Christ Staked --- kata tas graphas

[robert j]

The cut-and-paste nature of the passion stories in the NT Gospels has been widely characterized, and the dependence on the Jewish scriptures is there for all to see. This situation presents at least two options ---

The apologetic explanation that a first-century CE human Jesus came to fulfill the scriptures requires faith --- that is, belief in the supernatural such that the prophets and other authors of the Hebrew scriptures were inspired by a divine being so they could foretell the future.

The other option does not require the supernatural. The earliest believers in the Christ, employing allegorical midrash, found previously hidden meanings in the scriptures leading them to believe that their Christ had suffered, died, and was resurrected sometime in the distant past (or in a heavenly realm). The later writers of the NT Gospels used the scriptures to construct their elaborate tales, including the passion.

Paul’s Christ was “staked”. He also described the event as “hanging on a tree/ beam of wood/ wood stocks”, Greek xylou (ξύλου),

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it has been written --- cursed (is) everyone hanging on a tree [or beam or stocks]; that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles in Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14).

Paul tells the reader that “it has been written” about this hanging, clearly a reference to the Jewish scriptures (Galatians 3:10). The scriptural source of Paul’s reference here may have been an allegorical interpretation of Deuteronomy 21:22-23. Other options have been suggested.

Certainly it would have been difficult for Paul, using a pile of scrolls, to show the Galatians and his other congregations the many widely scattered passages in the Jewish scriptures that demonstrated the events of his Christ. In a passage that may reveal some useful information in the mostly fictional Acts, it took Paul 3 days to provide a demonstration of his Christ from the Jewish scriptures. (Acts 17:1-3).

The difficulty of such a method of transmission could certainly have limited the early spread of belief in the Christ, and could have been an impetus for Mark to write his tale --- to make the Christ more accessible to all.

It was Mark that came up with the concept of a Roman execution. As Burton Mack describes,

"Mark took the basic ideas from the Christ myth but dared to imagine how the crucifixion and resurrection of the Christ might look if played out as a historical event in Jerusalem …" (Mack, 1995, p. 152).

Perhaps there are non-extant Greek translations of Hebrew scriptures that were used by some early believers in the Christ and some NT authors. Most NT writers apparently used the Septuagint, but some NT references better reflect the extant Masoretic text. One example is the use of Zechariah 12:10,

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." (Zechariah 12:10 --- NIV).

The author of the Gospel of John clearly applies this reference in Zechariah to Jesus,

"And again another scripture says, they will look on him whom they pierced." (John 19:37).

Justin Martyr interpreted Zechariah 12:10 in a similar fashion from his second-century Christian perspective, (First Apology, 52).

Earl Doherty characterizes the situation,

“Scripture did not contain any full-blown crucified Messiah, but it did contain all the required ingredients. Jewish midrash was the process by which the Christian recipe was put together and baked into the doctrine ….” (Doherty, 2009, p. 87).

Philo of Alexandria (ca. 20 BCE to 50 CE), in his On the Contemplative Life, described a community of Jewish sectarians called the Therapeutae. They had separate rooms in their dwellings used only for study of the Jewish scriptures. The Therapeutae spent many hours of the day searching the scriptures for, as Philo put it, "… literal expressions as symbols revealing secret and hidden meanings …"

I’m not suggesting that the earliest believers in the Christ were Philo’s Therapeutae. But Philo’s report clearly demonstrates that Jewish sectarians of the period were actively searching for new meanings in their sacred scrolls --- new meanings to give them hope in troubled times.

robert j.

Doherty, Earl, Jesus Neither God Nor Man, Age of Reason Publications, Ottawa. 2009
Mack, B.L., Who Wrote the New Testament, HarperCollins, New York. 1995.

[Stephan Huller]

I don't see any substance to this post. Jews wouldn't have expected their God or messiah to have been hanged. That's a huge hurdle to overcome. In fact I think its impossible to overcome because there is nothing in the Jewish writings. And I know all the early references. It's impossible to reconcile these ideas.

