{"id":806,"date":"2009-06-27T04:01:01","date_gmt":"2009-06-27T04:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued.html"},"modified":"2009-06-27T04:01:01","modified_gmt":"2009-06-27T04:01:01","slug":"missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued.html","title":{"rendered":"Missional and Formational: Factors in the Formation of Jesus (continued)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 4 of series: Missional and Formational?
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nIn my last post I mentioned that Jesus, as a carpenter, would have had to operate his business with integrity if he were to succeed in a small village such as Nazareth.
\nSpeaking of Nazareth, Jesus spent most of his early life in this village, experiencing the pluses and minuses of small town life. We know almost nothing about his years in Nazareth. But we do know that when Jesus began his ministry, the home town folks were not expecting it. In fact, they were relatively unsupportive of Jesus. At one point, some of his former neighbors tried to throw him off a cliff, probably because they feared that his kingdom message would bring the wrath of Rome down upon their heads (Luke 4:16-30). Yet even when they weren\u2019t trying to kill Jesus, the folks from Nazareth were, by and large, unwilling to believe that he was anything more than a messianic pretender. When he spoke in their synagogue, they took offense at him, saying, \u201cWhere did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?\u201d (Mark 6:2-3). (Photo: Nazareth today, a larger town than in the time of Jesus.)
\nNevertheless, Jesus\u2019 experience growing up in the synagogue of Nazareth was surely foundational for him. There he heard the Law being read and expounded. There he learned how to read and speak Hebrew (a cousin to his first language, Aramaic). In the synagogue, Jesus would have heard the Psalms read and prayed regularly. And since his family wasn\u2019t wealthy, and therefore didn\u2019t own biblical scrolls, it was in the synagogue that Jesus heard the sacred texts that profoundly shaped his sense of mission, as well as his relationship with his Heavenly Father.
\nAbout this relationship we know very little. It would seem likely that the intimacy Jesus experienced with his Father during his ministry didn\u2019t begin at his baptism, but was a part of his life as a relatively ordinary Jewish man.
\nPerhaps the most extraordinary part of Jesus\u2019 pre-ministry life, in addition to his conception, was his remaining unmarried. Yes, yes, I know that it has been popular in recent years to think of Jesus as married, thanks largely to Dan Brown and The DaVinci Code<\/em>. If you\u2019re looking for a sober conversation about his marriage or lack thereof, I\u2019d refer you to a series I\u2019ve written called, aptly enough, Was Jesus Married? A Careful Look at the Real Evidence<\/a><\/em>. The historical evidence for the marriage of Jesus is almost entirely fanciful. But the strongest argument in favor of his marriage does deserve to be taken seriously. It is this: Virtually every Jewish man in the time of Jesus would have been married<\/em>. Thus, by remaining single, Jesus distinguished himself from his peers. No doubt his singleness, in addition to his eyebrow-raising conception, led some to be suspicious of him, or even to heap scorn upon him.
\nThough in crucial ways Jesus was unique, his first thirty years or so were, in many ways, ordinary. When he hit his thumb with a hammer, he felt real pain, and no doubt cried out (though avoiding words that some of us might use). Jesus knew the joys of family life, but also the sorrows. Given the absence of Joseph from the Gospel accounts of Jesus\u2019 adult life, it\u2019s highly likely that Joseph died before Jesus commenced his ministry. Thus he knew what it was like to lose a father, and to comfort a mother who had lost her husband. Perhaps this experience contributed to his compassion for the suffering, or shaped the compassion that was his by virtue of his divine nature.
\nWell, I\u2019ve offered plenty of speculations here, so it\u2019s time to stop. In my next post in this series I want to look at some events in the life of Jesus as they\u2019re found in the Gospels and reflect upon how Jesus was being formed through them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 4 of series: Missional and Formational? Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post I mentioned that Jesus, as a carpenter, would have had to operate his business with integrity if he were to succeed in a small village such as Nazareth. Speaking of Nazareth, Jesus spent most of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-missional-and-formational"],"yoast_head":"\nMissional and Formational: Factors in the Formation of Jesus (continued) - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Missional and Formational: Factors in the Formation of Jesus (continued) - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part 4 of series: Missional and Formational? Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post I mentioned that Jesus, as a carpenter, would have had to operate his business with integrity if he were to succeed in a small village such as Nazareth. Speaking of Nazareth, Jesus spent most of…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-06-27T04:01:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Missional and Formational: Factors in the Formation of Jesus (continued) - Mark D. Roberts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Missional and Formational: Factors in the Formation of Jesus (continued) - Mark D. Roberts","og_description":"Part 4 of series: Missional and Formational? Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post I mentioned that Jesus, as a carpenter, would have had to operate his business with integrity if he were to succeed in a small village such as Nazareth. Speaking of Nazareth, Jesus spent most of…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued.html","og_site_name":"Mark D. Roberts","article_published_time":"2009-06-27T04:01:01+00:00","author":"Mark D. Roberts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued.html","name":"Missional and Formational: Factors in the Formation of Jesus (continued) - Mark D. Roberts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-06-27T04:01:01+00:00","dateModified":"2009-06-27T04:01:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/missional-and-formational-factors-in-the-formation-of-jesus-continued.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Missional and Formational: Factors in the Formation of Jesus (continued)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/","name":"Mark D. Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}