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Prof. Ira

Professor of law at Southwestern Law School who teaches, among other courses, a seminar titled,The Trial of Jesus.

Recent Activity

Trial of Jesus: Jesus the Pharisee

So who was Jesus of Nazareth? Of course, Christians believe that Jesus is the second Person of the Holy Trinity. Whether he was is not the subject of this blog. But because the subject of this blog is the trial of Jesus, it is most relevant to address who Jesus... Continue reading

Posted Aug 23, 2012 at Trial of Jesus

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Trial of Jesus: Pharisees and Hypocrisy

If you were to look up the word "Pharisee" in the dictionary, this is what you would find as the secondary definition: "a sanctimonious, self-righteous, hypocritical person." dictionary.com. Was this the Pharisees? Were they self-righteous hypocrites? To be sure, that is how the Gospels portray this branch of Judaism that... Continue reading

Posted Jul 8, 2012 at Trial of Jesus

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Trial of Jesus: Teachings of the Pharisees

As I stated in my previous post, the Gospels do not treat the Pharisees kindly--and that is an understatement. The Gospels treat the Pharisees as self-righteous hypocrites who do not care a wit about God or man. But that is nothing less than a defamatory assault which has no basis... Continue reading

Posted Jun 27, 2012 at Trial of Jesus

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Trial of Jesus: Pharisees

Since the publication of the Gospels, Christians have not treated the Pharisees kindly. Indeed, even today, if one looks at the dictionary definition of the term, it is not flattering. In fact, the second definition given in dictionary.com is a hypocritical, self-righteous person. That this is so is not surprising:... Continue reading

Posted May 18, 2012 at Trial of Jesus

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Trial of Jesus: History Changed

Welcome to my newest blog, “Trial of Jesus.” I have previously written about this trial in my other blog, www.jesusandtheprofessor.com. The reason that I started this blog is to give a special focus to this critical aspect of history and the Gospels. Why have I done so? I believe that... Continue reading

Posted Apr 19, 2012 at Trial of Jesus

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Jesus, the Demoniac, and the Roman Legion

Mark 5:1-9 Now Jesus and his disciples went to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. When he had left the ship, a man who looked like death, who had an unclean spirit, met Jesus. This man dwelt among tombs. No man could bind him,... Continue reading

Posted Dec 16, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Faith: Of Jesus, Jews, and Christians

Mark 4:35-41 Now the same day, when evening had come, Jesus said unto his disciples, “Let’s pass over unto the other side.” The disciples then sent away the crowd of people and they and Jesus went into a ship. There were other ships in that area, too. Then, a great... Continue reading

Posted Nov 30, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Teaching the Masses and the Disciples

Mark 4:33-34 Jesus taught with many parables, because that is how the people were able to understand him. He did not speak to them without parables. Nonetheless, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained his teachings fully. We have seen previously that Jesus, just like other Jewish teachers... Continue reading

Posted Oct 11, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Kingdom of God, Mustard, and the Messiah

Mark 4:30-32 And he said to them, “What can we liken the Kingdom of God to? What can we compare it to?” Then he said, “It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in... Continue reading

Posted Sep 20, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Harvest and the Kingdom of God

Mark 4:26-29 Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is similar to when a person throws seed unto the ground. The person goes to sleep at night and rises in the day. The man does not notice anything, but the seed is taking root and growing. One day, it springs... Continue reading

Posted Sep 6, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Jesus: Fully Human

Mark 4:25 “For he that has, to him shall be given; and he that does not have, from him shall be taken even that which he has.” Jesus continues with his “measure for measure” discussion. See “Measure for Measure: Suffering of the Righteous,” post of August 23, 2011, discussing Mark... Continue reading

Posted Aug 30, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Measure for Measure: Suffering of the Righteous

Mark 4:24 And Jesus said to the people: “Understand this: The measure that you hand out is the measure that will be handed back to you, and perhaps with even more severity.” What Jesus teaches here is what some would call karma. What goes around comes around. If you act... Continue reading

Posted Aug 23, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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A Virtuous LIfe for Jew or Gentile

Mark 4:22-23 “For nothing is hidden. Everything is made plain. Neither is anything kept a secret. If a man has ears to hear, let him hear.” What did Jesus—the Jewish teacher—mean when he said, “nothing is hidden” and “everything is made plain”? The answer is simple: we have it all,... Continue reading

Posted Aug 12, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Light, Jews, and the Chosen People

Mark 4:21 And he said to them, “Does someone buy a candle and put it under a bushel or under a bed? Of course not! When you buy a candle, you put it on a candlestick for it to shine.” Jesus, as we have seen, taught Judaism. That is, he... Continue reading

Posted Aug 9, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Mark 4:20 “And these are the people who are sown on good ground: they hear the word, receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” As we have seen often in these posts, Jesus was a Jew who (essentially) taught Judaism. What is Judaism?... Continue reading

Posted Aug 5, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Jesus' View on Being a Jew

Mark 4:18-19 “Then there are those who happily hear the word. But then the cares of this world, the obsessive pursuit of riches, and lustful behavior make them turn away from the word.” Jesus continues discussing what it takes for someone to be a Jew—and what he teaches is not... Continue reading

Posted Jul 26, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Jesus, the Word, and Converts

Mark 4:16-17 “Now there also are those which are like stony ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with gladness. But they have no root in themselves and so they accept it for only a short time. Afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the word’s sake,... Continue reading

Posted Jul 22, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Jesus, Satan, the Word, and Judaism

Mark 4:14-15 “The sower sows the word. Now there are those that hear the word, but Satan comes and takes s away the word that was sown in their hearts.” Jesus returns to the frequent theme of “the word” and Satan. What is the word? What is Satan? We have... Continue reading

Posted Jul 18, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Duties of Teacher and Student

Mark 4:13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? If you don’t understand this parable, how will you understand all of the parables.” First, I owe an apology to my readers. I have not posted now for several weeks. This was simply because of a heavy... Continue reading

Posted Jul 15, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Would Jesus Forgive Hitler?

Mark 4:11-12 . . . but to those that are outside, I speak in parables, so that those who see may not perceive, and those who hear may not understand, so that their sins should not be forgiven. To those who are close to Jesus, they are given a unique... Continue reading

Posted Jun 17, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Mark 4:11 And he said to them, “Unto you has been given the Kingdom of God . . . .” This is not the first time Jesus used this term. See Mark 1:14. The Kingdom of God, sometime referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven, is a decidedly Jewish view... Continue reading

Posted Jun 14, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Questions and Answers

Mark 4:10 When Jesus was alone with his disciples and some other individuals who had heard him, these others spoke with him, asking Jesus about the parable. Simply put, some of Jesus’ students –not the “Twelve” disciples—did not understand the meaning of the parable of the sower. See “Parable of... Continue reading

Posted Jun 10, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Parable of the Sower

Mark 4:3-9 “Listen. A sower went out to sow. It came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and birds came and devoured it. Now, some also fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth. Immediately it began to grow, because it had... Continue reading

Posted Jun 7, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Teaching by Parables

Mark 4:2 And he taught them [his disciples] many things by parables, and said to them in his teaching . . . . Jesus, like many Jewish teachers of his time, taught his students by parable. What is a parable? It is a short allegorical story to teach some truth... Continue reading

Posted May 31, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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Jesus and the Multitude (Redux)

Jesus and the Multitude (Redux) Mark 4:1 Once more, he began again to teach by the seaside. Many people gathered by Jesus, so that he went unto a boat, and sat in the sea; a whole multitude was by the sea on the land. We come again to a recurrent... Continue reading

Posted May 27, 2011 at Jesus and the Professor

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