THE GOSPEL OF JESUS

A TRUE STORY

By Ben Witherington, III

INCOGNITO

He came in incognito,
A thinly veiled disguise
The not so subtle son of man,
A human with God’s eyes.
The messianic secret,
Left many unawares
A God had walked upon the earth
And shared our human cares.
We did not see his glory,
At least not at first glimpse,
It took an Easter wake up call,
Before it all made sense.
The truth of Incarnation,
Of dwelling within flesh,
Shows goodness in creation,
And Word of God made fresh.
Standing on the boundary
Twixt earth and heaven above
A Jew who hailed from Nazareth
But came from God’s great love.
Born of humble parents,
Installed inside a stall
This king required no entourage
No pomp or falderal
No person was beneath him
No angel o’er his head,
He came to serve the human race
To raise it from the dead.
His death a great conundrum,
How can the Deathless die?
But if he had not bowed his head,
Life would have passed us by.
Though we are dying to be loved,
And long for endless life,
He was dying in his love,
And thereby ending strife.
Perhaps the incognito
Belongs instead to us,
Who play at being human,
And fail to be gold dust.
But there was once a God-man
Who played the human’s part
And lived and died and rose again
Made sin and death depart.
Yet now through a glass dimly,
We see the visage royal
And feebly honor his great worth
And his atoning toil.
We cannot see his Spirit,
But moved by its effects
We are inspired to praise his worth
And pay our last respects.
Yet that too brings him glory
That too makes a start,
The journey of a million miles
Begins within one’s heart.
And someday we shall see him
And fully praise his grace,
Someday when heaven and earth collide
And we see face to face.
He comes in blinding brilliance,
A not so veiled disguise
The not so subtle Son of God,
A God with human eyes.

—————

A NOTE TO THE READER

Before there ever were four written Gospels, there was the single oral telling of the Good News. The world of Jesus was an oral culture. Paul for example uses the phrase Word of God (singular) in 1 Thess. 2.13 to refer to this oral proclamation of this singular story of Jesus that changed their lives— one story, not two, four or ten. So what did the story of Jesus look like before there ever were Gospels written in the last third of the first century A.D.? This little book attempts to give you a sense of that. But you may be asking— why do we need such a ‘harmony of the Gospels’? There are several good reasons that come immediately to mind.

Firstly, it is high time we did a better job of looking at things from a first century Christian perspective, not a fourth century one when the canon of the New Testament was settled. Evangelical and other orthodox Christians say they want to be more like the earliest Christians— well its time to live into that in the 21rst century especially when it comes to Jesus. The original story that went out from Jerusalem did not come pre-packaged as four artful and different Gospels like we have in the canon. That was a development of the later first century A.D. And when the Gospels were finally written, at least two of them were not written by eyewitnesses! I do not say this to critique our Gospels. I love the fact that we have four versions of Jesus’ story. Jesus is a man who fits no one portrait— he is too big and complex a historical figure. I simply say it to point out that there was a singular history and a single story telling before there were written Gospels–what did it look like? Hopefully this little book gives us a glimpse.

Thirdly, we live in the age of atomization and sound bytes— and it happens to the Good News almost every Sunday– we can’t see the forest for focusing on the individual very interesting trees. And when you look in detail at particular Gospel passages what you discover is a very telegraphic bare bones treatment of Jesus’ words and deeds. Doubtless this was originally in part because of the need to confine the whole story to one papyrus roll, but even in the case of Luke’s Gospel which is the longest and could just barely be squeezed onto one papyrus roll, we are still left wanting more— more description, more context, more background. What would a more circumstantial chronicling of Jesus’ life with more historical detail and comment have looked like? This little book seeks to begin to answer that question a bit. I don’t think there should be any tension over this— we need to see the grand sweep of the unified story, and we need the four portraits approach as well. Just now, it is the former that is neglected again and again in a church which preaches single words, or salient ideas or tiny passages, and uses lectionaries etc. There is a need for an overview like this to put the various Gospel pieces together, not to supplant the four portraits of the Gospels but to supplement them and build upon them. What is especially needed is some showing of how the Synoptic Gospel portraits and that of John’s Gospel fit together.

Imagine for a moment if Jesus were to come back and tell his own story— wouldn’t we want to hear that just as much as we love to hear the later tellings by the Evangelists? Who wouldn’t pay good money to have been in on that Emmaus road Bible study led by Jesus where he went through the OT and showed where it referred to him? My point is simple— a good critical probing and blending of the story is as close as we can get to ‘what actually happened back there’ as a single storyline. Why wouldn’t we want to try to do that as a faith venture, not to supplant the four Gospels, but to supplement, to enhance our understanding of the history behind the four stories?

Armed with these reasons and rationales, what I have attempted to do here might be called Ben’s Diatesseron, four Gospels in one, like the effort of Tatian the early Church Father. I have stuck as closely as I could to a verbatim of the four Gospels, not trying to present a ‘critical’ edition of the story, with things omitted because of historical doubts. No, this was an exercise in seeing if one could make sense of the stories as they are, if one combined them all together.

