SUMMARY OF THE LIFE OF JESUS
THE “Life of Jesus” is limited to the last months of his existence on
earth. At the season of the summer seed-sowing he began his ministry
and ended it upon the cross at Easter of the following year.
His public ministry may be counted in weeks. The first period extends
from seed time to harvest; the second comprises the days of his
appearance in Jerusalem. Autumn and winter he spent in heathen
territory alone with his Disciples.
Before him the Baptist had appeared and had borne emphatic witness to
the nearness of the Kingdom and the coming of the mighty pre-messianic
Forerunner, with whose appearance the pouring out of the Holy Ghost
should take place. According to Joel, this among other miracles was
the sign that the Day of Judgment was imminent. John himself never
imagined that he was this Forerunner; nor did such a thought occur to
the people, for he had not ushered in the age of miracles. [pg 254] He
is a prophet,—that was the universal opinion.
About Jesus’ earlier development we know nothing. All lies in the
dark. Only this is sure: at his baptism the secret of his existence
was disclosed to him,—namely, that he was the one whom God had
destined to be the Messiah. With this revelation he was complete, and
underwent no further development. For now he is assured that, until
the near coming of the messianic age which was to reveal his glorious
dignity, he has to labour for the Kingdom as the unrecognised and
hidden Messiah, and must approve and purify himself together with his
friends in the final Affliction.
The idea of suffering was thus included in his messianic
consciousness, just as the notion of the pre-messianic Affliction was
indissolubly connected with the expectation of the Kingdom. Earthly
events could not influence Jesus’ course. His secret raised him above
the world, even though he still walked as a man among men.
His appearing and his proclamation have to do only with the near
approach of the Kingdom. His preaching is that of John, only that he
confirms it by signs. Although his secret controls all his preaching,
yet no [pg 255] one may know of it, for he must remain unrecognised
till the new æon dawns.
Like his secret, so also is his whole ethical outlook ruled by the
contrast of “Now and Then.” It is a question of repentance unto the
Kingdom, and the conquest of the righteousness which renders one fit
for it,—for only the righteous inherit the Kingdom. This righteousness
is higher than that of the Law, for he knows that the law and the
Prophets prophesied until John,—with the Baptist, however, one finds
oneself in the ages of the Forerunner, immediately before the dawn of
the Kingdom.
Therefore, as the future Messiah, he must preach and work that higher
morality. The poor in spirit, the meek, those that endure suffering,
those that hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful, the
pure in heart, the peacemakers,—these all are blessed because by this
mark they are destined for the Kingdom.
Behind this ethical preaching looms the secret of the Kingdom of God.
That which, as performed by the individual, constitutes moral renewal
in preparation for the Kingdom, signifies, as accomplished by the
community, a fact through which the realisation of the Kingdom in a
supernatural way will [pg 256] be hastened. Thus individual and social
ethics blend in the great secret. As the plentiful harvest, by God’s
wonderful working, follows mysteriously upon the sowing, so comes also
the Kingdom of God, by reason of man’s moral renewal, but
substantially without his assistance.
The parable contains also the suggestion of a chronological
coincidence. Jesus spoke at the season of seed-sowing and expected the
Kingdom at the time of the harvest. Nature was God’s clock. With the
last seed-sowing he had set it for the last time.
The secret of the Kingdom of God is the transfiguration in celestial
light of the ethics of the early prophets, according to which also the
final state of glory will be brought about by God only on condition of
the moral conversion of Israel. In sovereign style Jesus effects the
synthesis of the apocalyptic of Daniel and the ethics of the Prophets.
With him it is not a question of eschatological ethics, rather is his
world view an ethical eschatology. As such it is modern.
The signs and wonders also come under a double point of view. For the
people they are merely to confirm the preaching of the nearness of the
Kingdom. Whosoever now does not believe that the time is so far
advanced, [pg 257] he has no excuse. The signs and wonders condemn
him, for they plainly attest that the power of ungodliness is coming
to an end.
