Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

FROM THE GOSPELS TO JESUS §10.2
new features or elements which cut across or contradicted the earlier thrust of the
tradition.
The reconceptualizing of the traditioning process which I thus offer can be
summed up as a call to recognize the living character of the process, as against
thinking in terms of literary relationships between static entities (texts). To adapt
Schweitzer's famous metaphor, 20 the task of tracing the history of the Jesus tradition
is not best conceptualized as an interminable journey through innumerable
intermediate stations at which one must stop and change (the different layers of
the tradition). The better image is a continuous run of performances of some
classic, where performers and interpretation change but continue to perform the
same classic. It is this postulate of continuity through performance which makes
it realistic to identify an originating inspiration still audible in and through the diverse
performances. That still audible impact of word and act is what gives 'the
remembered Jesus' historical substance.
When we apply this initial criterion (what is characteristic and relatively
distinct) to the Jesus tradition, a remarkably full portrayal quickly begins to take
shape, as Sanders noted: a Galilean who emerged from the circle of John the
Baptist and who operated for a lengthy period, most of his mission, in the small
towns and villages of Galilee; a preacher whose main emphasis was the royal
rule of God; a healer who was famous for his exorcisms in particular; a teacher
who characteristically taught in aphorisms and parables, who successfully summoned
many to follow him, and who had a close circle of twelve; a prophet who
somehow challenged the Temple authorities and who was crucified outside the
walls of Jerusalem by the Roman authorities on the charge of being a messianic
pretender. 21 That already provides a solid platform on which to build, a substantial
frame within which to fill in more detail.
Of course, all this needs to be worked out in a good deal more detail. But if
such a broad picture can be sketched in with some confidence, then we are in a
much better position to evaluate key particulars. The question again and again will
be not simply 'Is this detail or that detail historically plausible/reliable?' but 'Does
this particular story or teaching build into a coherent and consistent picture of the
person who made the impact evident in the broader picture?' 'What was the impact
of this person which resulted in this episode or saying being originally formulated?'
Of course much of the detail will be hazy and disputed; debates over the
20. Quest 2 299.
21. Sanders' several lists of 'almost indisputable facts', 'unassailable facts about Jesus'
do not coincide, but the overall overlap with the data listed here is very substantial, though surprisingly
he makes little of Jesus as teacher, simply that he preached the kingdom of God, or of
Jesus as exorcist {Jesus 11, 17, 321, 326; also The Historical Figure of Jesus [London: Penguin,
1993] 10-11). C. A. Evans, 'Authenticating the Activities of Jesus', in Chilton and Evans, eds.,
Authenticating the Activities of Jesus 3-29, elaborates Sanders' 'facts'.
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