Jesus for the 21st Century: The Unified Gospel

The earlier sections deal with the Jerusalem church under Peter and the gradual spread of the gospel beyond Jewish limits in chapters 10—11, for example, Peter is led by the Spirit to baptize the Roman centurion, Cornelius. References to Peter are abruptly ended in chapter 12; James, the brother of the Lord, has become the head of the Jerusalem church, and Philip, a Greek-speaking missionary, is commanded by the Spirit to baptize an Ethiopian eunuch.

After that, Paul is imprisoned and sent to Rome where Acts leaves him witnessing openly and unhindered in the capital of the Empire. After the Council of Jerusalem c. After Peter healed a lame man, he made a speech, in chapter 3, in which Jesus is proclaimed as the one appointed but who is now in heaven and who will come as the Christ at the Parousia Second Coming. The titles used for Jesus show both a preservation of primitive tradition and theology and a clear differentiation made by the writer between Jesus in his earthly life in Luke and reflection on him in Acts.

Christ Messiah is consciously used as the title of Jesus; the title Son of man, used frequently in Luke, is used only once in Acts, at the death of the martyr Stephen, when he is granted a vision of the Lord in glory. The more primitive Christologies and titles show not only a flexibility of traditions but also the functional nature of New Testament Christology. Acts presents a picture of Paul that differs from his own description of himself in many of his letters, both factually and theologically. In Acts, Paul, on his way to Damascus to persecute the church, is dramatically stopped by a visionary experience of Jesus and is later instructed.

In his letters, however, Paul stated that he was called by direct revelation of the risen Lord and given a vocation for which he had been born recalling the call of an Old Testament prophet, such as Jeremiah and was instructed by no man. In Acts, Paul is presented as having received from the Jerusalem apostolic council the authority for his mission to the Gentiles as well as their decision—the so-called apostolic decree According to this decree, Gentile converts to Christianity were to abstain from pollutions of idols pagan cults , unchastity, from what is strangled, and from blood referring to the Jewish cultic food laws as showing continuity with the old Israel.

Circumcision, however, was not required, an important concession on the part of the Jewish Christians. When Paul entered a new city, he went first to the synagogue.

If his message of the gospel was rejected, he turned to the Gentiles. Roman authorities are depicted as treating Paul and other Christians in a just manner. The author repeatedly stressed that the Roman authorities did not find fault with the Christians but rather viewed Christian—Jewish antagonisms merely as one problem among Jewish factions. While in Corinth, during a conflict with the Jews, the Roman proconsul of Achaea in Greece , Gallio, refused to hear the charges brought against Paul because, according to Roman law , they were extralegal.

On a later occasion in Ephesus, during a conflict with the silversmiths who derived their income from selling statuettes of the goddess Diana, Paul was protected from local antagonisms and a riot by Roman authorities. He thus had to go to Rome to be tried, and that is the last that is heard about him in Acts. Just as Jesus started his public ministry in Luke by reading from the Book of Isaiah: That persons from many nations heard in their own tongues the mighty works of God has been viewed as a reversal of the Tower of Babel narrative, with languages no more confused and people no longer scattered.

Although Peter, Stephen, and Paul are central figures in Acts, the piety of the humbler members of the church also permeates the book. Church structure and organization, with apostles, disciples, elders, prophets, and teachers, exhibits great fluidity. The readers, however, probably knew what had happened to them— i.

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A number of approaches have been used to estimate the date of the crucifixion of Jesus. The historical and cultural context of Roman Judea and the tensions in the region at that time, provide a historical context to descriptions of the life of Jesus. Following the successful Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucids , there was a growth of an apocalyptic view that the world was either in or approaching the End Times , when a messiah would restore the Kingdom of David. In the time of Jesus' adulthood Judea was under Roman imperial rule. Roman prefects were appointed to the territory to maintain order and collect taxes, and to control Jerusalem through a political appointee, the High Priest.

The imposition of a Roman system of taxation, and conflict between the Jews' demand for religious independence and Rome's efforts to impose a common system of governance meant there was continuous underlying tension in the area. In the Judaic religion of Jesus' day Second Temple Judaism , the Pharisees and the Sadducees were the two significant and opposing power groups. The 21st century has witnessed an increase in scholarly interest in the integrated use of archaeology as an additional research component in arriving at a better understanding of the historical Jesus by illuminating the socio-economic and political background of his age.

Jonathan Reed states that chief contribution of archaeology to the study of the historical Jesus is the reconstruction of his social world. David Gowler states that an interdisciplinary scholarly study of archeology, textual analysis and historical context can shed light on Jesus and his teachings. Despite the frequent references to Capernaum in the New Testament, little is said about it there. Per the Bible, Jesus grew up in Galilee and much of his ministry took place there.