For Jesus, however, there lay behind this affirmation the secret of
the Kingdom of God. When the Pharisees wished to ascribe these very
signs to the power of Satan, he alluded to the secret by a parable. By
his acts he binds the power of ungodliness, as one falls upon a strong
man and renders him harmless before attempting to rob him of his
possessions. Wherefore, in sending out his Apostles, he gives them,
together with the charge to preach, authority over unclean spirits.
They are to deal the last blow.
A third element in the preaching of the Kingdom was the intimation of
the pre-messianic Affliction. The believers must be prepared to pass
with him through that time of trial, in which they are to prove
themselves the elect of the Kingdom by stedfast resistance to the last
attack of the power of the world. This attack will concentrate about
his person; therefore they must stand by him even unto death. Only
life in God’s Kingdom is real life. The Son of Man will judge them
according as they have stood by him, Jesus, or no. Thus Jesus at the
conclusion of the [pg 258] Beatitudes turns to his own Disciples with
the words “Blessed are ye when men persecute you for my sake.” The
charge to the Apostles turns into a consideration of the Affliction.
The embassage to the Baptist about the imminence of the Kingdom
concludes with the word “Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended
in me.” At Bethsaida, the morning after he had celebrated the Supper
by the seashore, he adjured the multitude to stand by him, even when
he shall become an object of shame and scorn in this sinful
world,—their blessedness depends upon this.
This Affliction meant not only a probation but also an atonement. It
is foreordained in the messianic drama, because God requires of the
adherents of the Kingdom a satisfaction for their transgressions in
this æon. But he is almighty. In this omnipotence he determines the
question of membership in the Kingdom and the place each shall occupy
therein, without himself being bound by any determining cause
whatsoever. So also in view of his omnipotence the necessity of the
final Affliction is only relative. He can abrogate it. The last three
petitions of the Lord’s Prayer contemplate this possibility. After
beseeching God that he would send the [pg 259] Kingdom, that his name
might be blessed and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, men
beg him to forgive them the transgressions and spare them the
Temptation, rescuing them directly from the power of evil.
This was the content of Jesus’ preaching during the first period. He
remained throughout this time on the northern shore of the lake.
Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were the principal centres of his
activity. From thence he made an excursion across the lake to the
region of the Ten Cities and a journey to Nazareth.
Precisely in the towns which were the scenes of his chief activity he
encountered unbelief. The curse which he must utter over them is proof
of it. The Pharisees, moreover, were hostile and sought to discredit
him with the people, on account of his very miracles. In Nazareth he
had experience of the fact that a prophet is without honour in his own
country.
Thus the Galilean period was anything but a fortunate one. Such
outward ill[ ]success, however, signified nothing for the coming of
the Kingdom. The unbelieving cities merely brought down judgment upon
themselves. Jesus had other mysterious indications for measuring the
approach of the Kingdom. By [pg 260] these he recognised that the time
was come. For this reason he sent forth the Apostles just as they were
returning from Nazareth, _for it was harvest time._
By means of their preaching and their signs the reputation of his
mighty personality spread far and wide. Now begins the time of
success! John in prison hears of it and sends his disciples to ask him
if he is “he that should come,” for from his miracles he concluded
that the time of the mighty Forerunner whom he had heralded had
arrived.
Jesus performed signs, his Disciples had power over the spirits. When
he spoke of the Judgment he laid stress upon the fact that the Son of
Man stood in such solidarity with him that he would recognise only
such as had stood by him, Jesus. The people therefore opined that he
might be the one for whom all were looking, and the Baptist desired to
have assurance on this point.
Jesus cannot tell him who he is. “The time is far advanced”—that is
the gist of his reply. After the departure of the messengers Jesus
turned to the people and signified in mysterious terms that the time
is indeed much further advanced than the Baptist dreamed in asking
such a question. The era of the Forerunner had already begun [pg 261]
with the appearance of the Baptist himself. From that time on the
Kingdom of God is with violence compelled to draw near. He himself who
asks the question is Elijah—if they could comprehend it. Men were not
able to perceive that the man in prison was Elijah. When he began his
preaching, they knew not the time. That was due not alone to the fact
that John performed no miracles, but to the hardening of their hearts.
