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Jesus the Sage: The Pilgrimage of Wisdom
Hardcover with dust jacket. G/G. Slight damage to front board edge and dust jacket, else very good.
436 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1994
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March 11, 2014
"My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:2-3, NIV).
A number of years ago, C. S. Lewis framed the Liar, Lunatic, Lord argument that asserted that Jesus could not possibly have been merely a good teacher--either he lied about his own identity which would make him not good, he was deluded about his own identity (also not good) or he was truthful in his claim to be the Lord of all. An unintended consequence of that argument is that we may deprecate Jesus standing as a teacher in our efforts to assert his Lordship.
In Jesus the Sage Ben Witherington III brings Jesus as Teacher and Jesus as Lord together in his exploration of Wisdom writings and how these influenced Jesus himself, and how they influenced the view of Christ, or Christology of the earliest Christians and the New Testament writers.
The first part of this book traces the trajectory from Solomon and the earliest Wisdom literature up through Ecclesiastes and extra-canonical books like The Wisdom of Solomon and Ben Sira. In this we see a development from Wisdom as Lady Sophia, with God at the Creation, to Wisdom as the Spirit of God. Witherington also argues in this section that these Jewish wisdom sources, and not Greek Cynics influenced Jesus and the early church. He draws the parallels between wisdom sayings in these works and the teaching of Jesus, particularly his use of parable and aphorism.
The second part of the book looks at the movement from Jesus to the early church and how these wisdom traditions influenced Q and James, the earliest hymns of the church, the writing of Paul, and the Gospels of Matthew and John. The basic trajectory is to see Jesus as not only incarnate God but as incarnate Wisdom, the one "greater than Solomon" (Matthew 12:42). One of the great services Witherington does is to show not only the linkage of the wisdom traditions to the early hymns of the church such as Philippians 2:5-11 (which very likely preceded Paul's writing by some time) but to show that these indicate that the church's view of Christ, or Christology, was a high one from the beginning--not a late development. I also found his treatment of both Matthew and John as Wisdom books illuminating because, while they do not depend on each other, they both portray Jesus as the wise teacher or logos, they emphasize discourse, and discipleship, among other parallels.
This is but a cursory survey of a rigorously scholarly work that makes an important contribution in reconciling the ideas of Jesus as Lord and Teacher, the one who is Wisdom in human flesh, not the builder of the temple as was wise Solomon, both "God with us", the living temple. Years ago, Dallas Willard challenged a number of us with the Colossians verse at the beginning of this review and the implications of this truth for every academic discipline in the university. Do we truly believe Jesus knows physics, or law, or business, or history? Do we believe that his wisdom can illuminate our understanding as we wrestle with the deepest questions the academy can pose? What Witherington has done is lay out the biblical (and extra-canonical) case for answering these questions with a resounding "Yes!"
A number of years ago, C. S. Lewis framed the Liar, Lunatic, Lord argument that asserted that Jesus could not possibly have been merely a good teacher--either he lied about his own identity which would make him not good, he was deluded about his own identity (also not good) or he was truthful in his claim to be the Lord of all. An unintended consequence of that argument is that we may deprecate Jesus standing as a teacher in our efforts to assert his Lordship.
In Jesus the Sage Ben Witherington III brings Jesus as Teacher and Jesus as Lord together in his exploration of Wisdom writings and how these influenced Jesus himself, and how they influenced the view of Christ, or Christology of the earliest Christians and the New Testament writers.
The first part of this book traces the trajectory from Solomon and the earliest Wisdom literature up through Ecclesiastes and extra-canonical books like The Wisdom of Solomon and Ben Sira. In this we see a development from Wisdom as Lady Sophia, with God at the Creation, to Wisdom as the Spirit of God. Witherington also argues in this section that these Jewish wisdom sources, and not Greek Cynics influenced Jesus and the early church. He draws the parallels between wisdom sayings in these works and the teaching of Jesus, particularly his use of parable and aphorism.
The second part of the book looks at the movement from Jesus to the early church and how these wisdom traditions influenced Q and James, the earliest hymns of the church, the writing of Paul, and the Gospels of Matthew and John. The basic trajectory is to see Jesus as not only incarnate God but as incarnate Wisdom, the one "greater than Solomon" (Matthew 12:42). One of the great services Witherington does is to show not only the linkage of the wisdom traditions to the early hymns of the church such as Philippians 2:5-11 (which very likely preceded Paul's writing by some time) but to show that these indicate that the church's view of Christ, or Christology, was a high one from the beginning--not a late development. I also found his treatment of both Matthew and John as Wisdom books illuminating because, while they do not depend on each other, they both portray Jesus as the wise teacher or logos, they emphasize discourse, and discipleship, among other parallels.
