Chapter One
What Do We Know About Jesus?
• Researching His Life
Introduction
Disciples of Jesus circle the globe. Central to their identity is the question, “Who was Jesus, really?” Across the centuries his followers have painted a wide variety of portraits of him: a prophet, a teacher, a revealer of God, their Savior and Lord. Some prefer to call him a peacemaker and a reconciler. Others see him as a revolutionary. Dietrich Bonhoffer saw him as “a man for others.” N. T. Wright called him a “double revolutionary”: he revolted against the system and also against the normal way of being a revolutionary—by refusing to engage in violent acts. Dominic Crossan described Jesus as “a peasant with an attitude”; his attitude was the attitude of God (Jesus at 2000). However we picture Jesus, this “one from Galilee” is unique. He cannot be easily ignored. Albert Schweitzer spoke of his coming to us as “One unknown,” entering our world uninvited but compelling our response. He captures our attention and then our hearts. He commands allegiance and inspires faith. He is the way to an understanding of life that is comforting, yet challenging. He is the answer to our probing questions and the introduction to a whole new set of questions about how to be like him. As he said, he is the way to God and to life itself. (See John 14:6.)
Journal: When I think of Jesus' coming to me as “One Unknown,” I think of …
Bible Study
Study one or both of the following passages in order to understand the context of this chapter:
Mark 14:32–42
or
Mark 16:1–8
What questions would you ask of the account?
How does this passage fit into the whole story?
What meanings for our lives today can you draw from the passage?
Journal: What do I already know about Jesus?
What more do I want to know about him?
He Came from Galilee
Philip, finding his friend Nathaniel, excitedly told him, “We have found the one Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, and he's from Nazareth!” (John 1:45, author's paraphrase).
Nathaniel, who came from the town of Cana about eight miles from Nazareth, replied skeptically, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) Nathaniel's response is indicative of the obscurity of Jesus' beginnings. The little town of Nazareth in lower Galilee, perched on the hill overlooking the Valley of Jezreel, was not significant compared to the other cities of Galilee—the Roman center of Sepphoris or Tiberius on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Nazareth might never have been known in history had Jesus not grown up there. Furthermore, Galileans were known in Jerusalem as “country hicks” by their distinct accent, and jokes were made about their slurred vowels and frequently dropped consonants. Separated from their Judean cousins by Samaria and infiltrated with Gentiles, Galileans were held in disdain by Judean Jews.
Added to this, all Jews were viewed by those in the Roman world as troublesome, obstinate, and difficult to understand because of their narrow religious views. How could someone from an insignificant town in a backward area within an obscure and troubled part of the great Roman Empire eventually bring such a profound change to the entire world? This is the story of Jesus of Nazareth.
1. For Further Consideration: How does the hiddenness of Jesus' beginning emphasize the significance of the incarnation—the miracle of God's dwelling in a human being?
Jesus began preaching in Galilee during the Roman reign of Tiberius Caesar while Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea. His teaching soon began to attract crowds. From the beginning he confronted the leaders of the Jews. He announced to all who would listen that the Kingdom of God had come near. The message of God's reign became the central focus of his teaching.
The majority of his followers were the poor who were oppressed by both the might of Roman control and the legalisms of the Jewish system. Who cared about these “little people,” used and abused by everyone in power? Jesus' hearers were attracted by a new picture of God. He spoke of God as “Abba,” loving and tender as a parent with a small child.
Could this new teacher possibly be right? How does one follow such a God? Can one experience the Kingdom of God now? Jesus told of a relationship with God based on experience—it was possible to know God. Many received this message like people who were starving and thirsty. When Jesus punctuated his teaching by healing, word spread across Galilee, and the crowds following him grew. But not all of the people were eager to welcome this new teacher.
The Jewish world was filled with a great variety of ideas. The Great Council of the Jews, the Sanhedrin, was composed of Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees, or “Separated Ones” (separate from those who failed to keep the Law, both written and oral), were respected and influential, both in Jerusalem and throughout the synagogues of Galilee. Among them were the Scribes, the “Doctors of the Law,” well-versed and ready for any intellectual or theological challenge.
The Sadducees were the old-line aristocracy, the “conservatives.” Unlike the Pharisees, they did not believe in any kind of life after death, and they accepted only the books of the Pentateuch as scripture. Though few in number, they wielded considerable authority because of their wealth.
There were also many other groups: the Herodians, or Roman sympathizers (including tax collectors) and their arch-enemies, the radical Zealots, or Roman-haters. One group of Zealots, called Sicarii (“daggers”) were always ready to kill a Roman or Roman sympathizer if the opportunity arose. The Essenes, who established a quasi-monastic community at Qumran near the Dead Sea, looked down on all of these groups as corrupt. Though the Essenes are not mentioned in the New Testament, their influence is felt. They were also the preservers of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
2. For Further Consideration:
With what groups today might you identify these differing parties of first-century Judaism—Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Herodians, Essenes?
The temple in Jerusalem was the center of Jewish activity. Galileans came there frequently, especially during the three national festivals. The Judeans were wary of these rough, unlettered visitors. The Romans watched them too, remembering that a few years earlier (in AD 6) Judas the Galilean had incited a revolt against paying taxes to Rome. Curiously, his chief colleague was Zadok the Pharisee. Although the revolt was quashed by the Romans it revived a breed of freedom fighters who were willing to fight like the Maccabees of the second century BC. Added to this already tumultuous atmosphere was a revival of interest in prophecy among the Jews. The desire for a Messianic figure to drive out the Romans had grown into an air of apocalyptic expectancy.
3. For Further Consideration:
How do you understand Paul's meaning in Galatians 4:4, that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son …”?
Into this highly charged atmosphere strode a strangely-dressed prophet preaching repentance. No wonder, then, that the movement surrounding John the Baptizer attracted attention. All four Gospel writers begin the story of Jesus' ministry with the account of the Baptist. The Jordan Valley had become the gathering place for many Jews who were eager for Israel to be saved. Many of them thought that John was the long-awaited Messiah.
