Historical Jesus in Recent Research, The

The Historical Jesus in Recent Research. Edited by James D. G. Dunn and Scot McKnight. SETS 10. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2005, xvi + 618 pp., $42.95.

The Historical Jesus in Recent Research is a compilation of selections from articles and books written by authors who have made "significant contributions to the quest" for the historical Jesus. It is designed as "an introduction and way into the maze that is the 'quest'" (p. xii). The book is divided into seven major sections: (1) Classic Voices; (2) Methodology; (3) Teachings of Jesus; (4) Jesus: Who Was He?; (5) Jesus: Major Events; (6) Jesus and Others; (7) Conclusion.

Part 1, "Classic Voices," includes articles by Albert Schweitzer, Rudolf Bultmann, Henry Cadbury, and Martin Kähler. Few would quibble with the inclusion of Schweitzer and Bultmann in "Classic Voices," but was Cadbury really more historically significant than, for example, Ernst Kasemann who initiated the New Quest?

James D. G. Dunn, one of the book's editors, rightfully includes an excerpt from his own groundbreaking work in the section on "Methodology" (part 2). Few would disagree with the inclusion of Bultmann or John P. Meier in this section, but some might wonder whether Eugene Lemcio had actually made more significant contributions to methodology than, say, E. P. Sanders or N. T. Wright, who were omitted.

In part 3, "Teaching of Jesus," Klyne Snodgrass was not one of the names that jumped immediately to mind when thinking of Jesus' teachings, but his article was very good, nonetheless. The selections by G. B. Caird and Peter Stuhlmacher were particularly excellent in the section on "Jesus, Who Was He?" (part 4), but examples from Ben Witherington's Christology of Jesus (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1990) and N. T. Wright's Jesus and the Victory of God (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996) would have been good choices for this section also.

The juxtaposition of such significantly different views as those of P. M. Casey and Peter Stuhlmacher on the meaning of the phrase "Son of Man" left me thinking that other such combinations would have been very helpful as well, particularly on the resurrection of Jesus. Unfortunately, there were only two articles on the resurrection in the entire book-an excellent article by C. E. B. Cranfield and a much less convincing article by Gerd Luedemann. Both of these were included under "Jesus: Major Events" (part 5) along with articles on Jesus' actions in the temple, his understanding of his own death, and his miracles. Surely Jesus' miracles and resurrection are significant enough to warrant separate sections. For Jesus' miracles, selections from John P. Meier's A Marginal Jew (New York: Doubleday, 1991-2001) and from Graham Twelftree's Jesus the Miracle Worker (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1999) would have been helpful. A selection from N. T. Wright's monumental work on the resurrection (The Resurrection of the Son of God [Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003]) was conspicuous by its absence.

The "Conclusion" section did not really seem to conclude anything, nor did it seem to cohere very well as a chapter. It contained essays (1) by Bultmann on "The Message of Jesus and the Problem of Mythology"; (2) by G. N. Stanton on "The Gospel Traditions and Early Christological Reflection"; (3) by J. A. T. Robinson on "The Last Tabu? The Self-Consciousness of Jesus"; and (4) by Robert Morgan on "The Historical Jesus and the Theology of the New Testament." Would not Robinson's article on the self-consciousness of Jesus fit better in the section on "Jesus, Who Was He?" Would not Bultmann's article on Jesus and mythology fit better under "Methodology"? Perhaps it would have been better to replace all the articles in the conclusion with concluding thoughts by the editors, James Dunn and Scot McKnight. The introductions to each section by the editors were helpful, however, and the book is well indexed with indices on authors, Scripture, and deuterocanonical literature and other ancient sources.

If a dozen Jesus scholars were asked to produce a book of excerpts from significant research on Jesus, it is unlikely that any two books would be identical. This review, therefore, is really just the reflection of what one reviewer might have done differently. The editors actually succeed very well in their task, which is to compile a selection of articles written by those who have made significant contributions to the quest for the historical Jesus. In spite of what might seem like a negative review, The Historical Jesus in Recent Research is actually quite excellent and is highly recommended for libraries and graduate classes on Jesus.

Dennis Ingolfsland

Crown College, St. Bonifacius, MN

Copyright Evangelical Theological Society Dec 2006
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved