Summarized

This transcript discusses contradictions within the Passion stories of Jesus, primarily focusing on the four canonical Gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John) and early Christian writings like Paul's letters.

Key Themes and Contradictions:

• Early Accounts: The earliest accounts of Jesus's passion come from Paul, emphasizing his death, burial, and resurrection as foretold by scripture, and appearances to various individuals. Paul also mentions the Last Supper and Jesus's betrayal, citing "rulers of this age" as responsible for the crucifixion.
• Historical Jesus: Non-Christian sources like Tacitus and Josephus confirm Jesus's execution under Pontius Pilate and the Roman method of crucifixion. Josephus adds that Jewish authorities brought the accusation.
• Gospel Development: The Gospels, written decades after Paul, offer more detailed but differing accounts. They are not historical biographies but religious portraits aiming to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. Mark is the earliest narrative Gospel, with Matthew and Luke using Mark as a source and often correcting or changing its details. John's Gospel is a separate literary tradition, though it shares unusual similarities with the Synoptics in the passion narrative, leading to theories of shared sources or John's awareness of Mark.
• Biblical Influence: The evangelists frequently draw from the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) to inform their narratives, believing Jesus's life fulfilled scripture. Examples include Jesus's last words ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?") and the soldiers dividing his clothes, both derived from Psalm 22.
• Conflation vs. Individual Portraits: Readers often conflate the four Gospel accounts, leading to a misunderstanding of each evangelist's unique theological portrait.
• Chronology and Events:
  • Triumphal Entry: All Gospels describe Jesus riding into Jerusalem, but the crowd's shouted acclamations vary, with later Gospels (Luke and John) explicitly portraying the crowd recognizing him as "king," unlike Mark. Matthew misinterprets a Zechariah prophecy, leading to Jesus riding two animals.
  • Temple Incident: Mark, Matthew, and Luke place Jesus's overturning of tables in the temple during the last week, contributing to the authorities' desire to kill him. John relocates this event to the beginning of Jesus's ministry.
  • Motivation for Opposition: In the Synoptics, Jesus's actions in the temple and parables provoke Jewish authorities. In John, his blasphemous "I am" statements and the raising of Lazarus are key motivators.
  • Anointing of Jesus: Mark and Matthew depict an anonymous woman anointing Jesus's head. Luke places this earlier, changing the woman to a "sinner" and the setting to a Pharisee's home, emphasizing Jesus's acceptance of outcasts. John places it in Bethany at Mary and Martha's house, with Mary anointing Jesus's feet and Judas Iscariot objecting. This conflation of Mary of Bethany with the sinful woman is the source of the misidentification of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute.
  • Judas's Betrayal: All Gospels identify Judas Iscariot as the betrayer, but motivations and details differ. Mark gives no motivation. Matthew makes it mercenary (30 pieces of silver) to fulfill scripture and uniquely describes Judas's suicide by hanging. Luke and John attribute Judas's betrayal to Satan entering him. John's account doesn't include a meeting with priests or payment.
  • Last Supper: In the Synoptics, the Last Supper is explicitly a Passover meal. In John, it occurs before Passover, so Jesus can be crucified at the same time as the Passover lambs, emphasizing him as the sacrificial lamb. John also uniquely includes Jesus washing the disciples' feet and instituting a new commandment to "love one another," but omits the institution of the Lord's Supper.
  • Peter's Denial: All four Gospels predict Peter's denial, using similar phrasing.
  • Gethsemane/Mount of Olives: Mark and Matthew place Jesus's prayer in Gethsemane with Peter, James, and John. Luke places it on the Mount of Olives and uniquely mentions an angel strengthening Jesus and his sweat turning to blood. John replaces this with a long theological prayer.
  • Arrest: All four Gospels describe Jesus's arrest. Mark emphasizes the chaos of the disciples fleeing. Matthew adds Jesus's "live by the sword, die by the sword" saying. Luke uniquely has Jesus healing the high priest's slave's ear. John alone identifies Peter as the one who cuts off the slave's ear (named Malchus) and depicts Jesus as fully in command, declaring "I am he," causing the guards to fall.
  • Trial Before Jewish Authorities: Details vary on the high priest's name and location of the trial. In Mark, Jesus directly confirms he is the Messiah and quotes Daniel. In Matthew and Luke, he is more circumspect. In John, Jesus is evasive with the high priest.
  • Trial Before Pilate: All Gospels portray Pilate asking Jesus if he is the "King of the Jews," to which Jesus gives a similar evasive reply. There's a growing tendency in the Gospels to exonerate Pilate, often at the expense of Jewish authorities. Matthew uniquely adds Pilate washing his hands and the crowd chanting "His blood be on us and on our children," which has sadly fueled antisemitism.

Audience Questions and Speaker Responses:

The speaker addresses various questions:

• Crucifixion's Significance: Crucifixion as a Roman method of execution for perceived insurrection aligns Jesus in opposition to worldly empire, symbolizing a spiritual kingdom that overturns hierarchy. Stoning (a Jewish method for heresy) would have made the religions more antagonistic.
• Other Biblical Passion Accounts: The speaker acknowledges that other biblical texts (Acts, Epistles, Revelation) also contain formulations of the passion story and would be interesting to explore further.
• Passover Dating: The differing dates for the Last Supper might reflect a historical tradition in the Synoptics or a theological repurposing of the Passover meal to represent Christian communion. John's timing emphasizes Jesus as the sacrificial lamb.
• Blasphemy: Blasphemy is relative; what one group considers orthodoxy, another sees as heresy. The Jewish authorities in the Gospels consider Jesus's claims blasphemous, though later figures like Bar Kokhba were accepted by some rabbis.
• Early Christian Harmonization: Early Christian scholars like Augustine often tried to harmonize contradictory Gospel accounts, viewing them as authoritative sources rather than historical documents in the modern sense. This approach, while well-intentioned, is not academically accurate.
• Josephus as a Historian: Josephus was an ancient historian with different methods and agendas than modern academic historians. He aimed to rationalize myths and often served as a propagandist, so modern historians must read him critically.
• Favorite Passion Account: The speaker currently enjoys John's Gospel due to its theological depth, though he previously favored Luke and appreciates Mark's raw and early nature.
• Roman Concern about John the Baptist: Josephus indicates Herod the Tetrarch, a Roman client ruler, was concerned about John the Baptist as a popular movement leader, leading to his execution.
• Non-Canonical Gospels: The speaker plans to discuss variations in non-canonical gospels, like the Gospel of Peter, in future lectures.

Judas's Role: The varying accounts of Judas's motivation (mercenary vs. Satanic influence) illustrate different theological understandings of his role.