What Have They Done with Jesus? – II
It has been some time since I wrote my first post on this book. I have been distracted by other matters.
The first chapter really builds very little on the principles I described in my first post. Rather this deals with the historical clues we have in the gospels about two women: Joanna and Miriam of Migdal, more commonly known as Mary Magdalene.
Working from a few historical clues, Witherington proposes to identify Joanna with Junia of Romans 16:7, who was prominent among the apostles. Having seen how annoyed some complementarians get at the suggestion that this Junia is a real apostle, I have to wonder what their reaction will be to Witherington’s proposal that she is actually the Joanna who traveled with Jesus, witnessed the crucifixion, and then, he says, was likely present at Pentecost. For the arguments in favor of this, you’ll have to get the book and read the chapter. I will just say that I have always been convinced Junia was an apostle in the fullest sense of the word, and Witherington has added to that conviction. The connection with Joanna of the Gospel of Luke is more tenuous, but not implausible.
As for Miriam of Migdal, Witherington says several things which I had just read in Ehrman’s The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot. Basically both point out that most of the things we believe about her are simply not present in the text. There is nothing to suggest she was a prostitute, nor that she was Jesus’ wife. Other than the statement that seven demons had been cast out of her, none of these details are even suggested. Witherington focuses on the story of John 20 which makes her a witness to the resurrection.
I would agree here that the story of the women as the initial witnesses to the resurrection has the ring of truth to it, if on no other basis than the criterion of embarrassment. Had the disciples not run away, it is doubtful they would have invented such a story, and had they not first heard the story of the resurrection from women, it is doubtful they would have created that story either.
So much for chapter 1. I’ll keep blogging chapter by chapter.