Over the years that I’ve known the Lord, I’ve had questions about how things happened in the Bible regarding Christ’s life and those around Him. I’ve asked many different people, but could never receive a straight or consistent answer, so I decided to do some research myself. What follows are some of the discoveries I’ve made.

One of the first things that I researched was the definition of a rabbi at the time of Christ. I needed to know because that was the title given to Jesus and it was important to discern if that was the same as what we would call a rabbi today. I found that this was not the case. A rabbi today is more like what we would call a pastor. He has a home synagogue and ministers to his flock. This was not the case at the time of Christ. Rather, they were itinerant teachers who had no set home. They went from place to place, teaching and depending on the local community for support.

Before I get too much further, it’s important to discuss the education system at that time as it impacts heavily on the power of a rabbi. I have been told that the people of that time were not very educated and very few could read or write. After doing further research, I found the opposite to be true. I found that they had a strong education system.

The education system at that time was based around the synagogue. Each one had its’ own elementary school. Starting around the age of five, children began to be taught out of the Torah. This included reading and writing in addition to memorization. That form of study was performed until around the age of ten, at which point they began studying and memorizing oral law until approximately the age of twelve or thirteen. At that age, they became eligible to study the the rest of the writings of the Old Testament as we know it. Most of this was done by memorization as they lacked suitable writing materials. The fact that there was so much memorization being done at this time has a large bearing on what and how Jesus would have taught and how the people would have responded. It was during this education process at the age of twelve or thirteen that the student had to appear before their elders and scribes to be tested. If they were found to have learned what was required of them, they were then able to advance onto Midrash (commentary on scripture). They also then learned about Halachah (rabbinic rulings), translated “to walk or go” – In other words, “the way to live your life”. They did this along with the study of the Talmud. Now, if we remember from scripture, this is the exact age that Jesus appeared before the elders who were amazed by His depth of knowledge and understanding. This group of elders was the group that Jesus would have studied with for more advanced education.

We now have Jesus learning oral law including Halachah. He would have also studied Haggadah (to draw out, to narrate, or tell) which is about moral and ethical instruction about personal faith and the ways of God. The main purpose of this was to reach and touch the heart and mind of man so that he would know God and adhere to His ways. Jesus would have continued these studies through His teen years into His twenties, still learning, but doing more teaching the older He became.

While Jesus was being taught and practicing, however, he was also learning a trade. As a rabbi or teacher, one either needed to be self-sufficient or depend upon gifts from their sponsors or followers. We learn this from examples in the Bible regarding Jesus as well as the apostles since they also had occupations they could resort to (Peter being a fisherman, Paul being a tent maker).

There were many different levels of rabbis. The different levels were determined among the rabbis themselves. You could determine the level of rabbi by the stole/shawl that he wore. There were also two different types of rabbis. The first was the Torah teacher who was only allowed to teach and expound on accepted Torah teachings. A Torah teacher/rabbi was not allowed to establish new thoughts or concepts. The second type was a Semikah (authority). This rabbi had mastered the Tanakh (Old Testament) which allowed them to give new teachings or insights as they garnered more respect. We know of only about a dozen rabbis who had this title in the century around the time of Christ, two of whom are Gamaliel and Hillel as they are mentioned in the Bible. We know Jesus as a rabbi was a Semikah as we are told in numerous places in the Bible that He spoke and taught and with authority. He was even questioned about it by different people and groups. To be a Semikah, you had to be at least 30 years old which corresponds to the age when Jesus began His ministry.

We must remember that most of the rabbis were itinerant and traveled from place to place. They conducted their classes wherever they could (in the village square, someone’s home, or in a synagogue). A rabbi was also dependent upon the generosity of the community because, according to tradition, they could not charge a fee for teaching the scriptures. If you wanted to follow a certain rabbi, this meant that you had to travel with them. It was considered a great honor to be asked to follow a rabbi of importance, so much so that it was common to drop what you were doing to follow them (with the blessing of the community). When a person did this, it was referred to as picking up the burden or yoke that was given to them by the rabbi. This burden/yoke was the teachings of the rabbi. Most higher-ranking rabbis taught in the Haggadah style which used parables and stories to focus on the application of God’s Word to everyday life.

