<<
mruthrush@hotmail.com

There was a tax imposed on the Jews around the time of the Temple
destruction. I believe that many gentiles because of fear of being
considered Jewish and for avoidance of this tax, tried not to show
their connection to the Jews.
>>

AFAIK the tax was imposed only in Judea, and the majority of the
Christians living elsewhere were not subject to it. The tax was based on
the land not on the individuals.

My belief that Matthew originally would written in Hebrew is based
primarily on the historical evidence. The majority of the Church fathers
says so, and they had to know, that Hebrew was the language of the Old
Testament, and Aramaic was the commonly spoken language (lingua franca)
in the Middle East.

laszlo


((( s.r.c.b-s is a moderated group. All posts are approved by a moderator. )))
((( Read http://srcbs.org for details about this group BEFORE you post. )))

(~) Good News to the Poor
Jesus Proclaims a Jubilee
André Trocmé

Excerpted from Jesus and the Nonviolent Revolution, available FREE in
e-book format.

At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus gave an extremely important
speech in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth. Matthew and Mark offer
but a brief summary of this event, but Luke¹s account is quite detailed.
Here it is in its entirety:


Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath
day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to
read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he
found the place where it is written:

 ³The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
(and recovery of sight for the blind,)
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord¹s favor.²

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began
by saying to them, ³Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.²

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from
his lips. ³Isn¹t this Joseph¹s son?² they asked. Jesus said to them,
³Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ŒPhysician, heal yourself! Do
here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.¹²

³I tell you the truth,² he continued, ³no prophet is accepted in his
hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah¹s
time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a
severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them,
but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in<