A New Life of Jesus

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Dedication

Whether a view of the universe which, disclaiming supernatural aids, leaves man to himself and to the natural order of the world, be one really suited to the people and to the uses of actual life, — whether it be able, not only to keep a man in the right path while prosperous, but to preserve him erect and cheerful in adversity, — you, my dear brother, have had but too many opportunities, especially in the last of the two siipposed cases, of ascertaining by experience. You have manfully held out against a tedious illness without any adventitious crutch, relying on that alone which you are able to be and to know as man and member of this divinely teeming world ; — imder circumstances which might have made the steadiest quail and shaken the strongest faith, you retained your courage and self-possession ; not even in moments when hope failed and life was despau'ed of did you give way to the self-delusion of discounting futurity.

May a serene life's-evening be allotted you after so many severe trials ; may this volume satisfy your indulgence, and this dedication not displease you ; may it certify to our children and children's children the close spiritual intimacy of their fathers, and the faith in which, without any pretension either to sanctity or saintly beatitude, they at least lived honourably and tranquilly died I

Preface

In the Preface to the First Edition of my former life of Jesus, written now twenty -nine years ago, I particularly mentioned that the work was intended for theologians ; that for others no adequate preparation had been made, so that the book was purposely thrown into a form unsuited for lay comprehension. On the present occasion I write especially for the use of laymen, and have taken particular pains that no single sentence shall be unintelligible to any educated or thoughtful person; whether professional theologians also choose to be among my readers is to me a matter of indifference.

So greatly have things changed during the interval ! The general public can now no longer be considered unprepared for inquiries of this nature. Independently of any act of mine, these questions were rashly thrown before the multitude by my bitterest adversaries, the very men who insisted that, in decency, I ought at least to have written in Latin. The loud outcries of these advocates of caution were repeated by persons less scrupulous than myself, and treated in a popular, though to me not very palatable form ; until at length the political resuscitation of Germany opened a freer platform for religious as well as other discussions. In consequence of this, many minds have become unsettled in their attachment to old ideas, and roused to independent thought upon religious subjects ; while at the same time a variety of preliminary conceptions, which could not be reckoned on as familiar at the time of the publication of my first work, have since become popularly

VUl PREFACE.

current. Moreover, it is a mere prejudice of caste to fancythat ability to comprehend these things appertains exclusively to the theologian or man of learning. On the contrary, the essence of the matter is so simple, that every one whose head and heart are in the right place may well rest assured that whatever, after due reflection and the proper use of accessible means, still remains incomprehensible to him, is in itself of very little value.

Again, the interval has made it perfectly clear that professional theologians are precisely those from whom an unprejudiced judgment in these matters is least to be expected. They are in fact interested parties adjudicating their own cause. Any discussion as to the objects of Christian faith as traditionally given, especially as to the Gospel records which are its basis, seems to imply a doubt as to the propriety of the estimation in which they are held as spiritual leaders. Whether rightly or wrongly is immaterial ; such they believe to be the case. And to every class or caste its own stability is the first consideration; few indeed among its members would encourage innovations menacing its own safety. And clearly, so soon as Christianity ceases to be thought miraculous, the clergy must cease to seem the miraculously gifted persons they have hitherto represented themselves. Their business will rather be to teach than to confer benedictions, and every one knows that the former ofiSce is as diificult and thankless as the latter is remunerative and easy.

In order, then, to make any advance in religious matters, it behoves those theologians who are above professional prejudices and interests to brave the singularity of extending their hand to the thoughtful among the laity. We must address the people, since theologians refuse to listen; as of old the Apostle Paul turned to the Gentiles when the Jews rejected his teaching. And when the better-informed among the people shall have ceased to relish the mental food generally proffered to them by the clergy, the latter will begin to

PREFACE. IX

bethink themselves of providing a better kind of nutriment. But external pressure must be applied to them; just as it had to be resorted to in regard to lawyers of the old school in order to induce them to adopt trial by jury, and other similar reforms. Certain gentlemen will, I know, here insinuate something about theologians of an obsolete class, who now wish to re-appear in the character of spiritual demagogues. Be it so ! Mirabeau too was an obsolete nobleman who held out his hand to the people : and truly the act was not barren of result. I, who am no Mirabeau, have a compensation in being able to look back with a clearer conscience to the past, especially to the particular act which caused me to be proscribed by my adopted profession.

