rootseeker.org - -- Weekly Notes

Notes for Lecture TWELVE - Exp. Part III

[Note: as promised, the ‘skipped’ material was placed in “Handout 3" in the website]

Paul, Jesus, Christianity - Vermes: Paul the ‘father of the Christ figure’ that has dominated the West - Many scholars see Paul as: the true founder of Christianity - [Bio in Handout 3] - Paul had an undeniable talent for argument - Believed in ‘bodily resurrection’ - Language Greek, but was familiar with Aramaic - His sickness - A magnetic character with a charismatic message - [Hostile to the ‘Jesus movement’ and the conversion story see Handout 3]

Paul about Jesus - What did he know and how did he use it? - His vision on Jeus’ work for the salvation of both Jews and gentiles - The 2 stars: Adam and Jesus - Presented Jesus as ‘the Christ’ (anointed one) tot eh Gentiles - Salvation was in Jesus’ deat and resurrection - Jesus as ‘son of God’ in Paul - Jesus as ‘Lord’.

Knowledge of Jesus was by oral tradition - How Paul testified to that - His statement of divorce that remained as ‘Pauline Privilege’ - And: ‘who proclaim the Gospel should live from the gospel’ - Paul on Eucharist - Jesus’ death - His statement: ‘liberated from sin and in the love of God, because Christ died. Was raised from the dead and is at the right hand of God interceding for us’ (Rom 8:34) - Was not based on what Jesus had taught - He made Jesus the object of his message - The crucifixion of Christ was for Paul a mythical event - How did it benefit mankind? - Personal faith applied the merits of the redemption by Christ - Resurrection and baptism - Vermes’ conclusion.

Paul and Christianity - Rabbi Cook on the importance of understanding Paul’s influence on Christian beginnings - Paul’s thinking (some 20 yrs earlier tan the Gospels) may have vitally determined the direction of later Christianity - In the Gospels images of the historical Jesus and his teachings passed through the filter of Paul’s interpretation [can make one say: Christianity has ruined Jesus] - Three issues: a) Jesus rejected the Law, b) missionaries turned away from the Jews towards the Gentiles, c) Gentiles superseded the Jews as God’s chosen people.

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Notes for Lecture ELEVEN

[Note: as promised, the ‘skipped’ material was placed in “Handout 2" in the website]

E. Roman Empire - The complex theological development took place in the Roman empire - Growth of the church led to persecutions, and eventually to a better discipline church.

F. Constantine - His connection with the new ‘christian religion’ - Edict of Milan (313) : Freedom of Religion - Had as consequence: mass conversions - C.’s involvement in ‘church matters’ - Dec. 25 - His desire for unity also in church matters led to favoring clear boundaries of dogma over ‘mystical feeling and spiritual paradox’ - Tolerance of ‘different opinions’ became ‘unchristian’.

G. Councils - Called together by Constantine - He gave opening address - presided at the sessions - promulgated the decrees - threatened bishops who refuse to accept - He also introduced ‘consubstantial’ cause of much controversy and confusion - Nicea did not bring unity - It prevented the church to proclaim Jesus’ message - ‘Son of God’ concept different from meaing in Gospels - Creeds spoke in Greek philosophical terms - Jesus was made to a man having ‘the being of God’.

Paul, Jesus, Christianity -

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Notes for Lecture TEN

Peter and the un-circumcised - Peter’s vision: ‘What God mas declared clean, you sre not to call profane’ - His visit with the gentile Cornelius - Reaction in Jerusalem - The ‘Decree’.

Paul’s Reaction - [I urge you to read Galatians 2:1-21 - it’s interesting and revealing text!] - A sober conclusion; ‘Early Christianity was fragile, often wracked by strife.

Gnosticism - From gnosis - knowledge, that special knowledge received through observation and experience - Better: ‘insight’ - Orthodox Judaism and Christianity see God as ‘completely other’ - Gnostics, Jesus, Meister Eckhart see ‘self-knowledge’ leading to knowledge of the ‘divine - The living Jesus speaks of ‘enlightenment’, while the ‘Christ’ of the NT speaks of ‘sin and repentance’ - Instead of coming to save us from sin, Jesus came as a guide who opens access to spiritual understanding - Origin of Gnosticism uncertain - Pre-Christian, existential, with Jewish elements, and mystical experience - Gnosticism in Christianity was an expression of its diversity, another ‘choice’ of looking at things; the ‘choice’ was later condemned.

Signs of Hellenistic influence - Language - [Though I realize ideas are expressed in language, much will be skipped but placed in the website as ‘Handout 1'] -

Short history of philosophy and theology in early Christianity - Hellenism comes from Homer and Plato - First impact on Jewish life - Influence of Alexandria - Philo (30BCE-50CE) made the immensely important and influential distinction between God’s essential nature (ousia) and his energies (dunamis) - Also did with the Bible epics what the Greeks had done with Homer’s epics (allegory) - He also showed: Judaism could be accepted by the Greks because of its universal wisdom and superior insight in ultimate truth - Primary question was: how a transcendent, ineffable God or pure spirit, could be linked to a material universe ... a world shot through with pain and evil. How could a perfect God create a flawed world? - How the problem was solved - Role of ‘logos’ and ‘sophia’ - Clement (+ 101) christianized Philo - Origin (185-254) identified ‘logos’ with Jesus: As the divine agency was personified in a human person, the divine was 'humanized' and the human 'deified' - There is a straight line from - Alexandria and its scholars, - to Philo, - to the christian doctrines of the deity of Christ and the trinity - The development is complex - Too easily we assess the NT in hindsight, looking backward from the traditional dogmatic belief, and seeing signs of these dogmas in the NT writings. This is incorrect! - The dogma was not the result of the NT , but the result of a philosophical development already started a long time before, and showing signs of it in the NT writings - Thus we must seek a Christology from 'below': the Jesus in history - rather than one from 'above': the dogma.

A Side Note -

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Notes for Lecture NINE

From Jesus to Christ

Historical development of the Jesus-movement and theological consequences - An important introductory note by Charlesworth: ... study of Jewish writings ... incredibly sophisticated, cosmopolitan and brilliantly developed ... show that ideas attributed before to Paul, John etc. are now seen as pre-Christian and even Jewish - Howard-Brook: how the first followers of Jesus saw their commitment toward a Spirit-driven alternative society. [his book: The Church before Christianity, a followup to Albert Nolan’s: Jesus before Christianity]

Jesus Messiah in early Christianity - Stephen’s testimony - Mk/Mt - Acts show a tradition - Stages in development of christology: A Jewishness of early Christianity B Hellenistic influence C Estrangement from Judaism D Becoming its own E Roman Empire/Constantine F Councils

A Jewishness in early Christianity - How NTWright sees the Jewishness of the Jesus’ people: the continuation of Israel in a new situation - Disdaining though the Emperor’s claim of allegiance - The fall of Jerusalem and early Christianity - Further aspects of Jewishness: community spirit following the halakhah - Greek ekklesia (church) same concept as the Hebrew qahal , gathering, assembly - Prayers and prayer form typical Jewish” Shema, prayers in Lk’s gospel - Often mentioning of the Temple - Breaking of the Bread Passover connected - Teaching of Jesus basically Jewish - The ‘common good’ in Acts.

Diverse Judaism caused diverse Christianity - Robinson/Koester “Trajectories through early Christianity” - Christianity started as disparated groups of Jesus-followers articulating the significance of Jesus in different ways - There was no unity of view in the first centuries of Christianity - Insights were not static, but fluid - ‘The diversity of ideas and practices are now well known, but we have a long way to go to explore the more complex questions of identity and social formation in nascent Christian groups’ - More views from other scholars - Segal observes: Christianity of our days, diverse and complex as we find it in its different shades/churches, may actually show more harmony and rapport than the early Christian communities of the 1^st and 2^nd c., since in those centuries there were no structures, and no guidelines from above - And Pagels remarks: Those who identified themselves as Christians entertained many, and sometimes radically different religious beliefs and practices, because nothing was organized, much less institutionalized - Some examples of diversity - Circumcision.

Peter and the un-circumcised -

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Notes for Lecture EIGHT

Jesus as ‘son of man’ - Use of the term in Hebrew scriptures and the NT - In the gospels exclusively on the lips of Jesus - What it not meant for Jesus - What Jesus meant by using it - Wink’s insight: perhaps because ‘becoming human’ is the task God has set for human beings - Humanity is mistaken in believing what is human - In Ez. God is in the true sense ‘humanness’ - ‘Divinity inverts’ - divinity is ‘fully realized humanity’ - To become aware of the divine within, is what it means to be fully human - Neagle: ‘Our image of God creates us’ - ‘Humanizing’ humanity is God’s central concern.