They are unreasonable children that do not know what they want. Now
there is one here who performs signs,—but even on his testimony they
do not believe the nearness of the Kingdom. So the curse upon Chorazin
and Bethsaida concludes the “eulogy upon the Baptist.”
The sending of the Twelve was the last effort for bringing about the
Kingdom. As they then returned, announced to him their success, and
reported that they had power over the evil spirits, it signified to
him, _all is ready._ So now he expects the dawn of the Kingdom in the
most immediate future,—it had seemed to him, indeed, already doubtful
whether the Twelve would return before this event. He had even said to
them that the appearing of the Son of Man would overtake them before
they had gone through the cities of Israel.
[pg 262]
His work is done. Now he requires to collect himself and to be alone
with his Disciples. They enter a boat and sail along the coast towards
the north. But the multitude which had gathered about him at the
preaching of the Disciples, in order to await the Kingdom with him,
now follow after them along the shore and surprise them at their
landing upon a lonely beach.
As it was evening the Disciples desired that he would send the people
away to find food in the neighbouring hamlets. For him, however, the
hour is too solemn to be profaned by an earthly meal. Before sending
them away he bids them sit down and celebrates with them an
anticipation of the messianic feast. To the community that was
gathered about him to await the Kingdom, he, the Messiah to be,
distributes hallowed food, mysteriously consecrating them thereby to
be partakers of the heavenly banquet. As they did not know his secret,
they understood as little as did his Disciples the significance of his
act. They comprehended only that it meant something wonderfully
solemn, and they questioned within themselves about it.
Thereupon he sent them away. He ordered the Disciples to skirt the
coast to Bethsaida. [pg 263] For his part he betook himself to the
mountain to pray and then followed along the shore on foot. As his
figure appeared to them in the obscurity of the night they
believed—under the impression of the Supper where he stood before them
in mysterious majesty—that his supernatural apparition approached them
over the turbulent waves through which they were toiling to the shore.
The morning after the Supper by the seashore he collected the people
and the Disciples about him at Bethsaida and warned them to stand by
him and not to deny him in the humiliation.
Six days later he goes with the Three to the mountain where he had
prayed alone. There he is revealed to them as the Messiah. On the way
home he forbade them to say anything about it until at the
Resurrection he should be revealed in the glory of the Son of Man.
They, however, still remark the failure of Elijah to appear, who yet
must come before the Resurrection of the dead can take place. They
were not present at the eulogy over the Baptist to hear the mysterious
intimation he let fall. He must therefore make it clear to them now
that the beheaded prisoner was Elijah. They should take no offence at
his fate, for it was so ordained. He also who [pg 264] is to be Son of
Man must suffer many things and be set at naught. So the Scripture
will have it.
The Kingdom which Jesus expected so very soon failed to make its
appearance. This first eschatological delay and postponement was
momentous for the fate of the Gospel tradition, inasmuch as now all
the events related to the mission of the Twelve became unintelligible,
because all consciousness was lost of the fact that the most intense
eschatological expectation then inspired Jesus and his following.
Hence it is that precisely this period is confused and obscure in the
accounts, and all the more so because several incidents remained
enigmatical to those even who had a part in the experience. Thus the
sacramental Supper by the seashore became in the tradition a
“miraculous feeding,” in a sense totally different from that which
Jesus had in mind.
Therewith, too, the motives of Jesus’ disappearance became
unintelligible. It seems to be a case of flight, while on the other
hand the accounts give no hint how matters had come to such a pass.
