Jesus in the Talmud

If one unwittingly scratches letters on his flesh on Shabbat, Rabbi Eliezer deems him liable to bring a sin-offering and the Sages deem him exempt. It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer said to the Rabbis: Didn’t the infamous ben Stada take magic spells out of Egypt in a scratch on his flesh? They said to him: He was a fool, and you cannot cite proof from a fool. That is not the way that most people write. Incidentally, the Gemara asks: Why did they call him ben Stada, when he was the son of Pandeira? Rav Ḥisda said: His mother’s husband, who acted as his father, was named Stada, but the one who had relations with his mother (her paramour) and fathered him was named Pandeira. The Gemara asks: Wasn’t his mother’s husband Pappos ben Yehuda? Rather, his mother was named Stada and he was named ben Stada after her. The Gemara asks: But wasn’t his mother Miriam, who braided women’s hair [or let women's hair grow long]? The Gemara explains: That is not a contradiction. Rather, Stada was merely a nickname, as they say in Pumbedita: This one strayed [setat da] from her husband.

The Sages taught: Always have the left hand drive sinners away and the right draw them near, so that the sinner will not totally despair of atonement. This is unlike Elisha, who pushed away Gehazi with his two hands and caused him to lose his share in the World-to-Come, and unlike Yehoshua ben Peraḥya, who pushed away Jesus the Nazarene with his two hands....What is the incident involving Yehoshua ben Peraḥya? The Gemara relates: When King Yannai was killing the Sages/rabbis, Yehoshua ben Peraḥya and Jesus, his student, went to Alexandria of Egypt. When there was peace between King Yannai and the Sages, Shimon ben Shataḥ sent a message to Yehoshua ben Peraḥya: From me, Jerusalem, the holy city, to you, Alexandria of Egypt: My sister, my husband is located among you and I sit desolate. The head of the Sages of Israel is out of the country and Jerusalem requires his return. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya understood the message, arose, came, and happened to arrive at a certain inn on the way to Jerusalem. They treated him with great honor. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said: How beautiful is this inn. Jesus, his student, said to him: But my teacher, the eyes of the innkeeper’s wife are narrow [terutot]. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said to him: Wicked one! Do you involve yourself with regard to that matter, the appearance of a married woman? He sounded four hundred shofarot and excommunicated him. Jesus came before Yehoshua ben Peraḥya several times and said to him: Accept our, i.e., my, repentance. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya refused to take notice of him. One day Yehoshua ben Peraḥya was reciting Shema and Jesus came before him with the same request. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya intended to accept his request, and signaled him with his hand to wait until he completed his prayer. Jesus did not understand the signal and thought: He is driving me away [yet again]. He went and stood a brick upright to serve as an idol and he bowed to it. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya then said to Jesus: Repent. Jesus said to him: This is the tradition that I received from you: Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. And the Master says: Jesus performed sorcery, incited Jews to engage in idolatry, and led Israel astray. Had Yehoshua ben Peraḥya not caused him to despair of atonement, he would not have taken the path of evil.

MISHNA: If, after the condemned man is returned to the courthouse, the judges find a reason to acquit him, they acquit him and release him immediately. But if they do not find a reason to acquit him, he goes out to be stoned. And a crier goes out before him and publicly proclaims: So-and-so, son of so-and-so, is going out to be stoned because he committed such and such a transgression. And so-and-so and so-and-so are his witnesses. Anyone who knows of a reason to acquit him should come forward and teach it on his behalf.

GEMARA: Abaye says that the text of the Mishnah should read: And the crier must also publicly proclaim that the transgression was committed on such and such a day, at such and such an hour, and at such and such a place, as perhaps there are those who know that the witnesses could not have been in that place at that time, and they will come forward and prove the original witnesses to be false witnesses [thereby exonerating him]. The mishna teaches that "a crier goes out before the condemned man, etc." indeed before him, but not beforehand (before the accused is convicted). The Gemara raises a difficulty: But isn’t it taught in a baraita: On Passover Eve they hung the corpse of Jesus the Nazarene after they killed him by way of stoning. And a crier went out before him for forty days, publicly proclaiming: Jesus the Nazarene is going out to be stoned because he practiced sorcery, incited people to idol worship, and led the Jewish people astray. Anyone who knows of a reason to acquit him should come forward and teach it on his behalf. And the court did not find a reason to acquit him, and so they stoned him and hung his corpse on Passover eve. Ulla said: And how can you understand this proof? Was Jesus the Nazarene worthy of conducting a search for a reason to acquit him? He was an inciter to idol worship, and the Merciful One states with regard to an inciter to idol worship: “Neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him” (Deuteronomy 13:9). Rather, Jesus was different, as he had close ties with the government, and the gentile authorities were interested in his acquittal. Consequently, the court gave him every opportunity to clear himself, so that it could not be claimed that he was falsely convicted.

There is a case of R. Eliezer who was arrested for "minuth" (heresy), and they brought him to the tribunal for punishment. The governor said to him, "Does an old man like you occupy himself with such things?" He responded, "I consider the judge trustworthy." The governor supposed that R. Eliezer had said this of him, but R. Eliezer was only thinking of his father in heaven. The governor responded, "since you have deemed me reliable, thus I will be." I said, "perhaps societies err concerning these things. Dismissed! Behold, you are released." But when he left the court he was distressed for being arrested for heresy. His disciples came to console him, but he refused to take comfort. R. Aviva came in and said, "may I say something to you, so you shall not be distressed?" "Please do," said R. Eliezer. "Perhaps," Akiva said, "one of the minim (heretics) told you one of their teachings and it pleased you?" Eliezer responded, "By heaven you have reminded me! One time I was walking along the streets of Sephorris and ran into a man from the village of Sichniya who told me a heretical teaching [in the name of Jesus son of Pantiri] and it pleased me. And I was arrested for words of heresy because I have transgressed the words of Torah: 'keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house (Prov. 5:8)' 'for she has cast down many wounded (Prov. 7:26)' R. Eliezer used to teach, "a person should always flee from what is ugly, and from that which appears to be ugly."

There is a case of Eliezer Ben Dama, the nephew of R. Yishmael, who was bit by a snake. Jacob from the village of Sachniya came to cure him [in the name of Yeshu ben Pandira] but R. Yishmael did not allow it. He said, "you are not permitted Ben Dama." He said, I will bring you proof that he may heal me." But he had not finished bringing a proof when he died. R. Yishmael said, "Happy are you Ben Dama, for you have departed in peace, and have not broken through the fences of the sages; for everyone who breaks through the fences of the sages punishment comes to them in the end, as it is written "Whoever breaks a fence a snake shall bite them."