Self-awareness of Jesus as ‘messiah’ - Funk makes this distinction: Jesus was signed to be the ‘Christ’ by his admirers in the first centuries vs Jesus real vacation was assigned to him by his vision - Borg too does not see any of the titles given to Jesus as expressing his sense of identity, but rather to be seena s ‘post-Easter’ affirmations - NTWright and Marcus Borg: an interesting exchange of opinion - Jesus’ saying in Q (7:1ff)

‘Look what’s happening....!’

What was Jesus up to? - The sense of mission in the gospel stories - can we discern Jesus’ intention behind them? Thoughts by Borg and Sanders - My afterthoughts.

From Jesus to Christ

Jesus Messiah in early Christianity -

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Notes for Lecture SEVEN

Suffering Servant - Did Jesus see himself as such? - For ‘those of faith’ , in a situation of oppression, the theme would be one of consolation and encouragement (Dunn) - 3 Points to be kept in mind. - If Jesus anticipated suffering and rejection he very well may have seen himself in the tradition of the suffering-righteous one - Also Jesus was in the prophet-tradition (connected with the former) - Dunn’s conclusion: All this strengthen the likelihood that behind the passages, - influenced more explicitly by Is 53 and Dan 7, - we may see standing ‘Jesus' own sayings’, remembered either as expressing his expectation of suffering, - or as expressing: an expectation of rejection, which was illuminated and readily elaborated by the first Christians, as source of these passages'.

Resurrection Note - Resurrection cannot historically be verified - For better understanding keep these stages in mind 1) no mention in oldest ‘sayings’, 2) Paul and the words he used [most authentic understanding of the Resurrection - further explanation use of words egeiro = to awaken someone from sleep 1 Cor 15:4 - Jesus was awakened on the 3^rd day - ophte = made manifest, - what this means in 1 Cor 15:5-8 - ophte in the Septuagint: God revels something to someone - Application to Paul’s experience on the way to Damascus], 3) Mk has first resurrection story, 4) Elaborations in Mt, Lk and Jn - Elements in stages 3 + 4 - Chilton and Borg’s observations.

Jesus’ view of himself in God’s plan for Israel - Funk: ‘the real vocation of Jesus was assigned to him by his vision’ - “Open table’ - Jesus wanted to let the ‘sinners’ know that God loved them and had a place for them - They would be justified by accepting Jesus’ message - Jesus: it is not the Law and its observance that would ‘justify’ - Message became offensive to the leadership - Jesus operated in and through the Spirit.

Self-awareness of Jesus as ‘messiah’ -

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Notes for Lecture SIX

Meaning of Jesus’ death - Brown considers most of the details of the Passover narratives historically plausible - Funk and Crossan reject many details as later additions - Some further observations - Chilton: the crucifixion (cross) became the vehicle for an ‘unconquerable vision’ - Asking for the meaning of Jesus’ death, a dangerous question - Difficult to be proven by history - Failure? Victory/vindication? Saving event? - Any indications that Jesus can give us an answer? - About ‘failure’: Paul “Christ a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks” - About ‘victory’: A martyr who dies for what he believes in is no failure, but a winner - Jesus gave indications - About the ‘why?’ - Funk: ‘He, Jesus died with his trust in God intact; he had learned to be indifferent to life in the embrace of that trust’ - Fredriksen: ‘The cross became a prelude to the resurrection - Only a crucified messiah is the true messiah’ - Haight: ‘Jesus' death was ... not only done to him, but something he did ... Jesus' death was due to his message ... Jesus' death flowed from the radicality and seriousness of his message; from his perspective, his death was a function of his fidelity to his mission or cause, the cause of God, a mission of 'salvation' (t.i. liberation), to the people around him. Jesus gave his life for the kingdom of God, and all the evidence points to the fact that he gave it freely.

Passion Narratives - Were composed by the gospel writers according to their own personal design and objective - James Carroll’s opinion: They were ‘invented’ - Further details.

Jesus about his death - Did Jesus talk about his death and its purpose? - Schillebeeckx view on this - A personal note - For Jesus his death was a victory - how?

Jesus death and ‘salvation’ - Did Jesus have to die to save us from sin? - Or: was the Christian understanding of ‘salvation’ the purpose of his death? - Haight’s input - Borg’s reflections - Question remains; did Jesus see this as the purpose or goal of his life? - Again Borg’s insight - One might consider these kind of interpretations of Jesus death in the NT, 'as powerful and truthful post-Easter metaphors for expressing the significance of Jesus' death and resurrection' - But for several reasons I can not see them going back to Jesus himself - Jesus’ death was a shock to many - Comparing 2 views: NTWright and Borg - Some valuable conclusions by Borg.

Resurrection Note -

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Notes for Lecture FIVE

Arrest and Trial - An observation by Rabbi Michael Cook - JPMeier: The Gospel narratives pack a remarkable - if not - impossible amount of details.

Date and Time - Arrest and trial followed th LS - JPM sees disagreement between the synoptics and Jn concerning the dates of the LS and the Crucifixion - [since all this is quite confusing you will find my lecture notes in the Handout ‘Date and Time’] - All 4 gospels place LS on Thursday eve, Crucifixion on Friday - Differences in Mt/Mk, Lk, and Jn - How to fit it all in the Jewish calendar - Summary and JPM’s final not ( see Handout)

Crucifixion - Comments of EPSanders: Why did the high priest arrest Jesus? - Caiphas’ role - Jesus was causing trouble - Jesus could have talked his way out of execution, had he promised that he would take his disciples and return to Galilee and keep his mouth shut (EPS).

Why did Jesus die - why was he crucified? - Asks for historical answers, not theological insights - Reason/cause for death? Pilate was made understand: Jesus was a ‘kingly pretender’; for Caiphas: a ‘troublemaker’ - Ellis Rivkin’s Jewish observations!! - And Paul Fredriksen’s insights - Caiphas: “it is expedient that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish”. (Jn 11:50) - He might have told that to Pilate - Gospels place the burden of incriminating Jesus on the priestly leadership in Jerusalem.

Meaning of Jesus’ death - Brown considers most of the details of the Passover narratives historically plausible - Funk and Crossan reject many details as later additions - Some further observations - Chilton: the crucifixion (cross) became the vehicle for an ‘unconquerable vision’ - Asking for the meaning of Jesus’ death, a dangerous question - Difficult to be proven by history - Failure? Victory/vindication? Saving event? - Any indications that Jesus can give us an answer? - About ‘failure’: Paul “Christ a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks” - About ‘victory’: A martyr who dies for what he believes in is no failure, but a winner - Jesus gave indications - About the ‘why?’ - Funk: ‘He, Jesus died with his trust in God intact; he had learned to be indifferent to life in the embrace of that trust’ - Fredriksen: ‘The cross became a prelude to the resurrection - Only a crucified messiah is the true messiah’ - Haight: ‘Jesus' death was ... not only done to him, but something he did ... Jesus' death was due to his message ... Jesus' death flowed from the radicality and seriousness of his message; ... from his perspective, his death was a function of his fidelity to his mission or cause, the cause of God, a mission of 'salvation' (t.i. liberation), to the people around him. Jesus gave his life for the kingdom of God, and all the evidence points to the fact that he gave it freely.

Passion Narratives -

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Notes for Lecture FOUR

Jesus’ final actions as symbols of the kingdom

Last Supper (LS) - Note: what can we historically find out about the event? - Theology and church ritual will be side-stepped - Crossan’s reflections: 1) Eucharist/LS and historical customs of Greco-Roman meal practices - 2) Open meal customs of Jesus vs Passover or ritual meal - 3) Teachings of the 12 Apostles (=Didache) ch 9 & 10

Ch 9 But concerning the Eucharist, after this fashion give ye thanks. First,concerning the cup. We thank thee, our Father, for the holy vine, David thy Son, which thou hast made known unto us through Jesus Christ thy Son; to thee be the glory for ever. And concerning the broken bread. We thank thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge which thou hast made known unto us through Jesus thy Son; to thee be the glory for ever. As this broken bread was once scattered on the mountains, and after it had been brought together became one, so may thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth unto thy kingdom; for thine is the glory, and the power, through Jesus Christ, for ever. And let none eat or drink of your Eucharist but such as have been baptized into the name of the Lord, for of a truth the Lord hath said concerning this, Give not that which is holy unto dogs.