John, however, resisted the suggestion. Rather he pointed to his cousin Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth. One has to admire John's humility as he said of Jesus, “I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal” (John 1:27). This “voice of one crying out in the wilderness” (v 23) urged his own disciples to follow Jesus.
4. For Further Consideration:
Why do you think John the Baptist is so important to the story of Jesus?
The Life of Jesus
Who was this man Jesus to whom John pointed? We know very little about his early life. Matthew and Luke tell of a young Jewish girl, Mary, engaged to a carpenter in Nazareth. Joseph, the carpenter, may have been much older than Mary because he does not seem to be present in the adult years of Jesus' life. Convinced in a vision to accept the pregnancy of Mary although they had not engaged in marital relations, Joseph led her on a long journey to his family's hometown of Bethlehem for the census. The date was around 6 to 4 BC (before Herod's death in 4 BC). It was an unsettled time and the village was crowded with travelers. There, in the only place available, an animal stable, Jesus was birthed by this young Galilean virgin. Luke tells of simple shepherds who received the word on the country hillside. Their coming to see the baby is beautifully symbolic of the persons with whom Jesus would identify most in his life, the amme-ha-aretz, the people of the land, the poor whom he loved. Matthew's version, by contrast, introduces a violent world. Alerted by rulers from the East searching for a new “king of the Jews,” the paranoid King Herod the Great set out to kill any children who would be “pretenders to the throne.” Joseph and Mary escaped with Jesus to Egypt. Eventually, they made their home in Nazareth, where Jesus grew and learned the Scriptures as any young Jewish boy. We have only one isolated account from this period in his life, a visit to the temple at age twelve, where he astonished the elders with his understanding. He learned in the synagogue, but he also learned from life itself. The stories he told later no doubt were of people and events he had witnessed: a wedding, children playing, shepherds and fishermen, the shrewd manager, the hypocritical religious leaders, the forgiving father.
5. For Further Consideration:
Read Luke 1:80, 2:40, and 2:52. How do these verses compare to 1 Samuel 2:26?
Scholars agree that the birth and childhood stories were probably added later by the Gospel writers, when Jesus' followers hungered to know more about his birth and early life. The real focus of the Gospel writers starts with John the Baptizer and Jesus' coming to him to be baptized. They all underscore this event with the voice of the Spirit that announces Jesus to be the beloved son of God.
Jesus went immediately from the baptism to an excruciating time of testing in the Judean wilderness. Jesus himself must have told about this experience later. Only by trusting in the power of God and relying on the Scriptures he knew so well could he counter the attacks of the tempter. And only by recognizing these to be real temptations—to passion, pride, and power—can we understand their meaning. The letter to the Hebrews suggests that Jesus was tempted as we are, in every way, yet without sin (Heb 4:15).
Temptations in Jesus' life did not end with this experience, but he had found the key to resisting; it was total dependence upon God.
6. For Further Consideration:
What are the implications for our lives today of Jesus' time of testing in the wilderness?
After his personal testing time, the public mission of Jesus began with his gathering of disciples, as John and many teachers had done. Not long after, John was imprisoned. Herod Antipas had taken for himself the wife of his own brother, and John had publicly condemned this immorality. Although John had urged his own disciples to follow Jesus, from prison he began to question the course of Jesus' ministry and whether he would indeed “baptize with fire,” as John had said. Jesus' reply was simply, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them” (Luke 7:22).
When John, who presented a threat of suspected sedition to Herod, was cruelly beheaded, Jesus withdrew temporarily into solitude. It was not long, however, before he set out in earnest to teach and preach. In doing so, he attracted the attention, and the disapproval, of the Jewish authorities. He did not try to avoid the confrontations. Siding with the poor and oppressed, he accused those in power of neglecting the hurting, the oppressed, and those they considered “sinners.” He said, “I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” (Mark 2:17). His spending time with tax collectors and people under suspicion invoked the wrath of the religious authorities.
He also welcomed another oppressed group into his company; he often stopped to give attention to women and he treated them with respect. A significant number of women (Mary Magdalene; Mary, the mother of John Mark; Mary, the wife of Cleopas; Mary and Martha; Salome; and many other unnamed women) became his followers and played an important role in his life all the way to the crucifixion and resurrection.
7. For Further Consideration:
What does Jesus' treatment of women teach us about the place of women in the church and in society today?
Jesus was criticized for his enjoyment of parties, and especially for eating and drinking with sinners. His approach to life did not fit the conception of religious purity that had come to rule the day. His critics said that he “broke” the Sabbath Law when he healed people on the Sabbath. Jesus answered with a principle that can be applied to all of the Law: “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) In other words, God is concerned about the well-being of people, not the legalistic keeping of rules for propriety's sake.
8. For Further Consideration:
What implications for us can you think of that come from Jesus' statement in Mark 2:27?
From the time that Jesus inaugurated his ministry in Nazareth with the reading from Isaiah 61:1–2 (Luke 4:18–19) to his entrance into Jerusalem before his arrest, he confronted, confused, and confounded the Jewish leaders. Often they tried to trap and embarrass him with a question in order to force him to lose face before the crowds, only to be answered with a question that they themselves could not answer. He saw through the hypocrisy of these power-hungry men in religious garb.
9. For Further Consideration:
Are there ways today that we might confuse position in the church with our own hunger for power?
How do we avoid such confusion?
Jesus' early ministry brought him popularity. [This time of teaching will be explored further in Chapter 3.] Eventually, however, he became much more intense and began to focus upon his disciples as though preparing them for a climactic event. He withdrew to the northern regions of Tyre and Sidon. Although he did not want anyone to know where he was, even there a woman found him and begged him to heal her daughter. Jesus' response to this Gentile woman demonstrates that his ministry reached beyond the protectionistic boundaries of the Jewish tradition.
