JESUS AND GOSPEL

Written by Graham N. Stanton Reviewed By Mark Jason

Stanton attempts to trace the word ‘Gospel’ from ‘its use by Jesus to refer to his own proclamation to its use as the title of a “book” containing an account of the words and deeds of Jesus.’

The author suggests that Christians possibly borrowed the gospel terminology from the Roman imperial cult and filled it with new, Christian content. He explores the emergence and subsequent acceptance of the four-fold gospel by the early Church, attributing it to Christians’ adoption of the codex, arguing that no roll could contain four gospels. Further, he points out that the distinctiveness of the codex would have enhanced the distinctive identity that Christians were adopting. He looks at the ‘gospels’ in the writings of Justin Martyr and Ireneus, concluding that both were aware of a well established written tradition for the gospels by mid-second century.

Stanton speculates whether the phrase ‘the law of Christ’ was part of Paul’s gospel and focuses on similar phrases outside the Pauline corpus and in Jesus’ own teaching since, he states, understanding such phrases could enrich contemporary theological reflection on the gospel. He further focuses on ancient allegations that Jesus was a ‘magician’ and ‘false prophet’, tracing them from second century writings to traditions contemporaneous to Jesus. Stanton concludes that because Jesus radical claims were so unacceptable to some hearers, they sought an alternative source for his ministry. He also examines early objections to Jesus’ resurrection to show the various ancient attitudes to post-mortem existence, to see how earliest Christian proclamation was understood or misunderstood, and to see how and when Christian resurrection traditions were shaped by apologetic concerns.

Stanton then attempts to account for the early Christian ‘addiction’ to the codex, opposing ‘big bang’ theories that posit a ‘decisive, precedent-setting development in the publication and circulation of Christian literature that established the codex in Christian use.’ He suggests instead a gradual transition from notebook (which was widely used and part of everyday life in the Graeco-Roman world) to codex. Notebooks were already used by the earliest Christians for excerpts from Scripture, copies of letters and possibly for the transmission of some Jesus traditions. Stanton points out that Christian scribes preparing writings to be used by missionaries and travellers over long distances would have appreciated the advantages of the codex.

Finally, he challenges the view that the earliest gospels were ‘second-class’ handbooks as opposed to Jewish rolls that were written carefully in formal hand. He examines the earliest papyri fragments of the gospels to show that by mid-second century, these papyri were made with great skill and expense, most likely for public reading, proving their literary value and authoritative status in the early church.

Stanton’s explanation of the origins of ‘Gospel’ and his theories on the emergence of the codex are fascinating. However, the way he arranges his material has certain drawbacks. He divides his book into three main parts, with nine chapters, but only chapters 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 relate directly to ‘Jesus and Gospel’. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 make no direct contribution to the primary focus of the book and divert one’s attention from the main quest. This lengthy ‘interlude’ hinders the flow of the overall argument. There is also considerable duplication of material in chapter 3 (81ff) with chapter 8 (169ff) that seems rather unnecessary.

On the whole the author exhibits a fine knowledge of early gospel papyri. His constant reference to recently published papyri fragments is helpful as he systematically builds his case. This book would interest all students of earliest Christianity.


Mark Jason

University of Aberdeen