Advertise on podcast: Dragons in Genesis

As Luke borrowed details from both Mark and Matthew and made his own changes and additions, things begant to get a bit confusing. Jesus reacts to statements which haven't been made and multiple parables which have nothing at all to do with one another come crashing together like stampeding swine cahrging toward the Sea of Galilee. Worse yet, he can't keep his theology straight as Jesus tells his followers that a specific sin invites terrible wrath, and then immediately copies a line that states that exact sin will be forgiven.

Throughout the bible we encounter the imagery of the lofty being brought low while the lowly are elevated. While this is typical of the promise of a reversal of fate, it does sometimes appear in a more literal sense, such as when Luke copies Matthew’s famous Sermon on the Mount but changes the location to a lowly plain. But this isn’t the only change that Luke will make to Matthew’s story. His genealogy, nativity, quotes, and overall theology will all be modified to bring Jesus back to a more gentile-friendly state.

Concluding Matthew’s gospel brings us more modifications on the gospel of Mark, the influence of the Book of Daniel and his time in the lion’s den on the story of the crucifixion and resurrection, as well as a curious detail that demonstrates that the other criminal, Barabbas, was not a figure from history, but a symbol from scripture.

As Matthew’s author copied and expanded Mark’s gospel, he adapted Jesus for an audience that held the Hebrew Bible in higher regard. Thus the messiah became more loyal to Jewish law, more reverent to temple requirements, and more like Moses than originally described.

Among the most popular stories from the life of Jesus is the Sermon on the Mount. 3 chapters of lessons from the most famous teacher in history… though this sermon isn’t found in the earliest gospel. Now did earlier christians know anything about it. That doesn’t mean the teachings didn’t exist, as the lessons found in that sermon were certainly recorded… they just didn’t come from Jesus.

As with his ministry and miracles, the final days of the life of Jesus are rife with allegory and seem to be constructed from scenes borrowed from prior literature. But is there some kernel of truth behind the myth? Is there fact behind the fiction? Surely his trial and death must shed some light on the actual events… unless that too was taken from older stories.

From the transfiguration on the mountaintop to his overturning of tables in the temple, the arrival of Jesus at Jerusalem is filled with memorable scenes that demonstrate his character and illustrate his teachings. But many of those scenes and even his words, were not original to his story. Instead they seem borrowed from earlier tales of prophets, teachers, and even mythical figures.

Jesus lays out his fate to a crowd of disbelieving disciples who reject the idea that their savior must suffer and die, but prior to this is he repeats his calming of the sea and multiplication of bread and fish miracles. The reasoning behind this repetition can be found in the differences in the details, and in the repeated use of the sea in a story set in the Judean desert.

Decades after christianity began, an unknown author completely changed scripture by penning a Greek tragedy about the messiah. So popular was his work that in spawned numerous rewrites and imitations during the subsequent decades. His biography of Jesus would set the stage for storytellers for the next 2000 years, and the amazing adventures of the miracle-working prophet would be expanded by later authors. But where did this anonymous author get the idea for his gospel? The apologist would say that it was passed down orally from eyewitnesses, but the truth is far more complex than that.

The Hebrew Bible is now complete, so what's next?

In the mid second century BCE, the people of Judea did the impossible… the ended centuries of foreign rule by expelling the Seleucids and reviving the divine Judean kingship. To celebrate their victory, they wrote stories which pretended to predict this achievement and cast a legendary hero from Canaanite mythology as their prophet. The result included angels, foreign gods, dragon-slaying, and great beasts that would reappear in Revelation.

In the aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem the population was lost, bereft of king and temple. Their prosperity and security had been taken from them and family members had been carted away to a distant land. But perhaps worst of all, their own deity seemed to have turned his back on them. But when he finally took notice he didn’t offer comfort, but wrath.

Perhaps no other single book of the Hebrew Bible is as important to the New Testament authors as Zechariah. From it we find the idea of a suffering servant figure, a Davidic savior, one who is pierced through, who enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey and will remove the sins of the people before being elevated to the throne of heaven to sit beside God.

Could Yahweh be a dying-and-rising god? Does Malachi speak to the worship of Asherah in the Jerusalem Temple? Was Yahweh originally an angel who served his father, El Elyon? All these questions and more are raised by the minor prophets who saw the restoration of Judah as a parallel with the restoration of nature and linked it with annual sacrifices.

From giants and witches, to sun gods and talking animals, the Bible is littered with strange mythology. Curious stories concerning mystical beings can be found in every book, but one of the strangest stories is that of Jonah. Not only is a man eaten by a fish, but this prophet might just shed light on another myth which was prominent in the ancient world but seems blasphemous to modern theologians… Jonah might just tell us that, once upon a time, God died.