Read: Borg, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time
Dei Verbum handout
"Four Faces of Jesus" handout
"'Jews,' 'Pagans,' and 'Christians' in Antiquity" handout
Do: Religio-National Groups review sheet
Rec: Meier, A Marginal Jew, Chpt. 1
in class: The baptism of Jesus
The temptation story
On divorce
The teaching on servants and masters
The anointing of Jesus
The Magnificat (Lk 1:39-56) v. The War Rule XIV
The Gospel of the Ebionites
The parable of the unjust steward
The feeding stories
Jesus walks on water
The woman with the hemorrhage
Jairus' daughter

7:00 Lecture: Historical and Cultural Contexts of Early Christianity, Part 3

• discuss overhead maps to go with the "Brief History . . ."
• review Religio-National Groups sheet (political and religious views of these four groups within I CE Judaism)
• Outline of Agrarian classes (overhead)

7:15 Issues & Approaches to Historical Jesus Research, Part 1

Mini-Lecture: What kinds of data do we analyze?

• "primary" v. "secondary" sources, etc.
• archaeological, epigraphical, economic, sociological, and literary data
• issue of reliability of textual data (i.e., need for textual criticism)
• PREMISE: ALL DATA ARE INTERPRETED

Small group practice session: sorting types of data in the story of Jesus' baptism

• Which are the primary v. secondary sources?
• Can you think of any non-literary sources that would apply here?
• Can you find a text critical problem?
• where do you see interpretation in this passage?

7:35 Issues & Approaches to Historical Jesus Research, Part 2

Mini-Lecture: Charlesworth's seven observations re: NT literary data

• The gospels are from the generations subsequent to Jesus' own, thus, they are not written by eyewitnesses; but, they are informed by eyewitnesses, and the reliability of oral tradition is sometimes superior to that of the written word
• The gospels and other NT documents reflect the needs of the church, the two primary of which are a) the kerygma (proclamation) and b) the faithful remembrance of the pre-cross Jesus; this does not mean there is perfection in the transmission of the memories
• The gospels contain mythical elements; but they are not myths per se; they are categorically distinct from ancient myths as we usually understand them because they are based on authentic and early traditions concerning historical events
• Mt expands and allegorizes Mk and Q; this does not mean that Mt is ahistorical and thoroughly creative
• Inaccurate Jesus-words may accurately preserve Jesus' intention; i.e., there is a distinction between the ipsissima verba Jesu and the expression of Jesus' purpose
• Mt and Lk altered sayings of Jesus. Mk may also have done this. But, many of Jesus' sayings date long before CE 70.
• Jesus may have been affirmed as the Christ only after the resurrection (cf. Rom 1:3-4; Phil 2:6-11), but this does not mean that Christology begins only after Easter

Small group practice session: where do we see these patterns at work?

• The case of the temptation story
• The case of Jesus' teaching on divorce; cf. I Cor 7:10-15

To the married I give this command--not I but the Lord--that the wife should not separate from her husband {11}(but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife. {12}To the rest I say--I and not the Lord--that if any believer has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. {13}And if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. . . . {15}But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound. It is to peace that God has called you. (NRSV)

8:00 Break

8:10 Issues & Approaches to Historical Jesus Research, Part 3

Mini-Lecture: Seven common criteria for judging historicity

• Primary source
• Multiple attestation
• Attestation by multiple forms
• Dissimilarity from Judaism of Jesus' day (and earlier)
• Dissimilarity from primitive Christianity
• Embarassment factor
• Redactional difficulty (in terms of flow of presentation and also theological divergence from basic theological trends in that work)

Small group practice session: examples of how to apply the seven criteria

• The case of servants and masters
• The case of the anointing of Jesus
• The case of the Magnificat (Lk 1:39-56) v. The War Rule XIV
• The baptism of Jesus & The Gospel of the Ebionites
• The case of the unjust steward

8:45 Issues & Approaches to Historical Jesus Research, Part 4

Mini-Lecture: One Caveat. What fits in with the tendencies of the developing tradition is less likely to be historical

• changes in place, time, and sequence of incidents are very likely to occur
• changes in the beginning and end of narratives are likely (v. a more stable middle)
• changes in sayings are less likely than changes in narrative material
• names tend to be added to narratives
• Aramaisms tend to disappear

Small group practice session: where can you see these redactional patterns at work?

• The feeding stories
• Jesus walks on water
• The woman with the hemorrhage
• The anointing of Jesus revisited
• Jairus' daughter

9:15 Assignment (for Monday):

• Which of the criteria outlined in the lecture do you see as the most important to an historical reconstruction of the life of Jesus?
• What is your sketch of the life of Jesus?