This is but a cursory survey of a rigorously scholarly work that makes an important contribution in reconciling the ideas of Jesus as Lord and Teacher, the one who is Wisdom in human flesh, not the builder of the temple as was wise Solomon, both "God with us", the living temple. Years ago, Dallas Willard challenged a number of us with the Colossians verse at the beginning of this review and the implications of this truth for every academic discipline in the university. Do we truly believe Jesus knows physics, or law, or business, or history? Do we believe that his wisdom can illuminate our understanding as we wrestle with the deepest questions the academy can pose? What Witherington has done is lay out the biblical (and extra-canonical) case for answering these questions with a resounding "Yes!"
June 21, 2017
A word of caution: if you are interested in historical Jesus research, as I was, this book has precious little for you. (More on that below)
The first 115 pages of the book are simply an introduction to OT and apocryphal wisdom literature, the last 150 discuss "Wisdom Christologies" in the NT. Concerning the former: I would recommend simply reading the primary sources yourself (Prov., Eccl., Job, Wisdom of Solomon, and Ben Sirach) as Witherington is not a specialist in this literature and adds little to what you will likely gain from a(nother) run through it. Concerning his treatment of the NT wisdom material: it is fascinating, thorough, and innovative. I recommend it heartily to the student of early Christology. However, as I said, it does not deal much with the historical Jesus.
The only substantial historical Jesus content is contained in pp. 117-201, and even there, only bits and pieces are relevant for historical Jesus research. Witherington's most important arguments regarding the historical Jesus are 1) that Jesus was not a cynic philosopher, though it is not impossible that he was influenced somewhat by Cynic philosophy; Jesus' style of teaching is better explained as in continuity with Jewish wisdom traditions, and 2) Jesus, drawing on the language of personified wisdom in Ben Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon, presented himself as the embodiment of Wisdom (for this point, Witherington points to Mt 11:28-30 and its parallel in Sir 6:23-31 as his chief, but certainly not his only witnesses).
I realize this review is lopsided, as I came to this book expecting, apparently wrongly, a good deal of historical Jesus material. Hopefully I can prevent another from making the same error. In summary, then, this is a fascinating book. While the introductions to OT and apocryphal literature leave something to be desired, and I suspect their 115 or so pages could have been cut to about 15, the remainder of the book, essentially a catalog and exposition of NT Wisdom Christology material, is well worth the read. Perhaps the greatest payoff of this whole book is the demonstration of the relevance of wisdom literature and traditions to NT study and Christology.
The first 115 pages of the book are simply an introduction to OT and apocryphal wisdom literature, the last 150 discuss "Wisdom Christologies" in the NT. Concerning the former: I would recommend simply reading the primary sources yourself (Prov., Eccl., Job, Wisdom of Solomon, and Ben Sirach) as Witherington is not a specialist in this literature and adds little to what you will likely gain from a(nother) run through it. Concerning his treatment of the NT wisdom material: it is fascinating, thorough, and innovative. I recommend it heartily to the student of early Christology. However, as I said, it does not deal much with the historical Jesus.
The only substantial historical Jesus content is contained in pp. 117-201, and even there, only bits and pieces are relevant for historical Jesus research. Witherington's most important arguments regarding the historical Jesus are 1) that Jesus was not a cynic philosopher, though it is not impossible that he was influenced somewhat by Cynic philosophy; Jesus' style of teaching is better explained as in continuity with Jewish wisdom traditions, and 2) Jesus, drawing on the language of personified wisdom in Ben Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon, presented himself as the embodiment of Wisdom (for this point, Witherington points to Mt 11:28-30 and its parallel in Sir 6:23-31 as his chief, but certainly not his only witnesses).
I realize this review is lopsided, as I came to this book expecting, apparently wrongly, a good deal of historical Jesus material. Hopefully I can prevent another from making the same error. In summary, then, this is a fascinating book. While the introductions to OT and apocryphal literature leave something to be desired, and I suspect their 115 or so pages could have been cut to about 15, the remainder of the book, essentially a catalog and exposition of NT Wisdom Christology material, is well worth the read. Perhaps the greatest payoff of this whole book is the demonstration of the relevance of wisdom literature and traditions to NT study and Christology.
