De opstanding van Jezus volgens Jozef Ratzinger/Benedictus XVI

Abstract

The resurrection of Jesus according to Jozef Ratzinger/Benedictus XVI. As a follow-up to my earlier article in HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies (‘The Pope’s Jesus book and the Christologies of the gospels’ [2011]), this contribution concerning the Jesus trilogy by Jozef Ratzinger will discuss the idea he presents of Jesus’ resurrection and how his view should be assessed from the perspective of the current state of affairs in biblical scholarship. In addition, this article articulates a number of proposals that can take the discussion a step further. In that context, the following questions are dealt with: What is meant when we speak about the body of the risen Jesus? Are there – except for terms like ‘to raise from the dead’ or ‘to rise up’ – other formulas used in the New Testament to describe the fundamental reversal after Jesus’ death? Can Ratzinger’s biased focus upon the concept of ‘resurrection’ be expanded on the basis of other Old Testament models of thought or faith paradigms that can help us to understand that Jesus, through the agency of God, has come to share in a life that is no longer limited by death? What factors played a role in the origin of the belief in Jesus’ resurrection? This article shows that Ratzinger too strongly emphasises continuity between the historical Jesus and a number of New Testament Christologies and the way in which they were crystallised in later ecclesiastical dogmatic formulations.