The Historical Figure of Jesus [Hardcover]

E. P. Sanders (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1994

This biography of the historical figure of Jesus is for a non-specialist readership. In the first part of this study, Professor Sanders proposes that people can have an excellent knowledge about Jesus on a general level: where he fits into the history and religious movements of first-century Palestine, the main themes of his teaching, his principal activities and those who followed him. But more specific questions, such as "What was he like?", "What were his aims?" can be answered with less certainty. The second part of the book identifies the range of possible answers, and weighs the evidence in favour of each. E.P. Sanders won the Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his book, "Jesus and Judaism".

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What, if anything, can be known with certainty about the life and work of a first-century itinerant preacher named Jesus of Nazareth? Since the 19th century, scholars have attempted to answer that question; and out of their studies, Jesus has emerged variously as a Cynic philosopher (Crossan), a "marginal Jew" (Maier), an apocalyptic preacher (Schweitzer), a teacher (Robbins) and a magician (Smith). Sanders (Jesus and Judaism) portrays Jesus as a miracle worker and eschatological prophet whose deeds point to a coming Kingdom of God where good will reign over evil. Sanders's book is a masterful historical reconstruction of the political, social and theological context of the life of the enigmatic Nazarene. The first half of the book provides a detached examination of late Judaism and the Hellenic world into which Jesus came, as well as an exploration of the authenticity of the gospel accounts of Jesus's life. Following such introductory matters, Sanders recounts the gospel narratives in an attempt to separate myth from history and to determine how much we can actually "know about the historical figure of Jesus." The result is a thorough, accessible and conservative study that should have a wider appeal than other recent work on the historical Jesus.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Sanders neither pronounces on the Jesus of faith nor sets his view against later Christian dogma in this study of "Jesus the human being." Thus he closes the door at the outset to the polemic passion such agendas can inspire (as in Uta Ranke-Heinemann's Putting Away Childish Things, LJ 6/1/94). Beginning with a brief look at Jesus' life and its religious/historical context, Sanders next evaluates source materials and then-in the bulk of the book-explores what he thinks we can confidently say about Jesus' miracles, for instance, or his attitudes on the kingdom of God. Regarding the latter, Sanders believes (unlike John Dominic Crossan in Jesus, LJ 12/93) that "picking and choosing among the sayings" is misguided and opts instead to "calmly survey all sayings," seeking apparent convergence. Highly readable, this is a key addition to literature on the historical Jesus. For academic, theological, and larger public libraries.
Elise Chase, Forbes Lib., Northampton, Mass.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; 1st edition (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0713990597
• ISBN-13: 978-0713990591
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #844,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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114 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic scholarship, December 15, 2001

By 

Wyote (Seoul) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Historical Figure of Jesus (Paperback)

The Jesus Seminar (Crossan, Borg, etc...) has attracted a lot of press coverage and given historical research a bad name. Their scholarship is poor, their motivations clearly political and their conclusions as biased and unfounded as any faith-perspective has been.

But quality reserach has been done in the search for the historical Jesus, and E. P. Sanders is in the front of the march. Sanders is most famous for his "Paul and Palestinian Judaism" which is the most significant study of Paul in the last fifty years. He is a scholar of the highest caliber, even if his publicity is not as great as the JS. Certainly, no one is more qualified to write on this topic.

"The Historical Figure of Jesus" is a lay-level introduction to the topic. Sanders does not cover all the issues in the greatest detail, but he economically makes his case in 281 pages. He does neglect some evidence in order to keep it brief. But he does not neglect evidence that would seem challenging to his view, only that which would make his points stronger. In other words, he is a confident scholar, not overly concerned to press an agenda.

Sanders' view is that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet, originally a follower of John the Baptist, who was executed because of Caiaphas' fear that he could cause an uprising. This (and the preceeding discussion) may be his only (relatively) direct reference to the Jesus Seminar: "Jesus the thoughtful social and economic planner, who has again become popular, simply cannot be found in the gospels."

Sanders spends several chapters introducing the setting of Jesus' life, and several introducing the sources. About half the book is directly concerned with Jesus' life and teaching. He has an excellent epilogue about the resurrection, and helpful appendices about the chronology of Jesus' life and about his disciples.

