A Portrait of Jesus
The Pre- and Post-Easter Jesus
Understanding and knowing Jesus involves history, tradition, and experience.
-Marcus Borg
The pre-Easter Jesus means:
- The historical Jesus
- Jesus of Nazareth
- A first century Galilean Jew
- A figure of the past
The post-Easter Jesus means:
What
Jesus became after his death, the Jesus of Christian experience and tradition.
In Christian experience people continue to experience Jesus as a living reality, as a figure of the present; as a spiritual living divine reality
In Christian tradition: Jesus is increasingly spoken of as a divine reality and eventually seen as "very God of very God."
It is crucial to make this distinction, says Borg, or Jesus becomes unreal, incredible and inaccessible.
Compare pre- and post-Easter Jesus
| Pre-Easter Jesus | Post-Easter Jesus |
|---|---|
| 4 B.C.E. to 30 C.E. | 30 C.E. to present |
| Corporeal, human being of flesh and blood | Spiritual, non-material reality |
| Finite and mortal | Infinite, eternal |
| Human | Divine |
| A Jewish peasant | King of Kings and Lord of Lords |
| Figure of the past | Figure of the present |
| Jesus of Nazareth | Jesus Christ |
| Monotheistic Jew | Becomes the second person of the trinity, "God with a human face" |
| Galilean Jew of the first century | "The Face of God" (metaphor based on 2 Cor. 4:6 Beholding the glory of God in the face of Christ) |
Overview
of the Pre-Easter Jesus
Three summaries of the pre-Easter Jesus
Introduction
A Portrait of Jesus Introduction
Research and Scholarship Perspective
Lenses through which Borg sees Jesus
The Pre- and Post-Easter Jesus
Compare Pre- and Post-Easter Jesus
Summaries of the Pre-Easter Jesus
Spirit Dimension
Context: Spirit Persons in Many Cultures
Wisdom Dimension
Context: Wisdom Teachers in Many Cultures
Political Dimension
Context: Social and Cultural World of Jesus
The Post-Easter Jesus
What Difference Does it Make?
Resources for Further Study
Books and Articles by Marcus Borg
FaithFutures Foundation: integrating faith and scholarship
Living the Questions, a progressive 12-week DVD and web curriculum to help participants discover the relevance of Christianity in the 21st Century and what a meaningful faith can look like in today's world. Features Marcus Borg and 14 other scholars and pastors.
New Testament Gateway, created by Dr. Mark Goodacre, University of Birmingham, UK
The Jesus Seminar, created by Dr. Mahlon Smith, Jesus Seminar Fellow and faculty at Rutgers University
Virtual Religion Index, created by Dr. Mahlon Smith, Rutgers University
Westar Institute, official Jesus Seminar site; includes churches open to the scholarship of the Jesus Seminar