Canonical Gospels Archives - Page 8 of 35 - The Bart Ehrman Blog

Did God Mock Jesus on the Cross? A Scribal Change?

I've started to show that scribes sometimes changed the New Testament texts they were copying in ways that certainly seem “intentional” (in addition to making many more simple, accidental, slips of the pen). I last gave an example from the beginning of Mark's Gospel that appears to be a case where scribes altered a text because it seems to make a mistake. Here I’ll give a second instance, this time from near the ending of Mark, a passage that is exceedingly interesting but for a comletley different reason. One of the most intriguing variations in Mark’s Gospel comes in the Passion narrative, in the final words attributed to Jesus in the Gospel. Jesus is being crucified, and he says nothing on the cross until he cries out his final words, which Mark records in Aramaic: “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” Mark then translates the words into Greek: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus then utters a loud cry and dies. What is striking is that in one early Greek manuscript BREAK (the [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:05-04:00November 16th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, New Testament Manuscripts|

An Error in Mark? Did Scribes Change It?

In a previous post I discussed "accidental" changes of the text by scribes who appear simply to have made a mistake. There are other changes that almost certainly were not made by a slip of the pen (as when an entire verse is added!) and it seems clear in these instances that scribes changed the text because they chose to do so, for one reason or another. You can never tell for certain, of course -- the scribes aren't around to interview about the matter; so it's often a judgment call. And often the judgment is rather difficult to make and involves an interesting issue (or two). I'll be illustrating the issue (how to tell if a change was an accident or made on purpose) by dealing with three of the most interesting textual variants in the Gospel of Mark, one of which is an easy problem to solve, one that is a bit more difficult, and one that has generated a lot of discussion over the years and no firm consensus. The one textual [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:05-04:00November 15th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, New Testament Manuscripts|

Is it Possible Jesus Didn’t Teach the Golden Rule?

Did Jesus actually teach the Golden Rule? Or was it foisted on his lips after his death by later followers? I have already written a couple of posts on the Golden Rule in the two places it occurs in the New Testament, Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31 (see: Little-Known Aspects of The Golden Rule as Found in the Sermon on the Mount and Did Jesus Give the Sermon on the Mount? ). Normally the rule is phrased like this: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I noted, though, in the Greek clauses are reversed. A literal translation of Matthew’s version would be “Everything you want other people to do for you, you likewise do for them,” to which Matthew, importantly, adds “for this is the Law and the Prophets” (meaning that if you follow this rule, you will be following the entire will of God as revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures; Matthew 7:12); Luke is quite similar “Just as you wish people to do for you, do likewise for them” (Luke [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T13:00:04-04:00October 30th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

Why Do Historians Treat Jesus Differently from Every Other Historical Figure?

I’m starting to think there must be a better way to explain to laypeople – and even to scholars – the best way we can show what the historical Jesus himself said and did. Since I was a graduate student I have done what every other budding New Testament scholar was doing: name the “criteria” that are used to show which elements of the Gospels are legendary and which are historical, explain their logic, justify them, and then use them. Now I’m starting to think that just ain’t the way to go. In case you don’t know, scholars use a set of criteria to decide what is authentic to the life of Jesus. The reason we need to do that is that we don’t have any audio or video recordings of his life, or stenographic accounts of his teachings, or highly reliable, fully documented, authoritative records of his activities. What we have are accounts written decades later (30-65 years later, at best), by people who did not know him, living in different parts of the [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:48-04:00October 19th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

When Did Jesus Die? Dating Jesus’ Death by the Earthquake

Finally, a scientific dating of Jesus' death. I was trolling through old posts and came across this one. Whoa! Really? ****************************** Geologists claim now that they have established the date of Jesus’ death. It was April 3, 33 CE. Here was the headline: Jesus 'died on Friday, April 3, 33AD', claim researchers, who tie earthquake data with the gospels to find the date http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2149750/Jesus-died-Friday-April-3-33AD-claim-researchers-tie-earthquake-data-gospels-date.html For those who don’t know, the date of Jesus’ death has long been in dispute. The reality is, we are not sure when Jesus was executed (i.e., what year). It almost certainly happened during a Passover feast during the reign of Pontius Pilate as the Prefect of Judea. His rule lasted between 26-36 CE. All of our early Gospel accounts agree that the crucifixion happened on a Friday. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, this Friday was the day after the Passover meal was eaten and so, technically, it was still “Passover Day (see Mark 14:12). According to John the Friday was the day before it was eaten – on the day [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:47-04:00October 9th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus, Religion in the News|

Understanding the Gospels: Suggested Readings!

