58 Cullmann, Christology, pp. 235, 237, 307.
59 Fuller, Foundations, pp. 208, 248.
60 Cullmann, Christology, p. 321; see also p. 235.
61 Joachim Jeremias, The Eucharistic Words of Jesus, transl. by Norman Perrin (London: SCM Press, Ltd., 1966), p. 101.
(7)We have also introduced the significance of Jesus’ resurrection with regard to the truthfulness of his teachings. Since Paul agrees with Jesus, any such confirmation would also apply to Paul’s teachings.
Therefore we conclude that Paul was not the founder of Christianity and neither did he corrupt Jesus’ teachings. They agree on the essentials of the faith. Furthermore, the early pre-Pauline creed in 1 Cor. 15:3ff. presents the same view of the deity of Jesus and the nature of the gospel. As the eminent New Testament scholar C.H. Dodd pointed out, Paul’s preaching coincided with that of primitive Christianity and those who would assert otherwise bear the burden of proof.^62 Jesus As International Traveler
In surveys of popular lives of Jesus, it is not long before one discovers a prevalent tendency to view Jesus as an international traveler. It is sometimes asserted that he took journeys to such exotic places as India, Japan, or Egypt during his eighteen so-called “silent years” (between the ages of twelve and thirty), or trips after his crucifixion; the latter usually necessitating a swoon theory. We looked briefly at one similar thesis already, with Potter’s The Lost Years of Jesus Revealed. Although Jesus did not travel too far, it is said that he spent his “silent years” in the Qumran community.
Oriental legend
Another persistent legend states that Jesus traveled east to India and Japan. According to family documents which were purportedly uncovered in 1935 by Shinto priest Kiyomaro Takeuchi, Jesus reportedly sailed to Japan at the age of eighteen. He stayed in that country for about seven or eight years and studied Japanese philosophy and culture in his search for wisdom. Armed with both this knowledge and with some magic tricks which he had learned, Jesus went back to Palestine. Upon his return, Jesus preached the Kingdom of God. When it became clear that he was going to be killed, the Japanese legend relates that his brother, Isukiri, volunteered to die in Jesus’ place so that Jesus could continue with his work on earth. Having convinced Jesus by such rationale, his brother Isukiri died and was buried. Afterwards, Jesus and Judas went to the tomb and reburied Isukiri’s dead body.
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