Ch 10 But after it has been completed, so pray ye. We thank thee, holy Father, for thy holy name, which thou hast caused to dwell in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality which thou hast made known unto us through Jesus thy Son; to thee be the glory for ever. Thou, Almighty Master, didst create all things for the sake of thy name, and hast given both meat and drink, for men to enjoy, that we might give thanks unto thee, but to us thou hast given spiritual meat and drink, and life everlasting, through thy Son. Above all, we thank thee that thou art able to save; to thee be the glory for ever.

Note: ch 10 is the more primitive one - 4) Pauline tradition - witness of diversity - 5) Final stage in Mk, Lk, 1 Cor - Crossan sees Mk opposing the kind of institutionalized eucharistic ritual.

Arrest and Trial - An observation by Rabbi Michael Cook - JPMeier: The Gospel narratives pack a remarkable - if not - impossible amount of details.

Why did Jesus die - why was he crucified? -

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Notes for Lecture THREE

Jesus’ final actions as symbols of the kingdom

Entrance into Jerusalem - In general: the meaning of these actions of Jesus as ‘symbols’ - Comparison with the prophets ‘of old’ - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel - Symbolism in Jesus’ actions: the ‘twelve’ - O’Connor’s insight - EPSanders’ observation: did the Zechariah prophecy create the ‘event’, or the ‘story’ ? - Chilton about the ‘timing’ : not ‘Passover’ but ‘Sukkoth’ - Fredriksen sees a straight line connecting ‘Entry’ and the ‘Crucifixion’ - ‘Riding the donkey’, it’s meaning.

Temple Action - Mk’s description (Mk 11:15-17) - Chilton’s interesting details about the Temple situation - [You are invited to copy some of the attached items to get a better grip on the locality] - Changes were made by Caiphas: 1) animals could now be brought from Mt Olives into the temple 2) there ‘buyers’ could lay hands on the animals - But: animals could be hurt, blemished ‘on route’ - Opposition - The change benefitted the ‘buyers’, but not the Temple situation: ‘traders’ offensive, purity laws not observed - Jesus’ reaction must have been against those ‘abuses’ - Jesus’ further statement about the Temple: cleansing or destruction? - And if destruction: a prediction or threat? - Chilton’s further observations - Double reactions: positive, closeness of ‘buyer’ and animal (important) - negative, abuses - Description of how the ritual of the sacrifices proceeded.

Jesus and the Temple - prophetic background - Relationship of Jesus’ Temple action and the kingdom message - Jesus wanted to make 2 points: 1) the Temple had become (as in Jer.days) a sign of ‘aberration and distortion’ (Wright), and 2) Jesus saw the Jewish people of his time ‘under judgement’ - Hence his sayings are seen by later writers as ‘judgment sayings’.

Symbolism - The action involved also a ‘hint’ of the ‘future destruction’ of the Temple: ‘if you continue this course something terrible will happen’ - Some details about what the temple stood for in Jesus’ days - It was the center of worship and of government - Also a political stronghold - Any attack against it was an offense against the king-builder and the high-priestly dynasty - So why the cleansing? - Indicated ‘disapproval’, but also s desire for a new type of ‘purity’ - Statements from some authors - What Jesus did in the Temple was ‘a judgment act’ not against the Temple, but rather ‘its use’, as a center of political power - Early followers of Jesus respected the Temple - Jesus’ action also a symbol of the arrival of the ‘true kingdom of Yahweh’ - Notice: 1) Jesus was not arrested at this occasion - 2) Jesus did not predict the rebuilding of the Temple - 3) Jesus and Hos 6:6 saw ‘loyalty rather than sacrifice’, ‘knowing God rather than burnt offerings’, as essentially Jewish - 4) there is the connection with the ‘house on the rock’ theme.

Last Supper -

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Notes for Lecture TWO

Exorcisms - Possessions in Jesus’ time - The notion of possession by a spirit from another world does not fit our world view - Us moderns have out own ‘possessions’ in dependency and addictions - One example of exorcism by Jesus (Mk 5:2f) - A man possessed by ‘legion’ - The timely meaning of that ‘naming’ - In general ‘signs of wonder’ were not ‘central’ in Jesus’ ministry - The connection with the Kingdom clear in Lk 11:20 - Chilton on the proximity of the ‘spirit’ marking the effective presence of God’s kingdom’ - Final observation.

Jesus and the Evil One - the concept ‘Satan’ - Pagels on ‘Satan’ - Mk did not see ‘Satan’ as an identification of the Romans, but instead of the Jewish leaders - Mk’s ‘frame’ : demonic forces retaliate against God.

First meeting with the Evil One – The Spirit send Jesus into the desert where is tempted by Satan - Conflict between God and Satan - Chilton’s view.

Where Jesus saw the Evil One at work - Satan in Jewish thought - The ‘provocateur’ rather than the ‘opponent’ - Some parables: weeds and wheat - cleansing of the house - divided house - NTWright’s remarks: Jesus was fighting Israel’s ‘idolatrous nationalism’ - The enemy was not at the ‘outside’, but ‘within’ : the leadership of exclusiveness and national liberation.

The Evil One still at work around Jesus - Peter - Sons of Zebedee: James and John.

Jesus’ final actions as symbols of the kingdom

Jesus and the Temple - prophetic background -

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Notes for Lecture ONE

Kingdom message symbolized in actions - Healings by Jesus and also in Israel in those days - How Jesus was different - prayer, touch, etc - What was the ‘healing power behind it? - All healing actions were meant to be symbols of the kingdom of God, God at work - The miracles were the ‘medium’, the ‘kingdom’ the message - Healings and the Scriptures - When people insisted, Jesus refused to give a ‘sign’ - Jonah and Jesus - Jesus did not wish to rest his case on miracles - To whom the ‘miraculous deeds’ were offered.

Exorcisms - Possessions in Jesus’ time - The notion of possession by a spirit from another world does not fit our world view - Us moderns have out own ‘possessions’ in dependency and addictions - One example of exorcism by Jesus (Mk 5:2f) - A man possessed by ‘legion’ - The timely meaning of that ‘naming’ - In general ‘signs of wonder’ were not ‘central’ in Jesus’ ministry - The connection with the Kingdom clear in Lk 11:20 - ‘The proximity of the Spirit marks the effective presence of God’s kingdom’ - Final observation.

Jesus and the Evil One - the concept ‘Satan’ -

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Notes for (final) Lecture THIRTEEN - PART II

Reversal of values - An observation by Cupitt: 'the milk of kindness is a sufficient basis for ethics' - A reference to Jeremiah: '.... the Law written on their hearts' - Made Jesus a 'rebel', he reversed values - The Kingdom of God message not loaded with doctrinal teachings about God, but proposed as 'the good society that we all long to see: the Dream' - Jesus' teaching, though meant for the Jews, was timeless: also meant for us - What "I'll be your God, and you will be my people" meant to Jesus - Renewal of the 'covenant', a change of heart - Had to do with 'inner motives' - Nolan's remarks: Jesus contradicted the Jewish society structure of 'status' and 'rank' - Jesus' criticisms indicates a radical reversal of values

Women - No expressed teachings, but his attitude is shown in his actions and exchanges - Some examples.

Sabbath - its observations - Some of Jesus' reactions - 'Sabbath was made for men, not men for Sabbath'

Meals - Chilton makes connection with the Christian communion service - Eucharist = thanksgiving; for Jesus' followers is was thanksgiving for the realization of the KoG - Further elements - Inclusiveness of the 'meals' - How all this symbolizes the 'reversal of values' that is behind the 'kingdom message'.

Special sayings with a kingdom message - The parables as expressions of God 'acting and protesting', confronting law, authority and customs - God of Jesus always seeking 'justice' - Jesus' kingdom message not in line with current revolutionary leanings of his time, it wanted to be a 'good news' that connected with the prophets of old - Is 52:7-12

Our Father Prayer

Beatitudes

Parables

A Riddle - Tribute to Caesar - Some background details - How it is a 'kingdom message' - Closing observation by Borg, how Jesus used the parables - Each was an 'invitation': to 'see things differently'.

