Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

§12.5 The Kingdom of God
tion, from the repertoire of the churches with which they were associated, with
its characteristic oral features of different versions of a saying whose substance
both versions preserve.
Such a sequence of tradition clearly attests a considerable interest among
the early followers of Jesus in the question of the relation between Jesus and the
Baptist. It is regularly assumed that the tradition is late, or at least later than the
earliest recollections of Jesus' teaching. 304 But as we have seen, John was a figure
of considerable repute (note again Matt. 11.7-9/Luke 7.24-26); and the fact
that Jesus had emerged from the Baptist's circle would presumably have been
widely known, especially if some of Jesus' closest disciples had also come from
the Baptist circle. 305 Inevitably, then, questions would have arisen among the
hearers of Jesus' preaching as to the relation between the two. Jesus' own disciples
would have needed some instruction on the point. The more significant the
claims made by Jesus regarding the kingdom of God, the more likely the issue
was to arise. However the theme may have been elaborated, therefore, the tradition
that Jesus in his teaching referred to the Baptist most likely began with Jesus'
own attempt to explain the difference between his mission and that of the
Baptist.
(1) Matt.ll.2-6/Luke 7.18-23. That the Baptist himself put such a question
to Jesus (Matt. 11.3/Luke 7.19) is entirely possible. 306 The Baptist's conception
of the 'one coming/to come' may have been vague beyond the fact that
the newcomer's mission would be one of judgment (§11.4d). That Jesus made
such significant claims yet did not repeat the note of judgment, or at least give it
such prominence, would presumably have raised questions for the Baptist. Had
the question been contrived in subsequent Christian apologetic we might well
have expected the episode to close with the report of the Baptist's acceptance of
Jesus' answer. That at least would have accorded with the tendency in Christian
tradition (noted in chapter 11) to depict the Baptist as a witness to Jesus. To depict
Jesus' answer removing the Baptist's doubts would have been an attractive
option (cf. Matt. 3.14-15). But the episode closes with the answer itself, which
implies that that was as much as those who formulated the story knew. It is the
saying of Jesus which formed the core of the tradition. 307 The tradents kept it
304. The Jesus Seminar is generally negative in its judgments, with the exception of
Matt. 11.7b-8/Luke 7.24b-25 (Funk, Five Gospels 177-80, 301-303). Lüdemann regards sayings
1-3 as formulated from a post-Easter perspective, but reckons that saying 4 may go back to
Jesus ('because of its offensive language') and saying 5 also as 'authentic' (Jesus 173, 306).
305. See above, § 11.2c.
306. On the likelihood that the Baptist's prison conditions permitted at least some communication
with his disciples see Meier, Marginal Jew 2.198-99 n. 89.
307. Jeremias sees here a good example of Aramaic rhythm: six two-beat lines (Proclamation
20-21).
447