August 23, 2024
A REJECTION OF JESUS AS "CYNIC" IN FAVOR OF JESUS AS WISDOM TEACHER
Ben Witherington III (born 1951) is an American New Testament scholar and Professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, as well as an ordained Methodist pastor; he has written many other books, such as 'Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazereth,' 'The Paul Quest: The Renewed Search for the Jew of Tarsus,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1994 book, "This book then is ... about Jesus the sage as one who contributed to the growth and development of Jewish Wisdom and, for the community of his own followers, charted a course that they would follow in further developing Wisdom ideas and forms. Jesus ... also charts some new courses which left an indelible impression on the compiler(s) of Q, on James, on the creators of the christological hymns, on Paul, and finally on the Gospel writers, in particular the first evangelist." (Pg. xi)
He suggests, "The similarities between the Jesus tradition and the description of the Cynics in these matters... should nonetheless not be exaggerated. Cynics carried beggars' bags. In both the Markan and Q forms of the commissioning speech the disciples are told NOT to take a bag with them. Rather they are to rely on the system of standing hospitality when they go from town to town. This is rather different from a lifestyle of begging." (Pg. 126)
He states, "influence of the Cynic tradition on his teaching does not seem to have been pervasive or profound ... most of the alleged parallels with the Cynic tradition are better explained in light of the Jewish sapiential material. Too much of the arguably authentic Jesus tradition falls outside both the characterization healer/magician and ... 'Cynic' for [John Dominic] Crossan's argument to be persuasive, and some of the Cynic tradition positively clashes with the Jesus tradition." (Pg. 141)
He observes, "I have elsewhere expressed my skepticism about the existence of a ... community for which the Q material WAS their Gospel or their only formative source of religious thought." (Pg. 211) He adds, "This is not to deny the existence of sayings collections that primarily focused on Jesus' logia, or that there is a very sizable amount of Wisdom material in Q, or that sometimes here and there [the Gospel of] Thomas may provide a non-canonical saying of Jesus or an earlier form of a canonical saying..." (Pg. 213)
He says, "A person who wants to figure out how the First Evangelist [Mark] or Luke has edited the sayings material should first consider how Matthew and Luke edit Mark... Luke and the First Evangelist are about equally likely to preserve the exact wording of their source... Luke, however, seems to make more of a consistent effort than Matthew to rewrite all his sources using his own style and syntax." (Pg. 214)
Later, he argues, "A careful study of Jesus' words and deeds, in particular his parables and aphorisms, reveals a family resemblance to other early JEWISH literature but only minimal similarity to the Cynic corpus, much of which post-dates Jesus in any case. Jesus should be viewed in the main as a prophetic sage offering primarily counter-order Wisdom." (Pg. 385)
This is a highly interesting (and completely "orthodox") evangelical interpretation of Jesus, and will be of considerable interest to anyone studying the historical Jesus.
Ben Witherington III (born 1951) is an American New Testament scholar and Professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, as well as an ordained Methodist pastor; he has written many other books, such as 'Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazereth,' 'The Paul Quest: The Renewed Search for the Jew of Tarsus,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1994 book, "This book then is ... about Jesus the sage as one who contributed to the growth and development of Jewish Wisdom and, for the community of his own followers, charted a course that they would follow in further developing Wisdom ideas and forms. Jesus ... also charts some new courses which left an indelible impression on the compiler(s) of Q, on James, on the creators of the christological hymns, on Paul, and finally on the Gospel writers, in particular the first evangelist." (Pg. xi)
He suggests, "The similarities between the Jesus tradition and the description of the Cynics in these matters... should nonetheless not be exaggerated. Cynics carried beggars' bags. In both the Markan and Q forms of the commissioning speech the disciples are told NOT to take a bag with them. Rather they are to rely on the system of standing hospitality when they go from town to town. This is rather different from a lifestyle of begging." (Pg. 126)
He states, "influence of the Cynic tradition on his teaching does not seem to have been pervasive or profound ... most of the alleged parallels with the Cynic tradition are better explained in light of the Jewish sapiential material. Too much of the arguably authentic Jesus tradition falls outside both the characterization healer/magician and ... 'Cynic' for [John Dominic] Crossan's argument to be persuasive, and some of the Cynic tradition positively clashes with the Jesus tradition." (Pg. 141)
