a base to bounce off their own ideas, and propaganda. Internal evidence from Kloppenborg also suggests that Luke has poor knowledge of Palestinian geography. Luke likewise uses Josphian material to spin many of his stories in Luke-Acts (see or read Steve Mason). Tabor is a gifted scholar, but has poor/ old methodology when assessing Gospel texts. The methodology he uses (criterion of embarrassment or dissimilarity for example) is no longer accepted by current scholarship (you can read Chris Keith on this on why themarginaliareview.com/crumbling-criteria-constructing-an-authentic-jesus-by-helen-bond/. Tabor can make his assessments & share his ideas but should conclude that these are largely speculative- otherwise, he is misleading a wide gullible audience which amounts to misinformation.

[@richarddemuth7077]

NOT JESUS Justus of Corinthos! 🥸

[@richarddemuth7077]

This mention of the event at Sepphoris is another intriguing example of his possible DUPLICITY in rendering his "historical accounts", because the uprising under this JUDAS of GALILEE in the year 👑 HEROD Antipater died parallels his account of the uprising of JUDAS of Gamala (also called "the GALILEAN") in the year of the Roman census at the end of 👑 HEROD Archelaus' reign when Judea and Samaria were incorporated into the Empire as part of the province of Syria. 🤨🧐🤔🥸

[@richarddemuth7077]

HOW could John have been RESURRECTED WITHOUT a 🧔??! 🤔

[@richarddemuth7077]

Matthew LEVI WASN'T a Roman tax collector but a Judish 🏛️ tax collector at the synagogue.

[@richarddemuth7077]

The soldiers who came to Jesus asking how to behave were probably Herodian mercenaries. There were NO Roman soldiers stationed in Galilee at the time since it was a semi-independent tetrarchy. Roman soldiers, of course LIKE ALL regular "professional" military through history, were PAID wages BUT, their commanders REALIZING there was NO profit as incentive for being a soldier in the national army, ALLOWED them to PLUNDER during a military campaign against an ENEMY. Herod Antipas' "army" however, like his father Antipater's had been, was COMPOSED of MERCENARIES of various foreign ethnicities who were NOT PAID and were EXPECTED to live by PLUNDER while still having their basic needs supported by the 👑. Thus, the "wages" Jesus would have been referring to was an anachronism as far as ancient military mercenaries went and could ONLY have applied to their 👑 paid expenses for food, clothing, armor, and weaponry. Everything else, except of course their shelter at the forts, was extra.

[@CarmenRizzo-k8q]

No

[@expletivedeleted]

It is Flavius Josephus' mythology. Not a single person wrote about him until an entire generation after he was dead. His name was picked from an old list when Josephus made him up.

[@juanperry2059]

LOL...Real history? There is no such thing.

[@chasx7062]

Winners re write history!

[@Bluets023]

How can Jesus , “ God “ be what the title says ? God owns everything even our souls , so he,s not poor or illiterate or anything else . God , is God ,is God . PERIOD !

[@Nevermind-eh]

The problem here is the lack of any scripture to back a single word this, man, says. All speculation!

[@AskthePoolman]

There’s tons of scripture in caves in the Middle East there’s so many different accounts of Jesus!

[@RamadaDiver]

Didn't he just give multiple independent lines of evidence from scripture ?

[@zhengfuukusheng9238]

NO. He was a myth

[@FadersAnd]

lol no legit scholar agrees with you

[@ChristopherWentling]

😂 mythicists…

[@zhengfuukusheng9238]

Quite a few do actually...

[@ernestschultz5065]

The case for a mythical Jesus is frankly overwhelming. Paul's Jesus was obviously a mythical being.

[@brianphillips5576]

Ones morality dictates ones theology.

[@covingtonrealnewsnetwork5662]

this whole story is stupid, how can anyone profess to believe such nonsense