I frequently get asked what I would recommend for people to read if they are interested in the study of the New Testament. In my recent course on the Gospels (www.bartehrman.com/courses) I'm including as part of the supplement to the lectures an annotated list of suggested readings. The idea is to provide people with some guidance for important books, some to start with and some for more advanced readers. Here it is, for your perusing enjoyment! The Unknown Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Annotated Suggestions for Further Reading Aune, David. The New Testament in Its Literary Environment. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1987. A superb introduction to the genres of the New Testament writings in relation to other literature of the Greco-Roman world. Brown, Raymond. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke. Updated ed. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1999. A massive and exhaustive discussion of the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke, suitable for those who want to know simply everything about every detail. Brown, Raymond. The [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:35-04:00September 27th, 2022|Book Discussions, Canonical Gospels|

Big Questions for Studying the New Testament Gospels

In my previous posts I summarized the eight lectures that can be found on my new eight-lecture online course, “The Unknown Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.” As I’ve indicated before, this course is not connected directly with the blog: it is a separate endeavor run off my personal website for the Bart Ehrman Professional Services. You can see it here. https://www.bartehrman.com/courses/. Included in the course packet are questions for reflection, meant to help listeners think through the issues I’ve discussed and reflect on them from their own perspective. I deal with each of these issues in some depth in the course of the lectures. If you are interested in these issues, and have trouble answering the questions as fully as you like, or would like additional information about them to go on – take a look at the course and see if it’s your cup of tea! The Unknown Gospels Questions for Reflection Lecture One To what extent do you think we can understand the Gospels without knowing what scholars say about their [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:35-04:00September 25th, 2022|Canonical Gospels|

Final Lectures in My Course “The Unknown Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John”

This will be my final post providing summaries of my lectures for my new eight-lecture online course, “The Unknown Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.” As I’ve indicated before, this course is not connected directly with the blog: it is a separate endeavor run off my personal website for the Bart Ehrman Professional Services. You can see it here. https://www.bartehrman.com/courses/. I am posting about the lectures simply because I know a number of blog members would be interested. If you are, check it out. If you’re not, don’t! Lecture Six: Embracing the Differences In this lecture I build on the conclusions I have drawn so far in order to show why recognizing the differences among the Gospels is actually the key to understanding them. This kind of scholarship that finds alterations and discrepancies is not necessarily negative. It has extremely important positive effects, allowing the reader to see the point each author is trying to make. I illustrate the point by discussing three kinds of differences. First, some differences significantly heighten an emphasis [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:35-04:00September 24th, 2022|Canonical Gospels|

More on My New Course: The Unknown Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

I continue here with more summaries of my lectures for my new eight-lecture online course, “The Unknown Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.” Again, this course is not connected directly with the blog: it is a separate endeavor run off my personal website for the Bart Ehrman Professional Services: you can see it here. https://www.bartehrman.com/courses/. I am posting about the lectures simply because I know a number of blog members would be interested. If you are, check it out. If you’re not, don’t! Lecture Three: What Are the Gospels? This lecture continues the story by explaining how scholarship developed with the earth-shattering book of David Friedrich Strauss, The Life of Jesus Critically Examined (1834), which claimed that both the traditional Christian supernatural understandings of the Gospels and the Enlightenment opposition to “miracle” (found for example in the work of Paulus) completely misunderstood the Gospels. Strauss’s controversial claim was that these texts were not meant to present history as it happened but “myths.” When Strauss used that term he did not mean that Jesus “did [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:35-04:00September 22nd, 2022|Canonical Gospels|

My New Course: The Unknown Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)

My new online course focusing on what scholars know about the four Gospels will soon be available on my personal website. Neither the course nor the website is part of the blog, but I am announcing it here because I know a number of blog members would be interested. The course is based on a set of remote lectures that some of you attended, and includes additional instructional materials. If you did not come but would like to know more about it, you can check it out here: https://www.bartehrman.com/courses/. It consists of eight thirty-minute (or so) lectures, with the title: “The Unknown Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.” (I call them “unknown” because most people don’t know what scholars say about them.) I’m envisioning the course as part of a long series covering the entire Bible, both Hebrew Bible and New Testament, called “How Scholars Read the Bible.” The series as a whole will be devoted to showing what historical scholars argue, believe, think, and think they know about the Bible, with some attention paid [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:35-04:00September 21st, 2022|Canonical Gospels|

Problems in the Gospels–How do YOU Talk to Believers About Them? What Do You Think?

