Outline THE HISTORICAL JESUS OUR SOURCES. Our Sources. Applying the Rules to the Evidence. Class 6

Transcription

1 Class 6 THE HISTORICAL JESUS Outline Our Sources A chronology Jewish evidence: Josephus Roman evidence: Tacitus Some possible artifacts Historical problems with the Christian evidence Specific details that develop Rules for reconstructing Jesus Applying the Rules to the Evidence Traditions about the historical Jesus in Paul Traditions about Jesus teaching in the Gospels Testing Plausibility: Where the gospels diverge from history Jesus Life: Points on which historians agree & disagree How true are the apocryphal gospels? OUR SOURCES 1

2 A Chronology of the Sources Dead Sea Scrolls 75 BCE 68 CE Paul, Mk, Matt, Lk, Jn parts of Gos. Thomas, Gos. Peter? CE? Nag Hammadi & other gospels CE 100 BCE 100 CE JESUS 4 BCE - 29 CE? = and a few artifacts Josephus (Jewish historian) Tacitus (Roman historian) Jewish Evidence Josephus (37 c.100 CE) Antiquities Antiquities = Testimonium Flavianum Josephus, Antiquities Testimonium Flavianum Around this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who did surprising deeds, and a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who in the first place came to love him did not give up their affection for him, for on the third day he appeared to them restored to life. The prophets of God had prophesied this and countless other marvelous things about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, have still to this day not died out. 2

3 Roman Evidence Tacitus (55/ CE) Annals 15.4 Reports that Christ had been crucified in Judea by Pontius Pilate Careful with sources Doesn t stoop to scandal Powerful writer with moralizing impulse An important external datum to Jesus death Artifacts Pilate Inscription Caesarea Maritima Jerusalem Caiaphas Ossuary James Ossuary The James Ossuary Inscription A modern forgery An early and carefully carved inscription 11th 2 nd most popular name 6th 3

4 Historical Problems With the Christian Evidence Paul, Mk, Matt, Lk, Jn parts of Gos. Thomas, Gos. Peter? CE? 4 BCE Paul Mark 100 CE Jesus Q 4 BCE 29 CE? The NT texts are not transparent records of what Jesus said and did Proofs The gospels conflict with one another Where identical, they are not independent witnesses The authors are biased, and they admit it Consequences we have to allow that later beliefs affect the story we have to discern how later historical events influence the story Historical Problems With the Christian Evidence Paul, Mk, Matt, Lk, Jn parts of Gos. Thomas, Gos. Peter? CE? 4 BCE Paul Mark 100 CE Jesus Q 4 BCE 29 CE?. Tendencies in the developing tradition new gospels fix problems in the old ones new material gets added to burnish some characters reputations words, phrases and passages are added to address questions and controversies that develop in the early church stories are added to ground developing traditions about Jesus Specific Details that Develop the Pharisees get lumped together with Jesus enemies the Romans get blamed less, the Jews more, for Jesus death Jesus death is increasingly explained in terms of the destruction of the Jewish temple and the loss of the war Jesus messianic identity, as well as the assertion of his divinity, are emphasized more as time goes on the need develops to explain the Gentile mission early apocalyptic teachings are reinterpreted when the end doesn t come 4

5 Rules for Reconstructing Jesus (a.k.a. Criteria of Historicity) The Issue: If the gospels aren t exactly historical, how do we discern what is historical in them? Rules or criteria: do these fit the passage? Early (or even eyewitness) testimony Embarrassing or awkward Multiply attested in independent witnesses Discontinuous with earlier Jewish or later Christian tradition Orality and form Historically plausible * Consistent with Jesus crucifixion * * Applies more to events and reconstructions of Jesus than to sayings APPLYING THE RULES TO THE EVIDENCE Traditions about the Historical Jesus in Paul last supper (1 Cor 11:23-25) prohibition of divorce (1 Cor 7:10) disciples should get living by gospel (1 Cor 9:14) love of enemies? (Rom 12:14, 17-20) the twelve (1 Cor 15:5) Davidic descent of Jesus (Rom 1:3) 5

6 Jesus Teaching Style Conventions of oral preaching Short, pithy sayings = aphorisms Short riddle- stories = parables Images & metaphors from daily life Rhythm and rhyme How to Determine What Jesus Taught Criteria of Historicity early/eyewitness embarrassing multiply attested discontinuous with Jewish or Christian ideas oral character or form Luke 11:17-20 [Jesus exorcises a demon, and people question whether it is Satan who has given him the power to do it. Jesus responds] Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. parallels in Mark 3:24-26, Matt 12:25-28 How to Determine What Jesus Taught Criteria of Historicity early/eyewitness embarrassing multiply attested Luke 16:13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. discontinuous with Jewish or Christian ideas oral character or form parallels in Matt 6:24; Gos. Thomas 47:1-2 6

7 How to Determine What Jesus Taught Criteria of Historicity early/eyewitness embarrassing multiply attested discontinuous with Jewish or Christian ideas oral character or form Luke 14:28-30 [Jesus addressing disciples] For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, This fellow began to build and was not able to finish. How to Determine What Jesus Taught Criteria of Historicity The Temptation Scene early/eyewitness embarrassing multiply attested discontinuous with Jewish or Christian ideas oral character or form Jesus Message: The Rule of God Why we think that message is historical It s early (Q, Mark) It s embarrassing (did God's rule arrive?) It s multiply attested in various sources (Q 13x, Mark 13x, John 2x, M and L occurrences as well) In various forms or types of material (parables, beatitudes, aphorisms, passion narrative) It s therefore expressed in those early oral forms It explains why Jesus was crucified 7