After returning for a short time to minister to people in Galilee, he took his disciples to Caesarea Philippi—a curious choice, perhaps, because it was a site of pagan worship. Here the turning point of Jesus' ministry occurred. He asked those closest to him who they thought he was. They did not know it then, but he was preparing them for the conflict and death that were soon to come. In their usual way, through Peter, they answered that he was the Christ, the Messiah. But did they really understand? Apparently not, because soon Jesus had to rebuke Peter with the harsh words, “Get behind me, Satan” (Mark 8:33). Perhaps Jesus' greatest frustration was his disciples' failure to understand who he was.
10. For Further Consideration:
How do we, like Jesus' disciples, fail to understand his mission? Is it possible for us to “read” our agenda into his?
On that occasion, Jesus began to explain the necessity of his going to Jerusalem where he would be rejected, eventually killed, and, after three days, raised from the dead. Not wanting to hear what they thought of as bad news, they blocked the words from their minds. Only after the resurrection were they able to look back and understand.
Journal: Of all of Jesus' earliest disciples, including the women, I identify most with ____________ because …
The Center of the Story: The Passion and Resurrection
After passing through Galilee, Jesus and his group set out for Jerusalem. Jesus alone knew the reception that awaited him. One-third of each of the Gospels is made up of the last week of Jesus' life. When the earliest preachers began to tell the story of Jesus, they began by detailing the climactic events of those last days, concluding with the crucifixion and resurrection.
Jesus had been to Jerusalem before, perhaps many times. He knew the city well. He knew, too, that it was the Passover festival, and he must have begun to plan what he was going to do. He knew also that “it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33). During Passover, pilgrims from all over the Jewish world would be in the city, giving Jesus a large audience.
On the way he crossed into the Transjordan, the high desert east of the Jordan River, then stopped in Jericho, where he healed the blind man Bartimaeus; and in Bethany, just outside of Jerusalem, where he stayed in the home of his friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus. His dramatic raising of Lazarus from the dead foreshadowed the resurrection of Jesus himself.
He could have entered the city unnoticed, along with all of the other pilgrims coming along the Jericho road. However, he sent two disciples ahead to procure a donkey colt. That should have been a symbolic act recognizable to all who knew the Scriptures. Zechariah's prophecy (9:9) of a triumphant king was being enacted. Zechariah's words should be carefully noted, “… and he shall command peace to the nations” (9:10). The crowds greeted him with shouts of approval.
All of this must have unnerved the Jewish authorities. Jesus' first act in the city exacerbated the confrontation even more. In the temple's court of the Gentiles, which was filled with pilgrims and curiosity seekers, he saw a place of prayer turned into an arena for crass commercialism and even cheating. He forced out those who were doing business, turned over the tables of those selling doves for sacrifices, and prohibited anyone from carrying anything through the temple.
His action must have shocked everyone. It was done before they could stop him, and the enraged temple authorities began to plot how to remove this menace. The stage for the final confrontation had been set.
Each day during the week Jesus returned to the temple, and each night he gathered his disciples in a secluded spot in the garden called Gethsemane, located on the Mount of Olives across the Kidron Valley from the temple mount. The temple authorities, the elders, the Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees all joined forces in trying to challenge and discredit him before the masses, but each time their efforts failed. It was they who were made to look foolish. In a show of surprising unity, these rival parties joined against him. They found an unlikely ally within Jesus' own group; Judas from Iscariot. Disillusioned by Jesus' failure to act as he thought a Messiah should, Judas was willing to lead the Jewish leaders to Jesus at night, away from the watching eyes of the masses who might defend him. The authorities did not want to start a riot.
The whole story came down to Jesus' last night. Its events, though happening rapidly and with great confusion, must have been forever emblazoned on the consciousness of the disciples. Two days before the Passover, according to Mark, in the home of Simon the Leper in Bethany, a woman had been so audacious as to pour a very expensive ointment on Jesus' head. Those present quickly and angrily condemned her actions. Jesus, however, praised her for her love and said that she was preparing him for his burial.
11. For Further Consideration:
Think about the place of many persons in the story, often unnamed, who play key roles.
He sent two disciples into the city to prepare the Passover meal for the inner circle of followers. Tradition says the meal was at the home of the parents of John Mark, who was then a boy. This last meal of Jesus with those he loved became an experience they would never forget. It would become memorialized in his honor. Every time they would share it, they would expect his presence in their midst. Jesus had filled the ancient symbols of the bread and the wine with new meaning. The bread was his broken body, and the wine, his blood, poured out on behalf of all humankind. In John's version (chapter 13), Jesus also taught them the lesson of true greatness found in humble service to each other by washing their feet. After singing together, they left for their meeting place in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus entered into earnest prayer while his disciples, exhausted by a hectic week, slept.
Jesus' final test came and, in excruciating anguish, he accepted the inevitable. Soon Judas came with the Jewish authorities to arrest him. It was to be a long and painful night—Judas's kiss, Peter's cutting off the soldier's ear, the curious incident (Mark 14:51–52) of the boy running away naked (was it Mark, the author of the account?), the trial, and finally the conviction. As the authorities took Jesus before Caiaphas the high priest and all the other priests, his disciples scattered in fear for their lives. Only Peter followed at a distance. When confronted, as Jesus had predicted, three times Peter denied knowing or following him. As he realized what he had done, he wept bitterly.
In the trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus was charged—by contradictory witnesses—with claiming equality with God, a charge punishable by death. The Jewish authorities found it necessary to take their captive to the Roman governor Pilate, who, though he could not find any reason to convict him, was intimidated by the mob. Rather than Jesus, he released a convicted murderer named Barabbas (whose name means “son of the father”). He followed the Jewish tradition of releasing one prisoner during Passover in order to pacify the crowd and free himself of their contempt.