The key to the historical understanding of the life of Jesus lies in
the perception of the two corresponding points at which the
eschatological expectation [pg 265] culminated. During the days at
Jerusalem there was a return of the enthusiasm which had already
showed itself in the days at Bethsaida. Without this assumption we are
left with a yawning gap in the Gospel tradition between the mission of
the Twelve and the journey to Jerusalem. Historians find themselves
compelled to _invent_ a period of Galilean defeat in order to
establish some connection between the recorded facts,—as if a section
were missing in our Gospels. _That is the weak point of all the “lives
of Jesus.”_
By his retreat into the region of the Genesareth Jesus withdrew
himself from the Pharisees and the people in order to be alone with
his Disciples, as he had in vain tried to do since their return from
their mission. He urgently needed such a retreat, for he had to come
to an understanding about two messianic facts.
Why is the Baptist executed by the secular authority before the
messianic time has dawned?
Why does the Kingdom fail to appear notwithstanding that the tokens of
its dawning are present?
The secret is made known to him through the Scripture: God brings the
Kingdom [pg 266] about _without the general Affliction._ He whom God
has destined to reign in glory accomplishes it upon himself by being
tried as a malefactor and condemned. Wherefore the others go free: he
makes the atonement for them. What though they believe that God
punishes him, though they become offended in him who preached unto
them righteousness,—when after his Passion the glory dawns, then shall
they see that he has suffered for them.
Thus Jesus read in the Prophet Isaiah what God had determined for him,
the Elect. The end of the Baptist showed him in what form he was
destined to suffer this condemnation: he must be put to death by the
secular authority as a malefactor in the sight of all the people.
Therefore he must make his way up to Jerusalem for the season when all
Israel is gathered there.
As soon therefore as the time came for the Passover pilgrimage he set
out with his Disciples. Before they left the north country he asked
them whom the people took him to be. For reply they could only say
that he was taken for Elijah. But Peter, mindful of the revelation on
the mountain near Bethsaida, said: Thou art the Son of God. Whereupon
Jesus informed them of his secret. [pg 267] Yes, he it is who shall be
revealed as Son of Man at the Resurrection. But before that, it is
decreed that he must be delivered to the high priests and elders to be
condemned and put to death. God so wills it. For this cause they are
going up to Jerusalem.
Peter resents this new disclosure, for in the revelation on the
mountain there was nothing said to such an effect. He takes Jesus
apart and appeals to him energetically. Whereupon he is sharply
rebuked as one who gives ear to human considerations when God speaks.
This journey to Jerusalem was the funeral march to victory. Within the
secret of the Passion lay concealed the secret of the Kingdom. They
marched after him, and knew only that when all this was accomplished
he would be Messiah. They were sorrowful for what must come to pass;
they did not understand why it must be so, and they durst not ask him.
But above all, their thoughts were occupied about the conditions that
awaited them in the approaching Kingdom. When once he was Messiah,
what would they then be? That occupied their minds, and about it they
talked with one another. But he reproved them and explained why he
must [pg 268] suffer. Only through humiliation and the meek sacrifice
of service is one prepared to reign in the Kingdom of God. Therefore
must he, who shall exercise supreme authority as Son of Man, make now
an atonement for many by giving up his life in meek sacrifice.
With the arrival upon the Jewish territory begins the second period of
Jesus’ public ministry. He is again surrounded by the people. In
Jericho a multitude gathers to see him pass through. By the healing of
a blind beggar, the son of Timæus, the people are convinced that he is
the great Forerunner, just as they thought already in Galilee. The
jubilant multitudes prepare for him a festal entry into Jerusalem. As
the one who according to prophecy precedes the Messiah they acclaim
him with _Hosanna. Hosanna in the highest,_ however, is their acclaim
of the Kingdom about to appear. Therewith the same situation is
reached again as in the great days near Bethsaida: Jesus is thronged
by the multitudes expectant of the Kingdom.
The instruction contained in the parables which were uttered at
Jerusalem has to do with the nearness of the Kingdom. They are cries
of warning, with a note of menace as well for those that harden their
hearts [pg 269] against the message. What agitates men’s minds is not
the question, Is he the Messiah, or no? but, Is the Kingdom so near as
he says, or no?