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Notes for Lecture TWELVE - Exp II

Some details about Jesus and the Law - Commandments given to the Jews 'to choose life' - Jesus about prayer and justice - purity - the condition of being free from any physical, moral or ritual contamination - Atonement as purification - It needs a 'renewed mindset' - Defilement common in Israel - Jesus point at the importance of 'motivation' - 'Separation from the outside' does not assure 'purity' - For Jesus the non-Jewish (gentile) environment no danger to purity - Jesus' openness to the Gentiles - kingdom to be accepted as a child - Children take what they want - One should make the kingdom the 'sole object of interest' - divorce - Mal 2:14f could very well have influenced Jesus' stand on divorce - losing your life - is perhaps the 'foundation' of Jesus' ethics - Those who have a materialistic view on life will find the 'Kingdom' is not for them - neighbor - The parable of the 'Samaritan' - Who was neighbor to the injured man? - Perhaps: 'neighbor' is the one who let the Samaritan (the enemy) help him (Funk) - Parable invites to 'cross over', let go of 'inhibition' - 'Love thy neighbor, 'God', as thy self' (Heschel) - enemy - Your neighbor is your 'kin' + the 'enemy (Jesus) - Extended group solidarity' to 'humankind solidarity' (Nolan) - 'Let your enemies love you' (Funk)

Golden Rule - Jesus + Hillel

Letter/spirit - hypocracy/legalism - EP Sanders: Jesus criticism concerned: temple, sinners, the Law - Temple: Jesus not against the 'worship and its rites', but against commercialism - Sinners: Jesus could overlook their 'impurity' - Law: Jesus was not against 'legal observance', but against 'externalism' in different forms, such as 'observance for observance sake' - Bornkam's observation - 'Jesus liberated the Law (the will of God) from its petrified state, tables of stone' - He detached the Law from the 'traditions of men' and 'set the Law free' - 'Not infrequently 'bigots' head up religions' (EPS) - In general Jesus held that the 'spirit of the Law' demanded more than the 'letter', and the 'letter' can be an excuse for sincere spiritual living of the Law.

Women - No expressed teachings, but his attitude is shown in his actions and exchanges - Some examples.

Sabbath - its observations - Some of Jesus' reactions - 'Sabbath was made for men, not men for Sabbath'

Meals -

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Notes for Lecture ELEVEN - Exp II

Some details about Jesus and the Law - Commandments given to the Jews 'to choose life' - Jesus about prayer and justice - purity - the condition of being free from any physical, moral or ritual contamination - Atonement as purification - It needs a 'renewed mindset' - Defilement common in Israel - Jesus point at the importance of 'motivation' - 'Separation from the outside' does not assure 'purity' - For Jesus the non-Jewish (gentile) environment no danger to purity - Jesus' openness to the Gentiles - kingdom to be accepted as a child - Children take what they want - One should make the kingdom the 'sole object of interest' - divorce - Mal 2:14f could very well have influenced Jesus' stand on divorce - losing your life - is perhaps the 'foundation' of Jesus' ethics - Those who have a materialistic view on life will find the 'Kingdom' is not for them - neighbor - The parable of the 'Samaritan' - Who was neighbor to the injured man? - Perhaps: 'neighbor' is the one who let the Samaritan help him (Funk) - Parable invites to 'cross over', let go of 'inhibition' - 'Love thy neighbor 'God' as thy self' (Heschel) - enemy - Your neighbor is your 'kin' + the 'enemy (Jesus) - Extended group solidarity' to 'humankind solidarity' (Nolan) - 'Let your enemies love you' (Funk)

Golden Rule - Jesus + Hillel

Reversal of values -

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Notes for Lecture TEN - Exp II

How the Groups saw the Law - Pharisees, and later Rabbis, held a broad interpretation of Torah to everyday life - Sadducees apposed any adaptations by the Pharisees - Essenes (Qumran people) saw corruption (of the Law) in the priesthood and the temple ritual - The 2 schools in Pharisaic Torah interpretation; Hillel and Shammai.

Jesus and the Law - general - More interest has been shown for the theology in NT than in the pristine teachings of Jesus (Vermes) - Mt sometimes super-imposes a 'Jewish coloring on the sayings of Jesus - In the Q-sayings no sign of any 'cancellation of the Law' - Mt sees New Covenant as replacing the Old.

'But I say' sayings - vs Torah - Jesus' "But I say to you" sayings - Only in Mt - Authenticity question - The sayings express that 'God's domain runs counter to common understandings' - With Jesus' new vision came a new language - Offers an insight to the vision.

Essence of the Law - How Jesus saw the 'essence' - The 'key commandments' - Some further observations about Jesus and the Law - Historical context of the gospel writers must be kept in mind.

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Notes for Lecture NINE - Exp II

For individuals - Most welcome in the kingdom were the 'undeserving' - The 'entrance' to the kingdom - Permission 'to get in' not required - 'Arrival' at the kingdom is by 'departure only' - Entrance is 'exodus' - No one, who is tied up with the things of this world, can put God above it - The 'Golden Rule' in Jesus' 'sayings' - Kingdom requires 'absolute commitment' - The meaning of the 'Shema" in this context - Repent + Return - About 'sinners'.

Kingdom of forgiveness - Forgiveness as 'giving freedom', releasing from 'wrong attitude' (t.i. lacking the attitude of loyalty) - Jesus' forgiveness cause conflict - Indian story of the '2 wolfs' - Jesus' warning for the 'rich' - Reaction of the disciples - 'Letting go' more than 'almsgiving' - Warning about 'pretense'.

Kingdom and Torah - meaning of the Law - Torah and Jewish observance - Torah and Talmud (oral Torah) - The Law, Torah, encompassed for the Jews 'the entire sphere of their life', not just the details of rituals - Observance of the Law was not at the center of Jesus' life - God-connection was: his prayer life - Early Christianity's emphasis on 'observance' - some examples.

How the Groups saw the Law - Pharisees, and later Rabbis, held abroad interpretation of Torah to everyday life - Sadducees apposed any adaptations by the Pharisees - Essenes (Qumran people) saw corruption (of the Law) in the priesthood and the temple ritual - The 2 schools in Phasaic Torah interpretation; Hillel and Shammai.

Jesus and the Law - general - More interest has been shown for the theology in NT than in hte pristine teaachings of Jesus (Vermes) - Mt sometimes super-imposes a 'Jewish coloring on the sayings of Jesus - In the Q-sayings no sign of any 'cancellation of the Law' - Mt sees New Covenant as replacing the Old.

Essence of the Law - How Jesus saw the 'essence' - The 'key commandments' - Some further observations about Jesus and the Law - Historical context of the gospel writers must be kept in mind.

Some details about Jesus and the Law -

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Notes for Lecture EIGHT - Exp II

For Israel - Jesus emphasized the human and moral aspects of Judaism, more than the ritualistic ones - He stressed the nearness and presence of God - He sought complete surrender to God in 'trust ' - Jesus believed that God would vindicate his people - He saw signs of the time and warned the leadership for not accepting God's kingship in Israel as a reality - Did not exclude that this would have a consequence for all the nations - Melina's insight - EP Sanders' different view - Albert Nolan: the Jews needed a change of heart before they could become 'a light to the nations' - They needed to learn to live for God , nor for Torah - For Jesus the KoG was God's gift to his people to serve him in freedom - However: the decision to be free is personal - The kingdom cannot be 'achieved', only 'received', by one who has faith, who trust 'it will work' - Funk's reflections.

Disciples' reaction - James and John wanted to sit on his right and left in his kingdom -

Peter: we left everything - what do we get for it? - There was still nationalistic hope and expectation - 'Reform' was Jesus' message - How Jesus expressed it - The 12 tribes element - Kingdom seen more as 'restoration of Israel' than of the 'temple' (Sanders) - 'Nationalistic trends' not in God's plan - How Jesus reflected the prophets of old.

For the Gentiles - Hebrew Bible announced that God's glory was to reach all nations - How Jesus was 'open' for the 'outsiders' - Where Jesus' message included the 'gentiles' - Rabbi Lewis Solomon: Jesus insisted on a universalistic, spiritually oriented Judaism.

How the Groups saw the Law -

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Notes for Lecture SEVEN - Exp II

Kingdom in parables - Mustard seed, yeast: symbols of the kingdom in the 'process of developing' - No kingdom coming in the future - Neither is kingdom a 'given status'= church - Though kingdom is 'veiled', people must seek it - God's kingdom as present in everyday life becomes a 'religious, = god-connected experience/awareness' - Indeed: God's Kingdom very 'good news' - Also: counter-cultural, it gives hope to the hopeless - Works only if people 'in the kingdom, live the kingdom' - Same for 'forgiveness' - "You are to respond to others, as you 'trust' God will respond to you"

Golden Rule - Q 6:31 - Armstrong tells us that each spiritual tradition formulated its own - 'It tells us something about the structure of our human nature (K.A.) - A question asked: What happens to the KoG after humanity ends?