I recently received this query by a blog member, and it's a question I often get, both on the blog and off. I'm hoping that maybe you yourself have some wisdom on it. How do you talk about historical and literary problems (contradictions!) of the Gospels to people who are convinced the Bible has no problems at all? Here the question is articulated very well. What's your experience and judgment? Let us know what you think! ****************************** QUESTION from a blog reader: I’m fairly knowledgeable about the historical Jesus. When I find myself discussing the gospels with Christians who are not, I’m always tempted to lead with statements that certain things are not accurate: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John didn’t actually write the gospels; the four source hypothesis; contradictions in accounts by the gospels; no post-resurrection appearances in the original version of Mark; etc. This seems like a needlessly negative approach to an informal discussion. Christians most often automatically react that I’m asserting some sort of superiority and even dogmatism over them. Do you have [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:08-04:00August 21st, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Reader’s Questions|

Writings of the Apostles in the Canon of the New Testament

How did we get the twenty-seven books of the New Testament? And why? I’m in the middle of a thread that is meant to provide a *sketch* of how it happened; I’ll be writing a book on the question, and these are my preliminary thoughts about the topics that I’ll be covering, one at a time. In previous posts I’ve pointed out that the early Christians started out with a canon of Scripture: as Jews they had the Hebrew Bible as an authority for understanding their beliefs, ethics, and religious practices; but as Christianity began to develop its own distinctive views on things, church leaders came to think needed authoritative direction – especially since so many different Christian groups had so many different views on so many issues (not just what to believe but also how to live, how to behave, how to worship together, and so on). What could be decisive authorities? Here’s where I pick up in my thinking: The Need for Apostolic Authorities It was widely known that Jesus himself had [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:08-04:00August 20th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, History of Christianity (100-300CE)|

The Birth of (the Messiah?) John the Baptist? Anniversary Guest Post by James F. McGrath

I continue now with a post that was produced for us by a fellow scholar in celebration of the ten-year anniversary of the blog. James McGrath has made several intriguing posts for us, and this one is particularly interesting. Is it possible that stories about Jesus -- especially in the birth narratives were *originally* told about the future messiah, John the Baptist?? That the followers of Jesus took accounts originally told of John and edited them so that they now refer to Jesus? Very intriguing! Here's James's post. ******************* The Birth of John the Baptist: Detecting a Source from John’s Followers Behind Three Early Christian Gospels James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature, Butler University, Indianapolis Anyone who has read my previous guest posts here, or who has read academic publications by Bart and myself, will know we share a great many interests in common: the historical Jesus, the development of Christology, extracanonical texts, and many more. As I have begun to turn my attention to my next major [...]

Diane2025-09-10T12:58:36-04:00August 18th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

Is That One a Difference or a Contradiction?

In my previous post I began discussing the difference between differences and contradictions. I see contradictions as a kind of difference, one that cannot be reconciled. Some statements are just different: Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer; Jimmy Carter was president. Different but not mutually exclusive. Others are contradictory: Jimmy Carter became president in 1976; Jimmy Carter became president in 1992. Both can’t be true at the same time. UNLESS you figure out a way to reconcile them, for example, by saying that Jimmy Carter became president twice, once in 1976 and again in 1992. But THAT reconciliation can be shown to be false by other facts (that at Bill Clinton became president in 1992). Eventually in a case like this, one has to concede: yes, the two statements about Jimmy Carter are in fact contradictory. In this instance, one of them is true and the other false. In other instances, you can have contradictory statements *both* of which are false (Bill Clinton first became president in 1962; Bill Clinton first became president in 2002). [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:07-04:00August 16th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Reflections and Ruminations|

The Difference Between Differences and Contradictions

There is a difference between a difference and a contradiction. A difference can be reconciled; a contradiction cannot. The trick is figuring out which is which. That’s obviously a big issue when it comes to reading the Gospels of the New Testament. There are many, many differences, and there are also contradictions. Some readers claim that all the contradictions are merely differences – that everything can be reconciled in one way or another. These readers are almost always committed Christians who simply do not think there can be any actual contradictions, since that would mean that one of the writers (or more than one) made a bona fide mistake. Given these readers’ particular doctrine of inspiration, well, that just ain’t right. On the other hand there are skeptical readers of the New Testament who find contradictions simply everywhere. And, somewhat more surprising to me over the years, there are a lot of critical scholars who assume there is a contradiction in a place where in fact there is simply a difference. I know this because [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:07-04:00August 14th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Reflections and Ruminations|

Why Do I “Trash” the Gospels??

