This volume offers a fresh approach to the question, "Who was Jesus?" Integrating the findings of contemporary Jesus scholarship, Nicholas Perrin explains how Jesus saw himself and his movement as a reconstitution of the temple. By viewing Jesus as temple, Perrin reveals an enriched understanding of Jesus's self-knowledge, ministry, teachings, death, and resurrection and closes the gap between the historical Jesus and the proclamation of the early church.
| ||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
"Nicholas Perrin's latest book takes a fresh look at the concept of Jesus as temple. To do this, he reviews Jesus' relationship to the Jerusalem temple; the early Christian community's idea that Jesus is the new temple, of which his followers are a part; and how this idea may well be rooted in the teaching of Jesus himself. There is little in the book that is conventional, and readers will be surprised again and again by Perrin's creative insights and control of both primary and secondary literatures. This is a significant advance in an important area of study."--Craig A. Evans, Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College
"New paradigms for understanding the historical Jesus are somewhat rare; proposals that are novel without being outlandish are rarer still. In this volume, Nicholas Perrin provides us with just such a marvel: a fresh understanding that is so carefully reasoned as to command the attention of a guild no longer accustomed to considering much that has not been proposed and debated many times before. Anyone interested in the historical investigation of Jesus and early Christianity will want to engage with Perrin's work and consider what the image of Jesus the temple could mean for both ancient and modern expressions of faith."--Mark Allan Powell, professor of New Testament, Trinity Lutheran Seminary
"Interpreters since the dawn of Christianity have noted the importance of the temple to Jesus' life, work, and movement. The last century, however--with its archaeological discoveries and renewed interest in early Judaism--has brought the matter even more to the forefront. To read Jesus the Temple is to see the gospel's drama in a new light, and as if for the first time. Notions such as worship, sacrifice, kingdom, and liturgy take on an entirely different cast when Jesus is seen in the shadow of the temple and in the light of the temple. This is a valuable contribution to New Testament scholarship."--Scott Hahn, Pope Benedict XVI Professor of Biblical Theology, St Vincent Seminary
"Jesus the Temple is difficult to put down due to its bold claims and engaging style. Here Nick Perrin offers a cogent argument for understanding Jesus' mission in terms of a counter-temple movement. He advances his thesis with historical sensitivity and acumen, providing a significant contribution to historical Jesus studies. This is also one of the few scholarly books in my memory that can turn a phrase with literary allusions ranging from Albert Schweitzer to Bob Dylan. Delightful reading and worthy of careful appraisal."--Jeannine K. Brown, professor of New Testament, Bethel Seminary
"New paradigms for understanding the historical Jesus are somewhat rare; proposals that are novel without being outlandish are rarer still. In this volume, Nicholas Perrin provides us with just such a marvel: a fresh understanding that is so carefully reasoned as to command the attention of a guild no longer accustomed to considering much that has not been proposed and debated many times before. Anyone interested in the historical investigation of Jesus and early Christianity will want to engage with Perrin's work and consider what the image of Jesus the temple could mean for both ancient and modern expressions of faith."--Mark Allan Powell, professor of New Testament, Trinity Lutheran Seminary
"Interpreters since the dawn of Christianity have noted the importance of the temple to Jesus' life, work, and movement. The last century, however--with its archaeological discoveries and renewed interest in early Judaism--has brought the matter even more to the forefront. To read Jesus the Temple is to see the gospel's drama in a new light, and as if for the first time. Notions such as worship, sacrifice, kingdom, and liturgy take on an entirely different cast when Jesus is seen in the shadow of the temple and in the light of the temple. This is a valuable contribution to New Testament scholarship."--Scott Hahn, Pope Benedict XVI Professor of Biblical Theology, St Vincent Seminary
"Jesus the Temple is difficult to put down due to its bold claims and engaging style. Here Nick Perrin offers a cogent argument for understanding Jesus' mission in terms of a counter-temple movement. He advances his thesis with historical sensitivity and acumen, providing a significant contribution to historical Jesus studies. This is also one of the few scholarly books in my memory that can turn a phrase with literary allusions ranging from Albert Schweitzer to Bob Dylan. Delightful reading and worthy of careful appraisal."--Jeannine K. Brown, professor of New Testament, Bethel Seminary
About the Author
Nicholas Perrin (PhD, Marquette University), former research assistant to N. T. Wright, is Franklin S. Dyrness Professor of Biblical Studies and associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College Graduate School in Wheaton, Illinois. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Thomas and Tatian: The Relationship between the Gospel of Thomas and the Diatessaron, Questioning Q (with Mark Goodacre), Thomas: The Other Gospel, and Lost in Transmission? What We Can Know about the Words of Jesus.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Kevin
Format:Paperback
Nicholas Perrin's 'Jesus the Temple' is a helpful and thought-provoking book that investigates how Jesus and the early Christian movement related to the Jerusalem temple. The book sets up the discussion by taking passages from Paul and other early Christian writers where language of the temple is used (1 Cor 3:9-11; 6:16, 19-20), of which Perrin asks where the source of this 'Temple identity' came from. His answer is Jesus, which he seeks to demonstrate by spending the next 185 pages arguing that Jesus' actions and teachings constituted an alternative temple movement.
