Christianity: From Galilean Sage
to God Incarnate
How the iconoclast became an
icon.
Quests for the historical Jesus

The quest for the
historical Jesus begins
in the Enlightenment
period, when the
Church has lost its
control of university
curriculum. Hermann S.
Reimarus: The Aims of
Jesus and His Disciples
(1778).

Reimarus was the
first to distinguish
between what the
historical Jesus did
and said and the
teachings and aims
of his disciples.
Herman Samuel Reimarus
1694-1768

Reimarus argued that
Jesus wished to found a
godly state. In the
Gospels, Jesus never
claimed that he came to
atone for our sins.
Jesus should be revered
as the teacher of “a
remarkable, simple,
exalted and practical
religion.”
David Friedrich Strauss
1808-1874

The Life of Jesus, a two
volume work, appeared
in 1835. The gospels,
says Strauss, contain a
mixture of historical
material and myth.
Christian legends are
woven out of Old
Testament motifs. We
are prepared to meet with
both legend and mythos in
the gospel history;
Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965

In 1906 Albert
Schweitzer produced
The Quest of the
Historical Jesus.
Concluding that Jesus
expected the immanent
end of the world,
Schweitzer regarded
him as irrelevant,
leading him to abandon
his theological career to
practice medicine in
Africa.
New Quests


Neo-Orthodoxy and
the Christ of faith.
Renewed quests:
Distinguishing the
core of Jesus’
teachings and deeds
from the interpretive
insertions and
additions by gospel
writers.
Robert W. Funk
Jesus Seminar
Pillars of Contemporary
Biblical Scholarship

The distinction
between the
historical Jesus,
found by application
of the historical
critical method, and
the Christ of Faith,
as proclaimed in the
later creeds.

Recognizing that the
synoptic gospels’
portrayal of Jesus is
more historically
accurate than the
‘spiritual’ Jesus
presented in the
gospel of John.
Consensus views


Priority of Mark: The
Gospel of Mark was
written first, and both
Matthew and Luke use
Mark as a source.
Q hypothesis: A lost
“sayings gospel” known
as “Q” was used by
Matthew and Luke.



Uncovering the non
eschatological Jesus
Oral tradition vs
print
Shift of the burden
of proof to those
who claim an event
or saying is
historical.
Historical Sources

Jesus (4 BCE- 30 CE) His one year ministry is
described in the gospel of Mark, which became a
source for the writers of Matthew and Luke (who add
a story of Jesus’ miraculous birth, and additional
sayings and parables from a lost sayings gospel now
called Q). The latest gospel (John) presents a
somewhat different picture of the three year ministry
of Jesus (Synoptics: parables, exorcism, concern for
poor; John: long discourses, no parables or
exorcisms).
The Historical Jesus and the
Christ of Faith

Earliest New Testament
manuscripts date from
175 CE. Jesus’
teachings were
delivered orally,
remembered, retold,
and eventually written
down in a number of
gospel traditions, which
were recopied and
redacted.


Aim of the gospels: to
establish the
Messiahship of Jesus to
the Jews and his
importance to the
Gentiles.
Paul: expresses no
familiarity with the four
Gospels. Christ as key
event in salvation
history, atonement.
The Development of the
Christian Tradition






0-30 CE: John the Baptist (d.
27 CE); Jesus of Nazareth (d.
30 CE)
30-60 CE: Paul of Tarsus,
founder of Gentile Christianity,
letters written 50-60 CE.
Sayings Gospel Q (50-60 CE)
Gospel of Thomas, 1st edition
(50-60 CE)
60-80 CE: Gospel of Signs (6070 CE)
Gospel of Mark, 1st ed, (70 CE)







Gospel of Matthew, incorporating
Mark and Q (85 CE)
Gospel of Luke, incorporating Mark
and Q (90 CE)
Gospel of Peter (50-100 CE)
Egerton Gospel (50-100 CE)
Gospel of John, incorporating
Gospel of Signs, (90 CE)
Gospel of Mark, can. Ed. (100 CE)
150-325 CE: Four recognized
gospels; official collections of the
New Testament; 1st official creeds;
1st surviving copies of “Bibles” (300350 CE)
Hedrick’s 34 Gospels



