New Testament references to Jesus in the synagogue/temple

[Cerin]

I'm replying to Frelga here per Lord_M's request not to further osgiliate his thread.

I'm referring to the fact that Jesus was constantly creating an uproar in the synagogues, and that they sought his arrest for preaching heresy.

<snip>, could Lali or Cerin point me to the passages you mean?

From a quick perusal of the Gospels, here are some references to Jesus teaching in the temple/synagogue with the type of reaction I mentioned. When I referred to the 'Jewish clergy', I was lumping together the various terms used in the scriptural texts: Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, scribes and elders (it is my understanding that some Pharisees and Sadducees served as priests).

Matt 12:9-14
Healing on the Sabbath, Pharisees began plotting against Jesus.

Matt 13:54-57
Jesus preaches, congregation astonished and offended.

Matt 21:14-16
Blind and lame come to Jesus in the temple, children crying 'Hosanna to the Son of David', chief priests and scribes indignant.

Matt 21: 22-46
Chief priests and elders confront Jesus while he is teaching in the temple, challenge his authority. He responds with parables, they want to take him into custody but fear the multitude.

Matt 26:3-5 Chief priests and elders assemble and plot how to take Jesus into custody.

Mark 1:21-28 Jesus teaches in the synagogue, rebukes an unclean spirit, people are amazed and question the 'new doctrine'.

Mark 3:1-6 Jesus in the synagogue heals on the Sabbath, Pharisees begin plotting how they might arrest him.

Mark 11:18 Scribes and chief priests fear Jesus because all the people are astonished at his teaching.

Mark12:12 Jesus teaches in the temple. Chief priests, scribes and elders seek to arrest Him, but fear the multitude.

Mark 14:1,2 Chief priests and scribes plot how they might arrest Jesus.

Luke 4:16-30 Jesus teaches in synagogue on the Sabbath, 'all those in the synagogue were filled with wrath', thrust him out of the city.

Luke 6:6-11 Jesus teaches in the synagogue, heals on the Sabbath, Pharisees are enraged, discuss what they might do to him.

Luke 13:10-17 Jesus teaches in the synagogue and heals on the Sabbath, is rebuked by the 'ruler of the synagogue'.

Luke 20:19 Jesus teaches in the synagogue, chief priests and scribes seek to lay hands on him but fear the people.

John 7:28 Jesus teaches in the temple, they seek to take Him (because of His teachings), but 'His hour had not come'.

John 8: 48-59 Jesus teaches in the temple, they take up stones to throw at Him, but he leaves.

John 10:22 Jesus teaches in the temple, the people seek to stone Him and seize Him for blasphemy, but He escapes.

[Frelga]

Thanks, Cerin. I am, sadly, too swamped to look into this topic right now, but I do appreciate the effort you put in to answer my question. I won't let it go to waste.

Out of curiousity, are you familiar with the Pharisees and their ideas outside the Christian Gospels?

[Cerin]

Out of curiousity, are you familiar with the Pharisees and their ideas outside the Christian Gospels?

No, I'm afraid not. I recall reading that the Pharisees were of the common people as opposed to being of the aristocracy, and that they were the defenders of the oral tradition, whereas others held that only the written law was legitimate. But that's the extent of my knowledge.

[Glawariel]

Frelga-
There is actually very little known about the Pharisees outside of the Gospels save for the Jewish Historian Josephus who lived in the first century and later rabbinic writings. What makes that complicated from a historical perspective is that each source is more than a little biased, especially the Gospels. Like Cerin said they were not of the aristocracy. The aristocracy at that time were the priests and so mainly the Sadducees. It is likely that they were not necessarily of the common folk as they were likely pretty well-educated; certainly literate. Though, according to Josephus they were the most popular among the common folk (again, take with a grain of salt as they would be the sect/group that Josephus would likely have favored).

Also, as Cerin said, they believed in the authority of the Oral Law or the Tradition of the Elders as it is referred to in the Gospels which is what would become the Oral or Rabbinic law that is explained and explicated in the Mishnah (codified around 200ce) and later the Talmud. That was also as opposed to the Sadducees, which was the sect that believed exclusively in the authority of the written/Mosaic law. It was primarily pertaining to the (disciples of Jesus') observance of the Traditions of the Elders that was the source of the greatest tension and conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees.

The Pharisees are understood by many to be the "proto-rabbis", ie the progenitors of the rabbis of the mishnah, which is pretty likely but it is not certain. The rabbis of the mishnah and talmud do not outright identify with the Pharisees, and there are places where a group referred to as "perushim" (the hebrew for Pharisees) are spoken of negatively.

The Pharisees and Sadducees, along with the Dead Sea community and early Christians (and others), were all different sects in the highly sectarian "Judaism" in the Land of Israel in the first century of the common era. Therefore, it is probable that none of the sects were representative of the masses at all. Once the Temple was destroyed in 70ce, that sectarianism pretty much came to an end because one of the main focal points of the various sects was the Temple itself in one way or another.

Based on my studies (this is exactly the time period that I am focusing on in graduate school), it seems to me that Matthew in particular, who is the most "Jewish" and most anti-Pharisaic of all of the Gospels, was intentionally trying to undermine the authority of the Pharisees for the masses in light of the vacuum of leadership and religious upheaval following the destruction of the Temple.

I hope that's helpful.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Very!