Craig Evans & NT Wright. Jesus: The Final Days. Louisville, KY. Westminster John Knox, 2009
Many thanks to WJK for the review copy.
Simply stated, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are the center of the Christian faith. We are many things as Christians, but I would think it fair to say that we are all that we are chiefly because we follow the Jesus the Messiah, whom we worship as the crucified and risen Lord. As such, the subject of what we can know about these crucial events is very important indeed. Toward that end, Troy Miller (Crichton College) has done us the service of putting into book format the 2003 and 2004 Crichton College Church and Academy lectures, given by NT Wright and Craig Evans, respectably, which detail the historical background of these events.
The book is short and to the point (roughly 100 pages). Being based on lectures, there are no footnotes or endnotes and the only bibliography to speak of consists of two or three references for further reading at the end of each chapter. It is divided into three parts, corresponding to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
In Part 1, Craig Evans sets out to paint us a picture of the crucifixion and death of the Messiah. After a quick run through of the historical written affirmations of Jesus’ death (biblical and otherwise), he delves into the reasons why Jesus was crucified in the first place. Evans focuses here on the actual situation “on the ground” in 1st century Palestine, not on the theological import of the event. The triumphal entry, the cleansing of the temple, and the parables of judgment on the temple establishment are all unpacked and defended historically as plausible and legitimate offenses that could and would have lead to Jesus’ being perceived as a political threat. Evans then argues, based not least on Gethsemane narratives and the death of John the Baptist, that Jesus plausibly could have, in fact, anticipated his own death, and spoken of this to his followers.
From there, Evans discusses in detail Jesus’ trial and mockery. The detail of this section is pretty remarkable, considering the length (15 pages or so). Obviously the gospels get the longest treatment here as sources, but Evans also touches on allusions to the trial in Peter’s sermons in the Book of Acts, as well as Paul’s letters. His contention that Jesus’ drawing together of Daniel 7 and Psalm 110 in his confession before the high priest would have been seen as blasphemous won’t be new to those who have read much in this area, but given the implied audience of a book of this length, it may very well be the first time that some have heard this line of reasoning. Evans then goes on to discuss the Passover pardon of Barabbas, and it is here (the first of many places) that his mastery of the primary sources really shines. Using both Jewish and Roman sources, he shows that criminal pardons (of prisoners sentenced to crucifixion) were a political and historical reality in the 1st century. I found his quotation of the Mishna (m. Pesahim 8:6) particularly interesting:
“ …they may slaughter (the Passover lamb) for one…whom they have promised to bring out of prison (on the Passover)”
Some discussion of the political situation that Pilate found himself in, and some interesting tidbits regarding the mockery of Jesus round the conversation out, before moving on to the crucifixion itself, where again Evans is masterful in his knowledge of the relevant background material. Lastly, Evans focuses on the theological implications of Jesus’ crucifixion, and the foolishness (if I can use that word) that a crucified messiah would have been seen as in the first century. On the whole, one could think of this last section of Part 1 as a very selective condensation of Martin Hengel’s Crucifixion, boiled down to about three pages (!). Good stuff.
Part Two, also by Evans, looks in some detail at the burial of Jesus. The chapter begins with some background on the history of Jewish burial practices. Again, Evans’ knowledge of 2nd Temple history and material really shines here. This section was the most interesting for me, and it is short enough that you can read it through a few times to let it all soak in. Moving from Jewish to Roman burial practices at the time of Jesus, Evans devotes a couple of pages to the discovery of a Jewish crucifixion victim’s ossuary (with the nail apparently still in the heel), which is a very good read. Citing Pliny the Elder, Plautus, and various inscriptions, he then discusses Roman tendencies regarding burials for criminals, and responds to those who would argue that the apparently small number of buried crucifixion victims found suggests that Jesus would not have been given a proper burial at all. Lastly, he briefly recounts the gospel accounts of Jesus’ burial, and argues that based on the evidence discussed and the texts themselves, they deserve a fair reading.
The Bishop NT Wright takes up the topic of Jesus’ resurrection for the third and final chapter of the book. The chapter is very good, but this information is so readily available elsewhere, whether in book, essay, or various lectures, that it is hard to be too excited about if you’ve already read or heard Wright on the resurrection (and most probably have). I won’t attempt to sum up his work on the matter in a few words, but it’s widely available in various formats. If somehow you’ve not been exposed to the Bishop’s work on the subject, this is probably a good, if very truncated introduction to it. Just to put this in perspective, Wright’s The Resurrection of the Son of God gave him roughly 700 pages to devote to the topic. A shorter, wonderful treatment of Jesus’ resurrection, along with related topics, can be found in Surprised By Hope, which runs about 300 pages. Here, he gets about 35 pages. As a result, this chapter is basically unnecessary for the reader who has read either of the books above, or heard any of Wright’s many lectures on the subject (available here). The chapter is good for what it is, but why buy the postcard when you could have the full-color painting?
To sum up:
It is hard to imagine a better book if you are looking for a short and informative discussion of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Craig Evan’s two chapters are particularly good, and pack a great deal of information into a small number of pages. Even those who have read other works in this vein will probably learn something here, or at least be given something new to ponder. The final chapter, by Bishop Wright, is good, but is eclipsed by both Surprised By Hope and The Resurrection of the Son of God, both of which are worth buying in their own right, and highly recommended. This doesn’t detract from the value of the book, however, and for the price it is hard to beat.
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