life of Jesus but to explain that Jesus was not recognized as the messiah in his lifetime because he deliberately suppressed his messianic identity. At the same time, scholars like Martin Dibelius (ET, 1934; lived 1883–1947) and Rudolf Bultmann (ET, 1963; lived 1884–1976) were dissecting the Gospels into their constituent “forms”—pre-Gospel materials such as parables, sayings, and legends—which had circulated orally among believers before they were compiled into Gospels by Mark and the other evangelists.