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The legend of Jesus Christ was not written by some individual the way
stories are today but it evolved naturally and unconsciously through
the processes of repetition from one individual or group to another.
We must remember that most people could read and write 2000 years
ago, but books and scrolls were not available to the average person in
Jerusalem. All that an individual had to read in those days
were engravings on statues and the walls of public buildings. A Jew
could read from the Torah in the synagogue, but few Jews owned more
than a few pages of scripture. 2000 years ago people got there
information from friends and neighbors, from announcements in the
public square, and from epic singers
Epic singers were somewhat like our modern folk singers, but their performances were much longer. Some, as in the case of the great singer Homer, went on for days. At any rate, these entertainers would show up from time to time and, for a few shekels, would tell their tales. Built around contemporary or ancient events, the story, when well told, was entertaining and educational.
The story of the coming Messiah which was told for centuries in the synagogues became part of the singers’ repertoire. Then beginning in the first century, drew on, they included the epics of the Jewish leaders who were acclaimed to be messiahs—Judas the Galilean, Menahem ben Judas, Theudas, John of Gischala, Bar Kokba and others |
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From the first years of the first century until Mark wrote his
gospel about Jesus and it achieved circulation, all that was
available were tales, rumors and oral traditions. A period of over
75 years.Each time a story is retold it changes. This is due to
certain natural but curious tendencies of the mind - the tendency,
for instance, to remember things that make a strong impression and
to forget things that don't impress us very strongly. There is also
a tendency to exaggerate or minimize, to glorify or ennoble, to
idealize or vilify. Beyond that, there's a natural, unconscious
tendency to analyze things, to take them apart and put them back
together in different combinations and a natural tendency to
simplify or edit. This is how legends are created.
Each time a story is retold it changes. This is due to certain
natural but curious tendencies of the mind - the tendency, for
instance, to remember things that make a strong impression and to
forget things that don't impress us very strongly. There is also a
tendency to exaggerate or minimize, to glorify or ennoble, to
idealize or vilify. Beyond that, there's a natural, unconscious
tendency to analyze things, to take them apart and put them back
together in different combinations and a natural tendency to
simplify or edit. These are all things that create legends.
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The only historians of that time and place whose works have survived
are Josephus and Philo. Neither one reports a thing about a messiah
named Jesus.
So what did occur and
how did it develop into the wonderful story of Jesus Christ
Savior of the world? |
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