He observes, "I have elsewhere expressed my skepticism about the existence of a ... community for which the Q material WAS their Gospel or their only formative source of religious thought." (Pg. 211) He adds, "This is not to deny the existence of sayings collections that primarily focused on Jesus' logia, or that there is a very sizable amount of Wisdom material in Q, or that sometimes here and there [the Gospel of] Thomas may provide a non-canonical saying of Jesus or an earlier form of a canonical saying..." (Pg. 213)
He says, "A person who wants to figure out how the First Evangelist [Mark] or Luke has edited the sayings material should first consider how Matthew and Luke edit Mark... Luke and the First Evangelist are about equally likely to preserve the exact wording of their source... Luke, however, seems to make more of a consistent effort than Matthew to rewrite all his sources using his own style and syntax." (Pg. 214)
Later, he argues, "A careful study of Jesus' words and deeds, in particular his parables and aphorisms, reveals a family resemblance to other early JEWISH literature but only minimal similarity to the Cynic corpus, much of which post-dates Jesus in any case. Jesus should be viewed in the main as a prophetic sage offering primarily counter-order Wisdom." (Pg. 385)
This is a highly interesting (and completely "orthodox") evangelical interpretation of Jesus, and will be of considerable interest to anyone studying the historical Jesus.
January 16, 2015
There are times when I feel the urge to dig into what can easily be labeled as a “nerdy” book and there are some theological subjects that arguably deserve such an in-depth treatment. Exploring the wisdom literature of Scripture as well as the extra-biblical writings that impacted Jewish and early Christian thought is one of those topics deserving of such a deep dive. Ben Witherington, in his book Jesus the Sage: The Pilgrimage of Wisdom, walks the reader through the grand and important history of wisdom literature, how it flows throughout Scripture, and most importantly, why it is necessary for believers to spend time studying this subject matter.
Let me first state this is a very scholarly book. If you are looking for a quick overview of biblical and extra-biblical wisdom literature, you should look elsewhere. Conversely, if you desire to take the time to work through this topic and are looking for a book that digs very deep into the various elements of wisdom literature, then this book is one you will want to explore. Those not familiar with all the various aspects of wisdom literature and thought will, again if they take the time to digest the material Witherington presents, will find upon completing this book they have gained a great deal of important knowledge. Ultimately, this is not a quick read but it is well worth the read.
Witherington notes in the Preface that “This book…is not only about the pilgrimage of Wisdom but also about Jesus the sage as one who contributed to the growth and development of Jewish Wisdom and, for the community of his own followers, charted a course that they would follow in further developing Wisdom ideas and forms.” As such, Witherington efforts to trace for the reader not just wisdom literature itself, but more importantly, how Jesus continued this wisdom tradition.
Reading, understanding, and identifying wisdom literature is a pursuit that demands a great deal of effort. Witherington reminds the reader of that important fact at the outset of this book. With that said, those who again take the time to grasp what wisdom is all about and what it means to be wise, will find their efforts rewarded. In an effort to break down this journey through wisdom literature, Witherington divides this book into two parts with the first part examining this genre from the period of Solomon to the time of Jesus and with part two looking at how wisdom literature was shaped from the time of Jesus to the period of the early church.
For myself, the most interesting chapter was “Wisdom in Person: Jesus the Sage”. Of particular interest was Witherington’s engagement of Jesus’ parables and aphorisms. Jesus used the form of the parable to relay important theological truths to those who listened to his words. As Witherington notes, this approach is indicative of how a sage would have chosen to instruct his followers. He also suggests “It is also quite likely that Jesus was perceived to be some sort of sage by the part of his audience that was conversant with the world of Jewish Wisdom traditions.” Witherington presents some very interesting thoughts on the manner by which Jesus presented his teaching, parables, and speeches, asserting they take the form of Jewish wisdom traditions, thoughts that will certainly require further examination given the sheer volume and specificity of information Witherington provides all throughout this book.
Anyone desiring to further their breadth of understanding of Jewish wisdom literature and how it presents itself throughout Scripture to include the words of Jesus, should give this book a read. As noted earlier, this is a very scholarly book and it will take the reader time and patience to dig into all the information Witherington provides. I know I will be returning to this book in the future to examine various individual elements discussed throughout as I continue my own studies on wisdom literature.