This destination for the use of the people is one of tlie reasons why, instead of a new edition of the old "Life of Jesus," I put forth an entirely new work, in which nothing of the old, except the fundamental ideas, is to be found. Another circumstance, however, led in the same direction. I had long wished to avail myself of the opportunity of a new edition to bring my book to the level of recent inquiries on the subject, and, while defending its general position against objections, to amend and enrich it with the results of later discovery, whether made by myself or others. But I soon found that the former work, whose chief import consisted in its having preceded such discoveries, would be altered — ^nay, altogether destroyed in its most characteristic peculiarities — by undergoing such a revision; and this were a pity. For in its actual condition it remains an historical memorial of an important era in modern theology; and its plan must for some time to come make it a useful manual for learners. Let the old " Life of Jesus" then continue in its present shape ; and should ever a new edition of the now exhausted work seem to be wanted, I have provided by will that it shall be made in accordance with the first, adopting some few correC' tions from the fourth edition.

i

X PREFACE.

In order, then, to incorporate the results of recent investigation, it became necessary to do so, so far as was possible, in the more popular work. And there was no difficulty in doing this, provided learned details were omitted. The omission is a loss in some respects, but in others a gain, inasmuch as in this way the necessity of learned excuses and pretences is excluded. One such pretence is the assurance so often met with in the writings of scientific free-thinkers, that a purely historical interest constitutes the whole gist of their inquiries. With every respect for the word of the learned gentlemen, I beg to affirm that what they tell us is not possible, and would be no credit to them if. it were. The motives of a man who writes about the Assyrian Kings or the Egyptian Pharaohs may doubtless be purely historical; but Christianity is so living a power, and the problem as to its origin so rife in important consequences to the immediate present, that the student must be literally stupid whose interest in the determination of such a question can be strictly confined to the historical

This, however, is indisputable; — he to whom the conceptions, patronised by churches and by the prevalent theology, as to the supernatural character and concatenation of the circumstances of the life of. Jesus, have become intolerable, will find his best means of effectual release in historical inquiry. For having adopted the fundamental conviction that everything that happens, or ever happened, happened naturally, — that even the most distinguished of men was still man, and that, consequently, the supernatural colouring in the accounts of early Christianity must be adventitious and unreal, he is induced to expect that the more exactly he can trace the true course of events, the more their natural character will appear ; in short, his tendencies lead him towards historical inquiry, though always under the control of strict historical criticism. So far I agree with these gentlemen, and they in the main with me ; our great and common aim is not so much to re-

PREFACE. . xi

suscitate an obliterated history, as to assist the human mind in emancipating itself from the oppressive thraldom of creeds ; and I fully coincide in thinking historical inquiry, together with general philosophical education, to be the best means of effecting this object.

With the pretence of a purely historical interest is moreover connected a reservation, preventing the inquiry from going its full length and reaching its proper goal. It is not asked what Jesus really said or did, but only what the reporters make him say or do; not what a given evangelical narrative portends in itself, but only what the narrator meant or desired under certain circumstances and with certain tendencies peculiar to himself. In this way we have to do with the Evangelists alone, and the Lord is left out of sight : just as constitutional governments throw responsibility on ministries and exempt the crown. This is certainly a prudent provision against fanatical assaults, and it is also quite right that preliminary critical difficulties should be thoroughly sifted; but it is not enough. What we especially want to know is this: is the Gospel history true and reliable as a whole and in its details, or is it not ? Only in connection with this vital problem can these preliminary inquiries have a general interest.

In this respect the Gospel criticism of the last twenty years has certainly somewhat run to seed. New hypotheses about the three first Gospels more especially, their sources, objects, authorship, and mutual relation, follow each other so rapidly, and are asserted and attacked with such eagerness, that we almost forget there is anything else to be considered ; and the controversy threatens to be so endless, that we begin to despair of ever arriving at a clear imderstanding as to the main problem, if its solution is reaUy to be deferred until all these matters have been settled.

Luckily this is unnecessary. In regard to the fourth Gospel and its relation to the others, it is certainly most important

b 2

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to come to a clear understanding before venturing to say a single word upon these subjects; but we may see our way clearly upon many of the most essential points of the Gospel history, without being able to say positively whether Matthew wrote in Hebrew or in Greek ; whether he wrote a Gospel, or a mere collection of sayings or discourses ; whether Luke had before him both Mark and Matthew, or whether Mark found Luke as well as Matthew ready to his hand. Above all, we are enabled to form a very decided opinion, quite independently of these and similar questions, as to what the Gospel history is not And this negation is for our object, which is prospective, and not merely retrospective and liistorical, a principal, if not the sole consideration. It consists in this — that in the person and acts of Jesus no supernaturalism shall be suffered to remain; nothing which shall press upon the souls of men with the leaden weight of arbitrary, inscrutable authority. We can, I say, come to a clear issue in regard to this negation, independently of those endless critical questions ; for we can plainly perceive this, that no single Gospel, nor all the Gospels together, can claim that degree of historical reliability which would be required in order to make us debase our reason to the point of believing miracles.

