A fine sunset against a silhouetted landscape put Christmas cards in my mind. I accept that Luke´s Christmas story (and the crucifixion stories) are largely embellished.
The fact remains: Jesus was born somewhere and he was certainly crucified by Pilate.
The gospel writers were men of faith. Luke had an idea about the real meaning of Jesus´ life and he tries to make his gospel mirror this. His Christmas story is not the humdrum reality of a peasant baby´s birth but an attempt to recognise the universal reality of the meaning of this particular birth and how it should be proclaimed now. He has all of the Jewish prophets and psalmists in his mind as he does so. The resulting text radiates hope and faith.
John Crossan suggests that Jesus was crucified alongside other criminals and that his body, far from being embalmed and buried in a wealthy man´s new tomb, was more likely thrown in a lime pit and thereby destroyed. When I first read this I did panic a little but then I thought about all the parts of the crucifixion texts that have never made sense to me.
How did the gospel writer know what Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane? How did he know what happened between Pilate and Jesus after the arrest?
The answer is, of course, that he didn´t.
The events of that night are unknown to all except those who were actually there. Again, though, the gospel writers were men of faith; clearly convinced about the true importance of what happened and the significance of this man Jesus. They write, not in order to mislead, but in order to elucidate; to make clear the links that they have themselves been making over the decades since his death between those events, that mission, and the prophets and psalmists of their scriptures.
Mr Crossan also suggests that Jesus died without witnesses; that the
disciples and the women were unlikely to have been there at all during those
final hours. That seems to me to be less certain and, so far as I recall, he doesn't make clear why he believes this. Would they have been in danger if they had visited Golgotha and viewed from a distance?
If Mr Crossan is correct that the earliest documents pertaining to Jesus were simply his sayings - without mention of either his crucifixion or his resurrection then it seems unlikely that the resurrection took place in the way suggested. Again, this came as something of a shock to me - despite the fact that the bodily resurrection of Jesus in the way described has always been a stumbling block.
After some thought on this, however, I was both relieved and, later, overjoyed. Again, the gospel writers are men of faith who have come to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah prophesied through prayer, discussion and studying scripture. If Mr Crossan is correct about the lime pit then Jesus would have simply disappeared to his followers. Instead of throwing in the towel and going back to their fishing, they stayed in, or around, the holy city, visiting the temple; practising their faith. They continue to read the scriptures, remember the things that Jesus had said and done and no doubt talk much together; gathering for prayer and meals and thus piecing together, little by little, the overwhelming truth. The scriptures and the psalms all foretold what would happen; the facts of Jesus' life and teaching engraved on their minds. A dawning realisation.
This was resurrection. The road to Emmaus - discussing the scriptures and eating a meal. And here it is clear to me the profound link that comes between meals together and the appearance of Jesus. He appears to them through the scriptures as much as through the meal itself.
Mr Crossan is also convinced that there was no Last Supper; no grand design by Jesus for the events that unfolded that night. If the Last Supper had taken place it would have been of paramount importance in the earliest documents relating to Jesus. This is not the case.
Again, I was a little shocked by this initially.
It means that I have to reevaluate the part played by Jesus' followers after his death. The last supper, then, happens after the crucifixion. They meet. they greet, they eat, and they remember. Over and over. Thus ritual is created little by little. By the time that the gospels are finally composed it has become almost written in stone and is thus weaved into the fabric of the wondrous tapestry which is the four gospels. Full of conjecture, faith, exaggeration, amazement, quirks, qualms, and, being human, slander too. Flawed documents all. Just like the older scriptures then.
Instead of creating more doubt in my mind though, I breathe a sigh of relief.
Jesus as the Anointed One is not merely the Chosen One of God. He is the Chosen One by his church also. We chose him together. We choose him together! The disciples believed and so we come to believe. This is the ultimate gift of the Spirit.