f4

PART I Setting the Scene

1 The Target and the Arrows

1. Introduction: The Target

(i) Shooting at the Sun

(ii) Resurrection and History

(a) The Senses of ‘History’

(c) No Analogy?

(d) No Real Evidence?

(iii) Resurrection in History and Theology

(a) No Other Starting-Point?

(b) Resurrection and Christology

(c) Resurrection and Eschatology

3. The Historical Starting-Point

2 Shadows, Souls and Where They Go: Life Beyond Death in Ancient Paganism

1. Introduction

2. Shadows, Souls, or Potential Gods?

(i) Introduction

(ii) Witless Shadows in a Murky World?

(iii) Disembodied but Otherwise Fairly Normal?

(iv) Souls Released from Prison?

(v) Becoming a God (or at least a Star)?

3. Further Life from within the World of the Dead?

(i) Introduction

(ii) Eating with the Dead

(iii) Spirits, Souls and Ghosts

(iv) Returning from the Underworld

(v) Cheating Death: The Scheintod Motif in Novels

(vi) Translated to Be With the Gods

(vii) Transmigration of Souls

(viii) Dying and Rising Gods

4. Conclusion: The One-Way Street

3 Time to Wake Up (1): Death and Beyond in the Old Testament

1. Introduction

2. Asleep with the Ancestors

(i) Next to Nothingness

(ii) Disturbing the Dead

(iii) The Unexplained Exceptions

(iv) The Land of No Return

(v) The Nature and Ground of Hope

3. And Afterwards?

(i) Introduction

(ii) Delivered from Sheol?

(iii) Glory after Suffering?

(iv) The Basis of Future Hope

4. Awakening the Sleepers

(i) Introduction

(ii) Daniel 12: The Sleepers Wake, the Wise Shine

(iii) The Servant and the Dust-Dwellers: Isaiah

(iv) On the Third Day: Hosea

(v) Dry Bones and God’s Breath: Ezekiel

(vi) Resurrection and the Hope of Israel

4 Time to Wake Up (2): Hope Beyond Death in Post-Biblical Judaism

1. Introduction: The Spectrum

2. No Future Life, or None to Speak of: The Sadducees

3. Blessed (and Disembodied) Immortality

4. Resurrection in Second-Temple Judaism

(i) Introduction

(ii) Resurrection in the Bible: The More Greek the Better

(iii) New Life for the Martyrs: 2 Maccabees

(iv) Judgment and Life in God’s New World: Resurrection and Apocalyptic

(v) Resurrection as the Vindication of the Suffering Wise: The Wisdom of Solomon

(vi) Resurrection, in Other Words: Josephus

(vii) Resurrection at Qumran?

(viii) Pseudo-Philo, Biblical Antiquities

(ix) Pharisees, Rabbis and Targumim

5. Resurrection in Ancient Judaism: Conclusion

PART II Resurrection in Paul

5 Resurrection in Paul (Outside the Corinthian Correspondence)

1. Introduction: The Early Christian Hope

2. 1 and 2 Thessalonians

5. Ephesians and Colossians

(i) Introduction

(ii) Romans 1–4

(iii) Romans 5–8

(iv) Romans 9–11

(v) Romans 12–16

8. Interlude: The Pastoral Epistles

9. Paul (outside the Corinthian Correspondence): Conclusion

6 Resurrection in Corinth (1): Introduction

1. Introduction: The Problem

2. Resurrection in 1 Corinthians (apart from Chapter 15)

(i) Introduction

(ii) 1 Corinthians 1–4: God’s Wisdom, God’s Power, God’s Future

(iii) 1 Corinthians 5–6: Sex, Lawyers and Judgment

(iv) 1 Corinthians 7: Marriage

(v) 1 Corinthians 8–10: Idols, Food, Monotheism and Apostolic Freedom

(vi) 1 Corinthians 11–14: Worship and Love

3. Resurrection in 2 Corinthians (apart from 4.7–5.11)

(i) Introduction

(ii) 2 Corinthians 1–2: Suffering and Comfort

(iii) 2 Corinthians 3:1–6:13: the Apostolic Apologia

(iv) 2 Corinthians 6:14–9:15: Fragments?

(v) 2 Corinthians 10–13: Weakness and Power

4. Conclusion: Resurrection at Corinth

7 Resurrection in Corinth (2): The Key Passages

1. 1 Corinthians 15

(i) Introduction

(ii) 1 Corinthians 15:1–11

(iii) 1 Corinthians 15:12–28

(a) Introduction

(b) 1 Corinthians 15:12–19

(c) 1 Corinthians 15:20–28

(iv) 1 Corinthians 15:29–34

(v) 1 Corinthians 15:35–49

(a) Introduction

(b) 1 Corinthians 15:35–41

(c) 1 Corinthians 15:42–9

(vi) 1 Corinthians 15:50–58

(vii) 1 Corinthians 15: Conclusion

2. 2 Corinthians 4:7–5:10

(i) Introduction

(ii) 2 Corinthians 4:7–15

(iii) 2 Corinthians 4:16–5:5

(iv) 2 Corinthians 5:6–10

3. Conclusion: Resurrection in Paul

8 When Paul Saw Jesus

1. Introduction

2. Paul’s Own Accounts

(i) Galatians 1:11–17

(ii) 1 Corinthians 9:1

(iii) 1 Corinthians 15:8–11

(iv) 2 Corinthians 4:6

(v) 2 Corinthians 12:1–4

3. Paul’s Conversion/Call in Acts

4. Conversion and Christology

PART III Resurrection in Early Christianity
(Apart from Paul)