The Pharisees and Scribes knew not what hour had struck. They showed a
complete lack of sensibility for the nearness of the Kingdom, for else
they could not have propounded to him questions which in view of the
advanced hour had lost all significance. What difference does it make
now about the Roman tribute? What do the farfetched Sadduceean
arguments amount to against the possibility of the resurrection of the
dead? Soon, with the advent of the Kingdom, all earthly rule is done
away, as well as the earthly human nature itself.
If only they understood the signs of the times! He proposes to them
two questions, which should cause them to ponder and hence take note
that the time they live in is pregnant with a great secret which is
not dreamed of in the learning of the Scribes.
_By what authority did the Baptist act?_ If they but knew that he was
the Forerunner, as Jesus had mysteriously suggested to the people,
then they must know too that the hour of the Kingdom had struck.
_How is the Messiah at one time David’s [pg 270] Son—that is,
subordinate to him; at another, David’s Lord—that is, his superior?_
If they could explain that, then would they understand also how he who
now labours lowly and unknown in behalf of God’s Kingdom shall be
revealed as Lord and Christ.
But as it is they do not even suspect that the messianic indications
harbour _secrets._ With all their learning they are blind leaders of
the blind, who, instead of making the people receptive for the
Kingdom, harden their hearts, and instead of drawing out from the Law
the higher morality which renders men meet for the Kingdom, labour
against it with their petty outward precepts and draw the people after
them to perdition. Hence: Woe to the Pharisees and scribes!
True, even among them are such as have kept an open eye. The scribe
who put to him the question about the great commandment and welcomed
his reply is commended as “having understanding” and therefore “not
far from the Kingdom of God,”—for he shall belong to it when it
appears.
But the mass of the Pharisees and scribes understand him so little
that they decree his death. They had no effective charge to bring
against his behaviour. A disrespectful word about the Temple—that was
all. [pg 271] _Then Judas betrayed to them the secret._ Now he was
condemned.
In the neighbourhood of death Jesus draws himself up to the same
triumphant stature as in the days by the seaside,—for with death comes
the Kingdom. On that occasion he had celebrated with the believers a
mystic feast as an anticipation of the messianic banquet; so now he
rises at the end of the last earthly supper and distributes to the
Disciples hallowed food and drink, intimating to them with a solemn
voice that this is the last earthly meal, for they are soon to be
united at the banquet in the Father’s Kingdom. Two corresponding
parables suggest the secret of the Passion. For him, the bread and
wine which he hands them at the Supper are his body and his blood, for
by the sacrifice of himself unto death he ushers in the messianic
feast. The parabolic saying remained obscure to the Disciples. It was
also not intended for them, its purpose was not to explain anything to
them,—_for it was an enigma-parable._
Now, as the great hour approaches, he seeks again, as after the Supper
by the seashore, a lonely spot where he may pray. He bears the
Affliction for others. Therefore he can say to the Disciples
beforehand that in the [pg 272] night they shall all be offended in
him—and he does not need to condemn them, for the Scripture had so
determined it. What endless peace lies in this word! Indeed, he
comforts _them:_ after the Resurrection he will gather them about him
and go before them in messianic glory unto Galilee, retracing the same
road along which they had followed him on his way to death.
It still remained, however, within the scope of God’s omnipotence to
eliminate the Affliction for him also. Wherefore, as once he prayed
with the believers, “And lead us not into the Temptation,” so now he
prays for himself, that God may permit the cup of suffering to pass
his lips by. True, if it be God’s will, he feels himself strong enough
to drink it. He is sorrowful rather for the Three. The sons of
Zebedee, to gain the seats upon the throne, have boasted that they can
drink with him the cup of suffering and receive with him the baptism
of suffering. Peter swore that he would stand by him even if he must
die with him. He knows not what God has ordained for them,—whether he
will lay upon them what they desire to undertake. Therefore he bids
them remain near him. And while he prays God for himself he thinks of
them and twice wakes them up, bidding [pg 273] them remain awake and
beseech God that he may not lead them through the Temptation.
