A second test is “against the grain of the Gospels”: a passage that seems to be contrary to one of the main themes or views expressed in one or more Gospels is likely to be authentic because the early Christians were not likely to have created material with which they disagreed. Matthew’s depiction of John the Baptist is a good example. The author apparently found it to be embarrassing that Jesus received John’s baptism of repentance (why would Jesus have needed it?). Thus, he has John protest against the baptism and claim that Jesus should instead baptize him (Matthew 3:13–17; this objection is not in Mark or Luke). Those verses in Matthew assume that John recognized Jesus as being greater than he, but Matthew later shows John, in prison, sending a message to ask Jesus whether he was “the one who is to come” (Matthew 11:2–6). Those passages make it virtually certain that John baptized Jesus and highly probable that John asked Jesus who he was. John’s protest against baptizing Jesus appears to be Matthew’s creation. In keeping those passages while, in effect, arguing against them, Matthew validates the authenticity of the tradition that John baptized Jesus and later enquired about his true identity.
These are only a few examples of tests that may confirm the authenticity of passages in the Gospels. In many cases, however, the criteria do not apply: many passages neither meet nor fail the tests. Grouping passages into categories—probable, improbable, possible but unconfirmed—is a useful exercise but does not go very far toward determining a realistic portrayal of Jesus as a historical figure. More is needed than just the minute study of the Gospels, though that is an essential task. The context of Jesus’ career
Good historical information about Jesus can be acquired by establishing the overall context of his public ministry. As noted earlier, he began his career by being baptized by John, an eschatological prophet, and an understanding of eschatology is pivotal to interpreting Jesus’ world. Although eschatology is the doctrine of last things, the Jews who anticipated future redemption did not expect the end of the world. Instead, they thought that God would intervene in human history and make the world perfect: that is, the Jews would live in the Holy Land free of foreign domination and in peace and prosperity. Many Jews, including John, expected final judgment to precede this golden age, and he taught that people should repent in view of its imminence (Matthew 3:1–12; Luke 3:3–9). Since Jesus accepted John’s baptism, he must have agreed with this message, at least in part. After Jesus’ death and Resurrection, his followers believed that he would soon return to bring in the kingdom of God. The clearest expression of this belief is offered by Paul, whose earliest letter indicates that the Lord will return before most of the people then alive die (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). If Jesus began his career by being baptized by an eschatological prophet and if after his Crucifixion his followers expected him to return to save them (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10; 1 Corinthians 15:20–28), it is highly probable that he himself shared the basic views of Jewish eschatology.
Many aspects of Jesus’ career support the view that he expected divine intervention. One of the most common beliefs of Jewish eschatology was that God would restore the Twelve Tribes of Israel, including the Ten Lost Tribes. That Jesus shared this view is indicated by his call of 12 disciples, who apparently represented the 12 tribes (Matthew 19:28). Moreover, he proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom of God; he predicted the destruction of the Temple (Mark 13:2) and possibly its rebuilding “without hands” (Mark 14:58); he entered Jerusalem on a donkey, symbolizing his kingship (Mark 11:4–8; Matthew 21:1–11; see Zechariah 9:9 for the symbol); and he had a final meal with his disciples in which he said that he would “drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in the new kingdom of God” (Mark 14:25). It is no surprise that after his death his disciples formed a small community that expected Jesus to return and inaugurate a kingdom in which the world would be transformed.
In this light, Jesus can be seen as an eschatological prophet, grouped historically in the same general category as John the Baptist and a few other 1st-century Jewish prophets, such as Theudas. Like John, Jesus believed in the coming judgment, but he stressed inclusion more than condemnation and welcomed “customs officers and sinners” in the coming kingdom of God (Matthew 11:18–19; 21:31–32). Moreover, his teaching was rich and multifaceted and was not limited to eschatological expectation. Main aspects of Jesus’ teaching The kingdom of God
While the Gospels agree that Jesus proclaimed the eschatological kingdom of God, they offer different versions of his view of that kingdom. One is that the kingdom of God exists in heaven and that individuals may enter it upon death (Mark 9:47). Since God’s power is in some respects omnipresent, Jesus may have seen “the kingdom,” in the sense of God’s presence, as being especially evident in his own words and deeds. The parable that the kingdom is like yeast that gradually leavens the entire loaf (Matthew 13:33) indicates that Jesus may have understood the kingdom of God to be beginning in the present. These other ways of viewing the kingdom do not, however, dominate the teaching of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels. Statements about the heavenly kingdom, or the kingdom as partially present on earth, do not negate the eschatological nature of Jesus’ message. The essence of his teaching is that the kingdom would come to earth in its full power and glory, at which time God’s will would be done “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Jesus died before heaven came down to earth, and this, coupled with the Resurrection appearances, led his followers to expect him to return in the near future, ushering in the kingdom and ruling in God’s stead.
Jesus himself apparently anticipated the arrival of a heavenly figure whom he called “the Son of Man,” who would come on clouds of glory and gather the elect. The Hebrew Bible laid the foundation for this teaching in two ways. First, several prophets expected “the day of the Lord,” when the wicked would be punished or destroyed and the good would be spared, though the emphasis was on punishment (Amos 5:12–20; Zephaniah 1; Joel 1:15; 2:1; Obadiah verse 15). Second, Daniel 7 describes various kingdoms that are represented by four fantastic beasts, all of which are destroyed. Then, according to Daniel, the Son of Man, representing the people of Israel, ascends to God and receives “dominion and glory and kingship” (Daniel 7:14), after which Israel is to reign supreme (7:27). These passages seem to have led Jesus to depict the arrival of the Son of Man from heaven as initiating the coming judgment and the redemption of Israel. The theme appears in numerous passages in the Synoptic Gospels (see Tables 2, 3, 4, and 5).
Table 5: Preparedness Matthew 24:44 Luke 12:40 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
Table 4: Son of Man comes like lightning or the great flood Matthew 24:27, 37-39 Luke 17:24, 26, 27, 30 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.... 37For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.... 26Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them.... 30[I]t will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.