The Pre- and Post-Easter Jesus
Understanding and knowing Jesus involves history, tradition, and experience.
~ Marcus Borg
The pre-Easter Jesus means:
- The historical Jesus
- Jesus of Nazareth
- A first century Galilean Jew
- A figure of the past
The post-Easter Jesus means:
What
Jesus became after his death, the Jesus of Christian experience and tradition.
In Christian experience people continue to experience Jesus as a living reality, as a figure of the present; as a spiritual living divine reality
In Christian tradition: Jesus is increasingly spoken of as a divine reality and eventually seen as “very God of very God.”
It is crucial to make this distinction, says Borg, or Jesus becomes unreal, incredible and inaccessible.
Compare pre- and post-Easter Jesus
| Pre-Easter Jesus | Post-Easter Jesus |
|---|---|
| 4 B.C.E. to 30 C.E. | 30 C.E. to present |
| Corporeal, human being of flesh and blood | Spiritual, non-material reality |
| Finite and mortal | Infinite, eternal |
| Human | Divine |
| A Jewish peasant | King of Kings and Lord of Lords |
| Figure of the past | Figure of the present |
| Jesus of Nazareth | Jesus Christ |
| Monotheistic Jew | Becomes the second person of the trinity, “God with a human face” |
| Galilean Jew of the first century | “The Face of God” (metaphor based on 2 Cor. 4:6 Beholding the glory of God in the face of Christ) |
Overview
of the Pre-Easter Jesus
Three summaries of the pre-Easter Jesus