Jesus following - his disciples - Some thoughts by Haight and Fiorenza - 'The fundamental idea of 'salvation as the transformation of society' must be seen in concrete historical terms' - Jesus had a following, just like John B. and the Pharisees - But they would be different - Their making 'a choice' would have consequences.

What Jesus had in mind - for Israel, Gentiles, Individuals - A word from Spong: 'Indeed I see 'secular humanism' as the glow of Christianity that remains when the interpreting myths of the past have been abandoned' -

Disciples' reaction - James and John wanted to sit on his right and left in his kingdom -

For individuals -

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Notes for Lecture SIX - Exp II

Change of values - Let go of any 'pretense' - Worry replaced by 'trust'.

Jesus and the Roman empire - By listening well one can hear Jesus 'tease and mock' the Roman empire - Kingdom not preparing for 'after-life' - The clever social involvement of Jesus' teachings calls people to 'self-examination', and new relationships.

Kingdom of Heaven - Mt's influence in the use of this term - Sensitivity to the Jewish feelings in his community, avoiding the name of God - Kingdom of Heaven is not the norm.

KoG - God acting in this world - Can be seen as a 'miracle', or not (2 art on miracles in www.gcsmorespace.com - go to: 'Reece' and 'Spong 1'] - Even Jesus saw: God not always reigning - Jesus viewed God's reign as a cosmic (r)evolution ( J.Bapt.).

Kingdom 'here and now', taking place - How Jesus expressed it: 'good gifts', 'daily bread' - And again Q 11:20 'If it is by the finger of God...' - Q-people saw themselves as already 'in' the kingdom - Jesus' warning to failing leaders - Kingdom undergoing 'violence'.

What Jesus had in mind - for Israel, Gentiles, Individuals -

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Notes for Lecture FIVE - Exp II

What did Jesus expect to happen - E.P.Sanders' thoughts: Renewal, but not without God's intervention - No expectation of an eschatological war - Borg's vision: Healings/exorcisms and the kingdom - Chilton: Jesus' vision of the kingdom and its performance 'is' Jesus' spirituality - Vermes: making the choice of 'turning' (back to God), 'is' the coming of the kingdom - Funk: Jesus not an external redeemer, but an 'infernal redeemer' - Incarnation = embodiment in each one of us - Original Christian interpretation?

Nature of the Kingdom - How did the listeners 'hear' Jesus? - Kingdom already 'present' - To be 'celebrated' - Commandments/regulation were 'additions', not essential - Kingdom is 'un-brokered' - A pharisaic notion.

What Jesus talked about - God's kingdom, God's reign: concrete and specific - Based in ordinary life - Examples galore - Figures of speech Jesus used could be understood by the people around him - No development from the Hebrew Scriptures - Mt did!! - Sometimes it seems he was making fun of the legal process - No focus on Temple and sacred ceremonies - No concentrating on traditional events of the past (again Mt did) - No abstract concepts - Jn did!! - Mostly his language was symbolic, not to be taken literally - Leaven, Jewish Pascha, Paul's reference - Those in the Kingdom are 'connected with the sacred' - Jesus' vision of God's reign set the standard by which all truth should be measured.

Message not only by, but also for Jesus - Jesus not only 'proclaimed' the kingdom message, he was also 'receiving' it - He gave expression of the vision of which he himself was the recipient - He allowed his own experience to be claimed - He was both 'captivated' as well as 'liberated' by the message.

Entering the Kingdom - How does one 'get in'? - Where is the 'entrance'? - Permission needed? - Often it looks like the 'undeserving' are the ones who get in - About the 'entrance' - No permission needed, one needs to be 'bold in trust' - 'Arrival' is by 'departure' (letting go) - An immense journey.

Kingdom of Heaven - Mt's influence in the use of this term - Sensitivity to the Jewish feelings in his community, avoiding the name of God - Kingdom of Heaven is not the norm.

KoG - God acting in this world -

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Notes for Lecture FOUR - Exp II

What did Jesus have in mind? - How to understand the kingdom message - Eschatological, kingdom to come? - Funk's observations - Borg: 'kingdom concept a metaphor or symbol with many meanings' - He sees 5 aspects: 1) power of God in the healings, 2) presence of God, 3) Jesus a social prophet, social justice in the center, 4) community of 'being the kingdom', 5) future completion, 'eternal banquet' - Schweitzer: 'the coming of God's kingdom happens when the spirit of Jesus has made an impact on our hearts, and through us to the world' - (cf Buber and Cupitt) - KoG also 'God at work' - In the kingdom God manifests himself to his people - Chilton's meaningful thoughts: The kingdom is to be found in 'life', in 'living' - In the kingdom God is active, and the response should be 'active', not just 'knowledge' - Rabbi Bronstein sees Jesus' kingdom-vision as a 'living spirituality', revealed in the life of the community - James Robinson: 'Jesus called for a full reversal of values .... end of the world as it was known, replaced by a new way of living' - Funk's parallel view - Horsley (more practical): 'Jesus tried to instill in people 'hope in a hopeless situation' - He sees 'Jesus as coming to each other’s aid' in a restoration of mutual assistance; and in those efforts, those who would be leaders, should be servants' - 'The reign of God assumed a place of ultimate reality in Jesus' life, for this Jesus lived and died' (Sobrino)

Was Jesus' idea original? - Jesus' concept basically of Jewish tradition - Closer look at language used - Though taught in 'Jewish terms', Jesus saw kingdom slightly different - A warning from Chilton - In 'Jewish terms', but not from the time of Rabbinic Judaism - In Jesus' time there was diversity - Rabbinic Judaism was a 'unification of diverse Judaisms - Therefore Chilton's warning: Watch how you compare - Judaism in Jesus' days (Galilee) focused on: 'how to live as Israel in the midst of the nations' - God a 'heavenly king' - Kingdom = God's activity in the world - 'On earth as in heaven' - Jesus never addressed God as 'king' - He didn't want to be seen as 'king-Messiah'.

Theme: kingdom of God - Translations - Jesus's vision: a region or sphere where God's dominion was immediate and absolute - Prof. Matt about the kingdom as shekinah, presence.

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Notes for Lecture THREE - Exp II

NOTE: Was Jesus' message exclusively for the Jews? - Jesus' ministry was for the 'house of Israel', as he expressed on several occasions; his teachings however were not 'ethno-centric. For him the Jew/Gentile distinction, and together with it the whole of positive or revealed religion, disappears in the Reign of God. And insofar as Jesus' own life and teaching is an anticipatory enactment of the Reign of God, it must appear to be, and is, completely secular'. Cupitt in Jesus & Philosophy p.68

c) Kingdom notion in 'inter-testamental' Rabbinic writings - 'Inter-testamental': the period from the codification of the Hebrew Bible (around the time of Ezra 5^th c. bce) till the 'canon' of the NT (4^th c. ce) - Writings of the Rabbis in 1^st and 2^nd c. parallel with Christian writings - Rabbinic view of KoG was eschatological and was two-sided: theoretical (temporal vs eternal), and practical (human actions to secure access to the kingdom) - Some further details from the writings - The kingdom 'mediated' (Messiah) - The 'Shema' and the kingdom - How Jesus connected - Rabbinic kingdom notion in Jewish prayers and worship - Samples.

Jesus' concept of the KoG - Buber: "Jesus' kingdom of God is no other-world-consolation, nor a cultic association (=church). It is the perfect life of man with man, true community" - Jesus' KoG was not 'royal', political; neither of an 'end-time' - Funk: "the old age was ending, a new age beginning" - Most difficult to grasp is: the change had for Jesus already taken place, it was 'at work': in Jesus' sayings' and 'doings', healings, etc. - In all this Jesus was like the prophets making announcements for the God of Israel, "like geysers of disgust disturbing the conscience of their days" (Hershel) - Others saw him as a 'king-messiah', typical of Jewish tradition - Jesus was also a 'wisdom teacher'.

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Notes for Lecture TWO - Exp II

a) Kingdom notion in Jewish biblical tradition - Keep in mind 'kingdom' focused on the Temple - Yahweh not exclusively present in the Temple, also 'in the heart' (Dt 30) - Book of Daniel shows 'son of man' sharing the power of God - KoG in Jewish tradition speaks of God both 'far and near' - The 'shekinah' concept, the 'tent of God's presence' - Vermes on the biblical notion of the kingdom - Chilton collects 5 dimensions of the kingdom in Judaism and in Jesus' kingdom notion - How the psalms speak about the kingdom: 'Zion as God's abode'.

