Is there any evidence to support the idea that Jesus and his followers survived during his public ministry principally, normally, or often by foraging?  In my previous post I explained why it is plausible.  But is there any reason to consider it probable?

(Sidenote: In my view, far too many scholars of New Testament and early Christianity in recent years have succumbed to the temptation of advancing claims/views that could be true, without worrying if there is evidence that shows they probalby are [or at least without citing and evidence];  and without considering counter-evidence.  For readers, books that do that can certainly be more scintillating than an account — even at a popular level — recognizes the need to mount an argument rather than simply make an assertion.  But in my view it’s bad history and not helpful)

Since our best sources of information about Jesus’ life of any real merit are the earliest Gospels, it is to these we turn.  Here are three passages that seem to relate directly to my question, all from our earliest sources, Mark and Matthew.  (We cannot assume the accounts are historical per se, of course; we have to examine criticall them to see if they contain elements of historical reality.)

 

  1. Eating Grain on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-27).

Mark chapters 2-3 present a series of conflicts between Jesus and other Jewish teachers/leaders, Pharisees and scribes.  In each confrontation – over forgiveness, fasting, sabbath observance, and exorcism – his opponents accuse him of improper/illicit/blasphemous behavior and in each case he has a response that establishes his superiority.  These two chapters on the whole are meant to show Jesus’s superiority to other understandings of Judaism in his day, as the Son of God who uniquely demonstrates his unique authority, divine power, and unrivaled understanding of both the Law and the will of God.

The episode about eating grain comes at the end of ch. 2.  It is a brief story: Jesus and his disciples are walking through fields of grain on a Sabbath; the disciples are hungry and so pluck some of the grain to eat.  The Pharisees observe them doing this and object to Jesus that they are violating the Sabbath. Jesus responds by pointing out that Scripture itself shows it is acceptable before God for those who are hungry to break the laws of Torah, since “Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for Sabbath.”

And with that line he ends the controversy, with the implication is that he stymied his opponents with his withering one-liner.

There is a lot to say about, and I will be dealing with it at greater length in a future post.  For now I make a simple point about it.  This is a case either of either gleaning (if the grain had been left standing after harvest by the farmer of the plot) or foraging (if it was simply wild grain).  The text treats the disciples’ activity as unexceptionable, except for the them doing  it on the Sabbath.  The broader assumption seems to be that this is just the sort of thing they would normally be doing on the other six days of the week.  They scrounged for their food in rural areas whenever the need arose.

 

  1. Cursing of the Fig Tree (Mark 11:12-14)

After nine chapters of recounting Jesus’ activities in Galilee, in chapter 10 Mark indicates that he and his disciples traveled down to Jerusalem (10:17, 32) and arrived in style into the holy city with the Triumphal Entry (11:1-11).  They immediately check out the temple, and then go to spend the night in Bethany, a village a couple of miles outside of Jerusalem (11:11).  (We aren’t told by Mark why they go there in particular or where they stay; but in a later episode he is in Bethany in the house of a leper named Simon; 14:3)

The next day they are walking from Bethany to Jerusalem, and Jesus is hungry.  He sees a fig tree off in the distance and goes up to find fruit to eat, but is disappointed in his hopes.  Mark indicates it was “not the season for figs” (11:13). Even so, Jesus is aggravated and curses the tree, “May no one eat from you , ever” (11:14).

The next day they pass that way again, and the disciples are amazed to see the tree has withered to its roots.

Again, there is plenty to say about the incident, but it matters for our immediate purposes because it shows that Jesus, either not having breakfast or still being hungry afterward, sees an opportunity for foraging and doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of it.  Again, the passage gives no indication there was anything unusual about his foraging per se (though one may wonder why it would be the fig tree’s fault that it wasn’t harvest season yet!  And why did Jesus expect to find fruit outside of season?  The answer to that – as I’ll explain in a different post – shows what the event is really all about for Mark).

As with eating grain on Sabbath, Mark simply assumes that the apostolic band ate what they could when they found it.

 

  1. Do not worry about what you eat or drink (Matthew 6:25-34)

The Sermon on the Mount is by far the most famous collection of Jesus’s teachings, and almost certainly the best known sermon of all time.  Its overarching theme is that people should live in ways God expects if they want to enter into the coming kingdom of God.  The moral and religious teachings embedded in the sermon reveal God’s expectations of his people..

In one of the many striking passages, Jesus insists his followers not be concerned about acquiring earthly things, even what seems necessary just to survive, —  food, drink, and clothing.  God himself will provide all these things, so there is no need to worry about them.  “Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these other things will be provided for you” (6:33).

But how will they be provided?  Jesus gives some intimations in his discussion of bodily nourishment:  “Don’t worry about your life, what you eat or drink … Isn’t your life more than food? … Look at the birds of the sky: they do not sow or harvest or bring their crops into barns, but your heavenly father feeds them.  Aren’t you worth more than they?” (6:25-17)

For many years reading the passage I always imagined Jesus was simply saying – don’t worry about it, God will provide in one way or another.  That may be right, but how exactly does God provide food for the birds?  Not through cultivation and cooking but simply from plants widely available in nature.  That’s how God will also feed those he is more concerned about than birds.

There is a deeper logic to this view that Jesus appears to be assuming.  God created this world originally as Paradise – that is, a Garden (of Eden).  In the creation story (Genesis 2), God made plants to provide (rather glorious and extensive) food for the humans he created later.  That’s how he expected them to survive.  Take what has been given!

But humans botched it and were dismissed from the garden.  According to Jesus (in the Sermon on Mount and throughout the Synoptics, God is about to restore what had been lost, bringing a new world for his faithful people, a good kingdom.  It will be a paradise like Eden of old, with abundant food for everyone there for the picking.

Those who seek this kingdom now can start experiencing its glories now.  God provides his people with all the abundance they need. It is all around them. He expects his people to sustain themselves from what he has already given them.  They  should simply go and get what they need, while waiting for the glorious day to come where all human needs will be me and peace and love reign supreme.

 

My thesis is that Jesus and his disciples survived principally by foraging, and urged others to follow their lead, in anticipation of the time when farming and the agrarian economy of their world would no longer be needed.  They were certainly remembered that way and it makes a good deal of sense given everything else we know about their historical/geographical/cultural/economic situation, and their actual beliefs and message.  Live the life of the kingdom now, trusting that God will provide your needs, in anticipation of his glorious world soon to come.