[John T]

I don't see any substance to this post. Jews wouldn't have expected their God or messiah to have been hanged. That's a huge hurdle to overcome. In fact I think its impossible to overcome because there is nothing in the Jewish writings. And I know all the early references. It's impossible to reconcile these ideas.

Yes, exactly. One who was hung from a tree was cursed by God. Deut. 21:23
How could the messiah be hung from a tree, it is blasphemy to think such a thing.
No wonder Saul and others devoted Jews rejected Jesus just on that grounds alone.

Which is strong proof (criterion of dissimilarity) that Jesus was indeed real and crucified because it goes completely against what was expected of the messiah.
Paul had to explain how this curse was required in order for the blessing of Abraham could be transferred to the Gentiles. Gal 3:13-14.

Sincerely,
John T

[robert j]

I don't see any substance to this post. Jews wouldn't have expected their God or messiah to have been hanged. That's a huge hurdle to overcome. In fact I think its impossible to overcome because there is nothing in the Jewish writings. And I know all the early references. It's impossible to reconcile these ideas.

One can’t speak of “Jews” in the wide world of first-century Hellenist Judaism as a monolith --- nor deny what beliefs may have originated among a relatively small group.

In troubled times, expectations of the more widely expected warrior-king and liberating Messiah may have turned to disappointment. How about innovation? New ideas? Every new concept has a beginning.

But the idea of martyred saviors for the Jewish people was not without precedent. In 4 Maccabees, the suffering and death of the martyred brothers were seen as purifying the land, and as ransoms for the sins of the nation by attempting to free the land from foreign domination --- even though the language may be metaphorical and legendary.

To use Professor Burton Mack again,

“The way the significance of Jesus’ death is expressed throughout the Pauline correspondence is strongly reminiscent of the stories of the martyrs found in 2 and 4 Maccabees.” (Who Wrote the New Testament, 1995, p. 81).

But human martyrs had effectively failed to free the Jewish homeland from foreign domination --- it seems a group of Jews looked for new answers in their sacred scrolls, for new ways other than political liberation to cope with their situation. A spiritual solution.

Of course you may not agree --- but what else in new? Well, maybe Stephan Huller and John T agreeing.

[Peter Kirby]

I don't see any substance to this post. Jews wouldn't have expected their God or messiah to have been hanged. That's a huge hurdle to overcome. In fact I think its impossible to overcome because there is nothing in the Jewish writings. And I know all the early references. It's impossible to reconcile these ideas.

I am intrigued by the counter-argument from Richard Carrier:

That leaves the last and most common objection to this conclusion: that 'the Jews' would never conceive of a dying messiah ... much less a dying messiah who would become a celestial Lord, the conduit through whom one worshiped God. Of course, in its most naive formulation, this objection is self-refuting. If Jews would never conceive of it, Christianity would never have happened -- because Christianity obviously began within sectarian Judaism [refers back to previously-discussed evidence of this] ... So the very existence of Christianity itself refutes the objection.

He goes on to say:

Corned by these facts [of the diversity of Judaism and the religious innovations taking place in response to Roman rule of Judea], objections will concede that some Jews evidently were able to conceive of such a thing, but then insist that some compelling event must have precipitated so wild a break with Jewish thinking, and only the crucifixion of an actual historical man could have done such a thing. But that's a non sequitur. If early-first-century Jews could conceive of a dying messiah becoming a celestial Lord (and clearly they could), they could conceive of this being true of a celestial man as easily as a historical one. In other words, these objectors admit that some Jews could conceive of a historically crucified man becoming celestial Lord. But if the Jews could do that, they could conceive of a celestially crucified man becoming celestial Lord. Which negates this objection from the start.