Sanders knows far more about this topic than he presents here. If you want more depth, consider his "Jesus and Judaism" or "Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63 BCE - 66 CE." Of course, I recommend his work on Paul even more highly. For evangelical Christians struggling to reconcile their faith with historical scholarship, I recommend the work of N. T. Wright. For Catholics with that problem, Luke Timothy Johnson. Another enlightening book somewhat related to these issues is Jaroslav Pelikan's "Jesus Through the Centuries."

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, easy read, October 25, 2005

By 

Reed Nunnelee - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Historical Figure of Jesus (Paperback)

THE AUTHOR

E.P. Sanders is a biblical scholar of the highest order. After receiving two baccalaureate degrees from his home state, Texas, he pursued graduate studies in Gottingen, Jerusalem, Oxford and New York, and earned a Th.D. from Union Theological Seminary. He has recently obtained two other doctoral degrees, Doctor of Letters from the University of Oxford and Doctor of Theology (honoris causa) from the University of Helsinki. In 1966, he began teaching at McMaster University in Ontario, and in 1984 he was elected Dean Ireland's Professor of Exegesis at the University of Oxford as well as Fellow of Queen's College. In 1990, Sanders joined the Faculty at Duke University where he currently serves as Arts and Sciences Professor of Religion. He has also held visiting professorships and lectureships at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and Cambridge University.

Sanders' primary area of research involves interpreting the relationship between first-century Judaism and Christianity, and his works have been translated into nine different languages. Some of these works include: Paul and Palestinian Judaism (received several national awards), Jesus and Judaism (won the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, denoting the best book on religion), The Tendencies of the Synoptic Tradition, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People, Studying the Synoptic Gospels (co-authored with Margaret Davies), Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah, Paul: Past Master, and Judaism: Practice and Belief 63 BCE-66 CE. Touting this impressive résumé, Sanders presents The Historical Figure of Jesus.

THE SUMMARY

In his introduction, Sanders lays out exactly what the focus of this book will be: "The aim of this book is to lay out, as clearly as possible, what we can know [about Jesus], using the standard methods of historical research, and to distinguish from inferences, labeling them clearly as such" (p. 5). He prefaces the work by warning that historians' knowledge of Jesus is limited, and little can be asserted with absolute certainty. He suggests, however, that far more is known about Jesus than other historical figures of roughly the same time period. Sanders' focus is not on explaining theology, and he does not seek to account for what God did through Christ. Of course, he must deal with theology: it played a major role in Jesus' life as well as that of the evangelists', but the book is fundamentally historical. Sanders outlines what historians can know about Jesus of Nazareth-a first-century Palestinian Jew who lived in a remote part of the Roman Empire (p. xiii).

Feeling the need to thoroughly introduce context to the study of Jesus, Sanders devotes the first five chapters to introductory material. The second chapter provides a bird's-eye view of Jesus' life and the aftermath of his life. Next, Sanders deals with the political climate of Palestine before and during Jesus' life which he describes as being distinctly Jewish, yet puppets at the mercy of Roman authority. Sanders recognizes the importance of understanding first-century Jewish belief and practice for reconstructing an accurate Jesus, and he details these things in the fourth chapter. Also, Sanders explains the problems (and assurances) associated with external and primary sources, and he deals with the task of correlating context with content (p. 76). Finally, Sanders explores the more elusive ideological context in which Jesus lived-that is what people thought of him. The two contexts he describes are (1) Jewish salvation history and (2) the shared view of those before and after Jesus' ministry that the climax of history was imminent.