Kingdom as expression of power (5) - Punishment of the wicked, while the 'poor' were given their rightful place - The 'purity' notion (in the Pss) as a requirement for the kingdom - Not just legal purity but also moral - Purity the condition that leads to holiness, and engagement with God's presence in the Temple - Kingdom (in the Pss) includes 'all peoples' - Also found in Jesus' notion.

b) Kingdom notion in 2^nd Temple literature - 2^nd Temple period from the 're-building' of the Temple (515 bce) till the destruction of the Temple (70 ce) - Some development of the kingdom concept happened during the Exile (Dan, Ez) - Found expression in the different groups in Judaism - They all kept in common: the Covenant, the priviledged place of the Temple, and the hope of a renewed (Davidic) kingdom - The notion about God 'near and far' - 'Prosperity in exchange for obedience' (Dt) diminished - Pharisees: God is still near and approachable - The shekhina concept, God's 'presence' in the Temple ritual - The kabhod concept, God's 'glory. The radiant splendor of God's presence - Jesus in this tradition - Emphasis on immanence of God's final and definite kingdom - John the Baptist announced 'judgement', Jesus brought 'salvation, God's liberation.

Jesus' concept of the KoG -

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Notes for Lecture One - Exp II

Introduction - In Part I we placed Jesus in historical setting, and we met Jesus, the Jew - For many it remains difficult to free Jesus from Church teachings - Jesus' message was contained in his 'Kingdom of God' (KoG) proclamation - It's the essence of Christianity - Some quotes from Jewish scholars on Jesus the Jew.

Ministry - The message of the KoG was given during Jesus' ministry - Duration uncertain - The notion KoG was not personal or original for Jesus - It's found in a) the Hebrew Bible, b) in the 2^nd Temple literature, c) in Rabbinic writings.

KoG in Jewish tradition - Fiorenza's observation about ex. 19:6 "the kingdom and holy nation of Israel" - Covenant commandments, Temple and Torah made the land and the nation of Israel a 'kingdom of priests', which could not properly be governed by pagans - How Jesus shared this view and where he differed - Central question for Jews (and Jesus) was: 'What must I do to be part of the Kingdom?' - Groups in Judaism had different answers - Priestly aristocracy sought to preserve the Temple and collaborated with the Romans - Essences created their own version of 'holy people' by separating themselves - Zealots wanted to fight for liberation from the Romans - Pharisees sought to transfer priestly holiness to everyday life - Apocalyptic prophets called for repentance and announced God's wrath and judgement - Sadducees accepted only the written Torah and rejected the innovations of the Pharisees - All groups were concerned with the question: how to realize 'in every aspect of life' the obligations and hopes of Israel as the 'kingly and priestly people of God' - Jesus in his kingdom message shared the concern for the renewal of the people of Israel, God's holy elect in the midst of the nations.

b) Kingdom notion in 2^nd Temple literature -

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Notes for final Lecture THIRTEEN - PART I

Language a factor in oral tradition - Each voice is thick with history, both personal and cultural - So are ears!!! - Jesus spoke Aramaic, the gospels written in Greek, we read them in English - Re-interpretations are repeated - Most important not to look for the 'right words', but for the 'right message' of Jesus.

Authors of the gospels - Their way of looking at, and using, the message of Jesus for their own community - Knowing these communities is of importance - Work of the scholars (Pilch) - Jewish history behind the gospel accounts - Uncertainty of the (Mt) community - Jesus is coming back - When it didn't happen, it became 'future'.

Jesus a fulfilled prophecy - Is the 'cornerstone' for 'Christianity superseding Judaism' - OT: God's plan for human salvation reached it's fulfillment in Jesus [True??] - Mt strong on his interpretation - Mt: OT prophecy is proof that Israel's history was leading up to Jesus [True??] - Warning to honestly examination of Mt's claims - Gospel is the result of an ongoing process of 'passing on' - Schillebeeckx's after-thought.

Parousia or Return of Jesus - Immanent eschatological expectations were dominating the Jesus-movement - A very Jewish tradition - Some saw it close by, 'this generation' (Mk 9:1, 13:21-22) - Also in Paul (1 Thes 1:9-10, Rom 13:11-12) - The expectations were reinforced by the destruction of Jerusalem - When times dragged on and nothing happened, there is announcement of 'delay', 'later', and finally at the 'end time' - Lk and Acts see its fulfillment in the Pentecost event - It was seen as the arriving of the Kingdom - Lk makes in this way the eventual return of Jesus loose from the 'Kingdom of God on earth', and connects it with the last judgment and the arrival of the heavenly kingdom.

Four gospel views on Jesus in Galilee - Mk: Gal is a link between Jewish and gentile territory - Also an unsafe place of mounting tension - Mt places Jesus in the mainstream of Judaism as fulfillment of biblical prophecy - Gal is a place of ethnic mixing and central for Jesus' teaching and mighty deeds - Lk: Jesus origin is in Gal, but he is rejected in Nazareth at the begin of his public ministry - Destiny for Jesus is Jerusalem - Jn: Gal is home-base and safe area - Trouble comes from Judea.

Apogryphal gospels - Did not make it into the NT - apocrypha = 'kept hidden' - Received much attention lately since many are early documents that contain sayings of Jesus - My Note!

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Notes for Lecture TWELVE

Origin of Q - Q was not a manuscript that survived the changes of time - 'Lost' Gospel (Mack) - Q tradition is very early - As an oral tradition it reaches near to, if not within, the Galilean area, even perhaps the time when Jesus was living and teaching - First studies about Q started some 150 years ago - Recognition of Q as a document was realized only during the present generation of scholars - 1920 Streeter and Bultmann - In 1980's Robinson reconstructed Q by lifting it our of Mt and Lk - [Handout Robinson's Q text] - His work started a renewed study of Q - John Kloppenborg discovered a 3-fold layer in Q - Q¹ wisdom sayings - Q² judgement sayings - Q³ some stories - Horsley emphasized that Q consisted of a series of discourses rather than loose sayings.

What is remarkable about Q - a) Jesus not proclaimed but the proclaimer - b) Jesus not 'God' - c) meaning of 'Lord' in Q - d) no indication that Jesus' death was seen as redemptive (sacrifice) - e) Jesus not Messiah (Christ) - f) Q-people not Christians but Jesus people [this makes Q distinct and different from the canonical gospels] - g) meaning of 'Son of God' in Q - h) death and resurrection not mentioned in Q - Scholars see now in Q vs the gospels an indication of a great deal of variety in the earliest days of the Jesus movement - Q has a parallel in Gospel of Thomas - All this invites and stimulates to re-think how Christianity came to be.

Death and resurrection in Q and GoT - Both show that these Jesus-followers did not make 'death and resurrection' the center of their belief/trust in Jesus and his message - These early proclamations were not 'theology', but reflections on experiences - The Gospels are not such simple reflections , but interpretations with a purpose

[Handouts 13 Q remarkable - 14 The community of Q - 15 Carroll on passion narrative+Q note]

Q mentions death/end only indirectly - No predictions likein Mk - Jesus was well prepared for the possibility of a violent death (John) - he too was a 'prophet' Q 11:49-51

- Q-people had awareness of how/why Jesus died, but it did not leave them 'empty' - Jesus remained present in his 'sayings' - 'Jesus rose into his own words' (Bultmann).

Closer look at Stage 3 - nature of the Gospels - Gospels not historical documents - rather to be seen as 'rememberings' of a community - Real Jesus is remembered but 'shaped' by experiences of those who do the remembering - Proven by the different ways of reporting important events (last supper) - Gospels are adaptations of the sources used ! - For example: ideas written by the students of John became the gospel of John - Gospels are a theological proclamation (kerygma) rather than a historical account - They are also a form of propaganda, a means of evangelization - Role of the myths in all this.

Jesus a fulfilled prophecy -

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Notes for Lecture ELEVEN

Oral communication - a further look - Some aspects - How people adapted to Jesus' message - Though Jewish, it was not completely 'in line' - Only the more simple statements were transmitted orally.

Q as oral tradition - it's importance - Scholars and the Q-question - Q a 'sayings Gospel' - Mack on Q and its importance - Q tells about the early followers of Jesus - How the 'sayings' were used by Mt and Lk.

Death and resurrection in Q and GoT -

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Notes for Lecture TEN - Exp. Part III - Exp. Part III

- Exp. Part III - Exp. Part III - Exp. Part III - Exp. Part III - Exp. Part III - Exp. Part III - Exp. Part III - Exp. Part III - Exp. Part III

What this segment will be about - An observation for newcomers.

