Could Jesus Read

[Terrywoodenpic]

In Jesus time the oral tradition was still strong.
A few like Paul could certainly read and write.
We hear of Jesus speaking and debating in the temple, and using the oral tradition in other ways, But are there any even ambiguous evidences that he could write.


Terry
__________________________
Amen! Truly I say to you: Gather in my name. I am with you.

 

[friedrice118]

Not sure, i think so because he taught and preached in the temple when he was young. So I would bet he read some old testament scripture and things like that.


Thats a funny question, scientists also say that he was bald and four foot tall.

 

[Merlin]

In Jesus time the oral tradition was still strong.
A few like Paul could certainly read and write.
We hear of Jesus speaking and debating in the temple, and using the oral tradition in other ways, But are there any even ambiguous evidences that he could write.


Terry
__________________________
Amen! Truly I say to you: Gather in my name. I am with you.

Why do you aks? Nothing was written down for 30 or 40 years after his death. Paul was the first to write anything, then Mark might have been contemporaneous with Jesus, but no one else, and even he wrote his Gospel and Acts after Paul set the ball rolling.

So, Jesus did not need to write, as he left no writings.

 

[michel]

I don't honestly know, and I have looked for an answer on the web; the only 'hit'was a forum with the same discussion!

 

[robtex]

So, Jesus did not need to write, as he left no writings.

A rabbi who didn't feel the need to write? I bet you can count the number of rabbis on both hands throughout history who did not feel the need to write holy inspirations. Even more curious if Jesus knew the bible was going to be the holy book of all holy books wouldn't it even be more important that be the one to lay outs its content and scripture before returning to the right hand of the father?

Terrywoodenpic, you do realize you are suggesting the sun of God, that which is all knowning, was illiterate. I find it paradoxical to suggest that both could be mutually possible.

 

[robtex]

I don't honestly know, and I have looked for an answer on the web; the only 'hit'was a forum with the same discussion!

For mankind perhaps search engines are the pinnacle of omnipotence !! Funny how fast we are to google on internet forums.

 

[SoyLeche]

I don't have the refference right now, but the time that he taught in a synagogue for the first time, he read from a scroll. I guess it's possible he just had it memorized, but I think it is more likely that he knew how to read.

 

[Qumran]

"He went to Nazereth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to READ. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it he found the place where it is written:

"The spirit of the lord is on me,.... "

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down..."
Luke 4:16-20 New International Version.

Yes, according to the Bible account, Jesus could read.

 

[michel]

"He went to Nazereth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to READ. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it he found the place where it is written:

"The spirit of the lord is on me,.... "

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down..."
Luke 4:16-20 New International Version.

Yes, according to the Bible account, Jesus could read.

Thank you Qumran. I am a fool; I read the thread as "Could Jesus write ?"; as you say, there are indications that he could read.

 

[Kowalski]

In Jesus time the oral tradition was still strong.
A few like Paul could certainly read and write.
We hear of Jesus speaking and debating in the temple, and using the oral tradition in other ways, But are there any even ambiguous evidences that he could write.


Terry
__________________________
Amen! Truly I say to you: Gather in my name. I am with you.

I think that was all made up, since when did a poor workmen's son have access to scribal schools ? Can't buy that at all.

K

 

[michel]

I think that was all made up, since when did a poor workmen's son have access to scribal schools ? Can't buy that at all.

K

I am sorry, but what you 'can buy' is not necessarily true.

 

[Kowalski]

Equally, what scripture says is not necessarily true either. You need blind faith for that to believe in the Bible.

K

 

[Linus]

Mark might have been contemporaneous with Jesus, but no one else, and even he wrote his Gospel and Acts after Paul set the ball rolling.

Luke Wrote Acts. Not Mark. Just so you know.

 

[lilithu]

If you believe he was a man, then it is highly unlikely that he could read and write. He was the son of a carpenter, but the word "carpenter" here doesn't even mean the skilled woodworker that we think of today. More accurately, he was the son of a journeyman, a guy who does odds&ends fix-up jobs around the house. And Jesus was from Nazareth, a poor rural area that other people thought of as backwards. That's the sense of wonder reported in the gospels that is lost on us today because we don't understand the background. Repeatedly, when Jesus taught and people gathered to hear, the gospels reported that people would ask, "who is this man, this son of a carpenter from Nazareth?" They weren't just observing some biographical factoids. They were expressing shock, because a poor person from a "backwards" village was not supposed to be able to speak so eloquently and be able to out-debate trained scholars.

I'm veering off-topic but my point is that if Jesus could read and write, it would have been highly unusual for a man in his socio-economic station at that time.

Of course, if you believe he was God incarnate, then anything is possible.

 

[Qumran]

...Jesus was from Nazareth, a poor rural area that other people thought of as backwards.... Repeatedly, when Jesus taught and people gathered to hear, the gospels reported that people would ask, "who is this man, this son of a carpenter from Nazareth?" They weren't just observing some biographical factoids. They were expressing shock, because a poor person from a "backwards" village was not supposed to be able to speak so eloquently and be able to out-debate trained scholars.[/QUOTE]

Allow me to note that I am NOT a Christian, but in the spirit of fairness I must point out that your objection is evidence that Jesus was an EXCEPTION to the norm.

The people stood in amazement for the very reason that most men in his position were, as you suggest, unremarkable. Jesus was different. If he were, indeed, no more than a common "handyman" we never would have heard of him. The Biblical account says that even the educated men at the synagogue were amazed at his learning.

History is replete with examples of extraordinary people who rose above their ignoble beginnings to claim a place in history. Even if you do not agree he was God incarnate, who can deny he was more than a common carpenter?

 

[martha]

Beloved, do you not recall one of the most famous stories?


Jesus comes upon a crowd encircling a woman. They were ready to stone her for some infraction of law, perhaps adultery. Jesus addressed the crowd by saying, " Let those amoung you who are without sin, cast the first stone." "Then He bent down to the ground and began writing in the dirt...." Have you never wondered what words He wrote? The Scriptures do not tell us these words. I think he wrote words like, adulterer, thief, liar, fornicator, murderer. He wrote these words to make the ones that were so ready to condemn, stop and reflect upon their own lives. When we look at our own behaviour, it might make us stop before we condemn another.

 

[linwood]

If you believe Jesus was a man you believe it on the basis of Biblical scripture and nothing else.
Biblical scripture states that he could read and write so it would seem pretty consistent to state that he was literate.
If you don`t believe Jesus was a man at all then whether he was literate or not shouldn`t even matter to you.

 

[Merlin]

A rabbi who didn't feel the need to write? I bet you can count the number of rabbis on both hands throughout history who did not feel the need to write holy inspirations. Even more curious if Jesus knew the bible was going to be the holy book of all holy books wouldn't it even be more important that be the one to lay outs its content and scripture before returning to the right hand of the father?

Terrywoodenpic, you do realize you are suggesting the sun of God, that which is all knowning, was illiterate. I find it paradoxical to suggest that both could be mutually possible.

Do you actually believe Jesus wrote the new testament? If not, what did he write, in your opinion?

 

[Merlin]

I am sorry, but what you 'can buy' is not necessarily true.

AS nothing was written down for about 40 years after the crucifixion, it is an irrelevant discussion. I did not think anybody claimed that Jesus wrote any of the Bible!

Paul was the first one to write anything down, followed by Mark with his gospel and then his second gospel which is called Acts of the Apostles. After that there was a long gap, with Matthew being almost 100 years later (with his own agenda).

 

[Merlin]

Luke Wrote Acts. Not Mark. Just so you know.

And how do you know that?