Sample Solution

Thesis Statement: Although all three scholarly articles on the evidence for Jesus as a Jew present different perspectives and arguments, they concur that Jesus was indeed a Jew and provide valuable insight into his cultural background.

The first article by Natalija Novaković, “Jesus as a Jew in Paul’s Epistles” (2012), argues that evidence from Paul’s epistles demonstrates that not only was Jesus Jewish but also he adhered to traditional Jewish customs and beliefs of his time. Novaković suggests that when discussing topics such as sin, salvation, or resurrection of the dead it is clear from Paul’s language and references to Hebrew Scripture, that he believed in these traditions because they had been passed down to him through Judaism (Novaković 2012). Moreover, she states Christ was deemed righteous because he abided by the Mosaic law even though he himself did not write it nor did he create any new laws (Novaković 2012).

The second article by Mark Nanos, titled “An Enigmatic Figure: A Test Case For Being Non-Jewishly Identified As A Jew In Antiquity” (2011) makes similar claims about understanding Jesus’ identity from an ancient source. Nanos examines Josephus’ writings on James the Just who was identified with ‘the brother of Jesus – called Christ’ although there are other sources which suggest this individual could have been an unrelated figure without any blood relation to Christ whatsoever (Nanos 2011). Despite this debate surrounding James’ familial ties to Christ however; Nanos concludes that Josephus does show us that either way one can interpret these passages as proof positive of Christianity being deeply intertwined with Judaism during its formative years in antiquity due to their shared religious customs and values (Nanos 2011).

Finally, in her article entitled “Jesus – The Galilean Teacher” (2008), Esther Chazon provides another perspective arguing instead for the significance of location when assessing Jesus of Nazareth’s identity. Chazon notes how contemporary Judaic texts make reference to many Galilee teachers whose teachings were very similar even though none were explicitly named after these people; thus one cannot be sure if this implies direct influence or simply similarity based on their shared culture within Palestine at large regardless(Chazown 2008). Consequently, she proposes looking at local activities such as fishing which would have defined life along Lake Kinneret coupled with various religious practices which shaped local communities like those found in Sepphoris or Capernaum will yield much more information regarding what specifically made up Jesus’ Judaism than examining just external sources such as Evangelists might imply.(Chazzon 2008)

All three scholars agree overall then it is undeniable despite differing opinions concerning finer details;that Jesus must be viewed through a Hebrew lens rather than exclusively outside influences since so much evidence exists linking him directly back to local Judaic culture both tangible historical accounts beyond mere conjecture.(Novakovic 2012;Nanos 2011;Chazown 2008)