Jesus was flogged and forced to carry the beam of his cross toward the execution site, Golgotha, just outside the city gates, until he fell under its weight. He was crucified between two thieves, one of whom berated him as the other begged for mercy. The Scriptures record a total of seven times he spoke from the cross: forgiving his killers, comforting the thief who asked him for mercy, acknowledging his mother and John, saying he was thirsty, and committing himself into God's keeping.
The crowds of Jerusalem were there; the curious, those approving of his death, and the Roman soldiers, one of whom acknowledged his greatness. But the disciples were conspicuous by their absence; only John was reported to have been there. The women disciples, however, had accompanied him all the way from Galilee. They were conspicuous by their presence, both on that day and on the first day of the next week.
12. For Further Consideration:
Read Psalm 22 in the light of the crucifixion of Jesus. How did Jesus or the writers of the story draw from this psalm?
Actually, Jesus died a lonely death. Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy Jew, laid him in his own tomb, an act of great kindness. As the Sabbath was nearing, the body was quickly placed in the tomb without the usual ritual of anointing. Why such a tragic, lonely end to such a promising life? Perhaps many that day asked this question. The truth is that it was not yet the end of the story. No telling of the story of Jesus is complete without the central and crucial event—his resurrection from the dead.
On the first day of the week he appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other women and sent them to tell the other disciples. He appeared to Peter and to the eleven. He walked with two followers on the road to Emmaus. He eventually was seen by more than five hundred people who, at the time the Apostle Paul reported this fact (1 Cor 15:3–8), were still living.
The message by those who told the story is clear: He is alive! The change in the disciples was dramatic. From scattered, fearful mourners they became witnesses with renewed hope, courage, and power. They began to tell the story of Jesus, concentrating on the crucifixion-resurrection. They went out in all directions with a sense of urgency to tell the story, not with any immediate attempt to write it down. Only later, when some of the earlier witnesses were dying, did followers begin to write down the story.
In the face of persecution, the numbers of followers increased. Throughout Jesus' ministry they had failed to understand so much of what he said. Now they understood. The key was the resurrection, the recognition of Jesus as a living being. This is not just a story with a happy ending, it is the story.
13. For Further Consideration: Why, of all the movements of the First Century that were prophetic or messianic, is the Christian movement the only one that didn't die after its founder died?
Journal: I think of Jesus more as
[ ] a revolutionary
[ ] a peacemaker
because …
Journal: If Jesus came to our town today, one place we might be very surprised to find him would be …
Chapter Two
How Do We Know about Jesus?
• Reading the Texts
Bible Study
Study one or both of the following passages in order to understand the context of this chapter:
John 20:30–31
or
Luke 1:1–4
What questions would you ask of the account?
How does this passage fit into the whole story?
What meanings for our lives today can you draw from the passage?
The existence of communities of faith around the world speaks volumes about the reality of the events surrounding the founding of Christianity. The unfolding of the history of the church reveals much more to enlighten our understanding of the dynamics of its life and faith.
The Christian community, like the Jewish one out of which it was born, measures itself by its beginnings. Christians, like Jews, are people of “the Book.” Its canon of scriptures is seen to be dependable and authoritative. The “canon” consists of those writings seen to be authoritative for life and faith, inspired by God. It is from these texts that we derive our understanding of the events of Jesus' life and their meaning. To be understood, these texts must be studied carefully in their own contexts.
The scriptures require study by both the mind and the heart. We must be willing to read “critically” (meaning, to think clearly), asking every question that we can think of. This kind of study requires all of the tools of interpretation available—historical, grammatical, literary, sociological, psychological, and theological. It requires careful thinking characterized by a distancing of oneself from the text in order to gain a sense of perspective. Without such study, understanding the text fully is impossible; however, within itself such study is only a beginning.
It is also vital that the student of Scripture bring eyes of faith to the reading. This reading is with the heart, a coming close to the text in order to experience its truth and meaning. Without this act of humility and openness to the possibilities of faith, a person cannot fully understand the text. Thus, it takes both thinking with the mind and experiencing with the heart to accomplish this important task.
2. For Further Consideration:
How do we balance a “scholarly” reading of the New Testament text with a “faith” reading?
The reader asks both “What happened?” and “What does it mean?” The writers of Scripture were focusing on the spiritual struggle of good and evil, God and Satan. In this great conflict a decisive event of salvation took place, a hapax—a once-for-all event that impacts all humanity. It is the Christ-event—the story of Jesus of Nazareth, the meaning of his life and teachings, and his climactic death and resurrection.
The Documents
The great majority of information that we have about Jesus comes from the canonical texts. A few extra-biblical writings, in addition, confirm the historicity of his life. The historian Cornelius Tacitus stated that the Emperor Nero needed a scapegoat to blame for the burning of the city of Rome. He found it in the Christians, already disliked by the Romans for their “disgraceful” practices of “eating flesh,” “drinking blood,” and not bowing to the emperor as god. Tacitus, who did not believe these charges of arson, nevertheless described the founder of Christianity as a criminal who had been executed by Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea. The execution had failed to stop the spread of this “superstition,” and it had, like all things, come to Rome.
The Roman poet Suetonius and the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus also wrote of Jesus. The Babylonian Talmud of the Jews viewed his crucifixion as justified, saying, “They hanged Jesus of Nazareth on the Eve of Passover because he practiced sorcery and was leading Israel astray” (Duling & Perrin, 514). Taken together, all of these sources reported that Jesus was put to death under the Roman governor Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius Caesar at the instigation of some Jewish leaders. His followers called him “Christ” and saw him as a divine founder of a new way of life.
In a second-century letter to the Emperor Trajan, Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, called the Younger Pliny, blamed religious unrest on people called Christians. He described them as a secret society who were disloyal to Rome for their refusal to offer sacrifices to the Emperor. He reported that they met on a fixed day, early in the morning, that they sang hymns responsively to Christ “as to a god,” and that they bound themselves by an oath to keep the moral law. They also had a meal together. However, none of these extra-biblical sources made the Roman headlines. All the while, the influence of Jesus' life was growing among the people.
