The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth

Many people read the Gospels as accurate descriptions of the life of Jesus, assuming that the Gospels accurately report what happened and do not omit any significant teachings of Jesus or events in his life. Since the late 1700's, historical criticism has challenged the accuracy of the New Testament portrayal of Jesus, thus beginning the First Quest for the historical Jesus. We are now in the Third Quest, which begin in the 1970's following the decline of Bultmannian existentialism. As in the first two Quests, the Third Quest offers an interesting array of novel interpretations and conservative responses. Ben Witherington set forth to chronicle the Third Quest in THE JESUS QUEST (1995). Witherington, a moderately conservative NT scholar with an impressive list of publications, is certainly up to the job. This book is more than just a survey of the various big names associated with the Third Quest (Crossan, Borg, Sanders, etc.). Witherington also discusses these writers within the larger issues that have dominated the Third Quest (particularly eschatology, Judaism, and social life in Galilee). Also, he introduces readers to lesser-known studies such as Graham Twelftree's JESUS THE EXORCIST. Simply put, this book is informative on many levels. The Third Quest shows signs of winding down. Books without end are still written about Jesus, but radically new approaches are hard to come by. So while Witherington's book came out ten years ago, it isn't as out of date as it might seem. Of the books that have appeared since then, my favorites are: McKnight, A NEW VISION FOR ISRAEL; Allison, JESUS OF NAZARETH: MILLENARIAN PROPHET; and Twelftree, JESUS: THE MIRACLE WORKER.

For over two centuries, theologians and Biblical scholars have attempted to sift through the historical texts that bear witness to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, in order to discover what the "Historical Jesus" was actually like. In this comprehensive yet accessible study, Ben Witherington presents and analyzes the portraits of Jesus put forth by some of the most current scholars in the field of Jesus research. This includes the more radical views of Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, and Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, as well as more traditional views voiced by N. T. Wright, John Meier, and Witherington himself. In my opinion, the book deserves to be read by all serious Christians, in order that they may know and appreciate the many interpretations of Jesus that have come about. This book will challenge, enrich, and stimulate anyone who knows (or wants to know) about Jesus of Nazareth.

Ben Witherington III, himself a highly competent "Jesus scholar," here provides an extremely helpful overview of recent "Jesus scholarship" as of 1995. His exposition and critique will help the newcomer to sort through a bewildering array of theories and sources.I have read almost all of the authors he discusses, and I can say that his presentations of their views are accurate and fair. Frankly, I have never been able to take the "Jesus seminar," John Dominic Crossan, or Elisabeth Schussler-Fiorenza very seriously, but Witherington manages to do so for just long enough to decimate their theories and methods. And he doesn't seem to be snickering behind his hand while he does it (which is more than I would have been able to manage). Ever the gentleman, the only jest he allows himself at their expense is in the title of his chapter on the "Jesus seminar": "Jesus the Talking Head."The other reviews have already listed some of the major scholars whose views he presents. Again, his summaries are thorough and accurate and his criticisms usually well-founded, from the noneschatological, compassion-mongering "spirit person" of Marcus Borg to the slightly-too-eschatological "God's viceroy" of E.P. Sanders, from the Galilean hasid of Geza Vermes to the marginal Jew of John P. Meier. In most cases he finds something (sometimes a very great deal) worth keeping in each scholar's account but takes pains not to _reduce_ the historical Jesus to any one of his aspects.Moreover, he helpfully includes several lesser-known scholars in his overview -- Graham Twelftree, Richard Horsley, R. David Kaylor, and Maurice Casey, for example. Of course it is simply not possible for a single volume to be complete in this respect (and I especially wish he had been able to deal with Stevan Davies's _Jesus the Healer_), but Witherington has managed to compress a great deal of scholarship into a single book.His own view, also presented here, is that Jesus is best viewed as (primarily but not exclusively or reductively) an embodiment of "Wisdom" (chochmah). The reader should refer to Witherington's _Jesus the Sage_ for a more complete presentation of this view (which, to my own admittedly non-Christian mind, has the twin advantages of (a) not rendering Jesus different in kind from other human beings and (b) placing him somewhat correctly within his Jewish context although I personally suspect the nearly-equivalent "embodiment of Torah" might have made slightly better historical-contextual sense).Of course there have been books published since 1995 that are not included here either -- by, for example, Bart Ehrman, Dale Allison, and Paula Fredriksen (whose earlier _From Jesus to Christ_ is also not discussed). However, the reader who has assimilated all of Witherington's material will be well-equipped to deal with these further volumes as well.

John Meier said in the introduction to Vol. 1 of A Marginal Jew that "there are enough 'Jesus books' to last three lifetimes." Simply reading Meier's work nearly uses up one of these lives.Enter Professor Witherington, who is not only well aquainted with the scholarly (and not so scholarly) works written by Third Questers, but is also well-respected by biblical scholars with diverse theological commitments. In this work, Witherington summarizes the contributions of over 20 authors, including himself, offering both commendation and criticism.As an evaluator of others' works, Witherington is fair and judicious. He is certainly not shy about offering criticism concerning other scholars' methodology and hermeneutic, but he showcases both the positives and the negatives. The other reviewer who said that Witherington "trashes" other scholars would do well to read chapter 7. As much as Witherington disagrees with Fiorenza's thesis, that Jesus was a prophet of Sophia, he does in fact voice affirmation of her conclusions more than a few times, including agreeing that Jesus was seeking change in the Jewish patriarchal system (pg. 165). On the other hand, having a great admiration of Meier's work didn't keep him from questioning Meier's assumptions concerning "decades of liturgical adaptation, etc.." leaving their mark on the four Gospels. (pg. 200). A minor critique-this book is a good place to begin a study of Third Quest Jesus scholarship, but I would also recommend reading a work that details some of the criteria used by historical critics in evaluating the authenticity of Jesus' sayings(ie. multiple attestation, dissimilarity, etc.). Witherington briefly discusses criteria and method (pg. 46-47), but not in great detail. In his end notes he points the reader to another one of his works, The Christology of Jesus, for a fuller treatment. Minor quibbles aside, this work is a needed service to those who stand intimidated by the mountain of material that modern Jesus scholarship has produced. Dr. Witherington's careful commentary on contemporary contributors gives one confidence and direction for one interested in Third Quest studies.

Solid introduction to current issues in historical Jesus scholarship. Witherington is a bright conservative scholar and his criticisms should not be ignored. He covers alot of ground in this book. Obviously he does not intend to go into too much detail as he surveys contributions from quite a few scholars -- sometimes covering two or more in one chapter. For more detailed argumentation on many of the issues in this book, one would need to consult his various commentaries and works on the historical Jesus.