Another source: Oral traditions - Horsley: Gospels were not 'read', but rather 'proclaimed', and 'listened to' (same for letters) - Happened also in Jesus' time - King's observation - Difference in interpretation in what was 'heard in the proclamation', f.ex Mt and Lk about 'Poor in spirit" - Gradually various elements of the oral tradition were 'frozen in writings' - Keep in mind: NT is the product of early Christian communities (oral tradition) - while church teachings are the product of the NT's interpretations of the oral tradition - This is the trail: From Jesus 'to' early Christian communities, 'to' NT writings, 'to' formation of doctrine - Therefore 4 stages: 1) Jesus and the disciples/followers, 2) oral tradition from the disciples to the communities, 3) from the communities to the NT writings, 4) from the NT writings to dogma formulation (3^rd & 4^th c.)

Closer look at stage 2 - oral tradition - Historical backdrop (Fredriksen) - Ruin of Temple reminded the Jews of Babylonian exile and destruction of 1^st Temple - also of Covenant in Sinai - and of Exile in Egypt - Funk's remarks about the oral tradition behind Mk's gospel - Jn and Paul used an oral tradition different from the one the synoptics used (Fred.) - Resurrection awareness vague in oral tradition.

Oral communication - a further look - Some aspects - How people adapted to Jesus' message - Though Jewish, it was not completely 'in line' - Only the more simple statements were transmitted orally.

Origin of Q -

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Notes for Lecture NINE

Note on books and 'book-making' - Gospels go back to 'manuscripts', t.i., text written by hand - Materials used: papyrus, parchment and paper - Papyrus from papyrus reed (Egypt) - Parchment made from animal skins, thus 'leather sheets' - Paper from much later date (9^th c.) though Chinese had paper in 1^st c.

Writing styles - a) scrolls, sheets of papyrus or leather glued together in a continuous rolled up strip - b) codex, sheets folded in half and fastened together - forerunner of our books - Scrolls were written on one side, codices on both sides.

Dating - earliest papyrus mss of NT dated to 2^nd c., latest to 8^th c. - Jewish literature always on scrolls - Transition from scroll to codices was finished by the 5^th c. - Christian mss always in codex form - Not sure why - Could be: to accommodate longer texts under one cover - Papyrus mss of NT most valuable - closest to 'autograph copies', written and signed by original author (none have survived) - Many 'variations' in mss in the course of time - Reasons for this 'fluidity': changing passages for stylistic or theological reasons - 'harmonizing' of texts - and: mistakes - Main reason for variations: early 1^st c. diversity in Judaism - Reflected in NT writings, coming from different backgrounds.

Jesus in the Gospels - A general observation: 'Critical Scholars agree now that 'the historical figure of Jesus' differs in several important aspects from the 'picture painted of him' in the four canonical stories' - 'What we have in the gospels are 'memories' of the gist of what Jesus said, and in some instances a fair representation of what he said' - Jesus as 'Lord' vs Caesar, as Lord, savior. Son of God, etc. -

Gospel, original meaning - Old-english 'good-spel' = good news, triumphal message - In NT gospel is 'good news as announced by Jesus', as f.ex. the kingdom of God is at hand - For Mk: Jesus is the 'good news' (gospel) - For Paul: the good news of what God has done in Jesus - 'gospel' in OT - Lk 4:18 Jesus reading in the synagogue of Nazareth - Controversial - Words about the value of the Gospels (Spong)

Composition of the gospel - first meeting of Q - Mk, Mt and Lk are called the 'synoptics', because in some way they look alike - They told the same story - All of Mk appears in Mt and Lk - Frequent identical texts show a common and written Greeks source was used - Also proven by the use of the same Greeks words to translate Aramaic sayings - Where the synoptic gospels differ, they often contradict each other - Authors did write independently from each other, using a common source (Mk)

Two Source theory - [see H Two-Source Theory] - 3 Synoptic gospels the oldest tradition - Mk is used as source for Mt and Lk - But Mt and Lk had also a second source, now known as Q (=Quelle=source) - Where/how was Q found in Mt and Lk? - Further explained - When Mk and Q are lifted out of Mt and Lk the 'remainder', proper to each, are now indicated by M & L - As: birth narratives, genealogies, etc

Other sources for gospels - Was Paul one? - Paul's letters were around for a while [see H 'Inventory'] - There are some signs that Paul's teachings were known as f.ex, in the Last Supper narratives.

Closer look at stage 2 - oral tradition -

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Notes for Lecture EIGHT

Sources for Jesus the Jew - First: early Christian testimonies, the 4 gospels - Their language - Translation and interpretation - Fluidity in the gospels explained.

[Inventory of Christian Writings - Handout 8]

Two Source theory -

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Notes for Lecture SEVEN

Teaching of the Pharisees - Name 'perishim' = the ones who are separated', to keep all the laws of ritual purity - For the Pharisees 'oral" Torah had the same sanction as the 'written' Torah - They were the teachers of the 'oral' Torah - They attempted to relocate the center of Jewish religious life from the Temple to the family - Their teaching became the foundation for Rabbinic Judaism after 70 - Pharisees and the occupying powers - 'Give to Caesar .... Give to God....' - Two schools in Pharisaism: Hillel and Shamai.

Halakhah - Guidelines as 'A way of doing things' (Neusner) - A burden or a blessing? - Real meaning of the directives - Jesus' halakhah - Later called 'The Way'.

Pharisees and Jesus - Gospels pictures Pharisees sometimes as the 'bad guys' - Rabbi Falk: Jesus was a Pharisee, belonging to the house of Hillel - Modern biblical scholarship has a more positive view of the Pharisees.

Jewish values - temple place where Yahweh lived, focal point of Jewish national life - Meaning the sacrificial ritual - Temple also of political importance - High-priest a political figure - land symbol of Yahweh's possession, given to Israel - Occupation an affront - The Land and the 'coming of the Kingdom of God' - torah , a covenant charter - Regulated the Temple rites and offered blessings for observing the covenant - Often the Torah became in the diaspora the permit Land, and the movable Temple - racial identity became important after the return from Exile - 'Holy seed' should be guarded - Remained in the 2^nd Temple period as vital a cultural and religious symbol as Temple, Land and Torah.

Judaism and Hellenism - The unifying culture of Hellenism was expedited by the single language (Greek) - There can be no artificial divider be placed between Hellenism and the Judaism of Jesus' time - Impact became stronger felt under the Syrian domination (Antiochus).

Judaism and the Roman empire - 63 ce Pompei conquered Jerusalem, start of the occupation of Palestine - Blessings - peace and Burdens - taxes and religious infiltration - Judaism remained a 'religio licita', a legally permitted religion - Jewish monotheism attractive to many Romans - Some Jewish practices repulsive.

Sources for Jesus the Jew - First: early Christian testimonies, the 4 gospels - Their language - Translation and interpretation - Fluidity in the gospels explained.

Note on books and 'book-making' -

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Notes for Lecture SIX

Isaiah and other prophets - In Jesus' days the Jews saw themselves as God's People - but what about the other nations? - Isaiah: Israel to be 'a light to the nations', to share the benefits of the restoration by Yahweh with the nations - Jesus connected with this theme - Other question: why was Israel still suffering? - Yahweh had not yet returned in glory to Jerusalem (NTW) - reason for expectation for the coming of the Kingdom of God - It would only happen if there was admittance of guilt of unfaithfulness to the covenant with Yahweh - Forgiveness and restoration go together - Meaning of the Passover Lamb and the Day of Atonement - A 'righteous person' to come as 'a ransom' (2^nd Is.) - Expectation in the Maccabees story and Qumran literature - Early Christian writings express this theme.

Different parties signs of diversity - Josephus talks about 4 different 'philosophies' in Palestinian Judaism - A look at the 4 'parties' - zealots evolved from the movement of revolt in the Maccabean time - Their fight was for the sovereignty of Yahweh - Because of their rebellion 2 factions divided the nation: 1) suspicion of the new dynasty (Hasmoneans) - 2) later opposition to the Herods - sadducees the priestly aristocracy, ruling upper class - Strongly hellenistic, but rigid conservative in Torah understanding - Did not accept the resurrection - essenes a group that withdrew from Jewish society because in that society they felt a life of holiness was not possible - Qumran - pharisees They were none before the Maccabean revolt - During the Hasmonean period 2 factions developed: a) secularization caused by Hellenism (Sadducees) and 2) Accommodation to 'whoever is in power' (Pharisees)

Halakhah - Guidelines as 'A way of doing things' (Neusner) - A burden or a blessing? - Real meaning of the directives - Jesus' halakhah - Later called 'The Way'.

