Death of Jesus: 30 CE?Our first Gospel: Mark 65-70 CEperiod of 30-35 years of difference from the moment of Jesus’s death to when this literature was producedMathew and Luke: 80-85 CE ?John: 90-95 CE? Toward the end of the first centuryTHE TIME GAP between Jesus’s death and the first accounts of his life: 35-65 yearsQuestion: what is happening during this time?Critical events: the spread of ChristianityKnow that during this time period, Christianity/Jesus movement is moving.Know that within the first century, we have Christians in Italy, Greece, Corinth, Asia Minor (Turkey), Egypt, Palestine, SyriaHow did this work? They don’t have Mark; how is the movement moving? Social contextLiteracy rates in the ancient world were somewhere between 10 and 15% (most of these people are elite men-need time and money, people to teach you to read and means to eat and sleep and not die; wide spectrum to what that means-have the highly literate and then people who can sign there name and read a receipt; talking about Athens at its high point-4th and 5th centuries)No question that texts were circulation-this is an oral traditionKey assumption: for the most part, Christians who received the message weren’t receiving it from people who saw the events occurChain reaction example in textbook-business man in Ephisus)Majority of people arnt getting it from eyewitness’s, getting it from friends, neighbors**social networks**Inevitably things people will retain and other things people will ignore; some things that your will miss hear or inflateORAL TRADITION CHANGES/SHIFTS-NATURE IS THAT HUMANS TOUCH IT, OUR MEMORIES MISS GUIDE US-KEEP WHAT WE WANT TO KEEP AND FORGET WHAT WE WANT TO FORGET (EXAMPLE-TELEPHONE)When humans talk, we change things. All of this plays a role in understanding from which these written texts were producedCritical results: the fate of the TraditionsRomans 12:14-“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”Seems plausible that some tradition either oral or written has gotten to Paul. Talking about the fait of this tradition (also seen in mark)1 Cr 9:14-“The Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.”Here you have a tradition that Paul has inherited; wasn’t said anywhere elseUltimately this is a different tradition of something that has gotten to paulSome parts of the tradition are being preserved, some are being forgotten, some are invented, some are altered.Papias-bishop, christen who has power in Asia minor who wrote a book (don’t have the book, its gone). Christian author tells us what he wrote in the preface of his book. What is going on? “Expositions of the Saying of the Lord”I did not take pleasure as the multitude does in those who say many things, but in those who teach the things that are true. Nor did a take pleasure in those who recall strange commandsI did not suppose that the things from the books would aid me-Im more interested in the living word, I want to hear the living and continuous voice-doesn’t trust the books.Point: early Christian whose telling use that after the production of the gospels, strange things are being said about Jesus-there are finger prints everywhere. Tells us that within the early Christian tradition, there are lots of things being put onto the lips of Jesus. For many Christians, many of these things are controversialCritical questions: Possible ObjectionsOften times, you will hear scholars talk about the power of eyewitness’s-eyewitness testimony will stabilize what scholars are saying is unstableII. Other Issues to ConsiderThe Authorship of the GospelsOften assumed that the Gospels of the new testament are eyewitness accounts. Problems with that assumptionWe have no evidence that Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John were named these at the end of the first century.Almost certain that later Christians have ascribed to these books these titles/authors. Gospels are written in very good GreekMost scholars think that it doesn’t hold that you would have early Christian disciples learning how to write and produce Greek. Most important/relevant point that indicates they weren’t written by these people don’t way who wrote them.Luke makes it clear that he wasn’t an eyewitness (Luke 1:1-4)The Availability of EyewitnessesWeren’t able to be everywhere at all timesSpreads so quickly geographicallyThe Nature of Oral TraditionsNot feasible; the message is going to changeOften said that if you are part of an oral culture, the tendency is to memorize things verbatim and the tradition goes undisturbed through time-this is not the case, things change based on social context, language constraintsIII. The Question of Evidence: to what degree do we look to any evidence for history? To what degree can we count on the gospels for historical evidence?What kind of Evidence to look forAre evidences Internally consistent-inconsistencies mean there may be historical problemsExternally verified-what other examples/stories gesture toward the same message that give you a sense that the details match other thingsGenerally plausible: is this a plausible situation? Does this make sense?**need to understand contextThe evidence that’s AvailableThe death of Jesus in Mark and JohnHave many similarities, similar narrative structure giving us events leading up to Jesus’s deathMark version: the disciples ask where to prepare the Passover (14:12)-the day begins when it gets darkAt the meal, Jesus speaks of the “bread” and the “cup”Jesus is arrested after the Passover mealJesus spends the night in jail and is crucified at (:00a.m (15:25)He is executed on the day of Passover (the morning after the meal was eatenJohn Version:The disciples don’t ask where to prepare the PassoverJesus does not speak of the “bread” and the “cup”Jesus is arrested after a last meal (not said to be a Passover)He spends the night in jail and is crucified in the afternoonHe is executed on “the Day of Preparation for Passover” (19:14)-i.e. the day before the Passover meal is eatenClear example that the tradition started somewhere and at somepoint they are going to diverge; john has an idea, mark has an ideaMost scholars say that John made the changeOnly in john where you get : John 1:29: the next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’Things are moving, have finger prints everywhereShows the