The Five Gospels Part 2 Analysis of What the Jesus Seminar Found Jesus Said
Having discussed the Jesus Seminar methodology, how have they re-imaged Jesus? Fortunately an index is provided of red (authentic) and pink (probably authentic) sayings.
Jesus speaks to non-violence (although using some violent parables) and overturns social expectations. For example, ‘Turn the other cheek’ and ‘Love your enemies.’ He is also concerned for the poor and regards riches as sin or at least unhelpful.
When this Jesus spoke in parables, he did not have a specific point in mind; he did not moralize or make judgements. (The Jesus Seminar consistently labels the explanation of the parables as black—inauthentic. For example the parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16.1–13, vv. 1–8a are labelled red, vv. 8b–12 are black, and v. 13 is pink.)
Another distinction of the Jesus of the Seminar is that he is non-apocalyptic (although many other questers for the historical Jesus do attribute apocalyptic sayings to him). He does not speak of the Kingdom of God (SV: God’s imperial rule) as in the future by only something that is already present. (This is one way to resolve the already & not yet tension in the Gospels.)
So, where does this leave us? With a far less interesting Jesus than the Jesus of the Gospels. While this Jesus has some profound sayings, he has been greatly tamed. This Jesus would hardly raise someone’s ire, much less have been put to death. He is not a Jesus worth worshiping, worth sacrificing one’s life for, or being martyred for. While the Jesus Seminar claimed, ‘Beware of finding a Jesus entirely congenial to you,’ this is exactly what they have found. But I suppose I suspected this when I read the dedication:
This report is dedicated toGalileo Galileiwho altered our view of the heavens foreverThomas Jeffersonwho took scissors and paste to the gospelsDavid Friedrich Strausswho pioneered the quest of the historical Jesus
As a concluding remark, let us not be self-righteous forget, ‘there but for the grace of God go I.’ How often do we create our own tame version of Jesus? We may not use different colours in the Gospels but we subtly re-image Jesus so that he becomes a white Republican, an astute libertarian, a liberal Democrat, or a myriad of other figureheads for causes and examples of living. We often tame Jesus, so that he is not primarily God incarnate our Saviour, but some other good but lesser thing. Voltaire is to have remarked, ‘Si Dieu nous a faits à son image, nous le lui avons bien rendu. — If God has made us in his image, we have returned him the favour.’