The third time he comes to them the betrayer with his band is near.
The hour is come,—therefore he draws himself up to the full stature of
his majesty. He is alone, his Disciples flee.
The hearing of witnesses is merely a pretence. After they have gone
the High Priest puts directly the question about the messiahship. “I
am,” said Jesus, referring them at the same time to the hour when he
shall appear as Son of Man on the clouds of heaven surrounded by the
angels. Therefore he was found guilty of blasphemy and condemned to
death.
On the afternoon of the fourteenth of Nisan, as they ate the Paschal
lamb at even, he uttered a loud cry and died.
[pg 274]
POSTSCRIPT
THE judgments passed upon this realistic account of the life of Jesus
may be very diverse, according to the dogmatic, historical, or
literary point of view of the critics. Only, with the _aim_ of the
book may they not find fault: _to depict the figure of Jesus in its
overwhelming heroic greatness and to impress it upon the modern age
and upon the modern theology._
The heroic recedes from our modern “Weltanschauung,” our Christianity,
and our conception of the person of Jesus. Wherefore men have
humanised and humbled him. Renan has stripped off his halo and reduced
him to a sentimental figure, coward spirits like Schopenhauer have
dared to appeal to him for their enervating philosophy, and our
generation has modernised him, with the notion that it could
comprehend his character and development psychologically.
We must go back to the point where we can feel again the heroic in
Jesus. Before that mysterious Person, who, in the form of his time,
knew that he was creating [pg 275] upon the foundation of his life and
death a moral world _which bears his name,_ we must be forced to lay
our faces in the dust, without daring even to wish to understand his
nature. Only then can the heroic in our Christianity and in our
“Weltanschauung” be again revived.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
I have used scans of two copies of the original version of the book:
one from the New York Public library (scanned by Google) and one from
the University of Princeton. This was necessary because both books had
considerable hand-written additions/changes that obscured the original
text. Both are available from the Internet Archive.
The formatting of both the .htm and .txt files has followed that of a
similar book, The Quest of the Historic Jesus, already in Project
Gutenberg. Evidently this was a poor choice since several of the problems
identified in my first submission were copied from that book.
I have included page numbers in the format [pg xxx] for
both .htm and .txt.
I have made several changes to the printer’s text, which are listed
below. Each change has been surrounded with [] characters, if the
change was only an addition of some characters. If some characters
have been changed, the correct word is placed after the incorrect word
and surrounded with [] characters. Scripture references in the
original book are formatted as (chapter)(verse). In the .txt version I
have used the more common form (chapter):(verse).
Within the printed book both ill success and illsuccess appear. The
two-word version seemed the better choice. (see 4. below)
Several terms appear in both two-word and hypenated forms:
high-priest, morning-glow, world-clock, modern-historical, far-reaching,
passion-idea, coming-one, jesus christ. I left all these as they are in the
book. I decided to harmonize fore-ordained (see below).
1. page 5: self-(line break)consciousness becomes selfconsciousness
(as on page 138).
2. page 64: Mk 2:23-3, 6 becomes Mk 2:23-[3:6]
3. page 67 (twice), 152, 157, 167: ff) changed to ff[.])
4. page 68, 69, 87, 116, 259, : illsuccess changed to ill[]success
5. page 89: comission changed to com[m]ssion
6. page 90: Corazin changed to C[h]orazin
7. page 117: [not] inserted into Mt 10:5, 6
8. page 120: dominination changed to domination
9. page 140: scripture reference corrected from Joel 3:28 to 2:28
10. page 213: casual changed to causal
11. page 236: Isaiah 40:66 changed to Isaiah 40-66
12. page 242: changed fore-ordained to foreordained
In the .txt version I have used utf8 encoding and the following markers:
1. italic text surrounded by _
2. footnote references in the form _(_number_)_