4 canonical gospels:
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
4 complete non-canonical
gospels: Infancy Gospel of
James, Secret Book of
James; Gospel of Thomas;
Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
8 Fragmentary non-canonical
gospels: Egerton Gospel;
Gospel of Mary; Gospel
Oxyrhynchus 840; Gospel
Oxyrhynchus 124; Gospel of
Peter; Dialogue of the Savior



Gospel of the Savior; Gospel
of Judas.
4 Gospels known only from
quotations: Secret Gospel of
Mark; Gospel of the
Ebionites; Gospel of the
Hebrews; Gospel of the
Nazoreans.
2 Hypothetical Gospels: Q;
Signs Gospel
12 Gospels Known Only by
Name

Gospel of the Four
Heavenly Regions;
Gospel of Perfection;
Gospel of Eve; Gospel
of the Twelve; Gospel
of Matthias; Gospel of
Bartholomew; Gospel
of Cerinthus; Gospel of
Basilides; Gospel of
Marcion; Gospel of
Apelles



Gospel of Bardesanes;
Matthew’s Logia
collection.
Most of the titles were
added later (in the 2nd
century.
Each of these gospels
was deemed true and
sufficient for some early
Christian group.
The Infancy Narratives

Stories of Jesus’ birth are
found in Matthew and Luke.
These stories are late
additions, dating from the
late 1st or early second
century. The conviction that
God raised Jesus from the
dead produced an exaltation
Christology, identifying Jesus
with the son of man in
Daniel 7. (See Romans 1.34, e.g.)


When Jesus failed to return
as soon as expected, his
followers began to frame
another version of his story,
in which he was designated
the son of God at his
baptism (adoptionist
Christology, Mark 1.10-11)
Finally, the later gospels of
Matthew and Luke move the
messianic status of Jesus
back to his birth, using
themes common in
Hellenistic biographies of
famous people.
Hellenistic Biography and The
New Testament Gospels

The biography of a Greek
hero consisted of five parts:
a miraculous or unusual
birth; a revealing childhood
episode; a summary of wise
teachings; wondrous deeds;
and a martyrdom or noble
death. Since the NT gospels
contain these elements, they
are examples of Hellenistic
biographies. (Plato,
Alexander the Great,
Apollonius Tyana, etc.)






Hellenistic infancy narratives
consist of five parts:
1. A genealogy revealing
illustrious ancestors.
2. An unusual, mysterious,
or miraculous conception.
3. An annunciation by an
angel or in a dream.
4. A birth accompanied by
supernatural portents.
5a. Praise of great things to
come, or 5b. Persecution by
a potential competitor.
The Birth of Jesus According to Matthew


1. Family Tree
2. Miraculous Birth of Jesus



3.



4.

5.

6.

1:1-17
1:18-25
Miraculous Conception
1:18
Annunciation to Joseph
1:20-21
Prediction of the Prophet
1:22
Astrologers from the East
2:1-12
Star in the East
2:1-2,7-9
Prediction of the prophet
2:15
Astrologers pay homage to the child 2:10-12
Flight to Egypt
2:13-15
Prediction of the prophet
2:15
Murder of the babies
2:16-18
Prediction of the prophet
2:17
Migration to Nazareth
2:19-23
Prediction of the prophet
2:23
The Birth of Jesus According to Luke


1. Genealogy
2. Miraculous conception of Jesus

Annunciation to Mary

Mary’s visit to Elizabeth

Mary’s hymn of praise
3. Birth of Jesus
4. Visit of the Shepherds

Annunciation to the shepherds

Shepherds praise God
2:15-20
5. Dedication of Jesus and predictions

Circumcision and naming

Presentation in the temple

Simeon predicts Jesus’ destiny

Anna thanks God
6. Family returns to Nazareth
7. Childhood episode
3:23-38
1:26-56
1:26-38
1:39-45
1:46-56
2:1-7
2:8-20
2:8-14
2:21-38
2:21
2:22-24
2:25-35
2:36-38
2:39
2:40-52
The Teachings of HJ

