Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

FROM THE GOSPELS TO JESUS §9.9
eluded a pious upbringing by his parent(s) 290 and education in Torah at the local
village (Nazareth) assembly/synagogue. 291 Whether he could read for himself or
not, Jesus' knowledge of and familiarity with Scripture indicated in the Synoptic
tradition 292 is entirely plausible, even for the son of an artisan. 293
At least some pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the great feasts can be assumed.
Luke's report that Jesus' parents 'went to Jerusalem every year (kat' etos) at the
feast of the Passover' (Luke 2.41) may be exaggerated, but otherwise is entirely
plausible. 294 The story of Luke 2.41-51 suggests that (preparation for) Jesus'
transition to manhood would have been regarded as a particularly appropriate occasion
for a pilgrimage. 295 At any rate, he would have been familiar with the
Temple and its functionaries, priests who served locally as teachers and magistrates
(Mark 1.44 pars.), 296 and the requirements of tithing (Matt. 23.23/Luke
11.42) 297 and purity. 298 He no doubt said the Shema (Deut. 6.4), probably as a
daily obligation (cf. Mark 12.29-30 pars.), and prayed, probably two or three
times a day (cf. Josephus, Ant. 4.212). 299 We can also assume that the adult Jesus
observed the Sabbath, attended the synagogue, and 'gave every seventh day over
to the study of our customs and law' (Josephus, Ant. 16.43), even though only
Luke 4.16 indicates that synagogue attendance was his normal custom. 300 The
290. The piety of the parents can be deduced from the names they gave their children
(Mark 6.3) — James/Jacob (the patriarch), Joses/Joseph, Judas/Judah, Simon/Simeon (three of
Jacob's 12 children, and heads of the resultant tribes), not to mention Jesus/Joshua (Fredrikben,
Jesus 240).
291. See above §9.7a. There is no archaeological evidence of a first-century synagogue
at Nazareth, but again we note the difficulties confronting archaeologists on the site (above
n. 273).
292. E.g., Mark 2.25-26; 7.6-8; 10.5-8; 12.26.
293. For the broad picture see, e.g., Schürer, History 2.417-22, but also further below.
294. Sanders estimates that between 300,000 and 500,000 would attend the Passover
(Herod's temple could accommodate 400,000 pilgrims) out of a Palestinian Jewish population
of between 500,000 and 1,000,000 (Judaism 127-28).
295. Mishnah tractate Niddah 5.6 implies that the thirteenth birthday marked a boy's
transition to adult responsibility in legal and religious matters. Hagiga 1.1 may imply an older
custom of taking boys on pilgrimage at a younger age to accustom them to the obligation
(Fitzmyer, Luke 440-41).
296. Sanders, Judaism 111; see above §9.3c.
297. On tithing, see Sanders, Judaism 146-57; and further below §14.4g.
298. Mark 1.40-44 pars.; Mark 7.15-23/Matt. 15.11-20; Matt. 23.25-26/Luke 11.39-41.
Noteworthy is the presence of a large ritual bath adjacent to the Gamla synagogue above the
northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee (e.g., Oster, 'Supposed Anachronism' 195).
299. Jeremias, Prayers 66-81; 'It is hardly conceivable that the earliest community
would have observed the hours of prayer had Jesus rejected them' (Proclamation 186-91);
Sanders, Judaism 196-97, 202-208.
300. 'The shared convictions and practices that had nothing special about them, but
316