First Quest

• Albert Schweitzer, The Quest for the Historical Jesus (ed. J. Bowden; trans. W. Montgomery, J. R. Coates, S. Cupitt, and J. Bowden; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001).
• Charles H. Talbert (ed.), Reimarus: Fragments (trans. R. S. Fraser; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1970).
• David Friedrich Strauss, The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined (2 vols.; trans. Marian Evans; New York: Calvin Blanchard, 1860).
• William Wrede, The Messianic Secret (trans. J. C. G. Greig; Cambridge: J. Clarke, 1971).

• Martin Kähler, So-Called Historical Jesus and the Historic-Biblical Christ (trans. and ed. Carl E. Braaten; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988)
• Rudolf Bultmann, Jesus and the Word (trans. L. P. Smith and E. H. Lanterno; New York: Scribners, 1958).

Second Quest

• Ernst Käsemann, “The Problem of the Historical Jesus,” in Essays on New Testament Themes (SBT 41; Naperville, IL: Alec R. Allenson, 1964), 15-47.
• Ernst Käsemann, “Blind Alleys in the ‘Jesus of History’ Controversy,” in New Testament Questions of Today (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1969), 23-65.
• Günther Bornkamm, Jesus of Nazareth (trans. I. McLuskey, F. McLuskey, and J. M. Robinson; New York: Harper & Row, 1960).
• James M. Robinson, A New Quest of the Historical Jesus and Other Essays (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983).

Third Quest

• Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew: A Historian’s Reading of the Gospels (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981).
• E. P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985).
• John Dominic Crossan, The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (HarperSanFrancisco, 1991).
• N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (COQG 2; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1997).

• Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006).

Miscellaneous Books on Jesus Scholarship

• John H. Hayes, Son of God to Super Star: Twentieth-century Interpretations of Jesus (Nashville: Abingdon, 1976).
• Mark Allan Powell, Jesus As a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1998).
• Amy-Jill Levine, Dale C. Allison Jr., and John Dominic Crossan (eds.), The Historical Jesus in Context (Princeton: Princeton University, 2006).
• Craig A. Evans (ed.), Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus (New York: Routeledge, 2008).

In general, I had a harder time with Third Quest scholarship because I see that as a much broader endeavor than the First and Second Quest. Also, some significant books didn’t make the cut because of space constraints. Therefore, scholars like Jeremias, Perrin, Dahl, and (more recently) Meier weren’t included, but that does not mean I don’t read or refer to their works often.

What did I forget? What books on the Historical Jesus is on your “short” list?

Albert Schweitzer, Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung (9th ed.; UTB S 1302; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1992). Paperback. 651 pages. ISBN 978-3-8252-1302-2. € 19.90. [Mohr Siebeck; Amazon.de]

This volume, included in the UTB series, is the most recent German edition and is still fairly easy to acquire since it remains in print. Some may opt for an older hardback if they are particular about having a long-lasting copy of the the book. Since Schweitzer never substantially changed Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung after 1913, any German edition printed on or since that date should be fine. NB: The original 1906 edition of Von Reimarus zu Wrede: Eine Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung has been put online at Google books.

The 1910 translation of Schweitzer’s book is available by at least two current publishers.

Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus (trans. by W. Montgomery; New York: Dover, 2005). Paperback. 416 pages. ISBN: 978-0486440279. $18.95. [Amazon.com]

Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Critical Study of Its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede (trans. by W. Montgomery; Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1998). Paperback. 432 pages. ISBN: 978-0801859342. $25.00. [Amazon.com]

Both of these are reprints of the English edition of Schweitzer’s work before its revision. For that reason, it is not advisable to purchase these as one’s only edition of Schweitzer. So much has been changed between 1906 and 1913 that readers of Schweitzer are better off with an updated version. That said, there are some interesting and useful aspects about the older English editions, such as the famous “wheel of the world” passage that is omitted in the updated version. These editions include the preface by F. C. Burkitt. Also, because the English translation by Montgomery is now in the public domain, you can find the text online thanks to Peter Kirby.

Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus: First Complete Edition (ed. by John Bowden; trans. by W. Montgomery, J. R. Coates, S. Cupitt, and J. Bowden; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001). Paperback. 612 pages. ISBN: 978-0800632885. $38.00. [Amazon.com]

The Complete Edition, published by Fortress, is hands down the front runner of English editions of Schweitzer’s The Quest of the Historical Jesus. Not only does it include an updated translation that better represents the style of Schweitzer, but it also contains an appreciation of Albert Schweitzer by Marcus J. Borg, a twenty-page foreword by Dennis Nineham, and translations of Schweitzer’s prefaces from the first (1906), second (1913) and sixth (1950) editions. Of course, the most important aspect of this edition is that it’s based on the ninth German edition. However, I think it was a bad decision on the part of the editor to change the footnotes from earlier English editions into endnotes for this edition. Because it is a scholarly monograph, I see no reason to hide the notes at the end of the volume.