9 Hope Refocused (1): Gospel Traditions Outside the Easter Narratives

1. Introduction

2. Resurrection in Mark and its Parallels

(iii) The Future Vindication of Jesus

(b) The Disciples’ Perplexity

(v) The Sadducees’ Question

(a) Introduction

(b) No Marriage in the Resurrection

(c) God of the Living

(d) Patriarchs, Exodus and Kingdom

3. Resurrection in the Matthew/Luke Material (Sometimes Known as ‘Q’)

4. Resurrection in Matthew

5. Resurrection in Luke

6. Resurrection in John

7. Resurrection in the Gospels: Conclusion

10 Hope Refocused (2): Other New Testament Writings

1. Introduction

4. The General Letters

6. Conclusion: Resurrection in the New Testament

11 Hope Refocused (3): Non-Canonical Early Christian Texts

1. Introduction

2. Apostolic Fathers

(i) 1 Clement

(ii) 2 Clement

(iii) Ignatius of Antioch

(iv) Polycarp: Letter and Martyrdom

(v) The Didache

(vi) Barnabas

(vii) The Shepherd of Hermas

(ix) The Epistle to Diognetus

3. Early Christian Apocrypha

(i) Introduction

(ii) The Ascension of Isaiah

(iii) The Apocalypse of Peter

(v) The Epistula Apostolorum

4. The Apologists

(i) Justin Martyr

(ii) Athenagoras

(iii) Theophilus

(iv) Minucius Felix

5. The Great Early Theologians

(iii) Hippolytus

6. Early Syriac Christianity

(i) Introduction

(ii) The Odes of Solomon

(iv) The Acts of Thomas

7. ‘Resurrection’ as Spirituality? Texts from Nag Hammadi and Elsewhere

(i) Introduction

(ii) The Gospel of Thomas

(iii) Other Thomas Literature

(iv) The Epistle to Rheginos

(v) The Gospel of Philip

(vi) Other Nag Hammadi Treatises

(vii) The Gospel of the Saviour

(viii) Nag Hammadi: Conclusion

8. The Second Century: Conclusion

12 Hope in Person: Jesus as Messiah and Lord

1. Introduction

2. Jesus as Messiah

(i) Messiahship in Early Christianity

(ii) Messiahship in Judaism

(iii) Why Then Call Jesus Messiah?

3. Jesus, the Messiah, is Lord

(i) Introduction

(ii) Jesus and the Kingdom

(iii) Jesus and Caesar

(iv) Jesus and YHWH

4. Conclusion: Resurrection within the Early Christian Worldview

PART IV The Story of Easter

13 General Issues in the Easter Stories

1. Introduction

2. The Origin of the Resurrection Narratives

(i) Sources and Traditions?

(ii) The Gospel of Peter

(iii) The Form of the Story

(iv) Redaction and Composition?

3. The Surprise of the Resurrection Narratives

(i) The Strange Silence of the Bible in the Stories

(ii) The Strange Absence of Personal Hope in the Stories

(iii) The Strange Portrait of Jesus in the Stories

(iv) The Strange Presence of the Women in the Stories

4. The Historical Options

14 Fear and Trembling: Mark

1. Introduction

3. From Story to History

4. Easter Day from Mark’s Point of View

15 Earthquakes and Angels: Matthew

1. Introduction

2. Ruptured Earth and Rising Corpses

3. The Priests, the Guards and the Bribe

4. Tomb, Angels, First Appearance (28.1–10)

5. On the Mountain in Galilee (28.16–20)

6. Matthew and the Resurrection: Conclusion

16 Burning Hearts and Broken Bread: Luke

1. Introduction

2. Luke 24 and Acts 1 within Luke’s Work as a Whole

3. The Unique Event

4. Easter and the Life of the Church

5. Luke and the Resurrection: Conclusion

17 New Day, New Tasks: John

1. Introduction

2. John 20 within the Gospel as a Whole

3. The Contribution of John 21

4. The Gospel Easter Stories: Conclusion

PART V Belief, Event and Meaning

18 Easter and History

1. Introduction

2. The Tomb and the Meetings

3. Two Rival Theories

(i) ‘Cognitive Dissonance’

(ii) A New Experience of Grace

4. The Necessary Condition

5. The Historical Challenge of Jesus’ Resurrection

19 The Risen Jesus as the Son of God

1. Worldview, Meaning and Theology

2. The Meanings of ‘Son of God’

(i) Introduction

(ii) Resurrection and Messiahship

(iii) Resurrection and World Lordship

(iv) Resurrection and the Question of God

3. Shooting at the Sun?

1. Stylistic Shorthands

2. Primary Sources

3. Secondary Sources, etc.

A Primary Sources

2. Other Jewish Texts

3. Other Early Christian and Related Texts

B Secondary Literature

Index of Ancient Sources

1. Old Testament

3. Pseudepigrapha

7. Rabbinic Works

8. New Testament

9. Christian and/or Gnostic Works

10. Greco-Roman Texts

11. Persian Texts

12. Egyptian Texts

Index of Modern Authors

Index of Selected Topics