What are the tools of the trade?

When we begin to study the teachings and teaching methods of the early Rabbis, an exciting thing happens. We are quick to discover that the words and teachings of Jesus reflect (and even sometimes repeat verbatim) the words and teachings of other early Jewish Rabbis. The methodology, hermeneutics, argumentation, theological presuppositions and subject matter of the Jesus' teachings are all patently Rabbinical. Even his use of parables was a common method of teaching in the First Century. Many of his parables are drawn from existing Rabbinic parables which Jesus reworked in order to serve his message. In short, he used the tools of the Rabbis to convey his message. He used Rabbinic teaching methods and relied on Rabbinic material.

Jewish literature offers us the ability to compare his words with the words of his contemporaries. We are better able to understand obscure idioms or elements of Jewish style which Jesus employed when we compare and contrast his words with the words of the other Rabbis. Through Jewish literature, we are better able to perceive the points of conflict between Jesus and Judaisms of his day. Best of all, we are better able to understand him and his message in the original context.

Jesus is a Rabbi. His teachings were Rabbinical in nature. To fully understand who he is and what he teaches we must explore the institutions of Rabbinical teaching and methodology.

What exactly do you do?

The job of a Rabbi in early Judaism was to transmit Torah (teaching) to the next generation. Pirkei Avot, begins with these words, "Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua (his disciple) Joshua to the elders; the elders to the prophets, the prophets to the men of the great assembly (Ezra's generation)."(Avot 1:1)

The Teacher-Disciple pattern of transmitting the Torah and the Knowledge of God was established as early as Moses and Joshua. The teacher's of each generation were entrusted with the task of raising up disciples and future teachers for the next generation. Generation after generation, from teacher to student, the teaching of Torah was passed on. A Rabbi of First Century Judaism was a teacher dedicated to teaching the Torah of God. His purpose in life was to explain the Torah in practical terms and to communicate the knowledge of God to the next generation.

Pirkei Avot continues, "The Men of the Great Assembly said three things, 'Be deliberate in judgement, raise up many disciples, and make a fence for the Torah." This was the job description of the First Century Rabbi.

1. Be deliberate in judgement: A Rabbi's job was to be careful when rendering a legal decision or when interpreting a passage of Scripture. He was to carefully weigh all the evidence. When asked a question regarding Scripture, when making a legal ruling, when hearing a court case as an elder or as a judge in a court of law or even when simply making a small halachic (observance) ruling, such as "Is it permissible to heal on the Sabbath?", the Rabbi was to be careful and deliberate. The Rabbi was to take the scriptures seriously, study them diligently and be deliberate in judgement.

2. Raise Up Many Disciples: A Rabbi's job was to raise up many students. He was to pass the teaching on to many students. If he did not, there would be no continuity from generation to generation. Without disciples, the study of Torah and the knowledge of righteousness would vanish within a generation, and the next generation would fall into apostasy. The Rabbi's job was to raise up disciples who would in turn become the teachers raising up disciples, so that the Torah would not be lost.

3. Make a Fence for the Torah: A Rabbi's job was to protect the Torah. He was to make a fence around the Torah in order to protect the commandments. For example, to protect the commandment forbidding adultery the Sages made a fence around that commandment by teaching their disciples a tradition that they should not even be alone with a woman that is not their wife, so that there was never even a possibility of transgressing that commandment. Such a prohibition is a called a "fence around the Torah." These are practical rules for life to assist the People of God in living out God's Word. The Rabbi's job was to protect even the least of the commandments and protect even the smallest jot and tittle of the Torah from being abolished.

In his Ministry, we see Rabbi Jesus fulfilling all three of the above criteria. He was deliberate in judgement, rendering well thought-out decisions and interpretations on a variety of points of law. He raised up many disciples. In addition to the Twelve he had hundreds of devoted students and thousands of people listening to his teachings. He made fences for the Torah. When he said things like "Anyone who even looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery with her in his heart already," or things like, "Do not swear at all, let your yes be yes and your no, no," he was making fences around the commandments. In these two examples he fenced the commandment against adultery and the commandment against taking God's name in vain. Thus we see Rabbi Jesus fully engaged in the work of a First Century Rabbi.

Where do you live? Where do you work?

From the Talmud, it seems evident that in most cases a First Century Rabbi taught out of the local Synagogues, which were often referred to as the Beit Midrash, that is the House of Study. Students who sought to learn under such a teacher travelled great distances, and if accepted as a disciple, they dedicated themselves to live with and study under the teacher. On the other hand, many sages of First Century Judaism seemed to be itinerant, travelling from town to town, synagogue to synagogue, teaching Torah and raising up disciples. Jesus' ministry was certainly itinerant, but he also established Capernaum as his home base. The Gospel's refer to Capernaum as "His own town." (Matthew 9:1) In Capernaum he did have a place to lay his head. He lived in a room in Peter's house. However, he definitely rejected the offer to become the resident Rabbi of Capernaum. (Luke 4:43).

Most of the ministry of Jesus was spent travelling between Jerusalem and the Galilee. As with all Jews, he was bound by Torah law to ascend to Jerusalem and the Temple for each of the three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Pentecost and The Feast of Tabernacles. The Talmud records that the Sages took advantage of these Pilgrimage crowds by teaching the common folk in the Temple courts throughout the duration of the Feasts. Even those Rabbis who normally stayed in one location took advantage of the pilgrimage festivals as opportunities for teaching the masses. So too, in the Gospels, we see Jesus routinely teaching the Temple courts during the Festivals.

How much do you make?

A Rabbi of the First Century was not like a clergyman or an ordained minister of today. The Rabbi's of the First Century were not on a payroll of a synagogue or a denomination. Instead they typically practiced a trade to support their own teaching ministries. For example, Rabban Gamliel advised his students to combine their study and teaching of Torah with a worldly occupation. (Avot 2:2) His most famous student, Rav Shaul HaBinyamin, (better known as Paul) chose to be a tent maker rather than to accept donations from his students.

Other teachers, like Jesus, gave themselves full time to the work of studying and raising up disciples. Such a teacher relied on the donations of the community and his students. (Luke 8:3 recalls some women who supported the ministry of Jesus. John 12:6 remembers a common money bag held by Jesus and the disciples. ) The result was a meager lifestyle. Thus we read, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man does not have a place to lay his head."

What do you do for a living?

What if you had the opportunity to step back in time and meet the Jesus of the gospels and to ask him, "What do you do for a living?" What would he tell you? What kind of higher education does a Saviour need? What kind of social status does the job of Son of God carry? How much does a Messiah make annually? What is the day-to-day routine for a Christ? Although these titles are the theological categories we normally use to define Jesus, none of them were his actual vocation.

The actual vocation of Yeshua was Rabbi. He was a simple Galilean Rabbi with a large and devoted following. Knowing this alone tells us a great deal about who Rabbi Jesus is.

In those days, the term Rabbi had not yet come to exclusively mean a teacher ordained through formal Rabbincal institution. Rather Rabbi was simply a term of respect for a great teacher. It is in this context that we must try to understand Rabbi Yeshua.