Did Jesus Predict his Own Death?

Episode Outline:
0:00 Did Jesus really predict his own death?
0:48 Bart and Megan on new book projects, ethics, and ancient translation
3:09 Why historians struggle to know what Jesus actually said
5:02 The main criteria scholars use to evaluate sayings of Jesus
8:43 Sayings in John that scholars often judge inauthentic
11:29 The Passion predictions in the Gospels
14:36 Why some scholars think the predictions may be historical
15:50 Why many scholars doubt Jesus explicitly predicted his death and resurrection
17:15 Jesus as an apocalyptic preacher focused on the coming kingdom of God
19:16 Why Jesus likely went to Jerusalem
22:01 Could Jesus still have sensed danger once he arrived in Jerusalem?
25:31 Does historical doubt about the Passion predictions undermine Christian theology?
28:53 Weekly Update: free Gospel authorship webinar
31:01 Conference spotlight: Mark Goodacre on the empty tomb
32:54 Conference spotlight: Jennifer Knust on the woman taken in adultery
35:03 Listener Q&A: Acts, sin, resurrection, and Jewish law
43:25 Final summary: why the Passion predictions may be later sayings placed on Jesus’ lips

Episode Description
The Christian faith is rooted in the belief that Jesus died for the sins of the world and was then raised from the dead. But is this what Jesus himself preached during his public ministry? In the Gospels, Jesus certainly predicts his coming death, on numerous occasions. But are those saying historical? How would scholars know? What is the evidence both ways? And if Jesus did not anticipate, let alone predict, his death, does that completely undermine the Christian faith?

Also watch these episodes:
The Coming Apocalypse! Jewish and Christian Views of the End of the World
The Coming Apocalypse! Jewish and Christian Views of the End of the World

How Did Christianity Take Over the Roman World?
How Did Christianity Take Over the Roman World?

New Testament Scholarship for Non-Scholars
New Testament Scholarship for Non-Scholars

In this episode, Megan asks Bart:

-In general, why do historical scholars find it difficult to know what Jesus really said?

-How do they decide? What kinds of historical criteria do they use to distinguish his actual teachings and the sayings put on his lips by the Gospel writers?

-What are some examples of sayings that you don’t think are authentic to Jesus?

-In the Gospels Jesus predicts that he has to go to Jerusalem to be rejected and killed. That seems in the Gospels to be the goal of his ministry. Do you think that’s what he had in mind?

-What would be the arguments in favor of thinking that these predictions go back to Jesus himself?

-What are the arguments for doubting that Jesus made these kinds of predictions?

-Is it possible that the passion predictions that occur within Jerusalem are a result of Jesus realizing that he’d crossed enough lines that he might be headed for a death sentence?

-Suppose you’re right and that, historically, Jesus never made an explicit prediction of his death or claimed that his death would provide salvation for others. Does that mean that, theologically, the Christian message is wrong? Does it mean that his death was not a sacrifice for sins?