Searching for the voiceprint of the historical
Jesus. Careful scrutiny of ancient Christian
texts reveals tendencies in the evolving
tradition- from oral speaker to oral speaker,
written source to written source. Scholars
can create a profile of typical Christian ways
of reporting and interpreting the words of
Jesus. Unable to grasp the subtleties of
Jesus’ vision, his followers reverted to the
more popular apocalyptic perspective of John
the Baptist.
Domesticating the Tradition

John’s disciples and the
Pharisees were in the habit of
fasting, so they come and ask
him, “Why do the disciples of
John fast, and the disciples of
the Pharisees, but your disciples
don’t?” And Jesus said to them,
“The grooms friends can’t fast
while the groom is present can
they? So long as the groom is
around you can’t expect them
to fast. [But the days will come
when the groom is taken from
them, and then they will fast on
that day.]


The bracketed comment is a
self-justifying Christian overlay
inserted by Mark. Jesus viewed
his life as a wedding celebration
(a time when peasants ignored
their limited resources and
celebrated.) The early church
rejected the celebratory
approach to life and reverted to
an earlier asceticism.
You are not to fast in concert
with the phonies. They fast
each week on Mondays and
Thursdays, You should fast on
Wednesdays and Fridays. (Did.
8.1, 70-80 CE)
Softening the Hard Sayings



1. The last will be first,
and the first last. (QMt. 20.16; Lk. 13.30).
2. Many of the first will
be last, of the last many
will be first. (Mark
10.31; Mt. 19.30)
3. For many of the first
will be last, and will
become a single one.
(Thom. 4.2-3)

It is easier for a camel
to squeeze through a
needle’s eye than for a
wealthy person to get
into God’s domain.
[And they were very
perplexed wondering,
“well then, who can be
saved? Jesus says, “For
mortals it is impossible,
but not for God; after
all, everything’s possible
for God.] (Mark 10. 2527)
Ask, Seek, Knock






Ask- it’ll be given to you.
Seek- you’ll find
Knock- it’ll opened to you
Everyone who asks receives
Everyone who seeks finds
And for the one who knocks it is
opened.
The Good Samaritan

This guy was on his way down
from Jericho to Jerusalem when
he was waylaid by thieves.
They robbed him, beat him up,
and ran off, leaving him for
dead. By chance a priest was
on his way down that road;
when he spied the victim he
went out of his way to avoid
him. Similarly, when a Levite
came by the place, he, too, took
one look at him and passed by
on the far side of the road. In
contrast, there was this Samaritan
who was also traveling that way.
When he came to that place
where the victim lay, he was
moved to pity by at the sight of
him. He went up to him,
treated his wounds with oil and
wine, and bandaged them. He
hoisted the fellow on to his own
animal, brought him to an inn
and cared for him. The next
day he brought out two silver
coins, which he gave to the
innkeeper with these
instructions, “Look after him,
and on my way back I’ll
reimburse you for any extra
expense you’ve had.”
Parable of the Great Banquet

Matthew 22.2-14: Angry
king sends armies to destroy
them and their city.
Matthew transforms the
parable into an allegory. A
king (God) prepares a feast
for his son (Jesus); invites
his subjects (Jews) who treat
the invitation lightly or kill
the messengers (prophets).
The king destroys them and
their city (Jerusalem) and
invites new guests
(Gentiles).

Luke 14.16-24: Angry King
sends slaves to invite the
homeless. Luke’s version is
closer to the original (also
closer to the version in the
Gospel of Thomas, 64. 1-12)
The invitation of the poor,
crippled, blind, and lame is a
favorite theme of Luke’s
gospel. (See 4. 18-19; 7.22)
From: The Five Gospels, p. 326. (R. Funk ed)
Lord’s Prayer

Matt. 6.9-13: Our Father in
the heavens, your name be
revered. Impose your
imperial rule, enact your will
on earth as you have in
heaven. Provide us with the
bread we need for the day.
Forgive our debts to the
extent we have forgiven
those in debt to us. And
please don’t subject us to
test after test, but rescue us
from the evil one.


