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Historical Jesus

Explore the historical Jesus in this course, examining Gospel reliability, differing scholarly views, and the impact of worldviews. Discover Jesus’ identity, miracles, and crucifixion, while understanding the complexities of historical research and authenticity criteria.
Number of lessons: 9
Total length: 2 hours and 38 minutse
Format: Video and Audio
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About This Class

This course is a study of the historical Jesus, exploring different scholarly perspectives and controversies surrounding his identity and significance. You'll examine the reliability of the Gospels, the influence of worldviews on Jesus' miracles, and the Enlightenment's impact on historical inquiry. Learn about Jesus’ self-perception as Messiah, his divine authority, and the political and theological context of his crucifixion. Gain insight into the complexities of historical research, criteria for authenticity, and how the early church preserved Jesus' teachings.

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About the Professor

Mark Strauss

University Professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary

Mark Strauss

Lessons

  • 1. Critics of the Gospel Accounts
    This lesson delves into perspectives and controversies about the historical Jesus. It examines challenges in studying his identity, showcasing diverse viewpoints. Some vouch for Gospel authenticity, while others see them as human-made legends. These varied interpretations complicate understanding Jesus, to be explored in upcoming sessions through worldviews and authenticity criteria.
  • 2. Rationalists vs. Supernaturalists
    Gain insights into the Enlightenment's historical context of studying Jesus. An era of naturalism, rationalism, and skepticism towards supernatural Bible elements. Scholars like Reimarus challenged traditional views, leading to a quest for the historical Jesus. Hume's arguments against miracles are discussed, but the text emphasizes the presence of miracle stories in gospel and Jewish sources, showing Jesus as a recognized miracle worker. Encouraging skeptics and believers to scrutinize evidence and ponder miracles in history.
  • 3. Historical Research

    In this lesson, you will gain insight into the complexities of conducting objective historical research. The lesson highlights the influence of differing worldviews on the evaluation of Jesus's miracles and introduces Martin Kähler's. Kähler's distinction between the "history" of Jesus and "theological impact" of Jesus is discussed, emphasizing that for believers, the Christ of faith and the Jesus of history are one. The lesson also touches on scholars like Rudolph Bultmann, Luke Timothy Johnson, and Dale Allison, who adopted a pessimistic view regarding the possibility of discovering the real Jesus through historical inquiry. Conversely, it introduces scholars who believe in investigating the historical Jesus using rigorous methods. The text presents various criteria used by scholars to assess the authenticity of Jesus's sayings and deeds, including dissimilarity, multiple attestation, embarrassment, semitic flavor, divergent traditions, and coherence, along with their limitations and potential biases. Furthermore, it mentions newer criteria proposed by contemporary scholars to address the challenges posed by the traditional criteria.

  • 4. Were the Gospel Writers Biased?
    In this lesson, we explore bias in the gospel writers' portrayal of Jesus. Critics like Strauss and Wrede doubted their historical accuracy, but the lesson argues that their beliefs don't negate their reliability. It highlights Luke's meticulous approach, supporting the gospel tradition's credibility.
  • 5. Alleged Contradictions in the Gospels
    Gain insight into resolving gospel contradictions and historical accuracy concerns. Learn how summarization, paraphrasing, and interpretation shape history writing. Understand that gospel differences arise from translation and authorial choices, not altering Jesus' authentic voice. Recognize the complementarity of John's gospel with the synoptics, revealing common themes and attributes of deity.
  • 6. Jesus Claimed to be God
    Discover whether Jesus believed Himself to be the Messiah and Savior of the world in this lesson. Explore key titles like "Messiah," "Son of Man," and "Son of God," and how His actions and early church teachings confirm His messianic identity and divine authority.
  • 7. Jesus Demonstrated Divine Authority
    This lesson highlights Jesus’ authority in proclaiming the Kingdom of God, appointing disciples, interpreting the law, healing, exorcising demons, forgiving sins, and acting as the final judge, all underscoring His identity as the Messiah.
  • 8. Jesus Did Die
    In this lesson, explore the key events leading to Jesus' death, examining the roles of Roman and Jewish authorities. Discover Jesus' perspective on his death, its link to Old Testament prophecies, and its deep theological meaning.
  • 9. Jesus Resurrected from the Dead
    This lesson focuses on the significance of Jesus' resurrection, central to Christianity. It reviews the five key facts which affirm the resurrection: Jesus' crucifixion, burial, empty tomb, post-resurrection sightings, and the disciples' transformation.
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