in the first century.
Like trying to “prove” that God created the world in six days, similar attempts to “prove” that Jesus is the savior of the world fail on equal terms. Rather, what this text attempts to do is explore why Paul, Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John believed he was the savior of the world (and what that meant to them). Theirs is our only historical evidence. Some facts will surprise readers; contrary to Renaissance and modern art, Jesus did not have blond hair and blues eyes. However, there is nothing in the text that will diminish the overall message and traditional teachings of Jesus.
I STUDYING THE HISTORICAL JESUS
Who was Jesus of Nazareth?
Concepts and Terminology
Religion
Polytheism and Monotheism
Myth
Acts of Worship/Rituals
Cult
Gentiles and Pagans (Problematic Terms)
Conversion
Old Testament/Jewish Scriptures
The Problem of Anachronism
Creative Writing
The First Quests for the Historical Jesus
Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965)
Second Quest
The Third Quest
E. P. Sanders
A Fourth Quest?
After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
Appreciate concepts and terminology in the study of ancient religions.
Identify the different phases in the “Quest for the Historical Jesus.”
Distinguish the modern analytical tools applied to the origins of Christianity and the New Testament.
Who was Jesus of Nazareth?
There is an old hymn that used to be taught to children, “Yes, Jesus loves me, for the Bible tells me so.” This sufficed for centuries, but beginning with the Enlightenment, people began to question what is written in the Bible, and the age-old conviction that it was “the word of God.” In the past 200 years, scholars, historians, and, yes, theologians have explored new approaches to uncovering the history of the Bible and how it came into existence.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the hundreds of books in the past seventy years exploring what is termed “the quest for the historical Jesus.” At the center of this quest is the (belated) scholarly discovery of “Jesus the Jew.” Centuries of Christian theology presented him as the first “Christian” and the founder of a new religion. If we strip away this later theology, we can discover the story before there was the “church.” Jesus was a Jewish apocalyptic prophet who lived and preached in the Roman Imperial province of Judea in the first century ce.
This book is about the ways in which modern scholars go about illuminating “the historical Jesus” and the various ways in which his followers proclaimed his teaching in the cities of the Roman Empire. Our sources for the story are in the New Testament. The New Testament was not officially “validated” until a few centuries later, but it contains our primary information for the origins of what eventually became the religion of Christianity.
Surveys on the history of early Christianity number in the hundreds. Most of them, however, spend an inordinate amount of time in scholarly debate, utilizing jargon invented by academics. A goal of this textbook is twofold: (i) to provide the basic understanding of the historical context of the ministry of Jesus; and (ii) to provide a guide for both interested lay readers and undergraduates studying the history of Christianity. Understanding the “origins” of the past elucidates continuing modern concepts and beliefs and their continuing viability in a changing world.
Concepts and Terminology
Before we begin, there are several concepts and terms that are utilized throughout the book. Listing them at the beginning helps to avoid repetition in each chapter.
Religion
In the modern world, identity is often categorized by a specific religion (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc.). What we mean by these terms is a “system of belief” that includes concepts, rituals, and social codes. But in the ancient world, the concept of “religion” as a “system” did not exist in the sense that we understand it today. In fact, there was no word for “religion” in ancient Greek or Hebrew. The modern term, which came into use in the seventeenth century, derived from the Latin root religio, sometimes translated as those things “that tie or bind one to the gods.”
All ancient peoples believed in the total integration of the divine (the gods, the powers in the heavens and under the earth), with humans and everyday life. If you stopped someone on the street and asked them what “religion” they practiced, they would have no idea what you were talking about. Instead, the question should be “What customs do you live by?” The typical response would be “The customs of our ancestors.” These customs were what identified people as ethnic groups, with a common ancestor, history, homeland, language, rituals, and mythology. All these elements were handed down by the gods and provided the basis for the governing authorities, the social construction of gender roles, and appropriate codes of behavior.
All ethnic groups shared common ideas and rituals concerning the divine, but there was no one “authority” to turn to; a concept such as the Vatican did not exist. If you had questions, you could consult a member of the priesthood (specialized experts), and you may receive different answers from different individuals. “Sacred Scriptures” varied from group to group and region to region. The closest concept such as our Bible was found in the works of Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Everyone in the Mediterranean Basin knew these stories, which included stories of constant interaction with the gods.
Polytheism and Monotheism
Polytheism (the belief in multiple deities), or sometimes pantheism (the belief in all powers), is always juxtaposed to monotheism (the belief in one god), understood as its polar opposite. However, the terms are problematic because they are modern. No one in the ancient world would identify with being a “polytheist.” More importantly, there was no such concept as “ancient monotheism.” All ancient people were polytheists, including the Jews.
In Western culture, monotheism specifically refers to the God of the Bible – the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This is demonstrated by the fact that this God is always written with a capital “G.” It designates the God of Israel above all other “gods,” and assumes an element of faith. In the first century, however, the God of Israel was simply one among the many thousands of deities that populated the universe.
Cultures viewed the universe on three levels: the heavens (the abode of the gods); the earth (the abode of humans); and the underworld, often referred to as “the land of the dead.” Gods could “transcend,” or travel around all three. Many groups