You Say So

The Trial of Jesus of Nazareth

D. C. Thielmann

• Publisher: Writers Branding LLC
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781639450626
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Theology

"You Say So": The Trial of Jesus of Nazareth is a scholarly study into every aspect surrounding the betrayal, arrest, and trial of Jesus of Nazareth. This study examines the discrepancies in the Gospel accounts surrounding these matters while analyzing the Jewish and Roman laws of that time in place in history in order to prove that Jesus did not violate any Jewish laws, nor ever had a trial before the Jewish court of the Great Sanhedrin, but in fact only violated Roman law, which resulted in Jesus having only one trial before Pontius Pilate.

Chapter 1

“They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.”
(Mark 3:2)

For any serious scholar attempting to make an accurate historical assessment of what actually brought about the arrest, and trial of Jesus such scholars must first look to see whether or not Jesus did in fact violate, alter, or in some way attempt to abrogate the Torah and/or the Jewish “oral” Torah. Now, there have already been several thorough scholarly examinations that have proved that Jesus did not violate, alter, or attempt to abrogate any Jewish laws whatsoever.1 Yet, despite this fact there is still the tendency amongst the majority of Christian New Testament scholars to assert that Jesus did indeed teach contrary to the Torah, (whether that be the written Torah, or the “oral Torah), and therefore, it is necessary to prove, once again, that such assertions are totally without merit, and the most logical place to begin such an examination is in regards to the Sabbath and what precisely was Jesus’ attitude towards observance of the Sabbath, as well as what precisely were the Jewish laws at the time of Jesus in regards to proper Sabbath observance. The reason for starting our examination here is because it is here in these matters surrounding the observance of the Sabbath that so many apologetic,2 and even the moderate scholars,3 (such as those who either were, or still are a part of the Jesus Seminar), and even some Jewish scholars,4 who either have very badly misunderstood the Gospel accounts concerning the Sabbath, or these scholars, (and by this I am referring to primarily the Christian scholars), will claim to have found such a violation of Jewish laws concerning the Sabbath that somehow so angered some sort of “Jewish authorities” to such a point so as to have them desire that Jesus be put to death.

We therefore must first take a look at what the Hebrew word Shabbat actually means in order to determine whether or not Jesus did in fact violate any of the legal precepts regarding Shabbat.5 Now, since the Hebrew word Shabbat has no equivalent in any other language,6 (including even Aramaic as stated in the Preface that Hebrew does not always readily translate into Aramaic), it is therefore, quite often misrepresented, misunderstood, and mistranslated by apologetically biased Christian scholars.7 For the Hebrew word Shabbat is far too often rendered out by a word meaning, “rest.” But the fact is that this is in all reality a very erroneous interpretation of the Hebrew word Shabbat.8 Isaiah 40:28 clearly indicates that God does not “weary,” and therefore, He does not “rest.” This is precisely what is stated as well in John 5:17, “My Father is still working….” Thus, the better English interpretation of the Hebrew word Shabbat is, “cessation,” or “a temporary stop.” But, even offering such an interpretation as this for the Hebrew word Shabbat the fact still remains that this interpretation simply does not properly give the word Shabbat its full and appropriate meaning. For even this interpreted meaning tends to give one the impression that there were times when necessary “work[s]” could not and/or should not be done at all on Shabbat. Therefore, the overall best English interpretation of the word Shabbat indicates that one is “to finish an action,” or situation that should not “be left undone.” This is clearly indicated by the Hebrew wording of Genesis 2:1-2.9 Shabbat is a reminder to us that there is no distinction between “master and slave,” “rich or poor,” or even between one’s own “successes and failures” as noted in Job 31:13-15. Shabbat is thus, merely “Holiness in Time.”10 Shabbat, in essence then, is a weekly “day of freedom” for one to be and to do what is “holy.”11

The first matter to now examine in regards to whether or not Jesus actually violated any Sabbath laws involves the accounts of Jesus and his disciples supposedly “plucking corn” on the Sabbath, (Matthew 12:1-2; Mark 2:23-26; Luke 6:1-5).12 But we find that there are discrepancies between the accounts in Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospels as well as those in Mark’s Gospel regarding this matter. Therefore, it becomes essential to take a closer examination of each of these accounts separately in order to ascertain the correct historical actions taken by Jesus and his disciples as to whether or not they did in fact violate any Sabbath laws in any of these accounts. Yet, before doing so it is essential to point out that Edgar Goodspeed believes that the Greek word used in this incident does not actually mean “corn,” but instead, Goodspeed interprets this to be a “wheat field,” and tha...

Table of contents

• Preface
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Epilogue
• Bibliography