January 16, 2011

Jesus a Pharisee?

In my sermon at St James Church today, I explored the possibility that Jesus may have spent those "missing years" as a disciple of the Pharisees, and become a rabbi of that school. The notion is not original with me: see Harvey Falk's Jesus the Pharisee for a Jewish perspective. But in my sermon, it is the narrative in John's Gospel that I find intriguing. The full text of the sermon is available at Ekklesiastes, but here is the audio.

Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG

3 comments:

June Butler said...

Tobias, this is the first I've heard of Jesus, the Pharisee, but from the hints in the Gospels, I'd have to say that the idea makes good sense to me.

And thanks for the metaphorical kick in the rear to get going about the work of the Lord.

Allison Elaine said...

I once casually remarked to a (Reform) Rabbi that I sometimes thought Jesus might have been a Pharisee and she responded in surprise, "All Rabbis are Pharisees."

Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG said...

Thanks, Mimi. (I'm doing a bit of metaphorical application of force to rears in my parish these days... ;-))

Allison, thanks so much. That was my impression, but it is good to know a modern rabbi sees it that way -- in addition to Rabbi Falk!