After arranging a brief sketch of Jesus' historical context, Sanders moves toward the "substance of the book" (p. 9) that allows for the historical reconstruction of Jesus himself. First, he relates the specific setting and method of Jesus' ministry with special attention given to the Galilean environment. Next, he analyzes the beginning of Jesus' ministry-the temptation, the call of disciples, and Mark's account of Jesus' early ministry. He then turns to that which constitutes the bulk of Jesus' ministry: miracles and Jesus' proclamations concerning the kingdom of God. Sanders probes Jesus' claims concerning God's future kingdom (eschatology) and attempts to find the relationship these claims share with Jews and Gentiles. Sanders also relates Jesus' kingdom message with his ethical teaching that announced a reversal of social order. Having said little of the polemical nature of Jesus' ministry, Sanders addresses the issue: what led to Jesus' opposition? Sanders attributes the public hostility Jesus received to Jesus' opinion about his role in God's plan. Jesus, Sanders argues, saw himself as God's agent with absolute authority to speak and act on behalf of God-a view that offended many pious Jews. Finally, Sanders deals with the events that led up to Jesus' execution: the Triumphal Entry, the cleansing of the Temple, the Last Supper, Jesus' arrest and trials, Pilate's interrogation, and finally his death. In the epilogue, Sanders addresses the resurrection event, but attests that its study does not belong in an account of the historical Jesus, but is better analyzed within the context of the movement which ensued after his death-a movement, as Sanders notes, that changed history.

THE CRITIQUE

Convincingly written and altogether captivating, The Historical Figure of Jesus is an excellent book and a marvelously easy read. The truest test of a work, though, rests not in the writing skill of the author, but in whether or not it measures up to its goal(s). The aim of this work (as stated above) is to use standard historical methods of research in order to present what can be known about Jesus and distinguish that from what can be inferred about him. Undoubtedly, Sanders has met and exceeded these expectations, producing one of the best books on the historical Jesus to date. Engagingly written and historically sound, The Historical Figure of Jesus is an excellent contribution to the Third Quest.

Dealing first with Sanders' presentation, one of the most appreciated elements of the book is Sanders' uncomplicated writing style. Thankfully, there is a book on the historical Jesus that is readable! His sentence structure is not wordy and cumbersome, but rather understandable and even enjoyable. With user-friendly headings, charts, and a map, Sanders' exhibition of dull, cerebral information makes history come to life for everyone.

By avoiding technicalities that laity would not appreciate, nor commoners enjoy, Sanders creates an inviting environment for the average reader to learn about the historical Jesus. He limits his discussion of Greek, Aramaic, and Latin and also, as an economy, refrains from engaging in mainstream scholarly debates. That is not to say, though, that Sanders skirted scholarly issues. Far from it! True historical work demands technicality and detail, and Sanders managed to address the appropriate issues without boring his reader-a noteworthy task.
Another element of Sanders' style that did not escape attention is his unique ability to follow an outline. For this scientifically conditioned mind, an agenda that is adhered to is a valuable crutch that prevents unnecessary confusion. Sanders does well to provide a thorough preface, introduction, and outline of Jesus' ministry and stick to his schedule. (Note, though, that this rigid outline is combined with a relaxed writing style that proves to be a dynamic combination.) Also, the reviews at the end of each chapter offer a welcomed summation of the material presented. Overall, the method of Sanders' teaching is impeccable. By remaining intimately accessible, yet distinctly academic, Sanders' work emerges as a masterpiece for the masses.

Like his method, Sanders' message is well taken and easy to understand. With all the poppycock surrounding the Third Quest, E.P. Sanders provides a delightfully fresh insight into the excursion of the historical Jesus. Throughout this book, Sanders maintains a very conservative, streamlined position in his treatment of history, and his modesty is appreciated. By using sound, reliable tactics in his research, Sanders constructs a Jesus who is very believable and free from the ridiculous caricatures that have often defined the pilgrims of the Third Quest. In his evenhanded style, Sanders deals with facts, and where evidence is sketchy, he informs the reader. Remember, that is the goal of his book!

Much can be said about the multitude of weighty issues Sanders brings up in this work. For the sake of economy therefore, this reviewer will limit praise to one area specifically. The strongest (albeit most controversial) segment of this book is the chapter devoted to Jesus' miracles. Tackling the issue of supernatural events from a historical perspective can be quite interesting, and Sanders does not disappoint. Following one line of cogent thought with another, Sanders churns through the available historical material and leaves a trail of long-admired tradition shattered in its wake. For example, he evaluates the modern perspective of Jesus' miracles as having little in common with the ancient position. Many modern Christians look to Jesus' miracles as proof that he was, in fact, the Son of God, but Sanders suggests that espousing such an opinion is in conflict with first-century Jews who would have seen the miracles as "striking and significant" (p. 132) but lacking a superhuman element. By describing Jesus' miracles as historical events that were clearly human, Sanders debunks Christians' view that Jesus' miracles were only possible because he was, somehow, more than human.

