Jesus in the Talmud

Jesus’ Disciples 79which the New Testament establishes (most prominently in Mt. 1, whereJesus’ Davidic lineage is spelled out: Jesus, the Messiah, the son of David,the son of Jesse). Against this Davidic claim the judges set up quite anothernarrative: You, Netzer, are not from Davidic lineage, God forbid, but the“abhorred offshoot,” who will be left unburied, “pierced with the sword”—another reference to the Gospels 20 —“like a trampled corpse” (Isa. 14:19).This is a direct allusion or rather counternarrative to the New Testament’sclaim of Jesus’ resurrection. You will not only die, the judges argue, butyou will be left unburied, the most horrible fate that can await someonebecause, as we know from the Mishna, even the worst criminal deserves tobe taken from the tree/cross and to be properly buried. Jesus is worse thanthe worst criminal because, as Isaiah continues, “you destroyed your country,killed your people” (Isa. 14:20), that is, in the Bavli’s reading, you blasphemedGod and seduced your people into idolatry. And this destiny appliesnot only to Jesus himself but also to his followers. When Isaiahcontinues: “Prepare a slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their father.21 Let them not arise to possess the earth!” (Isa. 14:21), it becomesclear that, for the Bavli, Jesus’ disciples are executed because of Jesus’ guiltand that their hope to be resurrected is futile, as futile as Jesus’ own expectationwas. They will never arise and possess the earth as Matthew has Jesuspromise his disciples after his resurrection: “All authority in heaven andon earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of theHoly Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commandedyou.” 22 No, our Bavli narrative maintains, neither was Jesus the Messiahnor does his message live among his followers. They are all dead.With regard to Buni’s claim to be Israel, God’s firstborn son, the implicationsare even bolder. First, Buni insists on being God’s son. This is butanother reference to a Bible verse with highly messianic overtones, namelyPsalm 2:7: “He [the Lord] said to me: You are my son (beni), today I havebegotten you.” In the New Testament, when Jesus is baptized by John, theheavens open, the Holy Spirit descends as a dove, and a heavenly voice declares“You are my son, the beloved!” 23 —a clear allusion to Psalm 2:7. Thesame is true for Jesus’ transfiguration on the mount, where a voice fromheaven (clearly God’s voice) declares: “This is my son, the beloved!” 24Even more explicitly, when Paul, in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia,