John Dominic Crossan: the most important discovery for understanding Jesus
Nov 2, 2022
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Join New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan as he reveals significant archaeological discoveries about Jesus. Explore the historical context of figures like John the Baptist and Herod Antipas. Delve into Jesus' vision, solidarity against economic exploitation, and resistance to Romanization. Uncover impacts of globalization, neoliberal economics, and societal control. Learn about Advent events and visual presentations on Christmas narratives.
The Galilee boat symbolizes economic challenges faced by small fishers under Antipas's commercialization.
Jesus's vision emphasizes active participation in divine rule amidst Roman domination and economic pressures.
Augustus's client kingship system in 4 BCE aimed at ensuring stability and tax collection in divided territories.
Jesus's evolving vision advocates participatory engagement over divine intervention in challenging oppressive power structures.
Commercialization under Herod Antipas displaced local vocations, leading to economic disparity and social unrest in Galilee.
Deep dives
The Significance of the Galilee Boat for Understanding the Historical Jesus
The podcast delves into the Galilee boat as a crucial archaeological discovery, presenting it not as definitive proof but as a symbol of immense importance. This first-century boat, despite being just one example, reflects the economic challenges faced by small fishers under Antipas's commercialization of the Sea of Galilee. The boat's patchwork of different types of wood indicates efforts to keep it afloat under economic strain, revealing the broader context of Mediterranean globalization and the squeeze faced by ordinary people in surviving under commercialization.
Antipas's Strategy and the Economic Pressures on Small Fishers
The discussion highlights Antipas's ambition to become king of the Jews, which drove his strategy of commercializing the Lake of Tiberias. By creating a city like Tiberius to control the lake and establish fish factories, Antipas sought to enter the Mediterranean commercialization sphere. This shift impacted small fishers, potentially requiring them to pay fees, meet price demands, and submit to regulations, symbolizing the economic squeeze faced by the community.
Jesus's Vision Amidst Romanization and Roman Domination
Amidst Roman domination and Antipas's economic initiatives, Jesus's vision of God's rule presented a collaborative eschatology. Challenging the passive waiting for divine intervention, Jesus' interactive vision emphasized active participation in bringing about divine rule on earth. His approach intersected with the tradition of divine rule but offered a fresh angle, aligning with the time of early first-century Romanization and the place-based commercial strategies initiated by Antipas.
Antipas's Rule Division and Client Kings
In 4 BCE, upon Herod's death, Augustus faced the succession crisis. Augustus decided to divide the country between client kings, with Arcolos, Philip, and Antipas receiving territories. While Arcolos faced challenges and was eventually replaced by Roman procurators, Antipas thrived in Galilee under Roman supervision. The system of client kingship involved rewarding success and replacing ineffective rulers with Roman governors, ensuring stability and tax collection.
Collaborative Eschatology and Historical Transformation
The podcast delved into Jesus's evolving vision, rooted in collaboration and participatory eschatology. Drawing on John the Baptist's apocalyptic expectations, Jesus transitioned to a message of active participation in God's rule, contrasting with the Roman imperial domination. Jesus's interaction with John's vision and subsequent transformation highlight a shift towards a non-interventionist understanding of God's rule, emphasizing collaboration over divine intervention. The podcast emphasized the need to reconsider popular narratives and recognize Jesus's message of participatory engagement in challenging oppressive power structures.
Commercialization and Solidarity at the Sea of Galilee
Examining the commercialization of resources under Herod Antipas's rule revealed the displacement of local vocations and economic dominance. The exploitation of natural resources by the imperial economy disrupted traditional livelihoods, leading to economic disparity and social unrest. Jesus's solidarity with the oppressed in Galilee showcased a response to the oppressive economic system, resonating with contemporary issues of economic injustice and exploitation.
Historical Perspectives on Christmas Narratives
By contextualizing Matthew and Luke's Christmas narratives within a historical matrix, the podcast highlighted the symbolic and parabolic nature of these accounts. Viewing the narratives as parabolic overtures provided insight into the symbolic representation of real events and characters. The discussion underscored the importance of respecting the original intent of the Christmas narratives and engaging with the historical context to grasp the deeper meanings embedded in the texts.
Engagement with Visual Presentations and Advent Themes
The podcast explored the significance of visual presentations in elucidating historical contexts and engaging audiences with complex themes. By utilizing images like the fractured boat, symbolic representations enriched the understanding of historical events and theological concepts. The visual classes aimed to enhance instructional methods and foster a deeper appreciation for historical narratives and themes central to the Advent season.
Invite to Join Advent Exploration and Community Engagement
The podcast extended an invitation to join an exploration of Advent themes and historical perspectives on the Christmas narratives. Encouraging participation in group discussions and online sessions, the podcast emphasized the value of community engagement and reflection on the deeper meanings of Christmas traditions. Through visual lectures and interactive learning experiences, participants were invited to delve into the historical context of Christmas narratives and contemplate the relevance of these stories in contemporary contexts.
John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American biblical scholar with two-year post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute and in archeology from Jerusalem’s École Biblique. He has been a mendicant friar and a catholic priest, a Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar, and a President of the Society of Biblical Literature. His focus, whether scholarly or popular, whether in books, videos, or lectures, is on the historical Jesus as the norm and criterion for the entire Christian Bible. His reconstructed Jesus incarnates nonviolent resistance to the Romanization of his Jewish homeland and the Herodian commercialization of his Galilean lake as present program and future hope of a transformed world and transfigured earth. Crossan’s method is to situate biblical texts within the reconstructed matrix of their own genre and purpose, their own time and place, and to hear them accurately for then before accepting or rejecting them for now.