Luke 11.2-4.: Father, your
name be revered. Impose your
imperial rule. Provide us with
the bread we need day by day.
Forgive our sins, since we too
forgive everyone in debt to us.
And please don’t subject us to
test after test.
[Father, your name be
revered. Impose your
imperial rule. Provide us
with the bread we need for
the day. Forgive our debts
to the extent we have
forgiven those in debt to us.
And please don’t subject us
to test after test..] Q?
The Gospel of Jesus


The message of Jesus was centered around the
presence of the Kingdom of God (or God’s domain).
He used parables to communicate that our everyday
perception of the world was deceptive, obscuring the
reality of God’s domain. For Jesus, God’s domain
was present for those with “eyes to see” and “ears”
to hear. His critics (John 8.48) and even his own
family (Mark 3.20-21) thought he was crazy.
For Jesus, God’s domain was not a political kingdom
or a future kingdom to be established apocalyptically.
It was a present reality for those who could see it.
Galilean Sage or Apocalyptic
Prophet?

God’s imperial rule will
not come by watching
for it. It will not be
said, “Look, here it is!”
or “Look, there it is!”
Rather, the Father’s
imperial rule is spread
out upon the earth, and
people don’t see it.
(Thomas 113.2-4)

You won’t be able to
observe the coming of
God’s imperial rule.
People are not going to
be able to say, “Look,
here it is !”or “Over
there!” On the
contrary, God’s imperial
rule is right there in in
your presence. (Luke
17:20-21)
God’s Domain as Present
Reality


The apocalyptic expectation that God would
intervene and put an end to history (a view espoused
by John the Baptist and many other 1st century
Jews) is not consistent with the vision of God’s
domain found in the parables of Jesus. Thus,
passages such as Mark 13:14- 27 reflect the beliefs
of the early Christian community who applied
prophetic texts such as Daniel 7 to Jesus.
Just remember, John the Baptist appeared on the scene, eating
no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “he is demented.”
The son of Adam appeared on the scene both eating and
drinking, and you say, “There’s a glutton and a
drunk….:Lk.11.20.
Subverting The Status Quo



When someone slaps
you on the right cheek,
turn the other as well
(Q: Matt. 5.39)
If someone sues you for
your coat, give him the
shirt off your back too.
(Q: Matt. 5.40)
When anyone conscripts
you for one mile, go
along two. (Q: Matt. 5.41)


If you have money,
don’t lend it at interest.
Rather, give it someone
from whom you won’t
get it back. (Q:
Thomas 95.1-2)
Give to everyone who
begs from you (Q;
Matt. 5.42)
Rewards are Intrinsic to Actions



Forgive, and you will be
forgiven. (Q; Luke 6.37)
Forgive our debts to the
extent we have forgiven
those in debt to us, (Q; Matt.
6.12)
Take care that you don’t
flaunt your religion in public
to be noticed by others.
Otherwise, you will have no
recognition from your father
in the heavens. (Matt. 6.1)


And when you pray, don’t act
like the phonies. They love to
stand up and pray in houses of
worship and on street corners,
so they can show off in public.
I swear to you, they have
received all the reward they will
ever get. (Matt. 6.5)
But love your enemies, and do
good, and lend, expecting
nothing in return. Your reward
will be great, and you’ll be
children of the most high. (Q;
Luke 6:35)
Humor: Antidote to Moral
Arrogance




If someone sues you for your coat, give him the shirt
off your back to go with it. (Matt 5.40)
Don’t let your left hand in on what your right hand is
up to. (Matt. 6.3)
It’s not what goes into a person that can defile; it’s
what comes out that defiles. (Mark 7:15)
You see the sliver in your friend’s eye, but you don’t
see the timber in your own eye. When you take the
timber out of your own eye, then you will see well
enough to remove the sliver from your friend’s eye.
(Thomas 26.1-2)
Miracle Stories

The Gospels report
three sorts of miracle
story: exorcisms, cures,
and nature wonders.
Such stories are
intended to portray
Jesus as a wonder
worker in the tradition
of Moses, Elijah, and
Greek gods.

