Jesus Mortal |
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private and public The synoptic evangelists had their work cut out for them. On one hand, they had the theological Jesus that Paul had preached, and on the other they had Jesus the historical charismatic prophet. Jesus had led a very public ministry in Galilee and died a very public death in Jerusalem, and lots of people remembered what he’d said and done. Somehow each evangelist needed to put these two Jesuses together into a single story. The synoptic answer to this difficulty is to invent a large amount of significant material that, one way or another, is revealed only private. The synoptic gospels claim to provide the “inside story,” the secret wisdom that outsiders had missed. Predictably, you get a very different picture of Jesus based on his public words and deeds from the picture of Jesus based on this “inside scoop.” The “inside scoop” only applies to Mark, Matthew, and Luke. For the beloved disciple and his fourth gospel, historical recollections of Jesus were no impediment. In the fourth gospel, Jesus is out in public, in and around Jerusalem, when he makes outlandish statements about himself and his divine role. In the synoptics, we see the distinction between public and private in several details. Baptism: Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist is well-attested. Matthew explains the paradox of Jesus repenting and being ritually washed of his sins by inventing some private words between John and Jesus to the effect that the baptism is just for show. Parables: Jesus told lots of parables, as the synoptics faithfully report. Jesus preached publicly, and there’s plenty of good, historical information in his parables. Here the inside scoop is Jesus’ secret teachings about his parables to his disciples. In Mark, he secretly explains that he uses parables to hide his meaning and prevent his audience from understanding him, repenting, and avoiding judgment. More generally, the synoptics have Jesus explain his parables to his disciples so that they can claim to know what his enigmatic parables “really meant.” Teaching: In public, Jesus taught about loving one’s enemies, turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, forgiving others their debts, and treating others the way one wants to be treated. In private, Jesus reportedly taught that the Son of Man was going to suffer and die and then rise again. His public teaching was about God, prayer, and virtue. His private teaching was about himself and his divine mission. Healing: Jesus exorcised and healed regularly enough to get a reputation. His enemies said he was in league with Baalzebul and his admirers came to be healed by him. His miracles are roughly in line with what people of the time expected holy men and miracle workers to do. When he raises a girl from the dead, however, Mark has him bring along only the insiders: Peter, James, and John. By the time Matthew rewrites this scene, Jesus takes along all the disciples. For his part, the beloved disciple will later have Jesus publicly raise Lazarus out of his tomb, the public miracle that finally moves the Jewish religious leaders to have Jesus killed. Table fellowship: Jesus was well-known, or infamous, for reclining at table with sinners, and for enjoying food and wine. Such meals would typically feature blessings over the food and drink, with Jesus teaching or leading a discussion. The last supper, however, where Jesus institutes a new covenant of his body and blood (symbolized by bread and wine) is private. Messianic secret: Jesus’ public career is as an independent charismatic prophet. Privately, demons recognize him as God’s holy one, but he commands them to keep that a secret. Peter’s pivotal proclamation that Jesus is the anointed also occurs in private. In 1901, William Wrede identified the theme of Jesus’ “messianic secret” in Mark, concluding that the secret nature of Jesus’ messianic identity was created because the historical Jesus had never claimed to be the anointed in the first place. Transfiguration: Jesus takes his three chief disciples, Peter, James, and John, up onto a mountain where Moses and Elijah show up and Jesus shines with glorious light. Support for this miraculous event is so thin that not even all the disciples get to see it. The Transfiguration warrants an extra level of insiderhood. Crucifixion: The Romans crucified their enemies publicly as a show of power and a deterrent to those who might otherwise dare to oppose the empire. Like Jesus’ baptism, his crucifixion is rock-solid history. Where the evangelists had free rein is with his trials, which were out of sight, to the extent that they happened at all. In the trial scenes, the evangelists take pains to explain that it was the bad Jewish leaders who brought about Jesus’ crucifixion and that he had been no threat to Roman order. That’s the message that the early church needed to get out there as it spread through the empire and faced persecution. Resurrection: The resurrected Jesus only appears to his followers. You think he could have made something of a splash by appearing to Caiaphas, the high priest who’d turned him over for crucifixion. Or he could have appeared to Emperor Tiberius. Or he could have just returned to his old stomping grounds in Galilee. But his appearances were private, not public. In these personal appearances, Jesus gives instructions that no one ever heard him give while he was alive, such as to baptize the nations.
Public Jesus was an apocalyptic teacher, exorcist, and healer. The secret Jesus of the gospels’ inside story, on the other hand, was a divine figure, transfigured and resurrected, who arranged for the downfall of most of his audience and the salvation of those who believed in him.
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contents table of contents you're already looking at it introduction for the inquisitive reader biographical overview who he was and wasn't
afterlife not Jesus' concern animal sacrifice bloodless religion apocalypse did Jesus preach hellfire? baptism sin wash for Jesus and others beatitudes Jesus' words and others' words beloved disciple witness for the un-gospel bible scripture old and new bishop the unjesus body focus on the physical Buddha Jesus' close kin charity key Christian virtue and legacy of Jesus The Da Vinci Code secret (and false) messages divorce women's status dreams convenient literary device Elijah Jewish prophet with his own second coming equality ancient source of modern egalitarianism exorcist Jesus and demons failure reinterpreting Jesus as a failure faith from trust to blind belief father Jesus on titles of honor Francis of Assisi the most Christlike Christian Gandhi the 20th century's most Christly holy man Galilee Jesus' inauspicious homeland gentiles Jesus' inadvertent audience god how Jesus became god golden rule key to Jesus' success gospels competing accounts heaven from sky to spiritual home hell revenge fantasy humanism Jesus' legacy inerrant Christian treatment of scripture Thomas Jefferson ethics of Jesus Jewish guilt Christian libel John's gospel the un-gospel John the baptist, see John the washer John the washer Jesus' apocalyptic mentor Judaism libeled religion of Jesus kingdom of god what Jesus promised Lao Tzu poet of the cosmic way logos jesus as the word of god C. S. Lewis famous, flawed trilemma little drummer boy Luke beats Matthew logos Jesus as the divine word LORD Yahweh transitioning to the one god of all Luke's gospel the all-around best gospel Mark's gospel the gospel that lost its point Mary of Magdala women, visions, and sex massacre of the innocents bloodshed starts early Matthew's gospel best gospel for church reading Mormon, see Joseph Smith Moses Jewish lawgiver Muhammad a prophet who got it right mystery Orpheus and transubstantiation oppression origin of Jesus' compassion The Passion of the Christ Luke as buzzkill Paul revealer of the revealer private and public public Jesus and secret Christ relativism the secret power of the golden rule sacrifice Jesus' death and Christian sacrament Albert Schweitzer Jesus as a failure sheol dark pit of death show Jesus' deeds as put-ons slavery abolished by Jesus' efforts Joseph Smith flesh-and-blood Jesus Socrates secular Jesus son of god on close terms with the man upstairs soul, see body synoptics three gospels that agree temple center of Jewish religion trinity unifying and divisive doctrinre vision, see dreams Yahweh, see LORD Zoroaster Persian dualistic holy man
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