What Really Happened to Jesus. A Historical Approach to the Ressurrection / Gospel Truth? New Light on Jesus and the Gospels

What Really Happened to Jesus. A Historical Approach to the Resurrection. By Gerd Ludemann. Translated by John Bowden. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1995, 147 pp., $12.99 paper. Gospel Truth? New Light on Jesus and the Gospels. By Graham Stanton. Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1995, 215 pp., $21.95.

Ludemann's monograph is an abbreviated version of his The Resurrection of Jesus: History, Experience, Theology (1994). The present study endeavors to make accessible to a popular audience the results of scholarly research on the burial, resurrection and appearances of Jesus. Lidemann defines his work as a "purely historical investigation into the historical context of the testimonies of the resurrection" (p. 6). He questions the historical objectivity of the gospel authors and contends that "everything that they say must therefore at first be treated with skepticism" (p. 9).

Ludemann's skeptical presuppositions compel him to conclude, for example, that the Matthean and Lukan accounts of the empty tomb are Christianized embellishments of a Markan original, which itself is legendary rather than historical. He considers the resurrection narratives to be an attempt to explain the inexplicable; they have nothing to do with an actual historical event. Mary Magdalene, Peter and Paul had resurrection experiences, but they did not encounter the resurrected Jesus. Their experiences are interpreted psychologically and explained as visions. Ludemann concludes his study with the controversial statement that "the tomb of Jesus was not empty, but full, and his body did not disappear, but rotted away" (p. 135; italics his).

This monograph asserts much but proves little. Moreover, it contains several errors of fact, the most obvious of which occurs during a discussion about "the exoneration of Pilate in the Lukan passion narrative, where he washes his hands in innocence" (p. 40). Pilate, of course, washes his hands in innocence in the gospel of Matthew, not the gospel of Luke. While Ludemann has provided a service in that he brings together all the relevant texts pertaining to the resurrection, his work is of limited value because it begins from an overly skeptical view of the historical veracity of the gospel witnesses to the resurrection as they now stand.

With cogent, judicious and circumspect arguments, the monograph by Graham Stanton brings a. nonspecialist audience up to date on current issues surrounding the quest for the historical Jesus and the problem of Christian origins. Chapters 1-8 cover such topics as the dating of p^sup 64^, an ancient manuscript consisting of three small papyrus fragments from the gospel of Matthew; the question of whether 7Q5, a small Greek fragment discovered at Qumran, is, as Jose O'Callaghan maintains, a fragment from the gospel of Mark; the significance of the Q source for gospel research; and the value of noncanonical gospels such as Peter, Thomas, Egerton and "Secret Mark" for providing historical information about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Chapters 9-16 focus on what can be known about Jesus from recent archeological discoveries as well as from traditions outside of the NT such as Josephus and Tacitus. These chapters also examine such issues as Jesus' relationship to John the Baptist, Jesus' self-understanding of his mission and ministry, and the reasons for Jesus' crucifixion. Stanton concludes the book with a discussion of the term "gospel truth," which he defines as "the truth of the Gospel message about Jesus Christ which the evangelists sought to proclaim" (p. 191).

Overall, Stanton's monograph is both informative and helpful. He succeeds in introducing his readers to recent discoveries that provide new light on Jesus and the gospels. He also sets forth a very specific understanding for the term "gospel truth," one that emphasizes the four evangelists' theological convictions about Jesus, rather than the "absolute reliability of every single word of the Gospels" (p. 191). This distinction is very helpful. I am curious, though, why he waited until the last chapter to develop fully this understanding of "gospel truth," since this term is a key element in the reader's understanding of his various arguments throughout the book. The reader would have been better served had Stanton's understanding, in its fullest expression, been given earlier in the book. This criticism, however, should not detract from the book's value.

Jim Oxford

Baylor University, Waco, TX

Copyright Evangelical Theological Society Sep 1998
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