The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (40 page)

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. From where is this quote taken (name of work)? “On the eve of Passover they hanged Jesus the Nazarene.”
   
2. From where is this quote taken? “Therefore, to squelch the rumor, Nero created scapegoats and subjected to the most refined tortures those whom the common people called ‘Christians.’”
   
3. From where is this quote taken, and what is the special name assigned to this quote? “At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous.”
   
4. What are three contemporary portrayals of Jesus that prefer extrabiblical sources over the canonical Gospels?
   
5. According to the authors, what are the dates for Jesus' birth and death, and what, according to the authors, is a critical datum for dating Jesus' death?
   
6. What is a critical datum for dating Jesus' birth?
   
7. What is a simple definition of the “Criterion of Multiple Attestation”?
   
8. What is a simple definition of the “Criterion of Dissimilarity”?
   
9. Where do critical scholars assign the burden of proof regarding the authenticity of Jesus material in the Gospels?
   
10. What are the two major possibilities regarding the relationship between the Gospels?
    
11. In what order were the Gospels written according to the Augustinian hypothesis?
    
12. In what order were the Gospels written according to the two-Gospel hypothesis?
    
13. In what order were the Gospels written according to the Markan priority view?
    
14. What is the two-document hypothesis? the four-document hypothesis?
    
15. What is Q?
    

FOR FURTHER STUDY

Jesus

Bock, D. L.
Jesus According to Scripture: Restoring the Portrait from the Gospels
. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2002.

__________.
Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods
. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002.

Bock, D. L., and G. J. Herrick, eds.
Jesus in Context: Background Readings for Gospel Study
. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005.

Bowman, R., J. E. Komoszewski, and R. M. Bowman Jr.
Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ
. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2007.

Boyd, G. A., and P. R. Eddy.
Lord or Legend? Wrestling with the Jesus Dilemma
. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007.

Brown, C. “Historical Jesus, Quest of.” Pages 326–41 in
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
. Edited by J. B. Green, S. McKnight, and I. H. Marshall. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1992.

Dunn, J. D. G.
Jesus Remembered
. Christianity in the Making 1. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.

Dunn, J. D. G., and S. McKnight, eds.
The Historical Jesus in Recent Research
. Sources for Biblical and Theological Study. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2005.

Eddy, P. R., and G. A. Boyd.
The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Tradition
. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007.

Evans, C. A.
Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels
. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2006.

________. “Jesus in Non-Christian Sources.” Pages 364–68 in
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
. Edited by J. B. Green, S. McKnight, and I. H. Marshall. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1992.

France, R. T.
Jesus and the Old Testament
. London: Tyndale, 1971.

Harris, M. H.
Jesus as God: The New Testament Use of
Theos
in Reference to Jesus
. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.

Hoehner, H. W.
Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ
. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977.

________ . “Chronology.” Pages 118–22 in
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
. Edited by J. B. Green, S. McKnight, and I. H. Marshall. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1992.

Köstenberger, M. E.
Jesus and the Feminists: Who Do They Say That He Is?
Wheaton: Crossway, 2008.

Levine, A.-J., D. C. Allison Jr., and J. D. Crossan, eds.
The Historical Jesus in Context
. Princeton Readings in Religions. Princeton: University Press, 2006.

Meier, J. P.
A Marginal Jew
. 3 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1991, 1994, 2001.

Piper, J.
What Jesus Demands from the World
. Wheaton: Crossway, 2006.

Powell, M. A.
Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee
. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1998.

Riesner, R.
Jesus als Lehrer
. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 7. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1988.

Schlatter, A.
Do We Know Jesus?
Translated by A. J. Köstenberger and R. W. Yarbrough. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2005 [1938].

Schweitzer, A.
The Quest of the Historical Jesus
. Translated by J. Bowden. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001 [1910].

Stein, R. H.
The Method and Message of Jesus' Teachings
. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1978.

Van Voorst, R. E.
Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence
. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.

Wilkins, M. J., and J. P. Moreland, eds.
Jesus Under Fire
. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.

Witherington, B., III.
The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth
. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1995.

Wright, N. T.
Jesus and the Victory of God
. Christian Origins and the Question of God 2. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996.

__________ .
The Resurrection of the Son of God
. Christian Origins and the Question of God 3. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003.

The Gospels

Bauckham, R.
Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony
. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006.

Bauckham, R., ed.
The Gospels for All Christians: Rethinking the Gospel Audiences
. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.

Black, D. A.
Why Four Gospels? The Historical Origins of the Gospels
. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2001.

Black, D. A., and D. R. Beck, eds.
Rethinking the Synoptic Problem
. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.

Blomberg, C. L.
The Historical Reliability of the Gospels
. 2d ed. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2007.

Burridge, R. A.
What Are the Gospels? A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography
. 2d ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004.

Carlson, S. C.
The Gospel Hoax: Morton Smith's Invention of Secret Mark
. Waco: Baylor Univ. Press, 2005.

Dungan, D. L.
A History of the Synoptic Problem: The Canon, the Text, the Composition, and the Interpretation of the Gospels
. Anchor Bible. New York: Doubleday, 1999.

France, R. T. “The Authenticity of the Sayings of Jesus.” Pages 101–41 in
History, Criticism, and Faith
. Edited by Colin Brown. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1976.

France, R. T., D. Wenham, and C. Blomberg, eds
. Gospel Perspectives
. 6 vols. Sheffield: JSOT, 1980–1986.

Goodacre, M.
The Case Against Q: Studies in Markan Priority and the Synoptic Problem
. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2002.

Green, J. B.
How to Read the Gospels and Acts
. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1987.

