Jews and Christians Speak of Jesus (review)

Abstract

Book Reviews BOOK REVIEWS 147 Jews and Christians Speak of Jesus, edited by Arthur E. Zannoni. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1994. 191 pp. $12.00 (P). In recent years, topics in dialogue meetings between Jews and Christians have often focused on practical matters of current concern rather than the divisive issues offaith and teaching. This volume shows the measure of maturity that has been achieved in Jewish-Christian relations by tackling head-on one of the most central issues between these two groups, namely, Jesus of Nazareth. The essays in this volume, by recognized Jewish and Christian scholars, were originally presented as papers at a series of symposia sponsored by the Center for Jewish-Christian Learning at the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul and Minneapolis). This set of essays is an attempt to look afresh at the Jewish origins of Jesus, casting new light on the relations ofJesus to his contemporaryJews and on the process by which early Christians began to ascribe messiahship and divinity to Jesus. The book is set up admirably to facilitate discussion and rethinking of old issues. Each of the four parts of the book focuses on a crucial aspect ofunderstandingJesus. Part one, with essays by ShayeJ. D. Cohen and Anthony J. Saldarini, explores the diversity within Judaism at the time ofJesus. In part two, Lawrence H. Schiffman and E. P. Sanders examine the Jewishness ofJesus and how he related to the Judaisms of his time. In part three, Paula Fredriksen and John R. Donahue trace the background of the idea of messiah and the path by which early Christians came to consider Jesus as the messiah. And in part four, Alan F. Segal and Monika K. Hellwig reflect on how Christians began to make the move in their interpretation of Jesus from Christ to God-and how this radical move relates to the Jewish background of Christianity. These essays provide a helpful sampling of recent scholarship relating to understanding Jesus of Nazareth. There certainly is broad agreement among all these scholars that Jesus must first of all be seen within the context of the Jewish world in which he lived-that is perhaps the central theme of the whole volume. But within that general consensus these essays also present a fertile diversity in interpretation, bringing the reader into the lively and ongoing scholarly discussion. For example, Cohen argues that, for all the diversity of the Judaisms of this period, there was a clear assumption both amongJews and among 148 SHOFAR Fall 1996 Vol. 15, No. 1 outsiders that Judaism was a unified system. Saldarini, on the other hand, sketches out the factions and distinct groups within Jewish society, importing modern ideas of sects and deviance to highlight the function of the diverse groups. Schiffman argues that almost all the sayings of Jesus reflect similar ideas expressed by otherJews, especially in the later rabbinic collections. Sanders makes a similar point about Jesus' relation to Jewish law, proposing that Jesus did not wish to oppose traditional religious law, even in the reported conflicts over sabbath observance and unclean foods. Scholars have sometimes emphasized that, while Jesus remained within the Jewish orbit, Paul and the other Christians who began to ascribe messiahship and divinity toJesus moved far beyond theirJewish roots. The essays in this volume suggest a much more nuanced view of Christian development within the Jewish context. Paul's construction ofthe message and the mission of Christianity, Fredriksen finds, fits entirely within the views and concerns ofJudaism. For example, the Gentiles Paul preached to were actually those who customarily attended synagogues without being Jewish converts, Gentiles who thus knew Jewish scripture and tradition. Donahue argues that the narratives of Jesus' suffering and death, which have been so divisive in Jewish-Christian relations, were motivated not by history but by theological concerns and contemporary issues. One important point in reexamining these narratives, according to Donahue, is to realize that Jesus was not tried by a Jewish "supreme court" (the Sanhedrin), as has traditionally been supposed, but actually by a type of informal group called in to arbitrate local cases. Concerning the ascription of divinity to Jesus by Christians, Segal suggests that this was not an alien non-Jewish...