Can We Trust Luke as a Reliable Historian (cont’d)

We will explore this question focusing on the names/titles of Jesus:

• Jesus• Christ

• Lord Jesus Christ• Application

Methods to Validate Historicity

• Criterion of Consistency – consistency of the account under study with known culture, geography, customs, agriculture, architecture, Botany, economics, language, law, personal names, politics, religion, society, topography, weather, etc.

• Criterion of dissimilarity – powerful tool when applied to Jesus’ distinctive teachings (next week)

• Criterion of Multiple Attestation (next Week)

Onomastic Research Results

1. There were a few extremely popular names so that almost 50% of the individuals bore these names.

2. The list of high frequency names in Palestine is different from the list from Diaspora.

3. High frequency names are often disambiguated.4. About 15% of individuals bore Greek first name (male 12%,

female 18%).5. Double names in Palestine are of the form: <Jewish name>

<Greek name>, rarely and perhaps never :<Jewish name><Jewish name>.

6. David, Moses, Elijah – not used. These are eschatological figures.

Names Statistics: NT vs Palestine

So Many Simons Mt Mk Lk Jn

Simon Peter Apostle mentionedSimon the zealot /the canaanite 10:2-4 1:15

Jesus' brother 13:55 6:03

Simon the leper 26: 6-11 14:3-9 12:1-8Simon the Cyrenean cross bearing 3:32

Simon the Pharisee 7:40-

44 Father of Judas Iscariot

6:71;12:4;13:2,26

Sorcerer (Acts 8:9-24)

Disambiguation of the Twelve (Mat 10:2-4)

Jesus’ Family (Mk 6:3, Mt 13:55-56)(n) indicates rank of popularity in Elan’s list of 3000

Mother Mary (1 )Father Joseph (2 )Jesus (6) James (11) Joseph (2)Simon (1)Judas (4)Sisters unnamed

Mt 1:21 2She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[ because he will save his people from their sins.”

Apocryphal Gospel of Thomas

Starting line: “These are the secret words which the living Jesus spoke, and Didymus Judas Thomas wrote them down.”

• The Hebraic name “Judas” should be first.• 3 names – not heard of or very very rare• “Thomas” is Aramiac for “Twin”. John 11:16, 20:24, 21:3• “Didymus means “twin” in Greek• Early Church has a tradition that Thomas’ Hebraic name is

“Judas”.

Heretical contents Of Apoc. Gospel of Thomas

• Saying 114 (last line): Simon Peter said to him, "Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life." Jesus said, "I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."

• Saying 71: Jesus said, "I shall destroy this house, and no one will be able to build it [...]." (rejects resurrection)

• Saying 3: When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. (salvation by knowledge)

Apocryphal Gospel of Philip Showed Ignorance

The apostles who were before us had these names for him: "Jesus, the Nazorean, Messiah", that is, "Jesus, the Nazorean, the Christ". The last name is "Christ", the first is "Jesus", that in the middle is "the Nazarene". "Messiah" has two meanings, both "the Christ" and "the measured". "Jesus" in Hebrew is "the redemption". "Nazara" is "the Truth". "The Nazarene" then, is "the Truth".

Scholars cannot find etymological reasons for “Nazara” to mean “truth” .

“Jesus” in Quoted Speech in Crowd situation Disambiguated in 4 Gospels

The Gospel Writers called the main character Jesus, without qualification, because it is clear which Jesus the 4 writers referred to.

However, Peter Williams of Tyndale House in England notice that in quoted speech in a crowd situation, the name “Jesus” was properly disambiguated as expected!!

This shows that all 4 Gospel writers did not allow their own usage to be put of the mouths of the characters being portrayed.

Jesus IN Quoted Speech

• Mt 21:6 They did just as Jesus had told them

• The crowds say: “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee” (21:11)

• And Jesus went into the temple. (21:12)

Jesus in Quoted Speech

• Mt 26:64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied

• 26:69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.

• 26:71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

• 26:75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken

Jesus in Quoted Speech in Matthew

27:17 “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas or Jesus whop is called Christ?”

27:22 “What shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”

27:37 “This is Jesus the king of the Jews”

28:5 I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.”

Jesus in Quoted Speech in Mark

1:24 “What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth?”

10:47 “And hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth he began to call out Son of David’ Jesus!”

14:67 “You were with the Nazarene Jesus”

16:6 “You seek Jesus of Nazareth”

Jesus in Quoted Speech in Luke• 4:34 “What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth?”

• 8:28 “What do I have to do with you, Jesus son of the Most High God?”

• 17:13 “Jesus teacher, have mercy on us”

• 18:37 They told him Jesus the Nazarene was passing by and he called out saying, “Jesus son of David, have mercy on me.”

• 23:24 “Jesus, remember me”. (no need to qual.)

• 24:19 “the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth”

Jesus in Quoted Speech in John• 1:45 “We have found the one that Moses in the law and the

prophets wrote about: Jesus the son of Joseph from Nazareth”

• 6:42 Isn’t this the son of Joseph, whom we know?”

• 9:11 “The man called Jesus made clay” (no qual. Because blind man didn’t know much”

• 18:5,7 “Whom are you seeking? They replied ‘Jesus of Nazareth’”

• 19:19 “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”

“Jesus” and “Christ” in the 4 Gospels

Occurrences of "Jesus"Occurrences of "Messiah" / "Christ" applied to Jesus

Matthew 225 14Mark 214 6Luke 239 12John 283 12

Outsiders Preferred “Christ” Acts 11:26 The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. (AD 46 or before)Acts 26:28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

Outsiders Preferred “Christ”Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 20.200 (AD 93 or 94)[Ananus - High Priest] assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others

Pliny, Letters To Emperor Gtrajan (AD113-116)they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god

Tacitus, Annals, 15.44 (AD 109)Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus

Lord Jesus Christ“3-word confession”

• 0 time in Gospels• 83 times in the rest of the NT– 4 times in Acts– 66 times in Paul– 13 times in the rest of the NT

• Note we count similar phrases e.g. “Jesus Christ our Lord”

• What would explain the shift of usage from Gospels to the rest of NT?

What triggered the change of usage from predominantly “Jesus” to “Christ”, “Jesus

Christ”, “Lord Jesus Christ”• Acts 2:22 ffJesus’ death and resurrection as fulfillment of Ps 16:8-11

• Acts 2 :33 ffJesus’ ascension and the giving of the Holy Spirit as fulfillment of Ps 110:1

Acts 2:25ff - Ps 16:8-11 prophesized about the Resurrection of the Messiah

David said about him:“‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope,27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[e]

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.

Acts 2:33ff – Ps 110:1 prophesized about the ascension of the Messiah

33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,“‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’[f]

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

Philippians 2:5-11 – Carmen Christi

Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7 rather, he made himself nothing ---- Jesus by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— -----Christ even death on a cross!9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, --- Lord10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing – Lk 2:11

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; Jesushe is the Messiah, Christthe Lord. Lord

In a nutshell the angels in advance presented the gist of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost!Carmen Christi is the liturical encapsulation of the same!

Application Tree for “Lord Jesus Christ”

Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus Lord Christ

Birth/Incarnation Death/Resurrection

Ascension/Pentecost/Rule/Satan’ Destruction

Humility Obedience Death to sinIntercession Worship New LifeService Missions Hope