Straussâ•Žs Life of Jesus



Yüklə 376 Kb.
Pdf görüntüsü
səhifə8/15
tarix26.11.2017
ölçüsü376 Kb.
#12450
1   ...   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   ...   15

THEODORE

 

PARKER



274

STRAUSS


S

 



LIFE

 

OF



 

JESUS


275

sus on the part of John; nor is it probable that, while in prison 

on the charge of sedition, (as Josephus says,) he would be per-

mitted to hold free intercourse with his disciples. The historical 

facts are, perhaps, the following: Jesus was baptized by John; 

perhaps continued for some time one of his followers; was en-

trusted by John with the idea of the approaching Messiah. Af-

ter John was cast into prison, he continued to preach the doc-

trines of his master in a modifi ed form, and afterwards, when 

he rose far above John, never ceased to feel and express a deep 

reverence for him. Now we can trace the gradual formation of 

these stories. John spoke indefi nitely of the coming Messiah; 

tradition added, that, he proclaimed Jesus as that Messiah. It 

was thought the rumor of the works of Jesus might have led 

him to this conclusion, and, therefore, Matthew’s story of the 

mission of two disciples from the prison was formed. But since 

Jesus had been a disciple of John, it was necessary the relation 

should be changed, and this purpose is served by Luke’s stories 

of events before his birth, which prove Jesus is the superior. 

But these accounts were not suffi ciently defi nite, and, there-

fore, the fourth Gospel leaves no doubt in John’s mind that 

Jesus was the Messiah, but makes him give the strongest as-

surance of this, the fi rst time he sees him, and ascribes to him 

the most distinct expressions touching his eternal nature, di-

vinity, and character, as a suffering and atoning Messiah. Now 

the accounts of John’s imprisonment and execution are easily 

reconciled with one another and with Josephus; and hence we 

see that his life, as portrayed in the Gospels, is surrounded by 

mythical shadows only on the side turned towards Jesus, while 

on the other, the historical features are clearly seen.

The miraculous events at the baptism of Jesus, Mr. Strauss 

maintains, also present diffi culties. The Synoptics mention 

both the dove and the voice; the fourth Gospel says nothing of 

the voice, and does not say, — though, perhaps, it implies, — 

that the spirit descended on him at the baptism. The lost gos-

pels of Justyn and the Ebionites, connected with this a celes-

tial light, or fi re burning in the Jordan. According to the fourth 

Gospel, John was the only witness of the spirit descending 

upon Jesus like a dove; but Luke would make it appear there 

were many spectators. Taking all the accounts, there must 

have been some objective phenomena visible and audible. But 

here the cultivated man fi nds diffi culties and objections. Must 

the heavens open for the divine spirit to pass through? Is it 

consistent with just notions of the infi nite spirit, to suppose it 

must move like a fi nite being from place to place, and can in-

corporate itself in the form of a dove? Does God speak with 

a human voice? The various theories, naturalistic and super-

naturalistic, fail of removing these diffi culties. It cannot have 

been an aggregation of natural events, nor a subjective vision 

of John, Jesus, or the multitude.

In some of the old gospels now lost, the words, “Thou art 

my beloved son,” &c. were followed by these, “This day have 

I begotten thee.” Clement of Alexandria and Augustine seem 

to have found them in their copies, and some manuscripts of 

Luke still contain the words. These words, (from Psalm ii. 7,) 

were supposed by Jewish and Christian interpreters, to re-

late to the Messiah, in their original application. Now to make 

them more effective, and their application to Jesus, as the 

Messiah, the more certain, this story naturally grew up, that 

a celestial voice applied them to Jesus. It was perfectly in the 

spirit of Judaism, and primitive Christianity, to believe such 

voices were addressed to men. Some of the Rabbis, it is said, 

received them not rarely. Still farther, Joel and Isaiah had 

predicted the outpouring of the divine spirit in the days of 

the Messiah. This spirit he also was to receive. If Jesus were 

the Messiah, he must receive this spirit; and the occasion of 

his baptism afforded a very favorable opportunity. But how 



THEODORE

 

