The World of Rabbis Jesus Knew

Jesus was a first-century rabbi, yet many who read the Gospels today are unfamiliar with what that meant in its original setting. This course introduces students to the world of the early rabbis among whom Jesus lived and taught. By exploring their shared cultural framework, values, and teaching methods, students will gain insights and tools to better understand how the Gospel texts function within their original historical context.

This course is a journey with three movements:   Identity (Lessons 1–2): We start with a question that sounds simple but isn't: what did it actually mean to be called "Rabbi" in the first century — and does that title fit Jesus? Institutions & Methods (Lessons 3–5): Next, we step into the world itself — how rabbis taught, where communities gathered (the synagogue), and who held communal authority (the elders and the Sanhedrin). Case Study & Synthesis (Lessons 6–12): Finally, we test everything we've learned against real texts — the sayings of famous rabbis and a close reading of Matthew 5. We see more illustrations of rabbinic teaching methods of ancient rabbis and examine their teachings about divorce, comparing them to the gospels.

Skills & Learning Objectives:

By the end of this short course, students will be able to: 
1. Read Gospel texts with greater historical awareness, identifying key features of the first-century Jewish context.
2. Better recognize how social, cultural, and linguistic assumptions can shape and affect textual meaning.
3. Recognize some rabbinic teaching methods and techniques, distinguishing ancient and modern interpretive frameworks.
4. Situate first-century Rabbi Jesus within his historical and intellectual environment of his peers.
5. Develop mindful text-based observation skills, noticing literary features such as repetition, illustration, contrast, exaggeration, idioms, and etc.

The lectures were designed with a diverse audience in mind. This course emphasizes observation, context, and literary awareness rather than particular theological interpretation or practical application. The course is enhanced with a number of downloadable handouts, articles, and links to helpful books. The practical skill development in this course depends entirely on students going beyond passive learning and completing the exercises (which are optional).