Die Reaktion des Volkes auf Jesus

Abstract

Bell & Howell Information and Learning: Formula omitted (...) Die Reaktion des Volkes auf Jesus: Eine redaktionskritische Untersuchung zu den synoptischen Evangelien, by Martin Meiser. BZNW 96. Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 1998. Pp. xii + 437. DM 228.00. The focus of Meiser's work is the role that the undifferentiated groups of people, generally the (...), play in the Synoptics. In order to analyze this question, Meiser examines the question at three levels: first, the level of the literary and sociological background for the lexical units; second, the form-critical basis for the interactions between the people and Jesus; and finally and most importantly, a redactioncritical examination of each evangelist's presentation of the people's interaction with Jesus. After an introductory chapter on the scope of the problem and the component issues, Meiser begins chapter 2 with a comparative study of the various ways in which groups of people are treated in Greek and Jewish literature. The results from the Greek literature suggest a general suspicion of groups. Particularly the (...) is viewed negatively as rabble, but the other related words for groups can also take on negative connotations, suggesting that the masses are not to be trusted and are subject to manipulation by demagogues. There is, then, a deep-seated pejorative use of the (...) in Greco-Roman literature. This extends as well to philosophical literature, which values the individuals who are drawn out of the crowd to receive wisdom, but is not crowd oriented. On the other hand, the Jewish tradition from the Old Testament and rabbinic literature presents a more open view, based on the idea of the people of Israel as objects of God's election. Thus Jewish writing shows little evidence of the negative use of noa.a,oi. And, while rabbinic literature shows some concern for the am ha-aretz, this is not simply a negative reaction against a group of people but a concern for purity. The Jewish traditions, then, allow for a more positive view of masses of people, although they can view them negatively as well. Meiser concludes, then, that the Synoptics demonstrate an outlook far closer to that found in the Hebrew Bible and early Jewish literature than that found in Greco-Roman literature. From the analysis of possible cultural backgrounds for viewing undifferentiated groups, Meiser turns in chapter 3 to an examination of the form-critical basis for the Gospel accounts. Here he distinguishes between two different functions of the reaction of the crowds: admiration and acclamation. Admiration, along with its variant, astonishment, serves primarily to establish a basis for reflection on the reality of divinity in the story. Acclamation, on the other hand, serves the more precise function of pointing to the authority of Jesus. Admiration is a text-external function, pointing to the reality of God, but acclamation is reader-oriented and suggests that Jesus is the basis of faith. Following these foundational chapters, Meiser turns in chapters 4 through 6 to a careful consideration of the individual presentations in the Synoptics. These are careful exegetical chapters that yield significant insights into the way the characterization of unnamed groups actually functions in the Gospels. Chapter 4 deals with Mark. …