The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (41 page)

¹⁹
b. Sanh.
107b;
b. Sot.
47a;
y. Hag
. 2:2;
y. Sanh.
6:6.

²⁰
b. Sanh
. 107b; see
t. Shab
. 11:15;
b. Sanh
. 43a;
b. Shab
. 104b;
b. Sot.
47a.

²¹
b. Sanh
. 103a;
b. Ber
. 17a-b;
b. Abod
.
Zar
. 16b–17a;
t. Hul.
2:24;
m. Avot
4:19;
b. Shab
. 116a-b.

²²
b. Shab
. 116a;
y. Taan
. 2:1;
Exod. Rab
. 29.5 on Exod 20:2;
Deut. Rab
. 2.33 on Deut 6 :4;
Yal. Shim
. on Num 23:7;
Deut. Rab
. 8.6 on Deut 30:11–12;
b. Sanh
. 61b.

²³
b. Sanh
. 43a.

²⁴
b. Git.
57a, MS. M.

²⁵
b. Sanh.
106a.

²⁶
See
t. Hul
. 2:22–23;
y. Shab
. 14:4;
y. Abod. Zar
. 2:2;
b. Abod. Zar
. 27b;
Qoh. Rab.
10:5.

²⁷
R. T. France,
The Evidence for Jesus
(Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1986), 39.

²⁸
Justin Martyr,
Dialogue
69.7;
First Apology
30; Origen,
Against Celsus
1.68.

²⁹
But it is likely that Jesus was actually crucified in the year 33. See the section on the chronology of Jesus' life below; cf. “The Date of Jesus' Crucifixion,” in
The ESV Study Bible
, gen. ed. W. Grudem (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 1809–10.

³⁰
Suetonius,
Life of Emperor Claudius
25.4.

³¹
Julius Africanus,
Frag
. 18.

³²
Meier,
Marginal Jew
, 1:92; cf. R. L. Wilken,
The Christians as the Romans Saw Them
(New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1984), 96–97.

³³
Bock,
Studying the Historical Jesus
, 52; Meier,
Marginal Jew
, 1:102–20.

³⁴
For a more detailed description of Jesus studies since 1778, see N. T. Wright,
Jesus and the Victory of God
, Christian Origins and the Question of God 2 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 3–121.

³⁵
For a recent edition, see C. H. Talbert, ed.,
Reimarus Fragments
, Scholars Press Reprints and Translations (Chico: Scholars Press, 1985).

³⁶
Wright,
Jesus and the Victory of God
, 17.

³⁷
For an English translation, see D. F. Strauss,
The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined
, Lives of Jesus (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1973 [orig. German ed. 1835]).

³⁸
Wright,
Jesus and the Victory of God
, 17. It was the fear of this scandalous view that led Reimarus to avoid publication for fear of the state. Half a century later the proposal cost D. F. Strauss his post at Tübingen.

³⁹
One of the more famous “Lives” was that written by the Roman Catholic E. Renan,
Life of Jesus
, Modern Library (New York: Random House, 1927).

⁴⁰
Source criticism thus was spawned—not from a mere exegetical vantage point, as was later the case with redaction criticism—but from a desire to identify the historic Jesus. Thus H. J. Holtzmann, who “proved” the two-source hypothesis in the minds of many, was compelled to conclude his book with a chapter on the life of Jesus viewed from “Source A,” truncated from Mark. See H. J. Holtzmann,
Die synoptischen Evangelien: Ihr Ursprung und geschichtlicher Charakter
(Leipzig: Engelmann, 1863), 468–96.

⁴¹
W. B. Tatum,
In Quest of Jesus
, rev. and enl. ed. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999), 93–94.

⁴²
The most up-to-date English translation based on the 1913 German 2d edition is A. Schweitzer,
The Quest of the Historical Jesus
, ed. J. Bowden (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001).

⁴³
This was the thesis of another important work in 1892 that helped end the first quest: English translation M. Kähler,
The So-Called Historical Jesus and the Historic, Biblical Christ
, transl. and ed. C. E. Braaten (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1964).

⁴⁴
But see Bock (
Studying the Historical Jesus
, 145), who rightly noted that men such as A. Schlatter—and before him Westcott, Hort, and Lightfoot—approached Jesus from a more conservative point of view and held liberal theology at bay.

