From the Pulpit: Was there really a Jesus?

If Jesus is presented correctly in the earliest gospel, Mark, the birth stories in Matthew and Luke must be legendary, for if they were historical, Jesus would not have grown up unrecognized in Nazareth, much less have been rejected there by his neighbors, relatives, and even his own mother and brothers (Mark 3:21, 31-34 and 6:3-6).

And if, as Mark 1:11 states, Jesus at his baptism heard God tell him, “You are my son,” this suggests that even Jesus did not know his messianic identity until then, and needed to be told.

And if, as Luke 7:20 reports, John the Baptist once asked Jesus “Are you the one…?” there is no way John 1:13-34 or Matthew 3:14 could be historical, for there the Baptist is presented as already knowing all about Jesus.

Nor if, as Mark 8:29 indicates, even Jesus’ disciples did not recognize him as the Messiah until late in his ministry, John 1:35-49 cannot be historical, for there Jesus’ disciples affirm his messiahship from the first day they meet him.

Now, if some exasperated person were to ask me, “Why are you being so negative about the gospels?” I would answer, “That is not really my intention. Rather, it excites me to acknowledge that even after we have examined those ancient writings as honestly and rigorously as we can, we still find information in them that holds up to investigation.” (Yes, Virginia, there really was a Jesus, and we can know much about him.)

At the same time, however, there are puzzling mysteries connected to Jesus: Why, after his heavenly Father spoke so clearly to him at his baptism, did Jesus struggle so with what he had been told? And why was he thereafter so secretive about himself, later insisting that his disciples must “tell no one” his messianic identity (Mark 8:30)? What caused him to demand that?

And why was Jesus so convinced that he must fulfill God’s “will” by dying? No one before Jesus had ever thought the Messiah would be required to die, so what caused Jesus to think that? And why, the night before his death, did Jesus struggle so desperately in Gethsemane, even begging his Father (“Abba”) to relieve him of that requirement (Mark 14:36)?

Also, how are we to interpret his only cry from the cross at Mark 15:34?

Those questions and more we could ask and study for a lifetime. I have.

Boswell is a retired pastor of The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) now living in Normal. His views may be accessed at his youtube video “Jesus Laid bare: Conversations with Jesus” and in his novel, “The Dead Sea Gospel.”

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