However adroitly written, though, this work... Read more ›

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jesus the Viceroy of God, December 2, 2000

By 

peculiar "andrew_eccentric" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Historical Figure of Jesus (Paperback)

E.P. Sanders is without doubt one of the most pre-eminent scholars of the New Testament and of historical, that is, Second Temple, Judaism alive today. His expertise and breadth of knowledge are acclaimed by all quarters of biblical scholarship as often as his work is seen in print, which is it to say that this is often. Particularly he has made key entries into the current round of the academic Quest of the historical Jesus. The first was with his 1985 book "Jesus and Judaism", a technical and academic study in which Sanders outlined his position vis-a-vis Jesus as an historical personage about whom we could know a number of things with a substantial degree of certainty. Amongst these were that Jesus was a Galilean who preached and healed, that he confined his activity to Israel and that he was baptised by John the Baptist. All in all he stated 8 "almost indisputable facts" in that book which any reasoned and reasonable account of the historical Jesus should be able to account for.

With "The Historical Figure of Jesus" Sanders presents a much more reader-friendly (and appreciably less technical though still academically formulated) account of Jesus of Nazareth in which he ups the statements he now considers as "almost beyond dispute" to 15 and attempts to draw his picture of Jesus around these chosen static points. Clearly, then, the things Sanders considers as fixed are crucial here. These demonstrate some modification of Sanders' position from his earlier book and the addition of some "equally secure facts" about "the aftermath of Jesus' life". They are not things which scholars or general readers would find particularly controversial. But then the devil is always in the detail.

Sanders' construction of the historical Jesus as displayed in "Jesus and Judaism" is well known for being based around the incident in the Temple where Jesus turns over tables and drives out animals and/or people. This is seen as the proximate cause of Jesus' crucifixion and the event which gives us insight into his orientation as one interested in "restoration eschatology". But with "The Historical Figure of Jesus" Sanders takes a different tack, assuming much less background knowledge on the readers' part and so, consequently, providing the assumed reader with chapters of background on the political and religious settings of Jesus and on the nature of the documentary sources for his life. These chapters are as erudite as they are compact and would provide even the most novice-like reader of historical Jesus literature with a key to begin opening a number of the locks Sanders later presents. Having given background, Sanders proceeds to give chapters (some of which are so good they should be regarded as set texts on the subjects they address) which orientate themselves around Jesus' assumed interest in the Kingdom of God, his performance of miracles, the meaning of his teaching in Jewish context, Jesus' own view of himself and a programmatic chapter on Jesus' last week (an exercise in lucid brilliance). The Jesus revealed is set within a Jewish eschatological framework (discussion about the end of the current order of things) in which he is depicted very much as traditionally, even typically, Jewish. He speaks, for example, about "the reversal of values and ethical perfectionism" in the coming new age - the Kingdom of God. So what appears is a typically Jewish individual who harbours a view of his own authority to speak as, Sanders suggests, God's viceroy, and with an agenda which looks and works for the establishment of God's eschatological kingdom. All this is usefully garnished with astute discussion of the sayings of Jesus in the context of a Jewish religious situation. Two useful appendices and the addition of thorough indexes supplement the book usefully so that it is a practically orientated product for those who wish to validate or further their reading.

So this is a book which I find exceedingly lucid and wise on the subject of the historical Jesus. Of course, readerly conclusions will always be different and I would not wish to give the impression that I agree with everything Sanders proposes or to suggest that he should be regarded as a fount of infallible knowledge. I would, however, suggest that this book is the perfect one for the general and non-technical reader interested in the historical figure of Jesus. It orientates the reader to the subject at hand, provides useful and relevant background in a way that is very clear and is sure-footed as to the conclusions it reaches and the evidence upon which it is based. I recommend it whole-heartedly.