There were other writings among the Christian community about Jesus. While based upon the gospel accounts, many added legends that described incredible stories of Jesus as a boy. Among these was the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, which contains 114 presumed sayings of Jesus. There is also a tradition of an early gospel in the Aramaic language, which may or may not be incorporated into the biblical accounts. All of these documents must be evaluated in the light of the canonical Gospels.
3. For Further Consideration:
The process of recognizing which books should be in the New Testament covered nearly three hundred years. This study of canonization is a worthy project for the serious student of the New Testament.
In addition to the biblical text, there grew a collection of accounts taken together as tradition. This tradition, both oral and written, and stretching on for centuries, is worthy of attention as we compare it to the canonical text. For example, before the end of the second century, Irenaeus, then bishop of Lyons in France, wrote a letter to a fellow student, Florinus, reminiscing about their teacher, Polycarp of Smyrna. Polycarp, who died at the age of eighty-six in AD 155, had talked to them about his teacher, John “the disciple of the Lord.” Such accounts provide us with a direct link, generation by generation, with Jesus himself.
4. For Further Consideration:
What are the implications for us in the discussion of the canon of Scripture versus the traditions of the church?
In the study of the Christian Scriptures, we must remember that all of the writers centered on Jesus. Although Paul wrote many of the books, it is not a question of Jesus versus Paul. There is only one story. Their purpose was (1) to tell the story and (2) to explain its meaning.
Perhaps because Paul probably never met Jesus in the flesh, he did not concentrate on the earthly life of Jesus. He did include some details: Jesus was born a Jew (Gal 3:16, Rom 9:5), and was a descendant of David (Rom 1:3). He tells us that Jesus carried out a ministry to Israel (Rom 15:8). He celebrated a Last Supper with his disciples on the night he was betrayed (1 Cor 11:23–25), and was killed by crucifixion (Gal 2:20, 3:1; 1 Cor 1:23; Phil 2:8). He was raised from the dead and appeared to Peter, the eleven disciples, his brother James, and more than five hundred believers who were still alive at Paul's writing.
In addition, the writer to the Hebrews told of Jesus' teaching and signs (2:3–4), his testing (2:14–18 and 4:14–15), and his crucifixion (6:6, 13:12). First Peter told of his suffering and death (2:21–24), and 1 John (1:1–3) insisted upon the reality of his life.
5. For Further Consideration:
Take time to look up the passages cited. Note the context and meaning of each passage.
However, the primary sources for Jesus' life are the four canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In these books we have four portraits of Jesus. They are four different witnesses to the same story. Although they differ in their audiences—Mark and Luke to Gentile believers, Matthew to Jewish Christians, and John to Hellenistic Jews scattered throughout the Roman world—they are united in their central purpose to present Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, in order that persons would come to experience faith in God through Christ and know the meaning of true life (John 20:31).
Journal: Of the four Gospels, the one that I enjoy reading most is ____________________ because …
These are examples of interpreted history. The truth is, of course, that there is no writing of history apart from interpretation. These writers are explicit about their purpose of explaining Jesus. We have four traditions—four witnesses—to the same climactic event. Despite their differences of style and emphasis, their meaning coincides. Taken together, these four points of view converge to give us a dynamic picture of a real person in a real world that was Roman, Greek, and Jewish. They show how Jesus' message spoke to all of these worlds.
Journal: For me to study the Gospels with both mind and heart means that I …
It is important to remember also that there are three levels to our study of the Gospels. The third level is what we have before us, the written texts. An examination of the passing on of these written texts from one generation to another is an important area of study within itself, called textual criticism.
6. For Further Consideration: Textual criticism (establishing the authentic Hebrew and Greek texts) is essential to biblical study and is another area important to the serious student of the Bible. What do you see as its value for you?
The second level is the oral tradition. Before the story was ever written, the disciples communicated the message by preaching and teaching. In their urgency they felt no immediate need to write it down. Only later did the necessity of writing the story become apparent. In telling and retelling the stories of Jesus, they recast them in terms meaningful to their audiences. Sometimes they added their own commentary. Often they felt the need to correct a wrong way of thinking. Always their purpose was to hand on the reliable truth of Jesus' life and teachings.
7. For Further Consideration:
Why did Jesus' disciples not write the story immediately?
What caused them eventually to write it?
The first level of the story is the most difficult to determine without questions. What were the actual events? What did Jesus really say and do? Students of the Scriptures have engaged often in this “search for the historical Jesus.” Although we may not be able to nail down all of the details, we are able to determine by careful study that these events did happen. We use the texts as historical windows that allow us to exercise our creative minds in reconstructing the past. As we do this, it is important that we not view each Gospel only in fragments or that we ignore each book's unique intentions. Each Gospel must be seen as a whole story.
8. For Further Consideration:
Think of each Gospel writer as a preacher with a specific audience. What must we be aware of to determine the differences in the way they “preach” the story?
It has been a long-standing practice among Jewish people to accept varying traditions without attempting to harmonize or reconcile the apparent differences. We follow this practice in seeing the literary whole of the four accounts to be greater than the sum of its parts.
Each of the Gospels functions as a book of worship (liturgically) and as a guide to faith (spiritually). Each invokes an “I was there” feeling within the reader. Each book draws the reader in so that the text may be understood “from the inside.” They serve as critical mirrors for the way that we see ourselves and the world. We are invited to enter into dialogue with each of these tellers of the story. By the inclusion of dialogue and other literary devices, the Gospel writers pull us into the living story.
9. For Further Consideration: The Gospels were probably written with the intention of their being read aloud. How does reading the Scripture aloud affect our interpretation of it? (Remember that only one copy of a text would have existed for the use of a group of believers, many of whom would have been unable to read.)