Every now and then I get emails from people who are, well, not exactly fans. They have heard that I've said this that or the other thing, and have no interest at all in reading anything I've written, but genuinely want to know: Why are you trashing the Gospels? It’s a fair question, and deserves a fair answer. I dealt with it years ago on the blog; this is what I said then. ****************************** The short story is that I’m not *trying* to trash the Gospels. In my view, what I’m doing is showing what the Gospels really are and what they really are not. And that is not a matter of trashing them. It’s a matter of revealing their true character, rather than foisting a false character on them. I'd agree, of course, that by arguing that the Gospels are not historically accurate I am contesting and challenging views of the Gospels that many Christians unreflectively have (and that some Christian scholars reflectively have). But urging a different understanding of the Gospels is not [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:59:06-04:00August 2nd, 2022|Bart's Critics, Canonical Gospels|

Did Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Write Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? Free video.

As you may know, I have started producing a series of online courses that consider in a systematic way how historical scholars understanding the Bible. These are not connected with the blog, but are a separate activity I have for the Bart Ehrman Professional Services (BEPS; website: www.bartehrman.com) In June I did a freebie as part of the series and invited all blog members to come. Many did! If you missed it, or would like to see it again, just click this link! It's a 50 minute talk, with Q&A following, on one of the important issues confronting readers of the New Testament: were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? When did the Gospels start being called that? Why don't the authors actually identify themselves? Is there evidence for these attributions? In short, how would we know. Take a watch, and let me know if you have more questions! https://www.bartehrman.com/did-matthew-mark-luke-john-write-the-gospels/

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:58:51-04:00July 19th, 2022|Canonical Gospels|

Rescheduled (and RE-scheduled!) Platinum Webinar July 19

It's past time for another Platinum webinar; as you know, this is a four-time a year event, for Platinum Members only. Apologies for having had to reschedule this one twice--I'll have a few words to say about that during the Zoom. Our topic is TBA. The date: Tuesday July 19; 7:30-9:00 (EST) No need to register; just show up. I will talk on the subject for 40-45 minutes, and then take questions for 30-35 minutes. Interested? It's for Platinum members only. Here's the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83457463872?pwd=aGl5eHVRNURscllOdEN0SEZNdnJ2dz09 Meeting ID: 834 5746 3872 Passcode: 334283 One tap mobile +13017158592,,83457463872#,,,,*334283# US (Washington DC) +13126266799,,83457463872#,,,,*334283# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 931 3860 US +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 444 9171 US +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 834 5746 3872 Passcode: 334283 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kr7B5iXMc I hope you can come!! I [...]

Diane2025-09-10T12:58:51-04:00July 13th, 2022|Canonical Gospels|

Did Jesus Insist on Voluntary Poverty?

I am returning now to my discussion of understandings of wealth and charity in the early Christian tradition, as I think through how I want to draft my prospectus on a book on that topic for my publisher. If you want to see the earlier posts on views of wealth and giving in the Roman world (which stand in stark contrast with what arose in Christianity), just do a word search for “wealth” on the blog and you’ll see all the recent articles. Now I move to the views of the historical Jesus and his followers; after that, in subsequent posts, I’ll talk about how these views changed significantly over (Christian) time, and consider the real life practical effects they had in understanding the importance of helping the poor in the Western world. ************************ The later Christian discourse appealed to such traditions as found in the Hebrew Bible, but it found yet greater impetus in the recorded teachings of Jesus. For the purposes of my analysis, it is important to remember that historical scholars can [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:58:36-04:00July 10th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Historical Jesus|

If Jesus’ Death Was Not an Atonement: Why Did He Die??

I have been dealing with the question of Jesus’ death in the Gospel of Luke and have been arguing that Luke does not appear to have understood Jesus’ death to be an atonement for sins. He has eliminated the several indications from his source, the Gospel of Mark, that Jesus’ death was an atonement, and he never indicates in either his Gospel or the book of Acts that Jesus died “for” you or “for” others or “for” anyone. Then why did Jesus die? It is clear that Luke thought that Jesus had to die. For Luke it was all part of God’s plan. But why? What is the theological meaning of Jesus’ death for Luke, if it was not a sacrifice that brought about a right standing before God (which is what the term “atonement” means)? You get the clearest view of Luke’s understanding of Jesus’ death from the speeches delivered by the apostles in the book of Acts. As you probably know, Acts is about the spread of the Christian church throughout the Roman Empire after [...]

BDEhrman2025-09-10T12:58:35-04:00July 6th, 2022|Canonical Gospels, Early Christian Doctrine|

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