Thus what you have here is 70% verbatim of the English texts of these Gospels, doing my own translation while looking at the NIV and other versions to check myself as I go, with some deletions of duplications and unnecessary bits and pieces.

Then too, I have chosen not to include the birth narratives, except by way of flash back, and in this regard I am following the example of Mark’s work, our earliest Gospel. Of the 30% I have added some of it is interpretive, some explanatory, some is connective tissue, and one can most often see my hand in the way I have tried to combine some of the brief stories, vignettes, and sayings in ways that make sense and go naturally or logically together. Sometimes this involves a sort of topical arranging of things, sometimes a geographical sorting of the material.

Let me emphasize once more that no one should conclude from this that I think it is problematic that we have four canonical Gospels, because I don’t. I think Jesus was such a complex and important historical figure that even four interpretive portraits is hardly enough. But this little book is intended to help the reader put the pieces of the story together in a meaningful and helpful way so they may see its range, scope, arc, and purposes better. I must stress once more, too often in the church or even in schools the stories of Jesus are handled only in bits and pieces, and of course this is the way Sunday school lessons and sermons work as well. One hardly ever gets a sense of the whole story in one or two sittings. I hope this effort may go a little way to remedy this problem. I figure if a world class New Testament scholar like Gerd Theissen can get away with writing The Shadow of the Galilean, a creative retelling of the Gospel story with a single plot line, and it be used even in seminary classes for over twenty years, this little book may justify its existence as well.

The alert reader will also see that I am trying in this portrait to help us all understand what the Gospel writers are telling us about the relationship of what we call the humanity and divinity of Jesus, a very complex matter indeed which the Gospel writers approached somewhat differently than the later Church Fathers. The Gospel writers do not talk about the two natures of the Christ, but they certainly do present Jesus as both human and much more than human as well, indeed much more than an angelic figure as well. In fact as John 1 suggests, some of them at least were prepared to call Jesus both Son of G-d and G-d in some sense[1], without suggesting he was the same person as the heavenly Father. How does one do justice to this? I have intimated in this little book that the Son of Man title, which Jesus certainly did use of himself, alluding to Daniel 7, may well provide us with the clue, since the figure in Daniel 7 is not only bequeathed a forever Kingdom in which he personally would reign, but he is also the judge of the earth, and the object of worship, or at least that is how I would read that text, and I believe Jesus himself did read, Daniel 7 that way.

I have not tried to psychoanalyze Jesus in this book, but I have tried to tease out the implications of what the Gospels say or hint about the mind of Christ, and how he viewed himself. For a critical approach to this subject, please see my older study–The Christology of Jesus. I hope the reader will sense the pathos and irony in the story, the honesty about the disciples foibles and lack of understanding, the mystery of why Jesus said and did some of the things he said and did, and most of all I hope one will see Him more clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly, having read this. If this happens even in small measure, I am content.

Easter 2010

DEDICATION

This little book is dedicated to my dear friend A.J. who probably understands the most misunderstood Jew better than I do. Someday I hope to see him fully with your eyes, or maybe we will get to do that together in the Kingdom. I hope so.

CHAPTER ONE: THE PREMONITION

Today was not the first day he had felt this way, and whenever it happened there was a strong urge to get away, to be by himself. The news had reached Netzerit just this morning that his cousin John had not only left the community by the Salt Sea, but had come to the Jordan and had begun preaching and baptizing, very quickly drawing a considerable crowd. The mood in Galilee was restive, there was anticipation in the air. When would G-d do something about some of the unclean things transpiring far too regularly, and the ungodly people involved in ruling their land? Jesus was going to have to go down to the river and see what was happening, and he already sensed it was going to involve him, sooner rather than later.

Climbing up to his favorite spot on the ridge above Netzerit where there was a breeze, he sat under a tree to try and get some relief from the relentless heat. There was precious little shade anywhere on this ridge except under this grandfather of an olive tree where he was now sitting. He could hear so many things from up here on the ridge–the bleating of sheep and goats down in the valley, the distant sound of work of some sort going on in the next town across the way, the occasional sound of sparrows as they flew by, foraging for food. Yet none of those sounds were distracting, for they were distant enough to leave him alone in his thoughts. The prevailing breeze came up the slope of the valley in his direction, rising and falling gently, just enough to keep him from sweating on this hot summer day.

Opening the little bag tied around his waist he took out some dates and dried figs and began to eat, but his mind was not on the food. He ruminated instead on how G-d had chosen two cousins to do something new, something important for G-d’s people. But Jesus was not yet sure what form his own participation in this new act of G-d would take, nor was the timing fully clear. He would have to pray, and consult Abba further about things, which is in part why he had come up on the ridge, to be away from distractions. It was nearly time for late afternoon prayer anyway. Already Jesus had a strong premonition that he was about to reach a crucial turning point in his life. He had resolved not to do anything without depending on his Father and listening intently to his guidance so that he would always be in the center of G-d’s will.

