tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1230344530531927799.post6045723396742097971..comments2023-04-28T06:59:37.174-04:00Comments on twoTwentyEight: Jesus' Use of ScriptureJoseph Howellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339898114118904716noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1230344530531927799.post-90217264276716650422015-09-08T17:10:31.212-04:002015-09-08T17:10:31.212-04:00I have recently read a book on this topic that I f...I have recently read a book on this topic that I found particularly challenging: "Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus" (Harvey Falk, 2003). Falk argues that not only must Jesus and his immediate followers be understood as observant second temple Jews, but that Jesus actually engaged in the Pharisaic debates of his day - clearly siding with the more liberal school of Hillel over against the more narrow Torah interpretation of the school of Shammai. The obvious exception concerns the issue of divorce.<br /><br />Falk reads almost all of the controversy/dispute stories in the Gospels against this backdrop of inter-family debates within the Jewish sectarian groups. He explains the negative statements about the Pharisees and "the Jews" in general found in the Gospels as extensions of these arguments rather than any rejection of Torah observance.<br /><br />His argument leads to this conclusion - while Jesus certainly held the written Torah in the highest esteem, he rejected not the WHOLE of the oral law, but rather some widely held interpretations of the oral law.<br /><br />Although I am not completely persuaded, this book really makes me think.Joseph Howellnoreply@blogger.com