The affirmative counterpart to this negation is twofold: first, the notion to be entertained as to the person, objects, and true history of Jesus ; secondly, the mode in which the unhistorical portion of the narrative about him originated. In order to be able to give a satisfactory answer to these questions, it is doubtless necessary to know what part of the description of Christ, given by each of the Evangelists, is his own gratuitous addition, and whence he derived it This again cannot be known until the aims and means, the external as well as internal conditions of their literary activity, have been thoroughly investigated. This is far more than has been yet attained; still it is allowable, nay desirable, that &om time to time a census should be taken of results.

PREFACE. XIU

separating what has been established as certain or probable, from doubtful or improbable conjecture. The attention of all parties is thus recalled to the main issue; and such reminders, by concentrating the thoughts, are always advantageous to science.

As to myself, I adhere to my original position, while at the same time endeavouring to avail myself of the results of later investigations. For this end I have tried to learn from all who, since the first appearance of my " Life of Jesus," have occupied a conspicuous place in criticism on the subject ; and no one will be able to reproach me with the sin of literary "Pilatism,*' — the term given by the Swiss to Godsched*s obstinate insistence on every word he had once written. To Baur and his followers I owe the greater part of the new information I have gained ; and if unable to agree with all their results, I heartily sympathise with the method and tone of their inquiries ; while on the other hand, as regards the party opposed to them, though availing myself of particular results, I consider, as I always did, their general aim and mode of proceeding mistaken. The former class of critics will, I hope, not think it disrespectful, if, in a work like the present, I treat many of the matters forming the subject of their inquiries with indifference : as to the others, I know very well what sort of reception I have to expect, and stand prepared for every sort of demonstration of ill-will, from supercilious silence and scornful disparagement, down to accusations of blasphemy and sacrilege. And the book being dedicated to the German people, I already foresee the counter protestations which will be raised in the name of the German people, by those who have assuredly no authority to speak on their behalf.

I look upon the German people as the people of the Eeformation ; of the Reformation considered not as a transaction already finished in the past, but as a work to be carried on and progressively accomplished in the future. To this progressive

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accomplishment, the culture of the present age tends as surely and unmistakeably as that of four centuries ago. We behold a crisis accompanied now as then by the painful conviction that, though Christianity be in the main indispensable, a part of what passes under its name has become absolutely intolerable. The old Eeformation had an advantage in this, that what then appeared intolerable, appertained wholly to the doctrines and practice of the Church, while the Bible, and an ecclesiastical discipline simplified according to its dictates, provided what seemed a satisfactory substitute. The operation of sifting and separation was easy; and the Bible continuing an unquestioned treasure of revelation and salvation to the people, the crisis, though violent, was not dangerous. Now, on the contrary, that which then remained as the stay of Protestants, the Bible itself, with its history and its teaching, is called in question ; the sifting process has now to be applied to its own pages, and we have to distinguish between that part of it which is true and valid for all time, and that which, depending on casual and temporary circumstances, has now become useless or pernicious. And even that which now remains valid and obligatory for ourselves is no longer so considered because it is supernaturally revealed to us in the Bible, but because it is seen to be true in itself, because reason and experience shew it to be imperishably established in the laws and constitution of our nature.

Indispensable, but also imperishable, remains tliat part of Christianity, by which it raised human nature above the sensual religion of Greece on one hand, and Jewish legalism on the other ; on one side, that is, the belief that the world is governed by a spiritual and moral Power ; on the other, the perception that the service of such a Being can only be like himself, namely, a moral and spiritual one, a worship of the disposition and the heart. We can indeed scarcely contemplate the latter element as constituting a continuing remnant among us of the old Christianity ; since in a real and

PREFACE. XV

true sense it has never yet been generally established. Even the Protestant Christianity of the day remains attached to outward acts, which, though in themselves not more valuable than the ceremonies of the Jews, are yet esteemed essential to salvation. And if we inquire how such heterogeneous elements could have mingled with the religion of Jesus, and have been retained in it, we shall find the cause to be the very same as that which to us constitutes the chief offence of all ancient religion, namely, belief in the miraculous. So long as Christianity is considered as something given from without, its Author as literally heaven-descended, the Church as a machinery for procuring the expiation of human offences through his blood, Christianity, though claiming to be the rehgion of the Spirit, must remain unspiritual, and in fact Jewish. Only when it is seen that in Christianity man did but become more deeply conscious of his own true nature, that Jesus was the individual in whom this deeper consciousness first became a supreme all-pervading influence, that redemption means but the advent of such a disposition and its inward adoption as our very life-blood, then only is Christianity really and thoroughly understood.