Now, let’s turn to Nazareth and the land of Galilee, where I learned that much of what we have been told is simply not true. At the time of Christ, Galilee was neither a desert nor a wilderness, but rather a very moderate, well watered country. It had fertile farms, a profitable fishing industry, and was noted to have had over 200 small towns and villages along with four large cities. During this time, Herod Antipas had taken on building projects in the area, one of which was the city of Tiberias on the shore of Galilee intended as a lakeside resort. Another was the rebuilding and expansion of Sepphoris which had been destroyed. At this time, Sepphoris was the capital of Galilee. Sepphoris, a Roman community, lies just a one-hour’s walk north of Nazareth. Most workers lived outside the city. The economic impact on the area for these building projects was enormous. They needed skilled craftsman to do the work (carpenters, stone masons, painters, etc), freight haulers for supplies, and vendors. A good farming network was required to supply the food and other necessities for these workers. In other words, there existed a vibrant community, not a backward one which we have been led to believe existed. Joseph, along with his family, would likely have been part of this which meant Jesus was very capable of being a rabbi while having the needed knowledge of a trade as not to be a burden on others. 

There are also further differences between Galilee and Judea that of significance as it relates to how we view Jesus. Judeans felt that Galileans were a more mixed population and not the pure sons of Abraham that Judeans were. Galilee was also separated from Judea by Samaria, further contributing to the Judean belief that Galilee wasn’t part of them. Galilee was also in a different political area from the Judeans. Galileans were ruled by a Herodian prince and Judea and Samaria had been under direct Roman rule since 6 A.D.. From an economic perspective, Galilee had better natural resources for agriculture, fishing, and manufacturing than the mountainous Judean landscape provided. Culturally, Judeans despised the Galileans because of their lack of Jewish sophistication and their openness to Hellenistic influences. In short, they regarded them as their “backwards country cousins,” so to speak. The Judeans had the opinion that the Galileans were also lax in observing the proper rituals in worshiping God since Jerusalem was in Judea and not Galilee. This meant Galileans could not worship “correctly” in Judean’s opinions. Lastly, Galileans spoke a distinctive form of Aramaic whose slovenly consonants they dropped (like a southern drawl) which made them the butt of Judean humor.

Now that we have some background, all that remains is to apply it to the Gospels so how things happened can be clearer. The first is at the baptism of Jesus when he approached John and John exclaimed that Jesus was greater than him and that he was not worthy to baptize Him. If Jesus had been wearing His stole, John would have immediately recognized Him as a great rabbi. It would account for when John was in prison and he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the one and Jesus answered them by saying “Let the lame walk and the blind see.” Jesus was referring to the prophecy concerning the Messiah. With the education that they received in school, they knew which prophecy Jesus was referring to, so John truly knew. The next is the calling of the disciples and why they dropped everything to follow Jesus. As we have learned, it was a great honor to be asked by a Shimekah rabbi to follow him. By knowing this, we can also understand his teaching style and why the people responded to it. We know that if he removed his stole, he was able to blend into the crowd and slip away. Having the status of rabbi would also account for the temple priests’ inability to do anything to Him in broad daylight, forcing them to wait to do it in the dark of the night. These are just some of the instances that make more sense with this understanding.

With that being said, the miracles that He performed, the teachings that He taught, His death, resurrection, and ascension all prove that He was the Messiah. I find it amazing how God used the institutions and customs of the day to fulfill His promise to us. However, I find it equally sad that we lost information when it was decided at the Council of Nicea to take and remove this information from common knowledge. If we still had this information, the work of God would be easier to understand, and His glory would rise to even greater heights.

Learn more about Pastor Steve and Cornerstone Church by visiting the About Us page of our website.