Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

FROM THE GOSPELS TO JESUS §9.9
gest that the Fourth Evangelist may be drawing on good tradition at least to some
extent:
1. That there was an overlap between John's and Jesus' missions is very probable
(see §11.2b).
2. If Jesus' mission was in any degree directed to the restoration of Israel, as
seems most probable (§13.3), how could he fail to preach his message also
within Judea and to the people of Jerusalem?
3. The Synoptics report followers from Judea and Jerusalem. 347 There seem
to have been disciples in or around Jerusalem: Mary and Martha (Luke
10.38-41) are located in Bethany by John 11.1; the arrangements for the
entry into Jerusalem and for the last supper suggest secret disciples in the
city or its environs (Mark 11.1-6; 14.12-16); all four Gospels speak of Joseph
of Arimathea (Mark 15.43 pars.); 348 and John's Gospel mentions also
Nicodemus (3.1-15; 7.50; 19.39).
4. The Galilean mission in itself would not necessarily last for much beyond a
year. Periodic visits to Jerusalem, to celebrate the pilgrim feasts there, can
hardly be ruled out, and would help explain the longer period usually assumed
for Jesus' mission. John 7.1-13 may retain an echo of uncertainty on
Jesus' part as to the wisdom of such a visit, and coheres with the note of secrecy
linked to at least some of his Jerusalem disciples.
In none of this can we hope to attain a high level of probability. As the
early form critics realised, the tradents of the Synoptic tradition showed little
concern in situating the great bulk of Jesus' teaching in specific times and places.
They did structure their accounts round a turning point in the territory of
Caesarea Philippi, but the degree of indiscrimination in including traditions before
and after that turning point leaves the location of particular teachings quite
uncertain. If there is an exception it is the account of Jesus' last week in Jerusalem
and the disputes in which Jesus was embroiled at that time. Otherwise, it
would be a mistake to attempt to pin down particular teachings to particular
phases in Jesus' mission. In consequence, when we turn to a closer examination
of the Jesus tradition itself I will usually make no attempt to build arguments on
chronology or location of Jesus' teachings and doings.
However, some of the value of the above discussion on historical context
can be encapsulated in a timeline and map.
347. Mark 3.8/Matt. 4.25; Luke 5.17; 6.17; 7.17.
348. On Joseph of Aramathea see further §17.1g(4), below.
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