Nazareth

[Diane]

Falasha You have been misinformed!
You said, “But the main reason I don't think He was from Nazareth is because it is not a fishing village and Jesus was a fisherman.”
Consider what Mark wrote about Jesus’ occupation. 
He says Jesus, “went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
"Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." Mark 6:1-4

[falasha]

So you think Jesus was Tekton? I think Paul and his crew wanted the Jesus message to be more palatable to pagans so he change Jesus from a lowly fisherman to a Tekton! Then why wasn't the symbol of the early church a compass or an angle or something of that nature? It was a fish! And it was not because of some Madison Ave. branding effort. It was a fish because the Jesus movement began and gained steam in the Galilee. Not in Nazareth.

[Diane]

Falasha,
Another piece of Biblical evidience that Jesus was from Nazareth is his own testimony.
When the Roman soldiers and the Jewish Pharisees came to arrest him Jesus asked, "Who is it you want?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." "I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go."

Then when Paul, (Saul) was knocked down by the light he heard a voice say, "Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' " 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. " 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied.” Acts 22:6-8

[falasha]

Yes, I know what the bible says. But what I am seeking is the historical Jesus. If you believe the bible is without error then you are worshiping words on a page. I believe in the power of Jesus who changed the world.

[Diane]

Falasha you sound angry when you said, “So you think Jesus was Tekton? I think Paul and his crew wanted the Jesus message to be more palatable to pagans so he change Jesus from a lowly fisherman to a Tekton!”

It wasn’t Paul but Mark who said Jesus was a carpenter. (Mark 6:3) According to Strong’s Lexicon the Greek word tekton simply means a “worker in wood, a carpenter, joiner, builder.” What is wrong with that skilled and honorable profession?

Then you asked: “Then why wasn't the symbol of the early church a compass or an angle or something of that nature? It was a fish! And it was not because of some Madison Ave. branding effort. It was a fish because the Jesus movement began and gained steam in the Galilee. Not in Nazareth.”

Objects dated as far back as the second century C.E. have been found bearing this figure along with the Greek word for fish, ICHTHÝS. This is understood by many as a cipher for the Greek expression Iesous CHristos THeou Yios Soter, meaning “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” Did Christians use a fish symbol?
According to The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, fish frequently appear in ancient pagan symbolism, often apart from water scenes. “In such cases,” notes this reference work, “it would seem to have symbolic significance, possibly to represent deity, power, fecundity, etc.”
The same publication further notes that certain Jews adopted use of the fish symbol from pagan religious customs, adding: “It is probable that the considerations mentioned [in this regard] account in part for the appearance of the fish in the art of the oldest Christian catacombs. How early the Greek word for ‘fish’ (ichthýs) came to be interpreted as a cipher for ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior’ . . . we do not know; but once this identification was made, the fish became a standard Christian symbol.”
However adopting anything from pagan religious customs is against Biblical Christianity.
The Bible writers mention nothing about a fish symbol or any visible symbol for Christianity.
But Jesus had already given the identifying mark of his true followers. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

[falasha]

It wasn’t Paul but Mark who said Jesus was a carpenter. (Mark 6:3) According to Strong’s Lexicon the Greek word tekton simply means a “worker in wood, a carpenter, joiner, builder.” What is wrong with that skilled and honorable profession?

Objects dated as far back as the second century C.E. have been found bearing this figure along with the Greek word for fish, ICHTHÝS. This is understood by many as a cipher for the Greek expression Iesous CHristos THeou Yios Soter, meaning “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” Did Christians use a fish symbol?
According to The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, fish frequently appear in ancient pagan symbolism, often apart from water scenes. “In such cases,” notes this reference work, “it would seem to have symbolic significance, possibly to represent deity, power, fecundity, etc.”
The same publication further notes that certain Jews adopted use of the fish symbol from pagan religious customs, adding: “It is probable that the considerations mentioned [in this regard] account in part for the appearance of the fish in the art of the oldest Christian catacombs. How early the Greek word for ‘fish’ (ichthýs) came to be interpreted as a cipher for ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior’ . . . we do not know; but once this identification was made, the fish became a standard Christian symbol.”
However adopting anything from pagan religious customs is against Biblical Christianity.
The Bible writers mention nothing about a fish symbol or any visible symbol for Christianity.
But Jesus had already given the identifying mark of his true followers. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

The fish symbol was associated with the ancient goddess worship but it did not denote El. But Jesus was a rightous Jew and to say the Jesus movement was had its beginning in paganism is wrong.

The ICHTHYS cypher was not used during the lifetime of Jesus. It was a later derivation. How it came about is known but noone was allowed to speak of it because the words on the page became holy. If it was not written and blessed by the church then it became blasphemy.

So I will tell you how the ICHTHYS cypher evolved. The original symbol was a fish because Jesus was a fisherman. The fish is Ichthys in Latin/Greek and was an acronym for Jesus Christ, God's Son Saviour. The spokes of the circle were labeled with each letter I-C-H-T-H-S. But where did the circle and six spokes come from? It came from the sign of the rose. It came from Vered HaGalil. You can see a picture of this stylized rose on the ossuary of Mariamne.

As for tekton, Nazareth has no wood and no trees. Their homes were built of stone. Maybe in this case tekton meant stone mason. But I doubt it because Jesus was a fisherman.

[Diane]

Falasha,
May I ask why you think Jesus was a fisherman? There is not one statement by Jesus or any Bible writer that he was a fisherman. But there are many statements that refer to some of his disciples as fishermen. Why do you choose to ignore the written word? It is the only reliable source about his life and teachings.
I would like to correct myself as I said "It wasn’t Paul but Mark who said Jesus was a carpenter." (Mark 6:3) Yes Mark wrote those words but it was the townspeople with whom he grew up who recognized Jesus as "the carpenter."
They knew him for most of the 30 years he lived before beginning his ministry.

[falasha]

I am not ignoring the written word. Much of what I say was written in the NT. The difference is that I am not worshiping the written word. I prefer to worship the man and how he has saved the world. Anyone can write anything and then say God made him do it! We would just have to take his word for it. And I would have if I had not discovered that he was untruthful. Now everything he says is suspect (whoever it was that wrote it down).

I have already given the reasons I think Jesus was a fisherman.

[Brianroy]

Weekly Article (Associates for Biblical Research)

Weekly Article (Associates for Biblical Research)



A two part article on the Nazareth Inscription, etc.