There exists in our time a vague presentiment that this, and this alone, is the true and abiding essence of Christianity, that all else is fume and husk, perishable and half perished already. It is a truth often divined by simple minds in the lower classes of society, and as often, with much else that is good and beautiful, a secret to the high and mighty. Indeed, the close association in which the two component parts of Christianity are placed in the sacred writings, expose many a mind to the risk of losing the essence with the husk, or at least to an irritating struggle, and dangerous perplexity between unbelief and morbid faith, between fanaticism and the laxity of indifferentism. To come to the aid of this helpless bewilderment is the duty of every one who feels the ability to do so. But the only mode of doing so is to mark out

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clearly the line separating the abiding elements of Christianity — the genuine and saving truths — from the products of transient opinion. The line so drawn becomes a rent cleaving through the centre of the sacred writings, which is as much as to say through the heart of many an excellent Christian. Yet the rending of the heart has been esteemed an act of meritorious devotion ; and this time it may be got over, at the expense of a slight headache and a little application of the reason. He to whom it has once occurred that man and all that belongs to him, religion not excepted, is historically developed, must see that within this development there can be no absolute perfection; he must acknowledge that the conceptions put forth under very unfavourable circumstances, in the religious writings of more than fifteen centuries ago, cannot now be taken as literally identical with our own, and that in order to make them presently available a separation of essentials from accessories is indispensable.

To effect this separation is now the proper task of Protestantism, and of the German people as leaders and pioneers of Protestantism. To this the efforts now made here and there in Germany in the direction of freer forms of church discipline can only be considered as preliminary. Considered in this light, they are matter of congratulation ; but to suppose that nothing more remains to be done were a fatal erroi; Folly or knavery lurks in the pretence now circulated, that not dogma, or the contest of rationalism with supematuralism, but only the life of the Church, is the proper business of our time. For church government is but the vehicle or form of a certain Christian substance : in order to know the aptest form, you must consider well the character of your Christianity, whether it be something natural or supernatural ; for a supernatural religion of mysteries and sacramental graces necessarily brings with it an order of priests elevated above the congregation. He who would banish priests from the Church mitst first banish miracles from religion.

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In calling upon the German nation to enter upon this enterprise, I by no means withdraw them from politics, but only indicate the safest and most effectual way of solving the political problem. For as the Eeformation, engendered out of the peculiar characteristics of the German nation, has set its stamp upon them for all time, so it is certain that no national enterprise can have a chance of success which is unconnected with the Eeformation, — which does not essentially grow out of their intellectual and moral culture. We Germans can be politically free only in proportion as we have made ourselves spiritually, morally, and religiously free. And what is it which ever disconcerts the efforts of our people to effect a united Germany, which makes the separation of north and south, untoward enough in itself, into a dangerous and festering ulcer, but the difference of Confessions, — the unhappy circumstance that the progress of the Eeformation was violently arrested in the midst of its career, or rather robbed of the fruits of a success which was already on the point of accomplishment ? And yet both sides have loug been fully aware that as matters now stand neither can possibly succeed in winning over the other ; that the sole possibility of re-union consists in the discovery of a third position elevated above both the rival parties. This higher position the German nation can never reach until it be initiated into the internal essence of religion, and emancipated from those external accessories which form the root of confessional distinctions. The so-called German Catholicism on one side, on the other the Protestant associations of "Lichtfreimde,''* — already beginning to unite with one another in free religious communities, — are praiseworthy efforts tending to this end: a speculative contribution to this practical object will, it is hoped, be found in the present work.

In this view it offers the hand of fellowship to the French

* Friends of Light.