⁴⁵
Tatum,
In Quest of Jesus
, 99.

⁴⁶
Wright,
Jesus and the Victory of God
, 23.

⁴⁷
A term frequently used to describe the essence of this preaching was kerygmatic (from
kerygma
, “preaching”) theology.

⁴⁸
B. Mack,
A Myth of Innocence: Mark and Christian Origins
(Philadelphia: Fortress, 2006), 76–77; see below for further discussion of Mack's work.

⁴⁹
J. D. Crossan,
The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant
(San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1991), 422; see below for further discussion of Crossan's work.

⁵⁰
See B. Witherington III (
The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth
[Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1995], 11), whose comment that “the movement was dead in the water by the early 1970s” was obviously premature.

⁵¹
For a monograph-length investigation see Witherington,
Jesus Quest
.

⁵²
G. B. Caird,
Jesus and the Jewish Nation
(London: Athlone, 1965).

⁵³
Tatum,
In Quest of Jesus
, 103.

⁵⁴
Wright,
Jesus and the Victory of God
, 85–86.

⁵⁵
See the classic essay by R. Bultmann, “Is Exegesis Without Presuppositions Possible?” in
Existence and Faith
, trans. S. M. Ogden (New York: World, 1960), 342–51; cf. chap. 5, “The Interpreter” in W. W. Klein, C. L. Blomberg, R. L. Hubbard Jr.,
Introduction to Biblical Interpretation
, rev. and upd. ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, n.d.); and appendices 1 and 2 in G. R. Osborne,
The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation
, rev. and exp. ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2006).

⁵⁶
Wright,
Jesus and the Victory of God
, 90–124.

⁵⁷
G. Vermes, “Jesus the Jew,” in
Jesus' Jewishness: Exploring the Place of Jesus in Early Judaism
(New York: Crossroad, 1991), 108–22; E. P. Sanders,
Jesus and Judaism
(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985); M. Casey,
From Jewish Prophet to Gentile God: The Origins and Development of New Testament Christology
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1991); Witherington,
Jesus Quest
, 185–96; Meier,
Marginal Jew
; S. G. F. Brandon,
Jesus and the Zealots: A Study of the Political Factor in Primitive Christianity
(Manchester: University Press, 1967); P. Stuhlmacher,
Jesus of Nazareth—Christ of Faith
, trans. S. Schatzmann (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1993).

⁵⁸
For a helpful resource, see H. W. House,
The Jesus Who Never Lived: Exposing False Christs and Finding the Real Jesus
(Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2008).

⁵⁹
See D. Brown,
The Da Vinci Code
(New York: Doubleday, 2003) and further discussion below. For a critique of Brown's description of Jesus, see C. L. Quarles, “Revisionist Views About Jesus,” in
Passionate Conviction: Contemporary Discourses on Christian Apologetics
, ed. Paul Copan and William Lane Craig (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2007), 94–108. For a succinct critique, see A. J. Köstenberger,
The Da Vinci Code: Is Christianity True?
(Wake Forest, NC: SEBTS, n.d.; posted at www.sebts.edu/davinci). For other critiques see T. P. Jones,
Misquoting Truth: A Guide to the Fallacies of Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus
(Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2007); D. L. Bock,
Breaking the Da Vinci Code
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004); and J. Garlow and P. Jones,
Cracking Da Vinci's Code
(Colorado Springs: Cook, 2004).

⁶⁰
More extensive summaries of many of the portraits of Jesus described below appear in Witherington,
Jesus Quest
; and M. A. Powell,
Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1998). See also W. S. Kissinger,
The Lives of Jesus: A History and Bibliography
, Garland Reference Library of the Humanities 452 (New York/London: Garland, 1985); and W. P. Weaver,
The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century (1900–1950)
(Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 1999).

⁶¹
See the brief description of cynicism in chap. 2 above. See also F. G. Downing,
Christ and the Cynic: Jesus and Other Radical Preachers in First Century Tradition
(Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1988); id.,
Jesus and the Threat of Violence
(London: SCM, 1987); Mack,
Myth of Innocence
; Crossan,
Historical Jesus
. On the latter two writers, see the survey of the “Quest of the Historical Jesus” above.

