Jesus – His resurrection

Jesus – His resurrection The views of Rudolf Bultmann and N.T. Wright on the relation of the resurrection event to history; interpretation and application to the understanding of death, the soul, resurrected body and the afterlife, with reference to Matthew 10:28; John 20-21; 1 Corinthians 15; Philippians 1:21-24.

Matthew 10:28 ‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.’ Page 1082

John 20-21 2. John 20 – summary of events 3. Analysis of the Resurrection in John 21 – read the sections and write a very brief summary. John and Peter see but don’t believe Mary Magdalene – doesn’t recognise JC –change in resurrected body Jesus gives Mary a message for the apostles – will ascend to heaven and Holy Spirit will arrive Jesus said ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ Disciples go back to fishing Disciples must go and carry on God’s work Thomas – feels wounds and believes Blessedness through faith Jesus appears to the disciples by the Sea of Galilee (1-14)  Jesus commissions Peter to shepherd his people (21:15-23)  There is a tradition in Christianity that Peter was crucified upside down in 67CE – So these words may not be the true words of Jesus. As John’s Gospel was not written until late in the 1st Century CE, the author would already know how Peter died. John’s testimony confirmed It might not actually have been written by John himself, it could have been a disciple based on John’s eyewitness accounts.  

1 Corinthians 15 Page 1276 4. Link to Acts 9 - St Paul claimed Jesus appeared to him on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus to persecute Christians in that city. 5. How does St Paul attempt to show that Christian believers will be resurrected? 6. What does St Paul mean by first fruits? 7. How does St Paul describe the resurrected body? 8. What evidence have we already read to support the view that that resurrected body will be different? e.g. Mary Magdalene, disciples, john 20:19 9. St Paul does not explain: How the body will change, when the change will occur – at an individual’s death or collectively at the end of time, if everyone will be resurrected or only believers. He does explain that both the body and soul will be resurrected.

Philippians 1:21-24 ‘For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.’ Page 1302 10. Explain the highlighted points – What is St Paul saying to the Philippians about life after death?

Bultmann 11. What does demythologised mean? 12. How does Bultmann interpret the resurrection?

N.T. Wright Type in this link and watch the six minute video on Youtube – there are other useful videos to watch too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVhgAiGihoA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwJlpzhYbgc