The Easter texts of the New Testament : their tradition, redaction and theology : with particular reference to the Synoptic Gospels and 1 Corinthians 15

Abstract

In Section I: The Easter Texts and Historical Criticism, we discuss the methodological question of the place of historical criticism for our investigation. Clarifying the positive and negative relationship of historical criticism to theological understanding, we assume that historical criticism is to be used both to trace and observe the process of the traditions which precede the texts, and to investigate the texts themselves in order to understand the evangelists' intentions, rather than to make the abortive attempt simply to harmonize chronologically the accounts of the Easter texts which contradict one another on major points, e.g. the locality of the appearances. The question of the relation of historical criticism to theological understanding is resumed in the concluding chapter where we attempt again to explicate the problem more extensively in view of the logical structure of understanding'.

Section II: A Study of Pauline Easter Texts, consists of two chapters. Here, we attempt first to obtain a clue to solving the question how the unusual experience which was vouchsafed to Paul, whose Sitz im Leben was different in many ways from those of the first disciples, could lead to the certainty that Jesus had been raised, and then secondly we examine the text of 1 Cor 15.3ff., using the methods of form-criticism and tradition history. Problems of the difference between the christology of Paul and of the Corinthians are also dealt with and an attempt is made to explicate that, so far as 1 Cor 15.3ff. is concerned, for Paul the Easter event meant an eschatological expectation, which, though it had already been fulfilled in Jesus' case, yet for the believer remains an expectation, in which one can participate by hope alone. At the end of this section, we also, to a limited extent, try to view Paul's contribution to the theology of resurrection, which in his epistles follows two lines, viz. the dogmatic and the empirical.

In Section III, we turn our attention to the Easter texts in the synoptic gospels, and this section consists of three chapters:

In chapter 4, on the Markan texts, our main concern focusses on two points, that is, the empty tomb tradition and the significance of the Easter texts especially in view of redaction history. We attempt to show the apologetic and the theological interests in the empty tomb stories in the synoptic gospels and also attempt to examine Mark's interpretation of the Easter tradition which is orientated towards and conditioned by the redactor's own theological assertion, viz. "the miraculous being of Jesus".

Chapter 5 deals with the Matthean Easter texts. In this chapter, we try to examine the appearance story, especially in regard to the discrepancy between the appearance stories in 1 Corinthians and in the gospel narratives. Then, we investigate the texts, their tradition and redaction history and thereby we come to the understanding of how emphatically the mission motif is accentuated in the Matthean texts.

Finally, the Lulcan Easter texts are dealt with in chapter 6. Together with form critical study, and adopting the same methodology as we used in the preceding chapters, viz. tradition and redaction history, we again attempt to clarify how the redactor's theological positions and ideas, e.g. the sacred history, iii are evidently effective in the evangelist's interpretation of the tradition. Our concern in this chapter is also directed towards the two ascension accounts, viz. Lk 24.50-53 aad Acts 1.9-11. In this connection, although this study is limited to the investigation of the Easter texts of the Synoptic Gospels and 1 Corinthians 15, we attempt to clarify the distinctive contribution of the fourth evangelist to the Easter tradition.

We conclude our study of the Easter texts of the New Testament by the attempt to restate the main thread of our theme, summarising and analysing the results of our investigation and examining them from the hermeneutical point of view. Some suggestions for the task of translation of the Easter texts into contemporary idioms bring the thesis to a conclusion.