For its small size (190 pages +32 pages of references and indices), this book covers a lot of ground. Perrin sets this book in the midst of debates about the historical Jesus and his relation to Paul and the other New Testament writers (what did Paul know of Jesus? What continuity is there between Jesus' teachings and the rest of the NT?). However, the bulk of the book (three of the five chapters) is devoted to Jesus' words and deeds that (in Perrin's mind) ought to be seen as 'Temple acts' (my words, not his). Let me allow Perrin to speak for himself: "Jesus of Nazareth's most distinctive activities, healings/exorcisms, and meals were public signs that he had reconstituted time, space, and a people around himself, the new convergence of heaven and earth, the new temple" (p 179).
To this reviewer, the most illuminating discussion was on the topic of Jesus and the poor (chapter 4). Here, Perrin treats the thorny issues of Jesus' teachings on money (the rich young ruler incident, etc.) and how they relate to his temple program. While trying not to gush too much, I urge scholars and pastors (if I must dichotomize the two) to wrestle with Perrin's understanding of Jesus' poverty ethics. He seeks to go beyond the social justice vs. spiritualizing antithesis, which helps provide a more nuanced understanding of Jesus' view of riches and poverty.
Lastly, historical Jesus scholarship is blessed with not only gifted scholars, but gifted writers as well. Perrin joins this enviable group, with his consistently clever turns of phrase and penchant for illustrations. Occasionally his style would impede the clarity of the discussion, but on the whole his style made this book a delight to read and engage with.
Perrin has provided New Testament readers with a fresh perspective on the mission of Jesus that does justice to material in the four gospels. Those interested in the historical Jesus, New Testament theology, and Jesus' ethics will find plenty of thought-provoking insights here. I hope this book would be widely received, and I cannot wait for the follow up volumes from Perrin.
For its small size (190 pages +32 pages of references and indices), this book covers a lot of ground. Perrin sets this book in the midst of debates about the historical Jesus and his relation to Paul and the other New Testament writers (what did Paul know of Jesus? What continuity is there between Jesus' teachings and the rest of the NT?). However, the bulk of the book (three of the five chapters) is devoted to Jesus' words and deeds that (in Perrin's mind) ought to be seen as 'Temple acts' (my words, not his). Let me allow Perrin to speak for himself: "Jesus of Nazareth's most distinctive activities, healings/exorcisms, and meals were public signs that he had reconstituted time, space, and a people around himself, the new convergence of heaven and earth, the new temple" (p 179).
To this reviewer, the most illuminating discussion was on the topic of Jesus and the poor (chapter 4). Here, Perrin treats the thorny issues of Jesus' teachings on money (the rich young ruler incident, etc.) and how they relate to his temple program. While trying not to gush too much, I urge scholars and pastors (if I must dichotomize the two) to wrestle with Perrin's understanding of Jesus' poverty ethics. He seeks to go beyond the social justice vs. spiritualizing antithesis, which helps provide a more nuanced understanding of Jesus' view of riches and poverty.
Lastly, historical Jesus scholarship is blessed with not only gifted scholars, but gifted writers as well. Perrin joins this enviable group, with his consistently clever turns of phrase and penchant for illustrations. Occasionally his style would impede the clarity of the discussion, but on the whole his style made this book a delight to read and engage with.
Perrin has provided New Testament readers with a fresh perspective on the mission of Jesus that does justice to material in the four gospels. Those interested in the historical Jesus, New Testament theology, and Jesus' ethics will find plenty of thought-provoking insights here. I hope this book would be widely received, and I cannot wait for the follow up volumes from Perrin.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A few years ago, Perrin explored the 'Gospel of Thomas' and concluded it cannot be dated earlier than the 170s. His arguments were so conclusive that liberal biblical scholars will never again be able to argue for an earlier date for 'Thomas' without having to take on Perrin's line of reasoning.
Now Perrin has set out to explore the relationship between Jesus and the temple. And, once again, his arguments are cogent and thorough. Clearly, Perrin is a major new voice for orthodox biblical scholarship.
Liberal theories during the 20th century have proclaimed an unbridgeable gap between the historical Jesus and Paul and the early church. Perrin sets out to show "whether the identification between Jesus and the temple, attested so early in Paul (and so amply in later primitive Christianity) can be credibly rooted in the life of Jesus himself" (p 5).
Then he proves that it can.
Few people outside of biblical scholars appreciate the crucial significance of the temple in Second Temple Judaism. As Perrin puts it, "the temple... did not ultimately exist for the sake of the people; the people existed for the sake of Yahweh and Yahweh's temple.
For many, if not most, Second Temple Jews it was the messiah who would rebuild the temple. This conviction was ultimately based on the ancient scriptural association between temple-building and messiah" (p 101).