8 Jesus Message: The Rule of God This rule is based on earlier Jewish visions of God s rule though it expands table fellowship to include others tax collectors sinners and is not as fire and brimstone as John the Baptist s message But it s also articulated against Rome s political theology Abba ( father ) counters pater patriae Soter (savior) used of Jesus counters emperor s title Euangelion (gospel) was emperor s term for his announcements Basilea tou theo (kingdom of God) counters kingdom of Rome Twelve: judges for Israel Testing Plausibility Where the Gospels diverge from History The Pharisees had no political power during Jesus life, and their religious power was only over members of their own group The Romans were in charge of Judea after 6 C.E. The Roman prefect picked the high priest. Jesus movement was not as popular as John the Baptist s Are the infancy narratives historical? Are redactional additions historical? Is the trial before Pilate historical? Jesus Life Points on which historians agree Jesus was born late in Herod the Great s reign Born and raised in Nazareth by Mary (and maybe Joseph); had brothers and sisters Baptized around age Preached a variation of John the Baptist s message; likely (initially) a disciple of John Associated with social pariahs (and respectable citizens) Itinerant preacher and healer who embraced a lifestyle of poverty (he was a peasant, so already subsistence) Encountered opposition from some Jews, Romans Crucified 8

9 Points on which critics disagree Jesus emphasized an imminent eschatological judgment Jesus said nothing about the end of time like the Jewish prophets like the Greek Cynics itinerant philosophers This was the position of the earliest scholars of the Third Quest This is the position of the Jesus Seminar The Resurrection Historical Evaluation Historical problems with the account It s never actually described The stories differ dramatically The only witnesses are believers It s central to Christian faith But it satisfies a number of the criteria of historicity Many eyewitnesses report it It s embarrassing It s an early tradition It s somewhat discontinuous with earlier Jewish tradition and later Christian tradition It s hard to explain the rise of Christianity without it HOW TRUE ARE THE APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS? 9

10 Infancy Gospel of James Manuscript Evidence This gospel was very popular and was collated in several liturgical collections Because the text was not regarded as canonical, it was amended more often, so the versions are quite different from one another. There are over 140 Greek mss (the oldest is Papyrus Bodmer 5 from the 300s), and multiple translations: v 4 Syriac v 2 Georgian v 1 Latin (+ extracts) v 1 Irish v 3 Armenian v 1 Arabic v 2 fragments in Coptic v 1 Ethiopic paraphrase v 169 Church Slavonic mss Infancy Gospel of James Date Genre CE + later additions, place A narrative like the NT gospels, but confined to stories of parents and Jesus birth Gospel comparison Presupposes and conflates the canonical infancy stories, adding legendary elements (1 Sam 1:1-2:11; 2 Chr 24:20-22) Content Mary s conception, birth, upbringing, betrothal to older Joseph (with sons from a prior marriage), birth of Jesus, virginity in partu and post partum Iconography of Joseph based on the Infancy Gospel of James 10

11 Iconography of Joseph based on the Infancy Gospel of James Gospel of Peter Manuscript Evidence This gospel survives in 2 witnesses, both from Egypt v a copy of the text found in the grave of a monk at Akhmim in upper Egypt in winter 1886/1887 (Greek, 700s 800s CE) v POxy 2949 (Greek, late 100s early 200s CE) Gospel of Peter Date Genre Gospel comparison Content mid- 100s CE, Syria? Could parts of the passion narrative trace to the first century? Like the gospels but limited (?) to the passion and resurrection Incorporates quotes from the four NT gospels, but Peter character speaks in first person, and there s greater emphasis on the miraculous and thus on the resurrection Pilate washes hands, Jews bear greater responsibility for Jesus death; resurrection narrated (the cross emerges from the tomb and confirms that Jesus has preached to the dead) 11

12 Gospel of Peter [When the soldiers at the tomb saw two men come down from heaven in great brightness and the tomb stone of itself start to roll away by itself], they awakened the centurion and the elders for they also were there to assist at the watch. And whilst they were relating what they had seen, they saw again three men come out from the sepulcher, and two of them sustaining the other, and a cross following them, and the heads of the two reaching to heaven, but that of him who was led of them by the hand overpassing the heavens. And they heard a voice out of the heavens crying, Hast thou preached to them that sleep? and from the cross there was heard the answer, Yea. Infancy Gospel of Thomas Manuscript Evidence v 8 Greek mss, the earliest of which dates to the 1300s v 3 Syriac mss, the earliest of which dates to the 500s v 2 Latin mss, the earliest of which dates to the 400s 500s v 1 Georgian ms v 15 Church Slavonic mss from the 1000s v 1 Ethiopic ms v Some of the details in this tradition reappear in the later Arabic infancy gospel and Armenian infancy document Infancy Gospel of Thomas Date Genre Gospel comparison Content 100s CE, Syria? Collected traditions loosely strung together in a narrative form Vignettes of Jesus childhood unlike anything in the NT gospels, though some scenes are modeled on the adult Jesus miracles in canonical NT Imagine an impulsive and willful child with divine powers 12