As Moses fed the
Israelites with mana in
the wilderness, so Jesus
feeds the five thousand.
As Elijah raised a
widow’s son, so does
Jesus, as Poseidon
drove his chariot across
the waves, so Jesus
walked on the water.
Such stories reflect the
shift from Jesus’ vision
to Jesus himself.
Easter as a Developing Tradition


The earliest layers of the sayings tradition found in Q
and Thomas contain no trace of an empty tomb
story, appearances to key leaders, or an ascension
into the sky.
The earliest references to Jesus' resurrection occur in
the letters of Paul. I Cor. 15: 3-8 (dated at about 54
CE) says that Jesus died, was buried, was raised
again on the third day. He was seen by Cephas, the
12, a group of 500, James, all the apostles, and
finally to Paul himself.
Resurrection Stories

Mark (earliest gospel).
No appearance stories.
Three women (Mary of
Magdala, Mary the
mother of James, and
Salome) discover an
empty tomb. A
heavenly messenger
informs them that Jesus
has been raised.
Fearful, they say
nothing.

Matthew: The two
Marys (without Salome)
arrive at the tomb. An
earthquake has rolled
away the stone, and an
angel is sitting on it. As
the women hurry off,
Jesus appears to them.
Guards report the
event. Later, Jesus
appears to the eleven
on a mountain.
Appearance Stories

Luke: The two Marys
and some other women
come to the tomb. Two
angels appear and
remind them of Jesus’
prediction that he would
die and rise. The
disciples don’t believe
them. First appearance
is to two people on the
road to Emmaus.


They report to the 11
that “Jesus has been
raised and appeared to
Simon” (Peter). Jesus
then appears, some
think he is a ghost.
Jesus invites them to
touch him.
John: Mary M. goes to
the tomb. She is the
first to see the risen
Jesus.
The Early Church


Acts of the Apostles:
Persecution; Pentecost.
Conversion of Saul.
Paul: salvation by faith,
ritual adherence not
required. Letters
composed: 50-60 CE.
To make sense of a
crucified Messiah, Paul
combined the Jewish
ideal of the Messiah
with Isaiah’s suffering
servant.

I passed on to you the
account I was taught:
Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the
scriptures, and was
buried; he was raised
on the third day in
accordance with the
scriptures, and
appeared to Cephas and
then to the twelve. I
Cor. 15.3-5
From Sage to Savior

The conviction that Jesus was no longer dead
but risen began with Peter. Paul claims to
have his own vision on the road to Damascus.
The conviction that Jesus was risen and
seated at the right hand of God founds the
confession that he was the son of God, a
heavenly savior figure who came to earth
incognito to redeem humanity. This was an
intermediate stage on the way to the belief
that Jesus was divine.
Paul

Authentic letters of
Paul: 1 Thessalonians;
1st and 2nd Corinthians
Galatians; Philippians;
Philemon; Romans.
The pastoral epistles
reflect an early 2nd
century theology,
Colossians develops a
more exalted
conception of Jesus

Paul presents a contrast
between those
alienated from God and
those who have been
justified by God through
faith in the atoning
death of Christ. They
have received the spirit
of God which enables
them to live a more
ethical life.
The Body of Christ

For Paul, those who receive the spirit of
Christ form a new community, a body
of Christ in which there are no social
divisions: in Christ there is no such
thing as Jew and Greek, slave and
freeman, male and female, for you are
all one person in Christ Jesus. (Gal
3.28)
Origins of the Trinity doctrine


The Doctrine of the trinity is
not found in the New
Testament. In his letter to
the Philippians, Paul quotes
an early Christian hymn:
Who subsisting in the form of
God did not cling to his equality
with God but emptied himself,
to assume the condition of a
slave, and become as men
are…he was humbler yet, even
to accepting death, death on a
cross. But God raised him high


and gave him the name which is
above all names so that all
beings in the heavens, on earth
and in the underworld, should
bend the knee at the name of
Jesus and that every tongue
should acclaim Jesus Christ as
Lord (kyrios) to the glory of God
the Father.
This suggests that Jesus existed
with God before becoming a
man. But he is distinct from
and lower than God who raises
him and gives him the title
Kyrios.
Trinity

Forty years after Paul, John’s gospel makes a similar claim, describing
Jesus as the logos existing “with God from the beginning.” Through
him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him.