The great majority of information that we have about Jesus comes from the canonical texts. A few extra-biblical writings, in addition, confirm the historicity of his life. The historian Cornelius Tacitus stated that the Emperor Nero needed a scapegoat to blame for the burning of the city of Rome. He found it in the Christians, already disliked by the Romans for their “disgraceful” practices of “eating flesh,” “drinking blood,” and not bowing to the emperor as god. Tacitus, who did not believe these charges of arson, nevertheless described the founder of Christianity as a criminal who had been executed by Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea. The execution had failed to stop the spread of this “superstition,” and it had, like all things, come to Rome.
The Roman poet Suetonius and the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus also wrote of Jesus. The Babylonian Talmud of the Jews viewed his crucifixion as justified, saying, “They hanged Jesus of Nazareth on the Eve of Passover because he practiced sorcery and was leading Israel astray” (Duling & Perrin, 514). Taken together, all of these sources reported that Jesus was put to death under the Roman governor Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius Caesar at the instigation of some Jewish leaders. His followers called him “Christ” and saw him as a divine founder of a new way of life.
In a second-century letter to the Emperor Trajan, Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, called the Younger Pliny, blamed religious unrest on people called Christians. He described them as a secret society who were disloyal to Rome for their refusal to offer sacrifices to the Emperor. He reported that they met on a fixed day, early in the morning, that they sang hymns responsively to Christ “as to a god,” and that they bound themselves by an oath to keep the moral law. They also had a meal together. However, none of these extra-biblical sources made the Roman headlines. All the while, the influence of Jesus' life was growing among the people.
There were other writings among the Christian community about Jesus. While based upon the gospel accounts, many added legends that described incredible stories of Jesus as a boy. Among these was the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, which contains 114 presumed sayings of Jesus. There is also a tradition of an early gospel in the Aramaic language, which may or may not be incorporated into the biblical accounts. All of these documents must be evaluated in the light of the canonical Gospels.
3. For Further Consideration:
The process of recognizing which books should be in the New Testament covered nearly three hundred years. This study of canonization is a worthy project for the serious student of the New Testament.
In addition to the biblical text, there grew a collection of accounts taken together as tradition. This tradition, both oral and written, and stretching on for centuries, is worthy of attention as we compare it to the canonical text. For example, before the end of the second century, Irenaeus, then bishop of Lyons in France, wrote a letter to a fellow student, Florinus, reminiscing about their teacher, Polycarp of Smyrna. Polycarp, who died at the age of eighty-six in AD 155, had talked to them about his teacher, John “the disciple of the Lord.” Such accounts provide us with a direct link, generation by generation, with Jesus himself.
4. For Further Consideration:
What are the implications for us in the discussion of the canon of Scripture versus the traditions of the church?
In the study of the Christian Scriptures, we must remember that all of the writers centered on Jesus. Although Paul wrote many of the books, it is not a question of Jesus versus Paul. There is only one story. Their purpose was (1) to tell the story and (2) to explain its meaning.
Perhaps because Paul probably never met Jesus in the flesh, he did not concentrate on the earthly life of Jesus. He did include some details: Jesus was born a Jew (Gal 3:16, Rom 9:5), and was a descendant of David (Rom 1:3). He tells us that Jesus carried out a ministry to Israel (Rom 15:8). He celebrated a Last Supper with his disciples on the night he was betrayed (1 Cor 11:23–25), and was killed by crucifixion (Gal 2:20, 3:1; 1 Cor 1:23; Phil 2:8). He was raised from the dead and appeared to Peter, the eleven disciples, his brother James, and more than five hundred believers who were still alive at Paul's writing.
In addition, the writer to the Hebrews told of Jesus' teaching and signs (2:3–4), his testing (2:14–18 and 4:14–15), and his crucifixion (6:6, 13:12). First Peter told of his suffering and death (2:21–24), and 1 John (1:1–3) insisted upon the reality of his life.
5. For Further Consideration:
Take time to look up the passages cited. Note the context and meaning of each passage.
However, the primary sources for Jesus' life are the four canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In these books we have four portraits of Jesus. They are four different witnesses to the same story. Although they differ in their audiences—Mark and Luke to Gentile believers, Matthew to Jewish Christians, and John to Hellenistic Jews scattered throughout the Roman world—they are united in their central purpose to present Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, in order that persons would come to experience faith in God through Christ and know the meaning of true life (John 20:31).
Journal: Of the four Gospels, the one that I enjoy reading most is ____________________ because …
These are examples of interpreted history. The truth is, of course, that there is no writing of history apart from interpretation. These writers are explicit about their purpose of explaining Jesus. We have four traditions—four witnesses—to the same climactic event. Despite their differences of style and emphasis, their meaning coincides. Taken together, these four points of view converge to give us a dynamic picture of a real person in a real world that was Roman, Greek, and Jewish. They show how Jesus' message spoke to all of these worlds.
Journal: For me to study the Gospels with both mind and heart means that I …
It is important to remember also that there are three levels to our study of the Gospels. The third level is what we have before us, the written texts. An examination of the passing on of these written texts from one generation to another is an important area of study within itself, called textual criticism.
6. For Further Consideration:
Textual criticism (establishing the authentic Hebrew and Greek texts) is essential to biblical study and is another area important to the serious student of the Bible. What do you see as its value for you?
The second level is the oral tradition. Before the story was ever written, the disciples communicated the message by preaching and teaching. In their urgency they felt no immediate need to write it down. Only later did the necessity of writing the story become apparent. In telling and retelling the stories of Jesus, they recast them in terms meaningful to their audiences. Sometimes they added their own commentary. Often they felt the need to correct a wrong way of thinking. Always their purpose was to hand on the reliable truth of Jesus' life and teachings.
7. For Further Consideration:
Why did Jesus' disciples not write the story immediately?
What caused them eventually to write it?