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one of Benan. Whatever complaints may be urged against this now famous work, it is certain that a book which on its first issue was condemned by I know not how many Bishops, and by the Boman Court itself, must necessarily be a work of merit. It has its faults, but only one fundamental error ; this I trust its gifted author will recognise, and rectify his work accordingly. Whatever else may seem to us as faults are partly what in its native country will be esteemed as merits contributing to its circulation ; while, on the contrary, several pecuKarities by which the author of the present work hopes to earn the approbation of his own countrymen will on the other side of the Khine cause displeasure or weariness. I joyfully hailed the work of Benan on its appearance, when my own was nearly completed, as the sign of a generally felt want; on closer acquaintance I accept it respectfully, and though by no means tempted by its example to alter my own plan, I may say that all I wish is to have written a book as suitable for Germany as Benan's is for Franca

THE AUTHOB.

HeilbnyM^ Janwxry^ 1864.

NOTE BY THE TRANSLATOR.

If the translator avails himself of the usual privilege of adding a word on his own account, it can only be for the purpose of summarily reiterating what is said by the author, both in his preface and elsewhere, as to the essential nature of Christianity. For if this be distinctly understood, if it be clearly seen to consist in little, if anything, more than intrinsic goodness — goodness not enforced artificially from without, but flowing naturally from a pure heart and disposition replete with love to God and man — then there is an end to perplexity and anxiety about extrinsic, unessential, and doubtful accessories, about metaphysical niceties of creed, miraculous narratives, and ecclesiastical mystifications. If, as once said by high authority, it be the mission of English men and women to " teach all nations," surely it ought to be one of their first duties to teach themselves, and especially to gain correct notions as to the nature of the religion which they would impart to others.

Freedom, Christianity, Mythology, are, after all, but ill understood in England, and the prevalent errors about them may be traced to the same cause. The cause is the mistaking the external for the internal. If freedom be thought to consist in external adjustments or protestations rather than in the quality and culture of the soul ; if mythology, instead of being

XX NOTE BY THE TRANSLATOR.

investigated as a problem nearly and deeply aflfecting us, be treated as a mere series of fanciful stories with which, except in the way of amusement, we are personally unconcerned, — no wonder that the popular view of Christianity also should be superficial and external, making it rather a mechanical contrivance for conferring salvation, than a process of inward amendment, spirituality, and purity. May this publication contribute to the effusion of clearer ideas on these important subjects !

I

CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

DEDICATION.

Author^s Preface,

SBC PAGE

Introduction — Part I.

2. Various Forms of the Attempt to write a Life of Jesus.

5. Schleiermacher . . . . 19

8. Reaction and Compromise — Neander, Ebrard, Weisse,

Ewald. Recent additional Efforts — Keim, Renan . 36

Introduction — Part II. The Gospel Sources op

the Life of Jesus.

Div. I. External Testimonies as to the Origin

AND Antiquity of the Gospels . . 47 — 101

9. General Observations . * . . 47

10. The most Ancient Testimonies to the Three First Gospels 56

11. Additional Evidence for the Three First Gospels . 66

12. Evidence for the Gospel of John . . 77

13. Recognition and Rejection of the Gbspel of John . 86

Div. II. The Gospels viewed according to their Internal Characteristics, and their Relation to bach other . . . . 101 — 194

14. Different Hypotheses as to the Relation of the Three

First Gospels — Lessing, Eichhom, Hug, Griesbach, Gieseler, Schleiermacher . . .101

16. The Gospel of John : Bretschneider, Schleiermacher 116

1 6. Further Treatises about the Three First Gospels, and their

Relation to the Fourth ; Schultz, Sieffert, Schneckenburger ; my own Critical Discussion of the Life of Jesus 121

17. Attempts to discover an Authentic and Unauthentic

Element in the Fourth Gospel : Weisse, Schweitzer, Renan • • « . • 127

XXII CONTENTS.

BEC. PAGE

18. Baar^s Examination of the Gtospel of John continued . 141

19. Retrospective View of the Three First Gbspels : Matthew 150

20. The Gospel of Luke . . . . .157

21. The.Gospelof Mark . . . .169

22. Comparative Estimate of the Four Gospels . 183

Considerations preparatory to the following Investigation ..... 194 — 218

24. The Idea of Miracle . . . .195

25. The Idea of Myth .... 201

26. Plan of the Work . . . .214

FIEST BOOK.

Historical Outline op the Life of Jesus . 221 — 440

27. Prefatory Remarks .... 221

29. Development of Greco-Roman Cultivation . . 241

31. Jesus. His Extraction .... 258

33. Religious Consciousness, undiscoverable in Fourth Gospel 268

34. Religious Consciousness, according to Three First Gospels 276

36. His Position towards the Non-Israelites . . 296

39. Second Advent of the Messiah . . . 322

44. His Journey to Jerusalem . . . 381

45. His Last Supper, Arrest, and Crucifixion . . 387