Since the power and wisdom of Jesus derived from God, his life
expressed “what was there from the beginning.”
Peter does not describe Jesus as God. He was a man commended to
you by God by the miracles…and signs that God worked through him
when he was among you. (Acts 2.22)

Arius vs Athanasius at Nicaea in 325 CE. Arius argued that Christ the
Word was created by God to be his instrument in creation. Athanasius
argued that Jesus must be of the same nature as the Father, only the
creator of the world could redeem it. Athanasius’ view was adopted,
even though it failed to explain how Jesus could be “of the same stuff”
of the Father without being a second God.
Medieval Church





480-550- Benedict, monasticism.
540-604- Pope Gregory I
1054- Eastern and Western Church split.
Filioque.
1225-1274- Thomas Aquinas
1483-1546- Martin Luther. 1517- posts 95
theses on Wittenberg door. Opposes
indulgences, penance, transubstantiation,
purgatory, celibacy, papal authority.
Reformation


Lutheran doctrine: Priesthood
of all believers; solo scriptura;
salvation by faith alone. 1521Luther excommunicated at the
Diet of Worms. Here I stand, I
can do no other.
The popish schoolmen have
altogether darkened the principal
article of all Christian doctrine. For
it belongs only to the divine power
to destroy sin and abolish
death….They have attributed this
divine power to our own works
saying, If thou do this work or that ,
thou shalt overcome sin, death, and
the wrath of God; and by this
means they set us in God’s place,
making us in very deed naturally, if
I may so say, God himself.
John Calvin (1509-64).
Total depravity
Unmerited grace
Limited atonement
Irresistible grace
Perseverance of the saints

1800’s European
Enlightenment: Opposition to
ignorance and intolerance.
Theological liberalism, deism.
1910- Protestant ecumenical
movement.

1962- Vatican II.

Post-Enlightenment
Christianity

In the enlightenment
age, universities
became independent
from the authority of
the church. Scientific
investigation of the
physical universe led to
the collapse of the
symbolic picture of the
universe found in the
pages of the Bible.


The historical-critical
study of the Bible has
eroded claims about its
reliability as a source of
historical and
theological truth.
Fundamentalists have
responded by denying
the credibility of
science. Liberals have
searched for
metaphorical meaning
in the tradition.
References







Crossan, J.D. (1996). Who killed Jesus? San Francisco:
Harper.
Davies, S.L. (1994). New Testament fundamentals. Santa
Rosa. CA: Polebridge.
Funk, R.W. (1990). New gospel parallels. Santa Rosa. CA:
Polebridge.
Funk, R.W. and Hoover, R. (Ed.s). (1993). The five gospels.
San Francisco: Harper Collins.
Funk, R.W. (1996). Honest to Jesus. San Francisco: Harper Collins.
Funk, R.W. and Hoover, R. (Ed.s). (1998). The acts of Jesus. San
Francisco: Harper Collins.
Laughlin, P.A. (1992). Remedial Christianity. Santa Rosa. CA:
Polebridge.
References









Ludemann, G. (1994). The resurrection of Jesus. Minneapolis ,
MN: Fortress Press
Mack, B. (1993). The lost gospel. San Francisco: Harper Collins.
Mack, B. (1995). Who wrote the New Testament? San
Francisco:
Harper Collins.
Mack, B. (2001). The Christian myth. New York: Continuum.
Metzger, B. (1968). The text of the New Testament. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Miller, R.J. (Ed.). (1992). The complete gospels. Santa Rosa. CA:
Polebridge.
Miller, R.J. (2003) Born divine. Santa Rosa. CA: Polebridge.
Scott, B.B. (Ed.). (2008). The resurrection of Jesus. Santa
Rosa. CA: Polebridge.
Spong, J.S. (1994). Resurrection: myth or reality? San
Francisco:
Harper Collins.