The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth [Paperback]

Ben Witherington III (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 1997

Voted one of Christianity Today's 1996 Books of the Year! In recent years Jesus' time, place and social setting have received renewed scholarly attention. New research on the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Jewish and Hellenistic texts has resulted in a surge of new images of Jesus and new ideas about his ministry. Dubbed the Third Quest for the historical Jesus, this recent effort is a transformation of the first quest, memorialized and chronicled by Albert Schweitzer, and the second quest, carried out in the 1950s and 1960s in the wake of extreme Bultmannian skepticism. The controversial works of John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg and Burton Mack, and the results of the Jesus Seminar have been thrust upon the public by publicists and media as the voices of learned consensus. Meanwhile, at the center of the scholarly investigation of Jesus, a less celebrated but certainly no less informed majority rejects many of the methods and conclusions of those who have captured the limelight. In The Jesus Quest Ben Witherington, a participant in the Quest, offers the first comprehensive determination and assessment of what scholars are really saying about Jesus. In addition to the views of Crossan, Borg and Mack, he presents and interacts with the work of important scholars such as Geza Vermes, E. P. Sanders, Gerd Theissen, Richard Horsley, John P. Meier, N. T. Wright and Elisabeth Schssler Fiorenza, as well as outlining his own understanding of Jesus as sage. Here is an indispensable survey and assessment of the most significant religious scholarly debate of the 1990s. Now with a lengthy new postscript, the new paperback edition of this widely praised book updates you on the continuing saga of the Third Quest for the historical Jesus.

Product Details

• Paperback: 334 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic; 2 Sub edition (May 8, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830815449
• ISBN-13: 978-0830815449
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bible scholar Ben Witherington is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. A graduate of UNC, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive the M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies.

Witherington has also taught at Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia. He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

Witherington has written over thirty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications, and is a frequent contributor to the Beliefnet website.

Along with many interviews on radio networks across the country, Witherington has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&E, and the PAX Network.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb overview of recent "Jesus scholarship", March 27, 2001

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth (Paperback)

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.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Judicious Introduction to Third Quest Scholarship, June 25, 2000

By 

Chad McDonald (Fayetteville, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth (Paperback)

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars REQUIRED READING FOR ALL CHRISTIANS!, May 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth (Paperback)

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.