He continues to argue that the gestalt of a dying-and-rising savior as part of a mystery cult was diffusing through "every other foreign culture" in the Roman Empire, "from the Syrian to the Persian to the Egyptian." That Judaism would have some of the same kind of syncretism is not surprising; it is in fact expected. Carrier appeals to the similarities between Christianity and the mystery cults, saying that it could not be a coincidence. He also points out that non-Christian Judaism in the era was already toying with this or that element that constituted the petri dish of Christianity, such as "the exaltation of the martyrs and the role of human sacrifice achieving salvation for the living" as well as "dying messiahs," again referring to the points of background enumerated at the start of the book.

I would finally mention that the many strong statements you've made on the board on the topic of first century Judaism, Stephan, make me concerned both that (a) you are more confident than the evidence allows you to be of your conclusions and (b) you take too much pride in your deep understanding of Judaism to the point that it could easily lead you to make large oversights, much like a pre-Copernican astronomer might reject out of hand any observations that contradict his already well-cemented working model.

[Blood]

People need to spend more time considering the implications of ethnoi converting to forms of Judaism for hundreds of years prior to the first century.

You actually don't need Galilean Jewish revolts in the first century or a historical Jesus or Paul to explain Christianity. You just need ethnoi reading the Septuagint.

[Blood]

I don't see any substance to this post. Jews wouldn't have expected their God or messiah to have been hanged. That's a huge hurdle to overcome. In fact I think its impossible to overcome because there is nothing in the Jewish writings. And I know all the early references. It's impossible to reconcile these ideas.

One can’t speak of “Jews” in the wide world of first-century Hellenist Judaism as a monolith --- nor deny what beliefs may have originated among a relatively small group.

In troubled times, expectations of the more widely expected warrior-king and liberating Messiah may have turned to disappointment. How about innovation? New ideas? Every new concept has a beginning.

But the idea of martyred saviors for the Jewish people was not without precedent. In 4 Maccabees, the suffering and death of the martyred brothers were seen as purifying the land, and as ransoms for the sins of the nation by attempting to free the land from foreign domination --- even though the language may be metaphorical and legendary.

To use Professor Burton Mack again,

“The way the significance of Jesus’ death is expressed throughout the Pauline correspondence is strongly reminiscent of the stories of the martyrs found in 2 and 4 Maccabees.” (Who Wrote the New Testament, 1995, p. 81).

But human martyrs had effectively failed to free the Jewish homeland from foreign domination --- it seems a group of Jews looked for new answers in their sacred scrolls, for new ways other than political liberation to cope with their situation. A spiritual solution.

Of course you may not agree --- but what else in new? Well, maybe Stephan Huller and John T agreeing.

4 Maccabees is definitely a post-gospel text and I believe 2 Maccabees is as well, so these may not be the best examples. However, 1 Maccabees pre-dates the gospel and could have been an influence. The Church Fathers pretty much adopted the Maccabees as spiritual heirs.

[Stephan Huller]

That Judaism would have some of the same kind of syncretism is not surprising

I make strong statements because I know what I am talking about. Surely if what robert is suggesting is "unsurprising" you or the rest of the "Jews were like other pagans" chorus can pull out plenty of examples. Unless of course, the cart is leading the horse here

[Peter Kirby]

Your response does nothing to allay concerns about your objectivity in this regard.

[toejam]

I’m not suggesting that the earliest believers in the Christ were Philo’s Therapeutae. But Philo’s report clearly demonstrates that Jewish sectarians of the period were actively searching for new meanings in their sacred scrolls --- new meanings to give them hope in troubled times.

Could it not be that the "troubled times" a particular sect found themselves in was when their beloved cult leader was suddenly crucified? I'm with Crossan and co. on this point - I think all Jesus' followers really knew was he had been crucified, and they tried to settle their newly experienced cognitive dissonance by searching their scriptures for "answers". Alternatively, I've always been intrigued by the idea that it was Jesus himself who came up with midrash of a suffering Messiah and went about self-fulfilling it - his reading of the scripture telling him that he had to die - much like Marshall Applewhite and members of his Heaven's Gate cult who believed scriptures, signs and revelations were telling them suicide at a certain time and place was the only means of escape before a great cosmic clean-up by God ("recycling" was their terminology).