Deck 21: The Historical Jesus

Question 1

1. Discuss the reasons why it is difficult for scholars to construct a picture of the historical Jesus.

Answer 1

We have no eyewitness accounts of Jesus' life or ministry. The earliest extant Gospels date thirty-five to sixty-five years after Jesus' death, and the traditions they contain were passed on orally during those years and were likely changed or even wholly fabricated. The Gospels contradict one another on some points and all have different emphases. Pagan and Jewish sources are even later and yield little information about the historical Jesus. Paul, the earliest Christian writer we know of, seems uninterested in traditions of Jesus, choosing to focus instead on Jesus' death and resurrection. The literary sources available to scholars, then, are difficult to use to establish a picture of the historical Jesus.

Question 2

2. Discuss the non-Christian sources for the historical Jesus that date within one hundred years of his death. How helpful are these sources? What information do they give us?

Answer 2

There are only three pagan sources that date within one hundred years of Jesus' death: Pliny, Suetonius, and Tacitus. Pliny and Suetonius give some information about Christians and early Christian practice but offer no information about Jesus himself. Tacitus, on the other hand, does corroborate information found in the New Testament about Jesus' death (Jesus was executed at the hands of Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius). Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, mentions Jesus twice in his Antiquities of the Jews. In one instance, Josephus says that Jesus had a brother named James who was executed under the rule of Ananus the high priest. Josephus' other reference to Jesus is problematic. In this passage, Josephus confesses that Jesus was the messiah. Since Josephus never converted, scholars believe Christian scribes embellished this passage. Scholars suggest, however, that the passage does contain some information from Josephus himself: Jesus had a following of Jews and Gentiles, and he was condemned by Pilate because of the accusations of the Jewish leaders and was crucified.

Question 3

3. What are the problems with using the New Testament Gospels to reconstruct the historical Jesus? Can we overcome these problems? How?

Answer 3

The New Testament Gospels present several problems to the scholar wishing to reconstruct the historical Jesus. The Gospels were not written by eyewitnesses but are the products of thirty-five to sixty-five years of oral traditions. During the years between Jesus' death and the Gospels, stories of Jesus were told for conversion purposes and likely changed to fit particular circumstances; some stories may have been fabricated wholesale. The modification of stories did not end when they were written down: the Gospel writers continued to change stories to further their own theological agendas. To sort through the layers of accumulated tradition, scholars have devised a set of criteria by which to judge the authenticity of stories about Jesus: the criterion of independent attestation, the criterion of dissimilarity, and the criterion of contextual credibility

Question 4

6. The textbook interprets three elements of Jesus' life in light of Jesus' apocalyptic views: (i) his apocalyptic deeds, (ii) his apocalyptic teachings, and (iii) his apocalyptic death. Pick one of these parts of Jesus' life and explain, as specifically as you can, how it might demonstrate Jesus' apocalyptic message.

Question 5

1. The Gospel of John was written by Jesus' disciple John.

Question 6

2. The Gospel of John is the final Synoptic Gospel.

Question 7

3. Most scholars believe John used Mark, Q, and the signs source.

Question 8

4. The Gospel of John includes different portrayals of Jesus-sometimes highly elevated, sometimes much more human.

Question 9

5. The New Testament Gospels do not narrate the resurrection.

Question 10

6. The Gospel of Thomas was written before the Gospel of Mark.

Question 11

7. The Gospel of Peter features a walking and talking cross.

Question 12

8. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is a sayings gospel.

Question 13

9. The Gospel of John used several earlier sources.

Question 14

10. The Gospel of John emphasizes Jesus' suffering in its passion narrative.

Question 15

1) What happened to the stories circulating about Jesus between the time of his execution and the first written record?

A) They were told over and over, spreading far and wide.
B) They died out because with the advent of Jesus' death, people believed that he couldn't have been the Son of God.
C) They became more and more exaggerated until the Gospel writers had to start all over in investigating what really happened.
D) They were dismissed.