Dunn states that there is "substantial consensus" that Jesus gave his teachings in Aramaic. Despite the lack of direct biblical or historical references , various theories about the race of Jesus have been advanced and debated. Tekton has been traditionally translated into English as "carpenter", but is a rather general word from the same root that gives us "technical" and "technology" that could cover makers of objects in various materials, including builders.

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Other scholars have argued that tekton could equally mean a highly skilled craftsman in wood or the more prestigious metal, perhaps running a workshop with several employees, and noted sources recording the shortage of skilled artisans at the time. Debate exists about the existence of Nazareth at the time of Joseph and Jesus, as it was not mentioned in any contemporary source. Reed states that the analysis of the landscape and other evidence suggest that in that Jesus and Joseph's lifetime Nazareth was "oriented towards" the nearby city.

Geoffrey Bromiley states that as a "religion of the book" Judaism emphasized reading and study, and people would read to themselves in a loud voice, rather than silently, a practice encouraged Erubin 54a by the Rabbis. Dunn states that Second Temple Judaism placed a great deal of emphasis on the study of Torah , and the "writing prophets" of Judaism assumed that sections of the public could read. Horsley , on the other hand, states that the Josephus reference to learn "grammata" may not necessarily refer to reading and may be about an oral tradition.

There are a number of passages from the Gospels which state or imply that Jesus could read. Evans states that it should not be assumed that Jesus was a peasant, and that his extended travels may indicate some measure of financial means. Meier further concludes that the literacy of Jesus probably extended to the ability to read and comment on sophisticated theological and literary works.

Since the 18th century, scholars have taken part in three separate "quests" for the historical Jesus, attempting to reconstruct various portraits of his life using historical methods. At each stage of development, scholars suggested specific forms and methodologies of analysis and specific criteria to be used to determine historical validity.

A number of scholars have criticized Historical Jesus research for religious bias and lack of methodological soundness, and some have argued that modern biblical scholarship is insufficiently critical and sometimes amounts to covert apologetics. John Meier , a Catholic priest and a professor of theology at University of Notre Dame , has stated " Wright and Luke Timothy Johnson argue that the image of Jesus presented in the gospels is largely accurate, and that dissenting scholars are simply too cautious about what we can claim to know about the ancient period.

Portraits of the historical Jesus

Scholars involved in the third quest for the historical Jesus have constructed a variety of portraits and profiles for Jesus. Despite the significant differences among scholars on what constitutes a suitable portrait for Jesus, the mainstream views supported by a number of scholars may be grouped together based on certain distinct, primary themes. The subsections below present the main portraits that are supported by multiple mainstream scholars.

The apocalyptic prophet view primarily emphasizes Jesus preparing his fellow Jews for the End times. Sanders and Maurice Casey place Jesus within the context of Jewish eschatological tradition. The charismatic healer portrait positions Jesus as a pious and holy man in the view of Geza Vermes , whose profile draws on the Talmudic representations of Jewish figures such as Hanina ben Dosa and Honi the Circle Drawer and presents Jesus as a Hasid.

Borg sees this as a well-defined religious personality type, whose actions often involve healing. In the Cynic philosopher profile, Jesus is presented as a Cynic , a traveling sage and philosopher preaching a cynical and radical message of change to abolish the existing hierarchical structure of the society of his time.

The Jewish Messiah portrait of N. Wright places Jesus within the Jewish context of "exile and return", a notion he uses to build on his view of the 1st-century concept of hope. The prophet of social change portrait positions Jesus primarily as someone who challenged the traditional social structures of his time. Horsely goes further and presents Jesus as a more radical reformer who initiated a grassroots movement.

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Brandon Jesus was a political revolutionary who challenged the existing socio-political structures of his time. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Not to be confused with Depiction of Jesus. Life in art Depiction Jesuism. Aramaic of Jesus and Race and appearance of Jesus. Quest for the historical Jesus and Historicity of Jesus.

Mental health of Jesus. Mitchell and Frances M.

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How do we decide what comes from Jesus? Ordinarily the criteria can not hope to do more. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that any more. Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence. Some people believe it did, some believe it didn't. But if you do believe it, it is not as a historian" Ehrman, B. An Introduction and Survey by Craig L. The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus. Retrieved 9 January We wield our criteria to get what we want. Meier 26 May Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Law and Love. Retrieved 27 August Plurality and the Quest for Unity in Contemporary Christology ed.