35Ibid., p. 190. (The emphasis is Crossan’s.)
36Ibid.
37I am not agreeing with his suggestion here. I simply think that, at this point, whether or not his socio-political theme is crucial to our central thesis is moot.
38Crossan, The Historical Jesus, p. 397.
39Joachim Jeremias, “Easter: The Earliest Tradition and the Earliest Interpretation,” pp. 306-307; Reginald H. Fuller, The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives (New York: Macmillan, 1971), pp. 34-42; C.H. Dodd, “The Appearances of the Risen Christ: An Essay in Form-Criticism of the Gospels,” More New Testament Studies (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968), pp. 125-126; Rudolf Bultmann, Theology, vol. I, p. 45. Bultmann also sees a probable parallel to 1 Cor. 15:5 and Luke 24:34 in Luke 22:31f.
40Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, p. 190; cf. pp. 169-170.
41Jeremias, “Easter: The Earliest Tradition and the Earliest Interpretation,” p. 306. (The emphasis is Jeremias’.)
42Fuller, Resurrection Narratives, pp. 27-49.
43Ibid., p. 37.
44Of chief interest are Acts 2:14-39; 3:12-26; 4:8-12; 5:17-40; 10:34-43; 13:16-41. See Dodd, “Appearances,” pp. 124, 131; C.H. Dodd, The Apostolic Preaching and its Developments, pp. 17-31 and chart after p. 96.
45Crossan, The Historical Jesus, p. 397; Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, pp. 165-166, 190.
46Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, p. 190.
47For an example of such arguments, see the excellent treatment by William Lane Craig, Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus.
48Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, p. 190.
49Ibid., p. 169.
50On the absence of evidence for such phenomena, see Gary R. Habermas, “Resurrection Claims in Non-Christian Religions,” Religious Studies, vol. 25 (1989), pp. 167-177.
51Borg, Jesus, p. 184.
52Ibid., p. 185.
53Marcus J. Borg, “Thinking about Easter,” Bible Review, vol. X, Number 2 (April 1994), pp. 15, 49.
54For details on what is nonetheless of fundamental importance, see Robert H. Gundry, Soma in Biblical Theology: With Emphasis on Pauline Anthropology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987), especially chapter 13; Craig, chapter 4; Norman L. Geisler, The Battle for the Resurrection (Nashville: Nelson, 1989), especially chapters 7–8; Gary R. Habermas and J.P. Moreland, Immortality (Nashville: Nelson, 1992), chapter 9.
55These affirmations are found in Borg, Jesus, pp. 184-185 and Borg, “Thinking about Easter,” pp. 15, 49.
56Just some of the roadblocks to explaining Jesus’ appearances as hallucinations (or as otherwise subjective incidents) include the private nature of such psychological phenomena, thereby precluding group citings such as the three reported by Paul in 1 Cor. 15:5-7, the negative mental states of the recipients, the variety of persons, times, and places involved, the extent of the disciples’ transformations, the empty tomb, James’ conversion, and Paul’s experience on the way to Damascus.
57Chilton, “Exorcism,” p. 263; Borg, Jesus, pp. 66-67, 70-71.
58Crossan and Borg are not the only members of the Jesus Seminar who have published important works on the resurrection of Jesus. For two such older examples that may be interpreted as providing even more grounds for the conclusions we have reached here, see James M. Robinson, “Jesus from Easter to Valentinus (or to the Apostles’ Creed),” Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 101; No. 1 (1982), pp. 5-37; John Kloppenborg, “An Analysis of the Pre-Pauline Formula 1 Cor 15:3b-5 in Light of Some Recent Literature,” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, vol. 40 (1978), pp. 351-367.
59Several detailed critiques of the Jesus Seminar and related views have appeared in recent years. The interested reader might consult the following: Gregory A. Boyd, Cynic Sage or Son of God? Recovering the Real Jesus in an Age of Revisionist Replies (Wheaton: Victor, 1995); Wilkins and Moreland, eds., Jesus Under Fire; Ben Witherington III, The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1995); N.T. Wright, Who was Jesus? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992).
Part Two
Historical Data for the Life of Jesus
7Primary Sources: Creeds and Facts
What facts did the earliest Christians report concerning Jesus in the initial years after his crucifixion? Of what did the earliest Christology consist before the composition of the New Testament? Is it possible to get back to eyewitness testimony and to historical facts with regard to Jesus? These are fascinating and very important questions, and one of the chief efforts of contemporary scholarship has been to address these issues. Such is also a major concern in this book.
In this chapter we will endeavor to investigate an area which many feel is the most promising means of describing the nature of Christian thought before the writing of the New Testament. This general subject concerns the existence of early Christian creeds which were first repeated verbally and later written in the books of the New Testament. Thus, in one sense, this material is not extrabiblical since we rely on the scriptural material for the creeds. At the same time, this data was formulated before the New Testament books, in which the creeds appear, were actually written. In short, these creeds were communicated verbally years before they were written and hence they preserve some of the earliest reports concerning Jesus from about AD 30–50. Therefore, in a real sense, the creeds preserve pre-New Testament material, and are our earliest sources for the life of Jesus.
This chapter also includes a listing of facts which are admitted by virtually all critical scholars who study this subject. In other words, critical theologians, historians and philosophers who have studied the New Testament have ascertained a number of facts from the life of Jesus by the critical examination of the biblical sources. The procedure in this chapter is first to examine some Christological creeds with regard to the information they relate concerning the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This last subject will be the special concern in the second section of this chapter, as we investigate 1 Corinthians 15:3ff., which is perhaps the most important creed in the New Testament (at least for our purposes). This is followed by the presentation of the critically accepted facts, as mentioned above. Lastly, an examination of this data will follow.
Christological Creeds
In the early church there were multiple creedal formulas which corresponded to various circumstances in the Christian faith. The most common of these confessions were purely Christological in nature.1 The two most common elements in these creeds concerned the death and resurrection of Jesus and his resulting deity.2 Thus we note the major interest in the life and person of Jesus Christ.
The Life of Jesus Christ
The earliest Christians were confident that “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh,” as proclaimed in the confession found in 1 John 4:2.3 Seldom was belief in Jesus’ incarnation expressed more clearly than in the “pre-Pauline hymn” of Philippians 2:6ff.,4 which speaks of both Jesus’ human and divine natures. His humble life on earth is clearly contrasted with his heavenly position “in the form of God” and his later exaltation and worship.