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The New Testament Cover Image
The New Testament, 4/e
Stephen Harris, California State University - Sacramento
The Continuing Quest for the Historical Jesus

Outline


I. Key topics/themes

  1. The formidable challenge of distinguishing the Jesus of history from the Christ of faith
  2. Criteria for recovering the authentic words and deeds of Jesus
  3. Scholarly differences regarding Jesus' self-identity and essential teachings

II. Introduction

  1. Paul as the first interpreter of the historical Jesus
  2. Jesus as divine in the Nicene Creed
  3. Distinguishing the goals of theologians and historians in examining who Jesus was

III. Early historical references to Jesus

  1. Tacitus
  2. Suetonius
  3. Flavius Josephus
  4. Pliny the Younger
  5. The limited usefulness of these early historical references for recovering the life of Jesus

IV. A survey of the historical search for the "real" Jesus

  1. Samuel Reimarus: Jesus a failed revolutionary
  2. David Friedrich Strauss: Jesus' miracles interpreted as mythological rather than historical
  1. H. J. Holtzmann: Mark written first
  2. Johannes Weiss: the kingdom of God the theme of Jesus' teaching
  3. Albert Schweitzer
    1. Used form criticism to analyze the Gospels
    2. Jesus an apocalypticist who believes his work will usher in the end of the world
    3. Jesus' apocalyptic worldview of little significance for modern life
    4. Rudolf Bultmann: significance of Jesus to be understood in terms of his challenge to make an existential decision of faith

V. Renewing the quest

  1. Ernst Käsemann: Jesus of history must not be divorced from Christ of faith
  2. Led other scholars to try to recover historical Jesus
    1. Joachim Jeremias: kingdom of God in the process of fulfillment
    2. C. H. Dodd: kingdom of God actually present in ministry of Jesus

VI. Some criteria for testing the authenticity of Jesus' words and deeds

  1. Orality
    1. Jesus' teaching originally oral
    2. Authentic sayings brief and easily memorable
  1. Form
    1. Jesus' frequent use of aphorisms
    2. Used to surprise or shock
    3. Use of agrarian images
  1. Dissimilarity
    1. Authentic sayings dissimilar from first-century Jewish attitudes
    2. Authentic sayings also dissimilar from practices of early Hellenistic church
  1. Multiple attestation
    1. Sayings that appear in multiple, independent sources may be authentic
    2. Example: Jesus' emphasis on the kingdom of God
  1. Coherence: Sayings may be authentic if then resemble material already established as authentic by another criterion of authenticity
  2. The embarrassment factor: Tradition may be authentic if it caused discomfort or embarrassment for early Church

VII. An nonapocalyptic wisdom teacher

  1. The work of the Jesus Seminar
    1. Goal: to screen all of the Gospels and other early Christian literature for historically reliable information about Jesus
    2. Applied the criteria for authenticity to canonical and noncanonical Gospels
    3. Work published in extensively annotated versions of the Gospels
  1. Criticisms of the Jesus Seminar
  2. An apocalyptic Jesus
    1. Fits better with first-century Jewish milieu of Jesus
    2. Numerous proponents of an apocalyptic Jesus

VIII. Some general agreements about the historical Jesus

  1. Born during reign of Herod the Great
  2. Son of Mary
  3. From family of carpenters/artisans
  4. Baptized by John the Baptist
  5. Proclaimed that kingdom of God is near
  6. Taught that God's kingdom would reverse generally accepted social values and standards
  7. Lived as an itinerant preacher and healer
  8. Attracted followers from lower segments of Galilean society
  9. Seen by some followers as Messiah who would provide deliverance from Roman domination of Palestine
  10. Crucified by Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea

IX. Jesus' teaching about the kingdom

  1. Background of the concept of the kingdom of God
    1. "Kingdom" denotes the activity of God's ruling, not a place
    2. Jesus' teaching that followers must "seek" the kingdom above all else
  1. The kingdom portrayed as a future event in some of Jesus' teachings
  2. The kingdom as an unexpected event
    1. Kingdom will come "like a thief in the night"
    2. Kingdom's coming associated with world judgment and resurrection of the dead
  1. The kingdom as a hidden power that grows slowly
    1. Frequent theme of Jesus' parables
    2. Examples: parables of the leaven and the seed growing secretly
  1. The kingdom portrayed as a present reality in some of Jesus' teachings
  2. The kingdom as physically present yet unnoticed
    1. "The kingdom of God is among you" (Luke 17:20)
    2. Parallels with Gospel of Thomas 3
    3. Scholarly debate over whether Jesus referred here to a present time only or a future time as well

X. Wisdom and the kingdom of God

  1. Gospel of John's deemphasis on kingdom of God
  2. Emphasis instead on Jesus as an exponent of divine Wisdom
  3. Jesus as the eternal Word, the one through whom God created the universe
  4. Parallels with wisdom traditions in Hebrew Bible, specifically Proverbs and Wisdom of Solomon
  5. Wisdom as the revealer of the kingdom of God in wisdom literature
  6. Gospel of John: Jesus' wisdom teachings define his kingship
  7. Following Jesus' teachings allows his followers to share in his kingship

XI. Summary

  1. Widespread agreement in scholarly circles concerning Jesus' identity and teachings unlikely
  2. Attempts by some to reconcile the images of an eschatological Jesus and a wisdom teacher Jesus
  3. Agreement that Jesus taught about the kingdom
  4. Most scholars question whether Jesus taught about himself or called himself Messiah or Son of God
  5. Most scholars claim these honorific titles bestowed on Jesus posthumously
  6. The focus of the canonical Gospel writers on the Resurrection in their interpretation of Jesus








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