The first level of the story is the most difficult to determine without questions. What were the actual events? What did Jesus really say and do? Students of the Scriptures have engaged often in this “search for the historical Jesus.” Although we may not be able to nail down all of the details, we are able to determine by careful study that these events did happen. We use the texts as historical windows that allow us to exercise our creative minds in reconstructing the past. As we do this, it is important that we not view each Gospel only in fragments or that we ignore each book's unique intentions. Each Gospel must be seen as a whole story.
8. For Further Consideration:
Think of each Gospel writer as a preacher with a specific audience. What must we be aware of to determine the differences in the way they “preach” the story?
It has been a long-standing practice among Jewish people to accept varying traditions without attempting to harmonize or reconcile the apparent differences. We follow this practice in seeing the literary whole of the four accounts to be greater than the sum of its parts. Each of the Gospels functions as a book of worship (liturgically) and as a guide to faith (spiritually). Each invokes an “I was there” feeling within the reader. Each book draws the reader in so that the text may be understood “from the inside.” They serve as critical mirrors for the way that we see ourselves and the world. We are invited to enter into dialogue with each of these tellers of the story. By the inclusion of dialogue and other literary devices, the Gospel writers pull us into the living story.
9. For Further Consideration:
The Gospels were probably written with the intention of their being read aloud. How does reading the Scripture aloud affect our interpretation of it?
(Remember that only one copy of a text would have existed for the use of a group of believers, many of whom would have been unable to read.)
Telling the Story
From the sermons recorded by Luke in the Book of Acts, probably written in the early 70s AD, we see that initial concentration was on the passion of Jesus—the last days of his life, his suffering, and his death. Always they included the crucifixion-resurrection. Every sermon in Acts except Paul's farewell message to the Ephesian elders at Miletus (chapter 20) centers on the crucifixion-resurrection. Paul's and other letters also attest to this emphasis. The Gospels give one-third of their telling to this set of climactic events. These events of the crucifixion-resurrection constitute the beginning of the telling of the story of Jesus.
As a result of these sermons an interest developed in what Jesus did and said. This interest led to a collection of his sayings that was incorporated into the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. These same two Gospels responded also to questions about Jesus' birth. Their two accounts of wise men and shepherds converged with the account of the miraculous conception of Jesus by a virgin. By searching through their understanding of who Jesus was, the writers expressed their belief in the pre-existence of the Christ. John described it as the Word that was part of the act of creation become flesh, countering the prevalent Gnostic teaching of the separation of God from the evil earth. Paul's letters incorporated early hymns to the pre-existent Christ (Col 1:15–20 and Phil 2:5–11). These hymns confess that all things were created through him, that he was the image of the invisible God, and that he mysteriously “emptied” himself of all that he was and came in human form, giving his life on a cross. Thus the story unfolded, revealing more and more of his life, his teachings, his true identity, and what all of this meant to the believing community.
From the sermons recorded by Luke in the Book of Acts, probably written in the early 70s AD, we see that initial concentration was on the passion of Jesus—the last days of his life, his suffering, and his death. Always they included the crucifixion-resurrection. Every sermon in Acts except Paul's farewell message to the Ephesian elders at Miletus (chapter 20) centers on the crucifixion-resurrection. Paul's and other letters also attest to this emphasis. The Gospels give one-third of their telling to this set of climactic events. These events of the crucifixion-resurrection constitute the beginning of the telling of the story of Jesus.
As a result of these sermons an interest developed in what Jesus did and said. This interest led to a collection of his sayings that was incorporated into the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. These same two Gospels responded also to questions about Jesus' birth. Their two accounts of wise men and shepherds converged with the account of the miraculous conception of Jesus by a virgin. By searching through their understanding of who Jesus was, the writers expressed their belief in the pre-existence of the Christ. John described it as the Word that was part of the act of creation become flesh, countering the prevalent Gnostic teaching of the separation of God from the evil earth. Paul's letters incorporated early hymns to the pre-existent Christ (Col 1:15–20 and Phil 2:5–11). These hymns confess that all things were created through him, that he was the image of the invisible God, and that he mysteriously “emptied” himself of all that he was and came in human form, giving his life on a cross. Thus the story unfolded, revealing more and more of his life, his teachings, his true identity, and what all of this meant to the believing community.
Reading the Texts
The Gospels as we have them were probably not written until thirty to forty (and in John's case fifty to sixty) years after the events occurred. We must keep in mind the strong oral tradition of the time that enabled the apostles to hold details in mind. The urgency they felt motivated them to preach and to keep the message clear. This interim period also gave them time to reflect on the meaning of the events.
In many ways the writers of the Gospels were compilers of the stories. They had the freedom to arrange details in the best format for their own readers. Certainly not everything was included. The Gospel of John states hyperbolically that not all the books of the world could contain all that Jesus said and did (21:25). They did, however, include what was essential to understand Jesus' ministry and the meaning of his life. The books were not strictly biographies nor even history as we know it. They were Gospels, a new type of literature created for the purpose of bringing people to faith in God through Christ.
10. For Further Consideration:
What does it mean to call these books Gospels, rather than history, biography, theology, or memoirs?
The Gospel of Mark was probably the first to be written. In his first verse (more a title than a statement) he announces to his readers who Jesus is—the Christ, the Son of God. The book then is the unraveling of this mystery. The demons know him, but the disciples demonstrate their lack of understanding time after time. The crowds see a wonder-worker, and later they lose interest and turn away. The unfolding of Jesus' identity comes to its climax at his death. Mark's Gentile audience is personified in the Roman soldier who, at the foot of the cross, exclaims, “Truly this man was God's Son” (15:39).
Mark's Gospel was written to show that the human Jesus, who called himself the Son of Man, was really the Son of God. Jesus' ministry included a series of miraculous works which, for those who could see by faith, were signs of the present kingdom of God.