Jewish values -

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Notes for Lecture FIVE

Jewishness of Jesus - What kind of a Jew? - Judaism is known mostly from the rabbis' writings after the fall of Jerusalem, when trying to 'unify' Judaism - Jesus was a Jew of a 'diversified' Judaism - As a Jew Jesus was different from a Jew of Jerusalem - And ... Jesus was unique.

Jewish beliefs and expectations - In beliefs divided, in expectation unified - Expectation an important element in Jesus' teaching - Expectation had to fo with 'end time' - Distinction: apocalyptic 'end time' expectation judges the future to be 'closed' - eschatological 'end time' expectation regards the future as open - Jewish eschatological expectation was looking forward to the final liberation from exile, but was never seen as a closed 'end of the world' end time.

Hebrew Scriptures - Jesus was formed by Hebrew Scriptures - They have their own history ( see Handout 6 'Formation of Hebrew scriptures, J E D P) - The historical development became the reason for the variety in Palestinian Jewish thinking - Still existed in Jesus' time - Two schools: Hillel and Samai, with different understanding of Scripture as 'a way of living Jewish life' - Torah as 'Law' - Meaning of Law as guidelines (vs commandments) for the correct way to live as Jews, as the people of God - Essence of Scripture was the focal point for Jesus - A devout Jew has the inner heart's desire to remain united with the God of Israel - see Jesus' "But I say to you" sayings - Jesus was not opposing or rejecting Torah, but constantly warned people against 'observation for observation's sake - Don't follow the letter of the Law, but be guided by the spirit of the Law.

More about diversity - Before Christianity split from Judaism (second half of 1^st c. + beginning 2^nd c.) there were conflicts stemming from the diversified world of Judaism - remember Christianity started as a Jewish sect - There were 2 major trends before Jesus' birth: a) desire for freedom (Zealots) - and b) dissatisfaction with the spiritual leadership (Pharisees and Sadducees) - There were also geographical factors: 1) the Temple as a symbol of distinctiveness for Judea, observation of Torah for Galilee and the diaspora - This led to 'Temple purity' vs 'purity of everyday living' - 2) the socio-economic differences between rich and poor - The desire 'to be free' had as basis the deep-rooted desire for the Kingdom of God - Started after the Exodus and was re-enforced by the Maccabean victory and the re-dedication of the Temple - Jesus was afflicted by this deep motivation, therefore his Kingdom of God message.

Book of Daniel - First part is from the time of the Exile in Babylon, the last section (ch 7-12) from the Maccabean time, pointing to the abusive tactics of Archelaus - The Son of Man figure - The writer of Daniel sees the end of that period coming which happens with the revolt of the Maccabees - Book of Daniel pictures an ideal community on earth which found reflection in Jesus' Kingdom message.

Different parties signs of diversity -

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Notes for Lecture FOUR

Antiochus IV - Changed made by him in Judea (Jerusalem) - Cult of Zeus in the Temple - The 'reaction': the Macchabees - Their 'freedom fight' - In 166 a decisive victory - Re-dedication of the Temple (Hanukkah) - Israel a free state for 88 yrs - Expectations in Jesus' time because of these happenings.

The Hasmoneans - (Macchabee family) - First excellent 'revolutionaries, later disappointed leaders - 'Expansion' under the Hasmoneans: Idumea, Samaria, Galilee, a special story.

End of the Judean State - How it ended: Appeal to Rome - Herod appointed king over the Roman province of Israel.

The Herods - Herod the Great (40-4 bce) - Idumean - Roman connection - His death in 4 bce - Dividing of the kingdom: Philip northern section - Antipas got Galilee - Archelaus got Judea.

Impact of the Herods on the Jews - Causing frustration and tensions -Taxation - Reaction in 67: Revolt, ended in 70 with the destruction by the Romans of the Temple and Jerusalem - In 132 another revolt as a suicidal attempt - crushed and ended Judaism in Israel - Rabbis gather in Jamnia - Start of Rabbinic Judaism

The Romans - Rome's presence was oppressive for Galilee - The extent of the empire - its global economy (oikumene) - Herod turned the 'relatively insignificant backwater of the Roman empire' into a 'gateway to the Middle East' - Harbor and shipping - Overland traffic (Handout 4 'White - Romans') - No legions stationed in Galilee, but occupation was oppressive - Herod, as a King, was an employee of Rome and added to the pressure with his own tax-system - Jesus executed by the Romans - The understanding of Jesus' message should always have in mind these powers-in-the-background - Galilee with the rest of the country had to provide 'bread' for Rome and the legions.

Jewish beliefs and expectations -

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Notes for Lecture THREE

Words of advice Handout 2 'quotes - de Mello about 'listening' - Frost and 'the road less traveled' - If you really want to know all about Jesus, you have a choice to make - 'To live is to change, and .. to be alive is to have changed often' (Newman) - For those want to be 'safe' Tacitus has an advice: 'The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise' - A personal note.

Yeshua - Jesus the Jew - First placing Jesus in historical context - Charlesworth and Vermes remarks - Chronology of Jewish history (Handout 3) - Look at some highlights - Palestine under the Seleucids (map)

Antiochus IV - Changed made by him in Judea (Jerusalem) - Impact in Galilee - The 'reaction': the Macchabees - Their 'freedom fight' - In 166 a decisive victory - Re-dedication of the Temple (Hanukkah) - Israel a free state for 88 yrs - Expectations in Jesus' time because of these happenings.

The Hasmoneans - (Macchabee family) - First excellent 'revolutionaries, later disappointed leaders - 'Expansion' under the Hasmoneans: Idumea, Samaria, Galilee, a special story.

End of the Judean State - How it ended: Appeal to Rome - Herod appointed king over the Roman province of Israel.

The Herods - Herod the Great (40-4 bce) - Idumean - Roman connection - His death in 4 bce - Dividing of the kingdom: Philip northern section - Antipas got Galilee - Archelaus got Judea.

The Romans -

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Notes for Lecture TWO

The exercise

What comes to your mind when I say "Jesus"

1) 2)

Teacher Cross

Rabbi Son of God

Father Father Redeemer

Healer Savior Christ

Man Love Judge

Jew Resurrection

A word about 'Savior' and 'Redemption' - Also a quote from Martin Buber

How to read the (Bible) Book - Walter Wink's thoughts (see Handout 1 in my website www.rootseeker.org )

Questions -

Tradition - Cannot simply be preservation, repetition of the past - It should point beyond itself - Must have the capacity to develop, to be open for criticism - Tradition should be alive.

Watch for pre-conceptions - You cannot understand Jesus from where you are - Objection might be made: 'This is not what my religion teaches me' - Or questions might be asked that are inopportune or not appropriate - Have an open mind that will enable to catch the details of the 'origins', that you missed before - Let the historical chips fall where they may!

Surprises - and un-expected details will come up - Like in archeology, the historical 'digging' delivers unexpected findings - To learn one sometimes have to be willing to un-learn - 'Timidity is not a virtue in pursuing the truth' - Some more words from the 'wise'.

Belief - It will never be my desire or the purpose of this course to change anyone’s beliefs. The subject of the Course is not 'certain beliefs', or 'the religion of a person', but it is about 'the person of Jesus and his teaching' and in the way these are a source for ethical Christian, and yes, all human living.

My parallel experience . . . - Keep in mind the distinction between 'belonging to a religion and believing in God' & 'Getting to know God' - Newman: 'Faith that is ready to believe what it is told, is faith of no substance'.

Words of advice - de Mello about 'listening' - Frost and 'the road less traveled'.

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Notes Lecture ONE

Introduction - For whom is this course? - unbelievers, doubters , searchers.

Course's background - Some personal data - How Jesus and his message became the center of my study-life - The great question: Where is the origin of Christianity to be found? - Obstacles to finding the answer: a. ignorance, b. misconceptions about the person of Jesus, or of the Bible, c. mis-informations - Two images of Jesus: 1) the Christ of the gospels, creed and theology, 2) the historical Jesus, the Jew.

Traditional knowledge / belief - An exercise - When it comes to the person of Jesus, we constantly have to ask ourselves: Can it be proven as historical? - or: Is it a belief-item? - What I offer wants to be a 'revelation', not from God, but a revelation of new ideas and insights, strong enough to make a positive change in people - How Geza Vermes did it in his "Jesus the Jew".

How to read the (Bible) Book - Walter Wink's thoughts (see Handout 1 in my website www.rootseeker.org

Questions -

Tradition - Cannot simply be preservation, repetition of the past - It should point beyond itself - Must have the capacity to develop, to be open for criticism - Tradition should be alive.

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Notes for Lecture NINE