Post by Sheila on Apr 9, 2024 15:46:24 GMT -5
I'm sure most Christians and Jews would agree with the title of this thread. With that said, a quick Google search shows that at least some Christians, including at least one Lutheran church and a few Catholic priests, now state he was Palestinian. They join the vast majority of Arabs who are making this claim. People can make any claim they choose; however, it doesn't change history or make a lie become the truth.
The land now belonging to Israel, as well as what is now called the West Bank, was the land they lived in from the time God's people were freed from slavery in Egypt and led to the "Promised Land". For part of that time, the Philistines occupied a strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea and the area they occupied was known as Philistia. These people were no longer in the area in 604 BC. The only way this area - and this area alone - could be equated to Palestine is because the Greek historian Herodotus translated the name to Palestina in 430 BC. Here are three facts. First, at the time Herodotus wrote the name, it was 174 years after the Philistines abandoned the area. Second, the Israelites re-occupied an area previously belonging only to them. Third, no person or group of people ever referred to themselves or were referred to by other nations or empires as Palestinians before, during, and for almost 100 years after the life of Jesus.
The Jews living in the land referred to where they lived by the name of the tribe that settled that area. This would be the equivalent of a state within the United States, not separate countries. While many people will say the Jews never referred to themselves as Israelis as the people of that nation do today, it must be remembered that throughout the Old Testament God referred to his chosen people, the Jews, as Israel. Moving on through the history of the Jewish people as documented in the Bible and histories written by people from other countries and/or empires, the land now called Israel went through a series of occupations by various empires. The Assyrians, Babylonians, and at least a few others all conquered and occupied the Jewish lands, but they were still referred to by the names given by the Jews. Rome ruled over the land from 67 BC until AD 313. The Romans still referred to the various parts of the Jewish lands by the names given to them by the Jews. It wasn't until after the Jewish revolt from 132 - 135, that the Romans changed the name of the area of Judea and it was administered under the name Syria-Palestine.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem which was located in the area named Judea. With the exception of the short time he lived in Egypt when Mary and Joseph fled there to save Jesus from Herod's slaughter of Jewish infant's two years old or younger, he lived in Nazareth in Judea. His ministry covered most of what is modern day Israel. He died in Jerusalem which was also a city in Judea. None of the cities and towns in which he lived or taught were ever referred to as Palestine or anything even close to it until well after his death. This very short history of Jesus shows that he was born, lived, and died as a Judean Jew.
So why are more and more people referring to Jesus as a Palestinian Jew? It all has to do with antisemitism and geopolitics, which will be a topic for another thread. If you encounter anyone who refers to Jesus as a Palestinian Jew, you now know enough to refute the point. He wasn't Palestinian by any stretch of the imagination. All Christians who want to add a "nationality" to Jesus should either refer to Jesus as an Israeli Jew or a Judean Jew.
The land now belonging to Israel, as well as what is now called the West Bank, was the land they lived in from the time God's people were freed from slavery in Egypt and led to the "Promised Land". For part of that time, the Philistines occupied a strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea and the area they occupied was known as Philistia. These people were no longer in the area in 604 BC. The only way this area - and this area alone - could be equated to Palestine is because the Greek historian Herodotus translated the name to Palestina in 430 BC. Here are three facts. First, at the time Herodotus wrote the name, it was 174 years after the Philistines abandoned the area. Second, the Israelites re-occupied an area previously belonging only to them. Third, no person or group of people ever referred to themselves or were referred to by other nations or empires as Palestinians before, during, and for almost 100 years after the life of Jesus.
The Jews living in the land referred to where they lived by the name of the tribe that settled that area. This would be the equivalent of a state within the United States, not separate countries. While many people will say the Jews never referred to themselves as Israelis as the people of that nation do today, it must be remembered that throughout the Old Testament God referred to his chosen people, the Jews, as Israel. Moving on through the history of the Jewish people as documented in the Bible and histories written by people from other countries and/or empires, the land now called Israel went through a series of occupations by various empires. The Assyrians, Babylonians, and at least a few others all conquered and occupied the Jewish lands, but they were still referred to by the names given by the Jews. Rome ruled over the land from 67 BC until AD 313. The Romans still referred to the various parts of the Jewish lands by the names given to them by the Jews. It wasn't until after the Jewish revolt from 132 - 135, that the Romans changed the name of the area of Judea and it was administered under the name Syria-Palestine.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem which was located in the area named Judea. With the exception of the short time he lived in Egypt when Mary and Joseph fled there to save Jesus from Herod's slaughter of Jewish infant's two years old or younger, he lived in Nazareth in Judea. His ministry covered most of what is modern day Israel. He died in Jerusalem which was also a city in Judea. None of the cities and towns in which he lived or taught were ever referred to as Palestine or anything even close to it until well after his death. This very short history of Jesus shows that he was born, lived, and died as a Judean Jew.
So why are more and more people referring to Jesus as a Palestinian Jew? It all has to do with antisemitism and geopolitics, which will be a topic for another thread. If you encounter anyone who refers to Jesus as a Palestinian Jew, you now know enough to refute the point. He wasn't Palestinian by any stretch of the imagination. All Christians who want to add a "nationality" to Jesus should either refer to Jesus as an Israeli Jew or a Judean Jew.
Copyright © 2024 by Sheila Rae Myers