So when Jesus overthrew tables in the temple he was announcing something far greater than annoyance with the money changers. It was his final, free, climactic act.
As Fredriksen and Sanders have argued, the cleansing of the temple meant the overturning of the present temple and the establishment of a new one located in the body of the messiah, Jesus.
The cleansing was also an act of indictment against the against the greed of the temple priests, so amply discussed in Josephus.
It is also important to note that Caiaphus, when he was grilling Jesus, made what a first appears to be an abrupt change in the charges. One second he levels charges against Jesus that he said he would destroy and then rebuild the temple. Then, in the next question, Caiaphus gets to the root of the matter.
"As the high priest rightly gathered, if Jesus had indeed claimed to be the one to rebuild the temple, he was in effect claiming to be the messiah" (p102-3).
Now Perrin has set out to explore the relationship between Jesus and the temple. And, once again, his arguments are cogent and thorough. Clearly, Perrin is a major new voice for orthodox biblical scholarship.
Liberal theories during the 20th century have proclaimed an unbridgeable gap between the historical Jesus and Paul and the early church. Perrin sets out to show "whether the identification between Jesus and the temple, attested so early in Paul (and so amply in later primitive Christianity) can be credibly rooted in the life of Jesus himself" (p 5).
Then he proves that it can.
Few people outside of biblical scholars appreciate the crucial significance of the temple in Second Temple Judaism. As Perrin puts it, "the temple... did not ultimately exist for the sake of the people; the people existed for the sake of Yahweh and Yahweh's temple.
For many, if not most, Second Temple Jews it was the messiah who would rebuild the temple. This conviction was ultimately based on the ancient scriptural association between temple-building and messiah" (p 101).
So when Jesus overthrew tables in the temple he was announcing something far greater than annoyance with the money changers. It was his final, free, climactic act.
As Fredriksen and Sanders have argued, the cleansing of the temple meant the overturning of the present temple and the establishment of a new one located in the body of the messiah, Jesus.
The cleansing was also an act of indictment against the against the greed of the temple priests, so amply discussed in Josephus.
It is also important to note that Caiaphus, when he was grilling Jesus, made what a first appears to be an abrupt change in the charges. One second he levels charges against Jesus that he said he would destroy and then rebuild the temple. Then, in the next question, Caiaphus gets to the root of the matter.
"As the high priest rightly gathered, if Jesus had indeed claimed to be the one to rebuild the temple, he was in effect claiming to be the messiah" (p102-3).
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By MasterAP
Format:Paperback
When I saw that the author was a former research assistant to N.T. Wright, I was anticipating greatness.
Not taking anything away from Perrin - the material is discussion worthy: Did Jesus see himself as a replacement for the Jewish Temple? He has filled this book with so much information, it would take at least three semesters to adequately cover the ideas. And therein lies part of the problem.
Reading this I felt like I was reading a report by a student who had so many pages to fill and decided to use as many words as possible. There are simply too many words! Repeatedly I found myself thinking, "just get to the point!" I would skip ahead to the "Conclusion" segment of each chapter and think, well why didn't you just write that??
Perrin explores about all the conclusions each theologian has come to when it revolves around Jesus' actions with the Temple in Jerusalem. Every. Single. Conclusion. (probably not every single one but it felt like it)
His own conclusions are fantastic and worth the book but I imagine I would have enjoyed this book more if he just got to the point.
The later third of this book explores how Jesus' words and actions give proof to how he viewed himself in relation to the Temple and creating a counter-temple movement. It is this section that I really digested with delight. I just can't get enough of cultural/contextual information about Jesus and First Century Israel.
This is absolutely a book for higher education. It is full of footnotes and examples of resources for further study.
I hope Perrin writes more books and that he follows N.T. Wright's example by streamlining thoughts. (even early Wright was heavy on the word-usage)
Not taking anything away from Perrin - the material is discussion worthy: Did Jesus see himself as a replacement for the Jewish Temple? He has filled this book with so much information, it would take at least three semesters to adequately cover the ideas. And therein lies part of the problem.
Reading this I felt like I was reading a report by a student who had so many pages to fill and decided to use as many words as possible. There are simply too many words! Repeatedly I found myself thinking, "just get to the point!" I would skip ahead to the "Conclusion" segment of each chapter and think, well why didn't you just write that??
Perrin explores about all the conclusions each theologian has come to when it revolves around Jesus' actions with the Temple in Jerusalem. Every. Single. Conclusion. (probably not every single one but it felt like it)
His own conclusions are fantastic and worth the book but I imagine I would have enjoyed this book more if he just got to the point.
The later third of this book explores how Jesus' words and actions give proof to how he viewed himself in relation to the Temple and creating a counter-temple movement. It is this section that I really digested with delight. I just can't get enough of cultural/contextual information about Jesus and First Century Israel.
This is absolutely a book for higher education. It is full of footnotes and examples of resources for further study.
I hope Perrin writes more books and that he follows N.T. Wright's example by streamlining thoughts. (even early Wright was heavy on the word-usage)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
