One of the most typical features of the gospel portrait of Jesus is that he was a teacher; on this even the Jewish historian Josephus agrees. Recall his description that Jesus was "a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure." Though Jesus was not formally trained in a school, he and others like him could easily pick up techniques from listening to the many speakers and teachers of their day.
The Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7) The Gospel According to St. Matthew Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964
We imagine that Jesus
employed the typical teaching techniques of his time: aphorisms (short, pithy sayings that capture a point
well), parables (riddle-like stories that often throw
a curve ball at the end), metaphorical language (images from daily life that illustrate a point),
and rhythm and rhyme (though most of this was likely lost when the sayings of
Jesus were translated out of his native Aramaic into the Greek gospels, and of course then into the English version you're reading).
As
you read the biblical texts for today, pay special attention to the prominent motif of
the rule or kingdom of God. What does Jesus say about it? What is characteristic
about it? Using the criteria of historicity, which of these teachings do you think
is most authentic?
We have had dig team presentations on several of the Greco-Roman style cities built by Rome's local client kings, the Herodians. It is interesting to consider that Jesus never seems to visit these cities, basing his operations instead in the fishing and farming villages on the periphery of these political centers, like his base of operations in Capernaum or the fishing village of Bethsaida, from which several of his followers come. As you read Crossan & Reed, and listen to the dig team presentations on Capernaum and Bethsaida, consider why the John the Baptis's ascetical purification movement and Jesus' preaching of the kingdom of God might have found a hearing precisely in these rural villages, in the wake of Herod the Great's construction projects in Jerusalem, Sebaste and Caesarea Maritima, and Herod Antipas' more recent and nearby building projects in Sepphoris and Tiberias. Be able to describe the chief archaeological features of Capernaum and Bethsaida in contrast to the features of elite domestic architecture, and be able to describe how Jesus and his followers performed their vision of the kingdom through their practices of eating, reciprocal sharing, healing and itinerancy.
Smith, Barry. Jesus' Twofold Teaching about the Kingdom of God, New Testament Monographs 24. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2009.
Sources
Video: Pier Paolo Pasolini,
"Il Vangelo secondo Matteo (scena del discorso della montagna) - Pier Paolo Pasolini," YouTube (27 September 2010; original film 1964), online, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-nY29bW2LA.