I received this book for free from Fortress Press for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Let me first state this is a very scholarly book. If you are looking for a quick overview of biblical and extra-biblical wisdom literature, you should look elsewhere. Conversely, if you desire to take the time to work through this topic and are looking for a book that digs very deep into the various elements of wisdom literature, then this book is one you will want to explore. Those not familiar with all the various aspects of wisdom literature and thought will, again if they take the time to digest the material Witherington presents, will find upon completing this book they have gained a great deal of important knowledge. Ultimately, this is not a quick read but it is well worth the read.
Witherington notes in the Preface that “This book…is not only about the pilgrimage of Wisdom but also about Jesus the sage as one who contributed to the growth and development of Jewish Wisdom and, for the community of his own followers, charted a course that they would follow in further developing Wisdom ideas and forms.” As such, Witherington efforts to trace for the reader not just wisdom literature itself, but more importantly, how Jesus continued this wisdom tradition.
Reading, understanding, and identifying wisdom literature is a pursuit that demands a great deal of effort. Witherington reminds the reader of that important fact at the outset of this book. With that said, those who again take the time to grasp what wisdom is all about and what it means to be wise, will find their efforts rewarded. In an effort to break down this journey through wisdom literature, Witherington divides this book into two parts with the first part examining this genre from the period of Solomon to the time of Jesus and with part two looking at how wisdom literature was shaped from the time of Jesus to the period of the early church.
For myself, the most interesting chapter was “Wisdom in Person: Jesus the Sage”. Of particular interest was Witherington’s engagement of Jesus’ parables and aphorisms. Jesus used the form of the parable to relay important theological truths to those who listened to his words. As Witherington notes, this approach is indicative of how a sage would have chosen to instruct his followers. He also suggests “It is also quite likely that Jesus was perceived to be some sort of sage by the part of his audience that was conversant with the world of Jewish Wisdom traditions.” Witherington presents some very interesting thoughts on the manner by which Jesus presented his teaching, parables, and speeches, asserting they take the form of Jewish wisdom traditions, thoughts that will certainly require further examination given the sheer volume and specificity of information Witherington provides all throughout this book.
Anyone desiring to further their breadth of understanding of Jewish wisdom literature and how it presents itself throughout Scripture to include the words of Jesus, should give this book a read. As noted earlier, this is a very scholarly book and it will take the reader time and patience to dig into all the information Witherington provides. I know I will be returning to this book in the future to examine various individual elements discussed throughout as I continue my own studies on wisdom literature.
I received this book for free from Fortress Press for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
April 29, 2014
Great introduction to the academic study of the Biblical wisdom literature, and a groundbreaking book in the Biblical theology of wisdom in the New Testament. Witherington organizes the book based around books of the Bible or other textual features, such as the material known as Q. He has some fascinating contributions, such as a demonstration of how influential the apocryphal (from a Protestant perspective) books of Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon were on the New Testament. There's also an interesting trend towards particularism, towards the identification of a particular locus of wisdom on earth, such as the wisdom-as-Torah theme found in Sirach (and perhaps Psalm 119?), and the Jesus-as-Wisdom theme found heavily in the New Testament. He argues that Jesus probably presented himself as wisdom, which early disciples picked up, an important explanation for why the earliest Christologies are often the highest. This cuts against the idea that the divinization of Jesus developed gradually over time.
A few caveats. First, This book draws heavily on text-critical and form-critical methodologies. For instance, a whole chapter was focused on the wholely theoretical source Q including the likely wisdom-influenced organization of Q. That seemed too speculative for me. Also, he responds in some places to fairly technical disputes within his field, such as whether Jesus really was a Greek-influenced Cynic teacher and also some attempts to build a female version of God out of the character of woman wisdom. He addresses these in an informed way, but not being familiar with the debates, the book sometimes dragged there.
A few caveats. First, This book draws heavily on text-critical and form-critical methodologies. For instance, a whole chapter was focused on the wholely theoretical source Q including the likely wisdom-influenced organization of Q. That seemed too speculative for me. Also, he responds in some places to fairly technical disputes within his field, such as whether Jesus really was a Greek-influenced Cynic teacher and also some attempts to build a female version of God out of the character of woman wisdom. He addresses these in an informed way, but not being familiar with the debates, the book sometimes dragged there.
May 15, 2015
Not only is Jesus eschatological; not only is Jesus prophetic; Jesus is also sapiential! Further review to follow.
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