Jubilee and the Teachings of Jesus

In this section, David McLoughlin, the Emeritus Fellow of Christian Theology at Newman University, Birmingham, explores the teachings of Jesus within the "Great" and "Little" traditions.

In this section, David McLoughlin, the Emeritus Fellow of Christian Theology at Newman University, Birmingham, explores the teachings of Jesus within the “Great” and “Little” traditions.

The Great Tradition

The Jerusalem elites proposed a particular reading of the Scriptures, their interpretation of the Great Tradition defined the current social construction of reality.

The vision of Jubilee in Deuteronomy

In the midst of all of developing ideas of the time, lies a series of laws about debts, which can be found in Deuteronomy 15 and 24.

Jesus and the Proclamation of Jubilee

It is in Galilee that Jesus develops rituals of reversal and we begin to see the subversion of the interpretations of the Great Tradition.

Jesus' Interpretation of the Torah

In Galilee the Torah was in dispute so Jesus’ teaching and action reveal how he read and interpreted the Scriptures from a different perspective, that of the prophetic tradition.

Purity and Debt

In the Torah there are Purity and Debt codes. The codes apply to the table, the household and the sanctuary.

Poverty and the Un-holy

The Jerusalem elites who Jesus clashes with prioritise the Purity codes. Poverty is the result of uncleanness.

The Liberating nature of Abba

Jesus’ use of Abba is already in part a critique of the Temple and the Jerusalem elite’s interpretation of the Covenant message.