Block 3 - The Historical Framework of Jesus' Ministry - Intro

This is a quick introduction to Block 3. My main intent here is that if you are interested in the topic, be sure to read the pages in our three textbooks that address this issue.
First, Borg is much more interested in probing Jesus' personal religious experience than the chronological/geographical dimensions of his ministry. Secondly, it surprises me that with Ehrman's skepticism, he is actually more positive on the historical value of the gospels than the members of the Jesus seminar (represented in this course by Borg). Any time that Ehrman mentions "certain scholars" or "some recent scholars" you can be sure he is referring to scholars involved in the Jesus seminar.

I wish to offer a few comments of my own. First, the idea that Jesus was 30 years old when he began his ministry is found in Luke 3:23. Scholars are divided on how accurate this report might be. If Jesus was born when Herod was alive, that would have been probably somewhere in the years 6-4 BCE. If the basic chronological outline of the story of Jesus' death, as told in the Synoptics, is correct, then (educated guess) Jesus would have died in one of three possible years: 27, 30 or 33 CE (based on chronological reconstructions of what calendar years fit the relationship of Passover and Sabbath as portrayed in the Synoptic Passion Narratives).

Secondly, the traditional view that Jesus' ministry lasted three years is based on the fact that three different Passovers are mentioned in the Gospel of John. However, if the value of the Gospel of John as an historical source is weak, then the idea of a ministry of three years is unlikely. If all we had to go on was the Gospel of Mark, we might be inclined to think of Jesus' earthly ministry as a rather brief enterprise. Everything narrated in the Gospel of Mark could conceivably have taken place in the span of 6-8 weeks. Thus, we really do not know how long Jesus may have engaged in his public ministry.

We will address the historical questions related to the events of Jesus' last week on earth at the end of the semester.