Part 1
In Chapter 7, Norm visits Gethsemane where he finds that multiple attestation in the four Gospels and Hebrews along with the criterion of embarrassment that the moment in the garden is true. Norm said that it would be hard to invent a scene in which the disciples fall asleep in Jesus’ darkest hour and have a Jesus who is weak and fearful (231). Norm asserts that Jesus’ weeping on the hillside is very close to the passage in 2 Samuel 15:25-26 of David. Norm suggests that the Gospel writers were painting Jesus as a second David (234). Jesus’ martyrdom parallels to Polycarp and early Christians as well (237-239). Norm takes a journey through Scripture and the Holy Land to shed light on two questions: “Why did the religious leaders want Jesus dead? Why did the Roman government sentence him to death? (240) Norm determines that Jesus was convicted for his outburst at the temple and surging popularity that rivaled the high priests (240-243). Norm decides Jesus was innocent, subversive, and a revolutionary similar to Pilate’s conclusion. Similar to the citizens of Hebron, Norm connects the priests of Jesus’ day and Roman officials to the reason for Jesus’ arrest to silencing dissent (244-248). Norm studies the account of the place of Jesus’ death, Golgotha, where supernatural earthquakes and darkening of the skies echoes to the Old Testament writers of Ezekiel and Amos (250-256). Norm visits the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre only to find disappointment in a quest for Jesus’ burial place. He sees tradition but no history. He brings to wonder if Bultmann was right or maybe not. The Gospels are not history books but narratives that “weave together testimony, artistry, and commentary” that Bultmann could not untangle Norm believes (264-265).
Part 2
Norm wraps up his quest with a phone call from his mom to return because she again has cancer (265). He takes the last few pages to gather his results from his quest for the historical Jesus. He reviews that Jesus is difficult to track because no story points in only one direction. The Gospels shape Jesus and his identity differently so almost no information is straightforward or self-interpreting (266). Norm is getting at the complexity of the historical search for Jesus because of the peeling back of so many layers of author agenda and so on. He concludes that perhaps faith can fill the gap of what is missing from the vagueness of Jesus of history (267).
In Chapter 7, Norm visits Gethsemane where he finds that multiple attestation in the four Gospels and Hebrews along with the criterion of embarrassment that the moment in the garden is true. Norm said that it would be hard to invent a scene in which the disciples fall asleep in Jesus’ darkest hour and have a Jesus who is weak and fearful (231). Norm asserts that Jesus’ weeping on the hillside is very close to the passage in 2 Samuel 15:25-26 of David. Norm suggests that the Gospel writers were painting Jesus as a second David (234). Jesus’ martyrdom parallels to Polycarp and early Christians as well (237-239). Norm takes a journey through Scripture and the Holy Land to shed light on two questions: “Why did the religious leaders want Jesus dead? Why did the Roman government sentence him to death? (240) Norm determines that Jesus was convicted for his outburst at the temple and surging popularity that rivaled the high priests (240-243). Norm decides Jesus was innocent, subversive, and a revolutionary similar to Pilate’s conclusion. Similar to the citizens of Hebron, Norm connects the priests of Jesus’ day and Roman officials to the reason for Jesus’ arrest to silencing dissent (244-248). Norm studies the account of the place of Jesus’ death, Golgotha, where supernatural earthquakes and darkening of the skies echoes to the Old Testament writers of Ezekiel and Amos (250-256). Norm visits the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre only to find disappointment in a quest for Jesus’ burial place. He sees tradition but no history. He brings to wonder if Bultmann was right or maybe not. The Gospels are not history books but narratives that “weave together testimony, artistry, and commentary” that Bultmann could not untangle Norm believes (264-265).
Part 2
Norm wraps up his quest with a phone call from his mom to return because she again has cancer (265). He takes the last few pages to gather his results from his quest for the historical Jesus. He reviews that Jesus is difficult to track because no story points in only one direction. The Gospels shape Jesus and his identity differently so almost no information is straightforward or self-interpreting (266). Norm is getting at the complexity of the historical search for Jesus because of the peeling back of so many layers of author agenda and so on. He concludes that perhaps faith can fill the gap of what is missing from the vagueness of Jesus of history (267).
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