Martin Friis | University of Copenhagen (original) (raw)

Papers by Martin Friis

The depictions of Jesus in the four gospels are both highly varied and at times even contradictor... more The depictions of Jesus in the four gospels are both highly varied and at times even contradictory. This paper demonstrates that the Johannine Jesus embodies a particular set of masculine character traits that are less pronounced in (or in some cases, entirely absent from) the synoptic gospels. Special emphasis is placed on the notions of personal bravery, outspokenness, wisdom and (fore)knowledge.
These traits serve as a means for John of fleshing out the personality and virtuous nature of his main protagonist, Jesus. In doing so, he includes in his narrative various features that occur in the works of other ancient authors as well. This paper therefore also illustrates how John’s portrait of Jesus is comparable to other depictions of courageous and wise men in the works of a number of prominent Greek authors.

1 Shadows of the Empire...

The depictions of Jesus in the four gospels are both highly varied and at times even contradictor... more The depictions of Jesus in the four gospels are both highly varied and at times even contradictory. This paper demonstrates that the Johannine Jesus embodies a particular set of masculine character traits that are less pronounced in (or in some cases, entirely absent from) the synoptic gospels. Special emphasis is placed on the notions of personal bravery, outspokenness, wisdom and (fore)knowledge.
These traits serve as a means for John of fleshing out the personality and virtuous nature of his main protagonist, Jesus. In doing so, he includes in his narrative various features that occur in the works of other ancient authors as well. This paper therefore also illustrates how John’s portrait of Jesus is comparable to other depictions of courageous and wise men in the works of a number of prominent Greek authors.

1 Shadows of the Empire...