Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction 1

i What This Book is About 1

ii The Jesus of the Early Epistles is Not the Jesus of the Gospels 6

1 Basic Facts About the Gospels 23

i Mark 23

ii Matthew and Luke 33

iii John 41

iv More on 'the Jews' in the Gospels 51

2 The Question of Miracles and the Work of David Friedrich Strauss 57

3 The Virgin Birth 79

i Introduction 79

ii The Birth at Bethlehem 83

a Matthew's Account 83

b Luke's Account 86

iii Luke's Parallel between John the Baptist and Jesus 91

iv The Nativity as Fulfillment of Prophecy 94

v The Genealogies 99

vi The Origin and Purpose of the Christian Virgin Birth Traditions and Their Post-Scriptural Developments 105

vii Finale 108

4 The Resurrection 113

i The Gospel Accounts 113

a The First Three Gospels 113

b The Fourth Gospel 126

ii Paul's Account 133

a Introduction 133

b To Whom the Risen Jesus Appeared 138

1 Cephas 138

2 James 142

3 The Twelve 145

4 The Five Hundred and More 149

iii The New Testament Evidence as a Whole and the Synoptic Burial Narratives 151

iv Recent Defenders of the Traditional Doctrine 156

v Recent Reinterpreters of the Traditional Doctrine 171

5 The Gospel of Mark: History or Dogma? 179

i William Wrede's Epoch-Making Book 179

a The Role of Disciples 179

b The Secret of Jesus's Status as Son of God 190

ii Mark and Community Tradition: K.L. Schmidt and Form-Criticism 195

6 Q, The Sayings Gospel 207

7 The Prelude to Jesus's Public Ministry 219

i Jesus and John the Baptist 219

ii The Temptation 234

8 Jesus as Apocalyptic Prophet 245

i The Transition from Prophecy to Apocalyptic Thinking 245

ii From Reimarus to Schweitzer 247

a HermannSamuel Reimarus 247

b Franz Overbeck, Johannes Weiss, and William Wrede 256

c Albert Schweitzer 264

iii The Fourth Gospel and Later 274

iv An Appraisal of Relevant Passages 278

v Recent Attempts to Cope with the Texts 286

a Sundry Proposals 286

b 'Meta-Narratives' 291

c Coping with the Romans 294

vi Finale 297

Concluding Thoughts 303

Epilogue: The Gospels and Eyewitnesses 319

i Richard Bauckham 319

ii P.R. Eddy and G.A. Boyd 326

Notes 333

Bibliography 355

Index of New Testament References 373

General Index 385