Across the valley Jesus could see yet more buildings rising at the new town called Sepphoris. The rate at which this new city of Herod Antipas was rising was truly remarkable. Nearly a third of the male population of Netzerit and other nearby villages like Qana were being employed in one way or another so that Herod would soon have his new ‘ornament of the Galilee’. Stone masons, carpenters, caterers, water carriers, artists, painters and many more were put to work. The people of Netzerit had not seen construction on this scale or with this speed ever. The town talked of almost nothing else. Jesus’ own family had been contracted to do some of the construction, and indeed Jesus himself had been involved as had James.

It had been now nearly two full years since Josef had died, leaving Jesus, the eldest son in charge of the family business. But now there was this knot in his stomach, for Jesus knew it was almost time for him to completely change the character of his life. It was almost time for him to leave home. And he realized already this was going to create an enormous problem for his family. It would appear he would be shaming his family, and besides, would James be able to handle being in charge of family affairs? Was he ready to take over the family business? Jesus had never discussed these things before with James, but now, most certainly, he would have to do so.

“I must talk to mother first,” murmured Jesus to himself. “She at least should understand I must go.” He thought back to many years before how Miryam, his mother, had told him the tale of his very first trip up to Jerusalem, not long after he was born in the house of his relatives in Bet-lehem[2]. She had told him of an old man named Simeon with a prophecy on his lips. This man had said that Miryam’s son would be the cause of the rising and falling of many in the land of Israel, had said he would be ‘a sign spoken against’ unveiling the secrets of some human hearts. But what could that mean? So many of the prophecies were enigmatic, required much thought to puzzle them out. And that was not all. The man had told Miryam “a sword will pierce your heart as well”. Was he talking about the scandal that would be created when Jesus suddenly left his mother and younger brothers and sisters? Was he talking about her disappointment, sadness, pain when suddenly he would leave them? It was not clear.

Surely, though, thought Jesus, she had had plenty of advanced warning that his life must be different than the rest of his brothers and sisters. There was after all that other trip to Jerusalem for Passover, when he had just come of age, when he had stayed in the Temple precincts listening to the sages and scribes teaching there, and asking them questions. Surely his mother would remember his response to her anxiety-filled words about her and Josef frantically looking for him for three days. He had told her already then, “Did you not know I must be in the house of my Father?” He had not intended it as a rebuke, but the words must have stung, for Josef hung his head, remembering yet once more that he was not the actual father of his eldest ‘son’. Jesus had had no wish to shame him, so he had stopped what he was doing, and submitted immediately once more to Miryam and Josef’s parental authority, trudging home with them all those long dusty miles back up to Netzerit. All the way home he had thought about his need to grow in wisdom as well as in stature before he would be ready to be fully involved in his Father’s business.

But perhaps now Miryam would not remember this as vividly and clearly as he did, for it had transpired some fifteen years before. After all, she was still grieving the premature lose of her husband less than two years ago. And Josef was not an old man. Had that huge beam not fallen upon him during the construction of one of the first large buildings in the new city across the way, his mother would not be so preoccupied with their recent tragedy. Jesus could not see her marrying again she had loved Josef so much, despite the encouragement of friends and neighbors. And of course there was the further problem that Jesus himself had at least three times refused to consider being engaged, refused to get married. The town’s folk had been incensed and wondered who Jesus thought he was refusing such gracious offers and opportunities. Now he was twenty-seven, unmarried, and about to do something which he feared would further add to his family’s sorrows. What had Isaiah meant about a ‘man of sorrows and well acquainted with grief’? These were the things he pondered as the day went down and the sun began to slide towards the far horizon.

Lost so deeply in thought and prayer, Jesus had not heard his little brother Joses slip up behind him, and he was startled when that little voice hollered at him “Come home to supper Jesus! Mother says it is ready now.” Rising, he smiled at Joses, tousled his hair, took the small outstretched hand offered to him, and headed back down the ridge to their small house below. Joses so looked up to and depended on Jesus, especially since Josef’s death. How could he explain to him and the rest of his siblings what he must do next? Indeed, would they ever understand such a drastic departure from normal life? He feared not. Tomorrow he must muster up his courage and talk to Miryam privately first. But each day had enough trouble of its own. He would worry about it tomorrow.

[1]In order to give a more Jewish flavor to the story I have given more Semitic renderings of some of the place and personal names, and this includes the abbreviated way of spelling God, since early Jews avoided saying or spelling out the whole sacred name.

[2]There is always a problem when dealing with names in Aramaic and Hebrew that then we translate or transliterate into English. Jesus’ real name is Yeshua or Joshua, Mary’s real name is Miryam, and most confusing of all James’ real name is Jacob. I decided it would be too confusing and off-putting to avoid all the Anglicized forms of these Biblical names so I have stuck with Jesus and James, but you will find other male and female names closer to the Hebrew and Aramaic original where I thought it would not lead to perpetual puzzled looks. Likewise, I have tried to be judicious and do the same with various of the place names to try to give the narrative a more Semitic feel. As for the name of God, Jews, out of reverence in Jesus’ day used circumlocutions saying things like ‘thank heavens’ rather than ‘thank God’. And some of them spelled the named of God using a combination of two divine names in order to avoid mispronunciation. I have chosen to use the modern practice of rendering God as G-d to indication the reverence Jews have for the divine name.