In general, we should proceed with caution especially when dealing with the Rabbinic sources because of the over-tendency of many to draw parallels too quickly. Though components of Rabbinic literature have origins in the Second Temple Period, it is difficult to say with certainty what was already in the oral tradition during the first century. Nevertheless, I was recently reading through Barry Holtz’s Back to the Sources: Reading the Classical Jewish Texts and came across a midrashic parable which I found interesting:

What is the difference between the Written and the Oral Law? To what can it be compared? To a king of flesh and blood who had two servants and loved them both with a perfect love. He gave each of them a measure of wheat and each a bundle of flax. What did the wise servant do? He took the flax and spun a cloth. He took the wheat and made flour. He cleaned the flour and ground, kneaded and baked it, and set it on top of the table. Then he spread the cloth over it and left it until the king would come.

The foolish servant, however, did nothing at all. After some time, the king returned from a journey and came into his house. He said to his servants: my sons bring me what I gave you. One servant showed the wheat still in the box with the bundle of flax upon it. Alas for his shame, alas for his disgrace!

When the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the Torah to Israel, he gave it only in the form of wheat—for us to make flour from it, and flax—to make a garment from it. (Holtz, 28)

The parable comes from Seder Eliyahu Zuta (ch 2), and is very similar to the style and content of Jesus’ parables. I am reminded particularly of Jesus’ Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), wherein the master entrusted his servants with monetary goods (talents). Two of the servants were productive but the third servant was not. While I am not claiming that one parable is derivative of the other (Seder Eliyahu Zuta’s final redaction is rather late), it is useful to see how the two parables have similar messages and storylines. Through such observations we have one more avenue of viewing Jesus through a Jewish eyes.

Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus (Ed. by John Bowden; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001).

Schweitzer’s main objective was to survey historical Jesus scholarship and offer his own conclusions on the subject. Since the genre of books about Jesus were often called “lives of Jesus,” the title of Schweitzer’s book in German was Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung (History of the Life-of-Jesus Research). The English title took a slightly different route, but ended up influencing the very nomenclature of our discipline: The Quest of the Historical Jesus. Nowadays we talk about the various “quests” for Jesus, the first of which is that which Schweitzer addresses. The subtitle of his book, after all, is “A Critical Study of Its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede.” Others since Schweitzer have written good surveys of Jesus scholarship, but his book remains the first resource that many people turn to about the first quest because it is still the best after all these years. His clarity and vivid writing style only serve to complement his keen ability to navigate three hundred years of scholarship.

I owned a copy of Schweitzer for awhile before reading through it cover to cover. I knew I had to read it and to learn more about the historical Jesus in general, so I petitioned one of my professors to lead a directed study on the historical Jesus. A good portion of that course was working through this book. As I was going through Schweitzer I also read works or sections of works by Jesus scholars as Schweitzer addressed them. So using Schweitzer as an introduction, I also read good portions of Reimarus, Strauss, Renan, Weiss, and Wrede. Needless to say, it was one of the most unforgettable courses I took.

Now let me highlight a few things about Schweitzer’s book and what he accomplishes with it. He famously criticizes earlier scholars because of their tendency to make Jesus in their own image, and argues that some have written about Jesus out of love, whereas other write out of hate. He organizes his survey by letting opposed ideologies battle against each other. Do we look at Jesus through a historical lens or a supernatural one? Historical. Which sources do we use? The Synoptic Gospels or John’s Gospel? Synoptics. Did Jesus think eschatologically or non-eschatologically? Eschatologically. The final choice was to see Jesus’s self-understanding as “thoroughgoing eschatology” or to be completely skeptical about the historical Jesus (e.g., Wrede). He comes down on the side of eschatology, a view which remains popular among many Jesus scholars today. What makes Schweitzer so engaging is the rich psychological picture he draws of Jesus. He ultimately argues that Jesus is an apocalyptic prophet and failed enthusiast of God’s kingdom. A very controversial claim, to be sure. Colin Brown has a good, short summary in his article on Schweitzer in the Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus edited by Craig Evans.

Of course, Schweitzer’s book has not been free from controversy. Some have accused him of being susceptible to his own criticism that scholars have made Jesus in their own likeness. Others have pointed out that by starting with Reimarus, Schweitzer overlooks British scholarship, especially the deists like Thomas Chubb (I think Colin Brown makes this point ). Also, many scholars have questioned his portrait of Jesus, especially those who do not see Jesus as an apocalyptic figure. Schweitzer might even be viewed as too radical by scholars who buy into the apocalyptic argument.

In order to keep this post relatively short, I plan to write a few more follow-up posts on Schweitzer. I hope to talk about different editions of his book, briefly address the famous “wheel of the world” passage, share a little anecdotal story about Schweitzer, and also look at a couple of other topics in the book at greater depth.