Diachronic comparison of three political and religious systems of three independent geographical areas (ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Syria Palestine) with the faith of ancient Israel shows certain aspects important for the kerygmatic theological message of Tanach as well as the New Testament. Significance of the king, priest, prophet, and religious ceremonies in the temple is derived from their specific understanding of the divine. However, their religious systems completely lack (with the exception of Israel) eschatology. The message about the transcendent/immanent God Lord (Jesus' Father) is impossible to reconstruct from the available sources through diachronic methodology. Furthermore it cannot be understood as a mere result of religious synchronic redefinition of the Scriptures. The New Testament transforms the Old Testament religious system to narrative kerygma about the sacrifice of both Father and Son. It speaks about the Risen Lord, who is able to reconcile God with his adherent. Such a message is unheard of (unexpected) in the Second Temple Judaism. Even the Church Fathers do not interpret Christ's conscious ebed-like sacrifice along the lines of the ritual forgiveness of the OT. Based on the scholarly analyses from the proponents of the so called Prague school, as well as those coming from theologians stressing the paradigm of biblical interpretation through the event of resurrection, this dissertation concluded in the subject matter of soteriological transformation of the sacrifice the following: Agnus Dei, with his crucifixion being a ritual slaughter, founds the new community through his own Pasch, which has also the futuristic (eschatological) aspect both in the NT and in the faith of the early Church. The meaning of this sacrifice will be actualized in 'drinking of the chalice' by the Lord Jesus with the resurrected Church in the coming new Creation. Thus, the Eucharist becomes a unique 'cultic' homage (Temple ceremony) through existential acceptance of the risen Lord. The same concept can be found at the heart of the Patristic thinking (inclusive paradigm of Christ's sacrifice, that is Christian obedience even unto death) . The Fathers understood the sacrifice as means of overcoming alienation from God by metamorphosis of one's life based on Christ's sacrifice not to God, but to people. Such a sacrifice is life-giving activity of the Lord God himself and is able to renew the life of God's people and make them heirs to the eternal life.

This study is done from an autobiographical perspective. It focuses on three issues: myths, the resurrection of Jesus from death, and the canon. It approaches the traditional ecclesiastical and confessional teachings from the perspective of a postmodern hermeneutics of suspicion. Being autobiographical, the study is in the first place relevant for its author. In the second place, because he is a researcher, the study has also relevance for the scholarly community. The faith community also asks their questions. Then there is the institutionalized church that is a watchdog for the dogma, and, lastly there is the secular community who is also interested in the debate. The study aims to find answers to the question how the myth of Easter faith developed into kerygma, which became a text with canonical status? It is a search for the relationship between myth, resurrection and canon. On the issue of myth, the study concludes that myth is just as important to postmoderns as it were to their pre-modern ancestors. The Christ myth is a first century Mediterranean version of an ancient inherited subconscious archetypal myth. It represents stories in the language, symbols, and metaphors of the cultures and peoples in which it originated. It is language recycled. On the question about the resurrection, the study concludes that the Christ cult and its narratives developed within a mythological worldview. First, there was the kerygma of a dying and resurrected Christ. Then narratives, as material for preaching in the early congregations emerged around the figure of the historical Jesus. The resurrection as the content of the kerygma is perceived as mythical speech that serves as the foundational myth for the Christ cult. The third issue was about the documents called canon and questions such as how did it emerge, and how did it become authority bearing? To recap the argument: In the beginning, there was the kerygma! The content of this kerygma was the death and resurrection of Christ. During the development stages of the Christ myth, this kerygma was linked to the life and death of the historical Jesus. His story became a mythical narrative that serves as the foundational myth for the Christ cult. It explains its reason for existence and its rituals. As this faith community grew and became more and more institutionalized it produced more and more literature. Orthodoxy in early Christianity decided which of these writings contain the truth and the right teaching. They are the books, which became the index of what is called the Christian Bible today. The author of this study believes in a canon behind the canon. For him, the Jesus figure is the “vehicle” that makes the content of the kerygma accessible. He is a mythological figure, with historical roots that has become the observable face of God to Christians. The New Testament represents kerygmatic narrative with an invitation to its readers and hearers to join in this mythological experience and encounter with God. / Thesis (DD (New Testament))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / New Testament Studies / unrestricted