The Missing Years of Jesus: Part I, LenLecture #1, Leonard Sweet, Semiotics, Premiered 21December21

About this sermon

The Missing Pages: Jesus’ Unwritten Life and Mission Preparation– Every age finds its own version of Jesus, but there is only one Jesus to find. And that one Jesus transcends being bound to the captivity of any one culture or any one period of history, as the historiography of the last five centuries of Jesus scholarship reveals. But it is still important to get as accurate a picture of that one Jesus before each age adds its own coloring and chiaroscuro. The very stones cry out for us to see the truth behind the templates. At the same time, the dangers of this kind of study are well advertised by the landscape of corpses left by previous generations. What follows in these LenLectures is a reading of the text that is admittedly speculative, but semiotically grounded and that encourages seeing Jesus in ways we may have missed; in images we may have ignored; in contexts we may not have noticed. Scholars in the last century have invested heavily in the portrayal of Jesus as a poor, uneducated pariah: for some, a peasant Jewish Cynic; for others, a fringe revolutionary who taught a subversive, radically egalitarian, socio-ethical body of wisdom; for still others, mixtures of both. There are obvious problems with such portrayals. Would not the lavish “shower” gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh have set Jesus up financially? If not for life, at least for a significant period? Isn’t it more than a curiosity that no one who attacked Jesus as a troublemaker dismissed him as an un/self-educated itinerant peasant? We know Jesus was a “tekton,” and some of the highest paid people in Galilee (and the highest paid in Nazareth) were “tekton.” A tekton simply means artisan, builder, someone who worked creatively with his hands. In rare cases, it was also used to describe someone who worked creatively with his mind. In antiquity, “Artists were not distinct from artisans. The routine word for art was techne, meaning skill, of whatever variety (the French metier is similarly used)." In Latin the word "techne," the cognate of "tekton," means simply "art" or "artist." What a whole new way of conceiving our Savior and Redeemer: Artist. We would love for you to hit the "subscribe" button for these vlogs. Don't forget to hit the Notification Bell so that you never miss our most recent video. Support Len’s Ministry through his 510-c-3 “SpiritVenture Ministries” (SVM) https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=WLM4V9GAJDRVL Become a SpiritVenture Ministries (SVM) Supporter at $9/month or a Tribe of Issachar Member at $49/month http://preachthestory.com/donate/ Follow Leonard Sweet on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leonard.sweet​ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lensweet​ (Sweet’s daily micro-blogs) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lensweet​ (Sweet’s daily blogs) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/preachthestory​ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/preachthestorycommunity (Specifically for preachers and others who love those who preach) Access sermons, conferences, and more Leonard Sweet activities: https://preachthestory.com/​ (hundreds of written sermons) https://www.facebook.com/thesalishseapress (Sweet’s newest publications) https://salishsea.press/​ https://the-salish.com​ (Orcas Island getaway cottages for board, staff and church advances (aka “retreats”) #LeonardSweet #Didaskalos #MissingYears #LenLecture

Topics

• Jesus Christ