What I find interesting about the idea of looking at the Gospels as historically accurate is how they differ on what one would think to be the most important topic: Jesus' capture and death. If the Gospels are historically accurate, then we should surely expect the least divergence on a topic such as Jesus' capture and death. But, instead, there is just as much divergence here than throughout any other part of the Gospels.
Take the capture, for instance. In the Gospel of Mark, it says (chapter 14)...
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36 he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will."
42 "Get up, let us go. See, my betrayer is at hand."
43 Then, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs who had come from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.
44 His betrayer had arranged a signal with them, saying, "The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him and lead him away securely."
45 He came and immediately went over to him and said, "Rabbi." And he kissed him.
46 At this they laid hands on him and arrested him.
47 One of the bystanders drew his sword, struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his ear.
48 Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs, to seize me?
49 Day after day I was with you teaching in the temple area, yet you did not arrest me; but that the scriptures may be fulfilled."
50 And they all left him and fled.
51 Now a young man followed him wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body. They seized him,
52 but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked.
53 They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.
54 Peter followed him at a distance into the high priest's courtyard and was seated with the guards, warming himself at the fire.
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Mark was written not long after the first Jewish revolt failed and the temple was destroyed. These people whom Mark was writing for struggled with the feeling that Jesus had abandoned them. Likewise, one sees in Jesus' capture, in the Gospel of Mark, that Jesus himself is abandoned at his time of need ("And they all left him and fled"). He is begging God, asking to not allow this to happen, but he will do what God wants. One sees a Jesus not in control and feeling abandoned. Precisely the feeling of the persecuted, Jewish community for whom Mark was writing. This is how they felt in their lives and in their deaths: abandoned and alone.
Now, in the Gospel of John (chapter 17), Jesus prays to God as well, but he does not beg God to free him from death. Instead, he makes a lengthy prayer regarding his followers and the world and one gets the impression that he is relatively comfortable with his fate. In chapter 18, Jesus is captured:
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1 When he had said this, Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered.
2 Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
3 So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
4 Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, "Whom are you looking for?"
5 They answered him, "Jesus the Nazorean." He said to them, "I AM." Judas his betrayer was also with them.
6 When he said to them, "I AM," they turned away and fell to the ground.
7 So he again asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" They said, "Jesus the Nazorean."
8 Jesus answered, "I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go."
9 This was to fulfill what he had said, "I have not lost any of those you gave me."
10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus.
11 Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?"
12 So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him,
13 and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
14 It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.
15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.
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The first thing we notice is that it is no longer a crowd of people capturing Jesus, but soldiers. Sure, soldiers COULD be described as a crowd, but WOULD they be? Furthermore, throughout this scene one sees a Jesus who is in control of the situation: "Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him," "When he said to them, 'I AM,' they turned away and fell to the ground," "if you are looking for me, let these men go," "Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?" This is a sharp contrast to the capture in Mark, where Jesus lacks control of the situation. Here, over and over again, Jesus is shown in complete control, ordering the soldiers regarding what to do with the others, stunning them with his declaration, "I AM," and, most of all, not abandoned. No one flees.
Now, there is Jesus' death. One of two events that, were the Gospels truly
historically accurate, there would stand to be almost no divergence on. Yet, there is. In Mark, Matthew, and Luke, Jesus eats a Passover meal before he dies. However, he does not do so in John - the last supper is eaten before Passover begins. In John, the process of Jesus crucifixion begins at noon on the day of
preparation for Passover - the time when the Jewish priests begin slaughtering the lambs for passover, creating an effective metaphor in the story.
Indeed, the Gospels appear to be so historically accurate that they can't agree on which day their Messiah died. But, of course, this assumes that they care to be historically accurate. But what if they don't? In my mind, these "issues" are not issues at all. In fact, understanding things like this has only led to a greater appreciation of the Gospels and their message. Clearly, John is trying to tell the reader something about Jesus - in fact, he says it explicitly in the very beginning of his Gospel (1:29), "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." Being
historically accurate about the day on which Jesus died is unimportant. Likewise, it is clear, when reflecting upon the community for which Mark was writing, why he chose to create certain images such as Jesus' followers abandoning him and Jesus begging God to let him live if there is a way. There are far more examples: literal historical accuracy is relatively unimportant
throughout the Bible. Instead, there is far more to be learned when one takes into account the processes through which the Gospels (and the Bible) were written - keeping in mind the intended audiences and the cultures of their times.