⁶²
Crossan's writings have also had considerable influence on feminist writers, such as E. S. Fiorenza and R. R. Ruether. On the feminist Jesus, see further below.

⁶³
M. J. Borg,
Jesus: A New Vision
(San Francisco: Harper, 1987); G. Vermes,
Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels
, 2d ed. (New York: Macmillan, 1983).

⁶⁴
M. J. Borg,
Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith
(San Francisco: Harper, 1995), 14.

⁶⁵
See C. A. Evans, “Holy Men, Jewish,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 505–7.

⁶⁶
Sanders,
Jesus and Judaism
, 153.

⁶⁷
For more extensive summaries of Sanders's views, see Powell,
Jesus
, 113–29; Witherington,
Jesus Quest
, 116–36.

⁶⁸
G. Theissen,
Sociology of Early Palestinian Christianity
(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978); id.,
The Gospels in Context: Social and Political History in the Synoptic Tradition
(Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1992); R. A. Horsley and J. S. Hanson,
Bandits, Prophets and Messiahs: Popular Movements at the Time of Jesus
(Minneapolis: Winston, 1985); R. A. Horsley,
Sociology and the Jesus Movement
(New York: Crossroad, 1989); id.,
The Liberation of Christmas: The Infancy Narratives in Social Context
(New York: Crossroad, 1989); R. D. Kaylor,
Jesus the Prophet: His Vision of the Kingdom on Earth
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994). For helpful summaries of the presentation of Jesus as a social prophet, see Witherington,
Jesus Quest
, 137–60; and Powell,
Jesus as a Figure in History
, 52–54.

⁶⁹
E. S. Fiorenza,
In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins
(New York: Crossroad, 1984); id.,
Jesus: Miriam's Child, Sophia's Prophet: Critical Issues in Feminist Christology
(New York: Continuum, 1994). For an excellent summary of Fiorenza's view of Jesus, see Witherington,
Jesus Quest
, 163–85.

⁷⁰
For a fuller engagement and critique of the feminist Jesus, see M. E. Köstenberger,
Jesus and the Feminists: Who Do They Say That He Is?
(Wheaton: Crossway, 2008).

⁷¹
R. R. Ruether,
Women and Redemption: A Theological History
(Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998), 16–20. The following summary is indebted to Köstenberger,
Jesus and the Feminists
, chap. 7. See also her assessment of Ruether's portrayal of Jesus (ibid).

⁷²
B. Witherington III,
The Christology of Jesus
(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1990), 274–75 (though he noted that this contention is “more speculative” than others; p. 274).

⁷³
B. Witherington III,
Jesus the Sage: The Pilgrimage of Wisdom
(Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994); see also id.,
John's Wisdom: A Commentary on the Fourth Gospel
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1995).

⁷⁴
But see A. H. I. Lee,
From Messiah to Preexistent Son: Jesus' Self-Consciousness and Early Christian Exegesis of Messianic Psalms
, WUNT 2/192 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), who contends that it was not Jewish wisdom traditions but Jesus' messianic consciousness that formed the basis for the early church's messianic exegesis of OT passages such as Pss 110:1 and 2:7; and the discussion of Lee's contribution in A. J. Köstenberger and S. R. Swain,
Father, Son and Spirit: The Trinity and John's Gospel
, NSBT 24 (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2008), 39–41.

⁷⁵
See A. J. Köstenberger,
John
, BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), 26–27.

⁷⁶
Witherington,
Christology of Jesus
, 267.

⁷⁷
Ibid., 263–77.

⁷⁸
Meier,
Marginal Jew
.

⁷⁹
N. T. Wright,
The New Testament and the People of God
, Christian Origins and the Question of God 1 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992); id.,
Jesus and the Victory of God
; and id.,
The Resurrection of the Son of God
, Christian Origins and the Question of God 3 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003).

⁸⁰
Wright,
Jesus and the Victory of God
, 653.

⁸¹
Schweitzer,
Quest of the Historical Jesus
.

⁸²
See C. Brown, “Quest of the Historical Jesus,” in
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
, 331. For a helpful survey of the various quests of Jesus, see Tatum,
In Quest of Jesus
.

⁸³
Crossan,
Historical Jesus
, xxviii.