Question 16

2) How did pagan literature of the first century refer to the events surrounding Jesus?

A) as miraculous
B) There were numerous references; however, they always depicted Jesus as a lunatic or fanatic.
C) There weren't any references made to him.
D) as another Jewish apocalypticist

Question 17

3) Identify one discrepancy in the Gospel accounts about Jesus' last meal.

A) The account in Mark has it taking place in a palace, while John's takes place in a humble house.
B) The account in Matthew has it taking place in a stable, while Luke's takes place in a field.
C) The account in Matthew has it occurring on Saturday morning, while Luke's takes place on Friday evening.
D) The account in Mark describes it as a Passover meal, while John's does not.

Question 18

4) Identify one discrepancy in the Gospel accounts of Jesus' crucifixion.

A) The account in Luke has it occurring at midnight, while Matthew's takes place at 10:00 A.M.
B) The account in Mark has it occurring at 9:00 A.M., while John's takes place after noon.
C) The account in Mark details Jesus' spirit leaving his body before the crucifixion, while John's details his suffering on the cross.
D) The account in Mark describes Jesus' position on the cross as being upside-down, while in John's it is right-side up.

Question 19

5) Identify one discrepancy in the Gospel accounts about Jesus' Last Supper.

A) The account in Mark states that it occurs as the Passover meal, while John's account states that Jesus' Last Supper occurred the night before Passover.
B) The account in Mark states that the disciples were several hours late arranging the Last Supper along with the Passover meal, while John's states that they were on time.
C) The account in Luke has Jesus drinking grape juice, while in John's account, it is wine.
D) Mark's account shows Jesus fasting that evening, while John's account details all the various foods and drinks of which everyone was partaking.

Question 20

6) How many first-century pagan authors mention Jesus?

A) none
B) one
C) two
D) three

Question 21

8) In how many passages is Jesus mentioned in The Antiquities of the Jews?

A) none
B) one
C) two
D) three

Question 22

9) The Apostle Paul says all of the following about Jesus except that he

A) was born a Jew.
B) had brothers.
C) raised Lazarus from the dead.
D) had twelve disciples.

Question 23

10) Most scholars think the first New Testament Gospel was written about ____________ years after Jesus' death.

A) five
B) fifteen
C) twenty-five
D) thirty-five

Question 24

11) All of the following are problems with using the Gospels to establish the historical Jesus except

A) they were written decades after Jesus' death.
B) the authors were not eyewitnesses.
C) none of the sayings go back to Jesus.
D) the books were written anonymously.

Question 25

12) Scholars use all of the following criteria to determine the historical reliability of a tradition except

A) earlier accounts are likely to be more reliable.
B) highly developed theology is likely to reflect later traditions.
C) author's biases must be considered.
D) the more popular books are likely reliable.

Question 26

14) All of the following can be used to show independent attestation of a tradition except

A) Mark.
B) Luke.
C) Q.
D) signs source.

Question 27

16) Which of the following criteria is the only one that can be used to rule a tradition as inauthentic?

A) independent attestation
B) dissimilarity
C) similarity
D) contextual credibility

Question 28

17) Jesus' baptism by John does not met the criterion of

A) independent attestation.
B) dissimilarity.
C) contextual credibility.
D) all of the above

Question 29

19) Which of the following historians mentions Jesus in a story about the Jewish high priest Ananus, who abuses his power before Rome in 62 C.E. by unlawfully putting James (Jesus' brother) to death?

A) Pliny the Younger
B) Tacitus
C) Josephus
D) Ialdabaoth

Question 30

20) How much information do we have about the historical Jesus from sources outside the four Gospels of the New Testament?

A) many pagan sources of information, but no Jewish sources
B) copious amounts in noncanonical Christian, pagan, and Jewish literature
C) many Jewish and noncanonical Christian sources, but no pagan sources
D) very little from any other source

Question 31

21) Consistent testimony of many independent witnesses ____________ the case.

A) strengthens
B) weakens
C) does not affect
D) indicates bias in