Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

CHAPTER 15
Who Did They Think Jesus Was?
There is an undeniably controversial, even outrageous element in much of Jesus'
mission, both his teaching and his conduct. We have been able to indicate something
of the character of that element and to catch echoes of its offensiveness at
several points in the last two chapters. In such a case it is impossible to concentrate
exclusively on the teaching and the conduct itself and not to ask also about
the man who so taught and who so lived.
15.1. Who Was Jesus?
Such a simple question. And yet with more potential to mislead a quester than
any other. For one thing, the question plays on the assumption which has
bedevilled so much talk of 'the historical Jesus' — that there is an entity 'back
there' who is somehow independent of his disciples' response to him, but who is
nevertheless recoverable by historical inquiry. 1 For another, the question quickly
becomes entangled in definitions of identity, in confusion between being and doing,
role and relationship. Is a person what he does, what he thinks and feels and
hopes, or what he achieves? She is a daughter to one, sister to another, colleague
to another, wife to another, mother to yet another. Which role defines her most
accurately? Is she simply the sum of the roles she fills, of the relationships of
which she is part? 2 I mention such issues only to underline the fact that simple
questions may not be able to produce simple answers. Rather, by oversimplifying,
simple questions can prevent rather than facilitate any quest for truth.
1. See above, §6.5.
2. I allude, of course, to the long-running debate regarding personhood and identity in
the social sciences.
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