MORS PHILOSOPHI: THE DEATH OF JESUS IN LUKE

Abstract

The death of Jesus of Nazareth by crucifixion was the source of numerous difficulties for early proponents of Christianity. Paul's statement to the Corinthians, “We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a cause of offense and to the Gentiles foolishness” (1 Cor 1:23), was not hyperbolic rhetoric, but a sober assessment of the difficulty of proclaiming a condemned criminal to be the “Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8). The fundamental problem is obvious: a crucified Lord struck most ancients as an oxymoron.Early Christian authors were keenly aware of the negative associations of the cross; see Justin, 1 Apol. 13.4; Origen, Cels. 6.10; Lactantius, Inst. 4.26 and Epit. 50–51. The gospels did little to overcome the problem from a pagan perspective; in some cases they even exacerbated it. For example, Celsus, the learned and perceptive second-century critic of Christianity, found that the manner in which the evangelists described Jesus as he faced death undermined Christian claims for him. He wrote: “Why does he howl, lament, and pray to escape the fear of destruction, expressing himself in a manner like this: ‘Oh Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass’?”Origen, Cels. 6.10. Origen countered by pointing out that Celsus had doctored the texts by adding “lament” and omitting the all-important qualifying clause that demonstrates Jesus' voluntary obedience to the Father, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”Origen, Cels. 2.24. All translations are my own. I have used the edition of Paul B. Koetschau, Origenes Werke 1 (GCS; Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1899). However, he found it difficult to offer much more of a rebuttal and was forced to conclude: “But these matters, which require extended discussion by the wisdom of God, and which may reasonably be considered by those whom Paul calls ‘perfect’ …we, for the present, pass by …”Ibid.