Mark communicates this message with a sense of urgency, using the word “immediately” forty-one times. He describes the action in vivid detail. He does not spare the disciples, but shows how they repeatedly fail to understand what Jesus is trying to show them. Finally, in the bright light of the resurrection, they begin to understand. They respond to his call to tell the story to the world. (An ancient tradition says that Mark was the written account of Peter's preaching. If this is true, it would explain much of the book's oral style and urgent flavor.)
Both Matthew and Luke must have depended on Mark for much of their material. Ninety percent of Mark is in Matthew, and fifty percent of Mark is in Luke. While both Matthew and Luke occasionally alter Mark's order of events, they never do so at the same points; where one of them varies from Mark's order, the other follows it. Questions surrounding these variations, known as the Synoptic Problem, are most easily answered by agreeing that Matthew and Luke both relied on Mark's account. (Synoptic means “seeing together” or taking the same point of view. The first three gospels are known as the Synoptic Gospels because of their close correspondence.)
Two questions immediately present themselves as one begins to study Matthew and Luke's Gospels more carefully: first, why are they so much alike? and second, why are they so different? Such questions lead us to consider the possibility of common sources. It is fairly well agreed that both writers drew from an earlier source, referred to as Q (from the German word quelle or source), which in its more than 250 verses includes many of the “sayings” of Jesus. Although such a manuscript has never been discovered, scholars have concluded that such a document must have been collected by an early disciple. The similarities between the two gospels would be extremely difficult to explain without the theory of this common source. However, the differences between the two accounts also indicate that each writer drew from other sources as well for material unique to his account, rearranging the material and casting the wording in ways appropriate to his audience.
Of all the Gospels, Luke's style (including Acts) best reflects what we think of as historical. He states in his prologue (1:1–4) that he intends to write “an orderly account.” This Gospel, along with the Book of Acts, written in a beautiful Greek literary style, tied the events of Jesus' life and of his followers into the wider historical picture of the Roman world.
Luke is telling the story to a Gentile audience (meaning to all people), seen in the reference to Theophilus (1:3), the lack of references to the Hebrew Scriptures, and his calling Jesus a “teacher” rather than using the familiar Jewish term “rabbi.” Luke also goes out of his way to include women, the poor and oppressed, and a picture of God as loving, forgiving, and seeking out the lost.
11. For Further Consideration:
From what we know of Luke's emphasis, create an image of Theophilus, to whom he was writing.
Matthew's Gospel seems to have been written as a manual for disciples of Jesus—particularly those who are Jewish in background. Matthew is noted for its grouping of Jesus' teachings as a “Sermon on the Mount” (chapters 5–7), which is the first of five teaching discourses in the book, a familiar technique of Jewish teaching style. Matthew insists, far more than the others, that Jesus fulfills a whole series of Old Testament prophecies.
12. For Further Consideration:
Read Matthew's “Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7). How does it compare to Luke's “Sermon on the Plain” (Luke 11)?
John's Gospel stands alone, unique in style and approach. Probably written last of the Gospel accounts by one “close to the heart” of Jesus, it is a reflection of who Jesus was. John uses many metaphors (comparisons) to explain Jesus. Jesus is life itself and things that lead to life—light, bread, water. Jesus is he who leads one to understand God—the way, the door, the shepherd, and the Word.
John's picture of Jesus is exalted—the pre-existent Word become flesh. In other words, God “speaks” through him to us. For John, to see Jesus is to see God.
John's Gospel, addressed to Jews scattered throughout the Graeco-Roman world and strongly influenced by its ideas, portrays Jesus close up (in the Greek style of Plato and Socrates) in a series of pastoral conversations. Nicodemus, the Jewish leader (chapter 3), the woman of Samaria (chapter 4), the blind man (chapter 9), the Jewish authorities (chapter 8), and others come to life as the reader “listens” to these conversations.
The writer's purpose is to awaken faith in the reader. He shows also how conflict with the Jewish authorities led to the cross. John gives a detailed story of the cross and his own reminiscences of the resurrection appearances. Luke, like John, emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit, both within the person of Jesus and as a strength and comfort to the disciples.
John also writes of the disciples' difficulty in understanding. “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?” Jesus asked, not only of Philip, but of each of his disciples (14:9). How does a person come to “know” Jesus? John reflects a personal experience through the Spirit.
We can also “see” Jesus through a careful “listening”—an up-close consideration of and participation in the Scriptures as kept by the community called the church. Jesus is at the center of these texts—as Messiah, friend, teacher, example, Lord, Son of God and Word of God. These documents proclaim the reality of an experience covering past (forgiveness of sin), present (spiritual power), and future (hope).
Thus the story of Jesus grew, from the early oral witnessing, preaching, and teaching of the disciples to the written word. Each successive writer expanded on the story in explanation and detail. The picture of the “transcendent treasure” came more and more into clear perspective—Jesus the unique Son of God, the Word of Truth, come from God in order to lead us to God. Paul, writing earlier than the Gospel writers and the other New Testament authors, set out to explain the meaning of the Christ-event and to apply its truth to everyday life.
13. For Further Consideration:
How do the various witnesses who have written in the New Testament, each with their unique understandings, converge in a united witness to Jesus?
The Gospels as we have them were probably not written until thirty to forty (and in John's case fifty to sixty) years after the events occurred. We must keep in mind the strong oral tradition of the time that enabled the apostles to hold details in mind. The urgency they felt motivated them to preach and to keep the message clear. This interim period also gave them time to reflect on the meaning of the events.
In many ways the writers of the Gospels were compilers of the stories. They had the freedom to arrange details in the best format for their own readers. Certainly not everything was included. The Gospel of John states hyperbolically that not all the books of the world could contain all that Jesus said and did (21:25). They did, however, include what was essential to understand Jesus' ministry and the meaning of his life. The books were not strictly biographies nor even history as we know it. They were Gospels, a new type of literature created for the purpose of bringing people to faith in God through Christ.