Green, J. B., S. McKnight, and I. H. Marshall, eds.
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity, 1992.

Head, P. M.
Christology and the Synoptic Problem: An Argument for Markan Priority
. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph 94. Cambridge: University Press, 1997.

Hengel, M.
The Four Gospels and the One Gospel of Jesus Christ
. Harrisburg: Trinity Press, 2000.

__________.
Studies in the Gospel of Mark
. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985.

Linnemann, E.
Is There a Synoptic Problem? Rethinking the Literary Dependence of the First Three Gospels
. Translated by R. W. Yarbrough. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.

McKnight, S.
Interpreting the Synoptic Gospels
. Guides to New Testament Exegesis 2. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988.

Porter , S. E., ed.
Reading the Gospels Today
. McMaster New Testament Studies. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004.

Roberts, M. D.
Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
. Wheaton: Crossway, 2007.

Stein, R. H. “Synoptic Problem.” Pages 784–92 in
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
. Edited by J. B. Green, S. McKnight, and I. H. Marshall. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1992.

___________.
The Synoptic Problem: An Introduction
. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987.

___________.
Studying the Synoptic Gospels: Origin and Interpretation
. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.

Streeter, B. H.
The Four Gospels: A Study of Origins, Treating of the Manuscript Tradition, Sources, Authorship and Dates
. London: Macmillan, 1924.

Stuhlmacher, P., ed.
The Gospel and the Gospels
. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.

Talbert, C. H.
What Is a Gospel? The Genre of the Canonical Gospels
. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977.

Wenham, J.
Redating Matthew, Mark, and Luke: A Fresh Assault on the Synoptic Problem
. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1992.

Williams, M. C.
Two Gospels from One: A Comprehensive Text-Critical Analysis of the Synoptic Gospels
. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2006.

¹
“Apostolic Fathers” is a technical label for the following writings:
1 and 2 Clement
;
The Letters of Ignatius
;
The Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians
;
The Martyrdom of Polycarp
;
The Didache
;
The Epistle of Barnabas
;
The Shepherd of Hermas
;
The Epistle to Diognetus
; the
Fragment of Quadratus
; and
Fragments of Papias
. See M. W. Holmes,
The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations
, 3d ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007), especially pp. 5–6. Beyond this, other writings of early church fathers are gathered in various other collections.

²
For a book-length treatment, see R. E. Van Voorst,
Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000); see also E. M. Yamauchi, “Jesus Outside the New Testament: What Is the Evidence?” in
Jesus Under Fire
, ed. M. J. Wilkins and J. P. Moreland (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 207–29.

³
G. E. Sterling, “Philo,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, ed. C. A. Evans and S. E. Porter (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000), 789–93.

⁴
See M. O. Wise, “Dead Sea Scrolls,” in
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
, ed. J. B. Green, S. McKnight, and I. H. Marshall (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1992), 137–46, especially p. 141.

⁵
Our translation.

⁶
The participle
legomenou
(“who was called”) could be pejorative and mean “so-called.” Some interpreters take the usage here in this sense and appeal to this as evidence that the statement goes back to Josephus. See D. L. Bock,
Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 54. However, an exhaustive examination of the use of this construction in Josephus's writings suggests that it was not used in a disparaging manner (see
Ant.
1.4.3 §§118–19; 8.5.3 §145; 12.10.5 §412; and
Apion
1.18 §118). The construction is likely authentic because it reflects Josephus's characteristic grammar and style.

⁷
J. P. Meier,
A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus
, 3 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1991), 1:57–58.

⁸
Our translation.

⁹
Commentarium series in evangelium Matthaei
10.50.17;
Against Celsus
1.47.

¹⁰
For a good introduction to the issues surrounding the
Testimonium Flavianum
, see C. A. Evans, “Jesus in Non-Christian Sources,” in
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
, 364–65.

¹¹
Meier noted that prominent scholars who affirm an authentic substratum plus some Christian interpolations include Jewish scholars L. Feldman and P. Winter; mainline Protestants such as J. H. Charlesworth; Catholic scholars such as C. M. Martini, W. Trilling, and A.-M. Dubarle; and liberal scholars such as S. G. F. Brandon and M. Smith. L. H. Feldman, “Flavius Josephus Revisited: The Man, His Writings, and His Significance,” in
Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt
, ed. W. Haase and H. Temporini (New York: de Gruyter, 1984), II/21.2, 822, stated: “The great majority of modern scholars have regarded it as partly interpolated, and this is my conclusion as well.”

¹²
Even the references to Jesus in the Slavonic version of
Jewish War
appear after 2.9.1. For a discussion of the Slavonic version, see Evans, “Jesus in Non-Christian Sources,” 364–65.

¹³
S. Pines,
An Arabic Version of the Testimonium Flavianum and Its Implications
(Jerusalem: Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1971), 16.

¹⁴
For example, the construction translated “about that time” appears five times in Josephus's writings. He used the adjective “wonderful/incredible” 39 times. Other features of the text are unparalleled in Josephus, such as his description of the prophets as “divine.” These and other vocabulary statistics are helpful in reconstructing Josephus's original statement and identifying the later Christian interpolations. See especially Meier,
Marginal Jew
, 1:80–83.

¹⁵
Ibid., 1:64–66.

¹⁶
Ibid., 1:68.

¹⁷
An excellent summary of the rabbinic material with quotations of key texts appears in C. A. Evans, “Jesus in Non-Christian Sources,” 366–67.

¹⁸
b. Sanh
. 106a. See also
b. Shab
. 104b;
b. Sanh
. 43a;
m. Yeb
. 4:13;
b. Yeb
. 49a.