PARKER



276

STRAUSS


S

 



LIFE

 

OF



 

JESUS


277

should it be known that it came upon him? It must descend 

in a visible form. The dove is a sacred bird in Syria, and, per-

haps, in Judea. The Jews supposed the spirit of God “moved 

on the face of the deep” in this form. The dove, therefore, was 

a proper symbol and representative of the divine spirit. These 

features were all successively united in a mythus, which gradu-

ally grew up. There is, then, no reason for doubting that Jesus 

was baptized by John; but the other circumstances are myth-

ical, and have been added at a later date. Here Mr. Strauss is 

false to his principles, and separates the fact from the drapery, 

which surrounds the fact. 

But the whole story of the descent of the spirit on Jesus, 

continues the author, seems at variance with the previous ac-

count of his conception by that spirit. If the divine spirit was 

the proper parent of Jesus, why should that spirit descend 

and abide upon him? It could not thereby produce a more in-

timate union between them. We must suppose this story orig-

inated in a community which did not believe the supernatu-

ral conception of Jesus; and in fact we fi nd that Christians, 

who did not admit the supernatural conception, believed the 

divine spirit was fi rst imparted to Jesus at his baptism, and 

the Orthodox fathers persecuted the old Ebionites for noth-

ing more rigorously, than for maintaining that the holy spirit, 

or the celestial spirit, fi rst united himself with the man Je-

sus at his baptism. According to Justin, it was the Jewish no-

tion, that a higher power would be fi rst imparted to the Mes-

siah, when he was anointed by Elias. This seems to have been 

the primitive belief; but afterwards, when reverence for Jesus 

rose higher, a myth grew up to prove that his Messiahship, 

and divine son-ship, did not commence with his baptism, but 

with his conception; and then the words, “this day have I be-



gotten thee,” were left out, because they could not be recon-

ciled with the Orthodox view.

The story of the Temptation also, Mr. Strauss contends, 

has its diffi culties. John does not mention it, but makes Je-

sus appear in Galilee three days after his baptism, while the 

Synoptics say, he went immediately after this event into the 

wilderness, and fasted forty days. The Synoptics also differ 

slightly among themselves. There are other diffi culties. Why 

did the Divine Spirit subject Jesus to this temptation by a vis-

ible Satan? Not to ascertain what manner of spirit he was of; 

nor to try him, for his subsequent trials were suffi cient. Again, 

a man could not abstain from food for forty days. Therefore 

some say, this is only a round number, and the fasting was not 

total abstinence from food; but this theory does not agree with 

the text. Still farther, wherein consisted the utility of this fast? 

But the personal devil is the chief stone of stumbling. His visi-

ble appearance has its diffi culties. How could the devil hope to 

seduce Jesus, knowing his superior nature? and if ignorant of 

this, he would not have taken the pains to appear visibly before 

him. The second temptation could offer no attraction to Je-

sus, and therefore is not consistent with the alleged character 

of the devil. How could he transfer Jesus from place to place? 

Their appearance on the pinnacle of the temple would create a 

sensation. Where is the mountain, whence he could show Je-

sus all the kingdoms of the world? To say the world is Pales-

tine, with its four provinces, is no less absurd than to maintain 

with Fritzsche, that the devil showed Christ all the countries 

on the map of the world. Attempts have been made to explain 

this story as an account of what passed in the mind of Jesus, 

either in an ecstatic vision, occasioned directly by God, or the 

devil, or by his own natural thoughts arising in a dreamy state, 

when he spontaneously transformed the thoughts into per-

sons speaking and acting. But why should the Deity, or how 

could the Devil effect this? To suppose it was the result of his 

own natural thoughts, implies that Jewish notions of the Mes-



Yüklə 376 Kb.

Dostları ilə paylaş:
1   ...   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   ...   15




Verilənlər bazası müəlliflik hüququ ilə müdafiə olunur ©genderi.org 2024
rəhbərliyinə müraciət

    Ana səhifə