The historical Jesus – a bare minimum

[Taken from Mark Allan Powell, Jesus as a figure in history, pp.21-22,117,153]

 

Norman Perrin: A list of sayings that are undoubtably authentic:

 

1. Kingdom sayings

the kingdom has come:                         Luke 11:20

the kingdom is among you:                   Luke 17:20-21

the kingdom suffers violence:                Matt. 11:12

 

2. The Lord’s Prayer:                           Luke 11:2-4

 

3. Proverbial sayings

binding the strong man:                          Mark 3:27

a kingdom divided:                                Mark 3:24-26

those who want to save their life:            Mark 8:35

a hand to the plow:                                Luke 9:62

wealth and the kingdom:                        Mark 10:23b,25

let the dead bury the dead:                   Luke 9:60a

the narrow gate:                                   Matt. 7:13-14

the first will be last:                               Mark 10:31

what truly defiles:                                  Mark 7:15

receiving the kingdom as a child:           Mark 10:15

those who exalt themselves:                   Luke 14:11 (cp. 16:15)

turning the other cheek:                          Matt. 5:39b-41

love your enemies:                                 Matt. 5:44-48

 

4. Parables

hidden treasure and pearl:                      Matt. 13:44-46

lost sheep, coin, son:                              Luke 15:3-32

great supper:                                         Matt 22:1-14; Luke 14:16-24; Thomas 92:10-35

unjust steward:                                       Luke 16:1-9

workers in the vineyard:                          Matt. 20:1-16

two sons:                                                Matt. 21:28-32

children in the marketplace:                     Matt.11:16-19

Pharisee and tax collector:                       Luke 18:9-14

good Samaritan:                                      Luke 10:29-37

unmerciful servant:                                   Matt. 18:23-35

tower builder & king going to war:           Luke 14:28-32

friend at midnight:                                   Luke 11:5-8

unjust judge:                                            Luke 18:1-8

leaven:                                                     Luke 13:20-21; Thomas 97:2-6

mustard seed:                                          Mark 4:30-32; Thomas 85:15-19

seed growing by itself:                             Mark 4:26-29; Thomas 85:15-19

sower:                                                     Mark 4:3-8; Thomas 82:3-13

wicked tenants:                                       Mark 12:1-12; Thomas 93:1-18

 

 

NOTE: Perrin’s book is available on-line at http://www.religion-online.org. Take a look at it, and at the sayings above, and try to apply the criteria of authenticity to them. See if you can figure out on what basis Perrin considered these an ‘irreducible core’ of authentic sayings.

 

 

E. P. Sanders: A list of ‘almost indisputable facts’ about Jesus

 


Jesus & Judaism (1985)

  

 

 

 

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

Jesus called disciples and spoke of there being twelve.

 

Jesus confined his activity to Israel.

  

Jesus was a Galilean who preached and healed.

 

Jesus engaged in a controversy about the temple.

 

 

 Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem by the Roman authorities.

 

 

After his death, his followers continued as an identifiable movement.

 

 

 

At least some Jews persecuted at least parts of the new movement.

 

 

The Historical Figure of Jesus (1993)

 Jesus was born c.4 BCE, near the time of the death of Herod the Great;

He spent his childhood and early adult years in Nazareth, a Galilean village;

He was baptized by John the Baptist;

He called disciples;

 

 He taught in the towns, villages, and countryside of Galilee (apparently not the cities);

 

He preached “the kingdom of God”;

Around the year 30 he went to Jerusalem for Passover;

 

He created a disturbance in the temple area;

He had a final meal with the disciples;

He was arrested and interrogated by Jewish authorities, specifically the high priest;

He was executed on the orders of the Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate;

His disciples at first fled;

 

They saw him (in what sense is uncertain) after his death;

As a consequence they believed he would return to found the kingdom;

They formed a community to await his return and sought to win others to faith in him as God’s Messiah.

 

 

 

 

 

Again, in the case of Sanders’ lists above, try to determine why he feels that the events mentioned above should be singled out as those most reliable and certain.

 

 

N. T. Wright’s list of historical facts about Jesus:

- Born in 4 B.C.E.

- Grew up in Nazareth in Galilee

- Spoke Aramaic, Hebrew, and probably Greek.

- Was initially associated with John the Baptist, but emerged as a public figure in his own right around 28 C.E.

- Summoned people to repent.

- Used parables to announce the reign of Israel’s god.

- Conducted itinerant ministry throughout villages of Galilee.

- Effected remarkable cures, including exorcisms, as enactments of his message.

- Shared in table fellowship with a socioculturally diverse group.

- Called a close group of disciples and gave twelve of them a special status.

- Performed a dramatic action in the temple.

- Incurred the wrath of some elements in Judaism, especially among the high priestly establishment.

- Was handed over by this powerful Jewish element to the Romans to be crucified as an insurrectionist.

- Was reported by his followers to have been raised from the dead.

 

Wright’s working principle is to ‘do justice to as much of the existing material and information as possible’ rather than necessarily focusing on hypotheses regarding the Synoptic problem and discerning earliest strata of tradition. Do you think this makes his conclusions about the core historical facts significantly different from that of other scholars?

 

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