Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

THE QUESTION OF JESUS SELF-UNDERSTANDING §16.2
So here we have to ask whether it could have been Jesus himself who expressed
himself so exultantly, perhaps only once, in terms which went beyond
those used by the righteous man in Wisdom or the Teacher of Righteousness at
Qumran. 65 In other words, do we at this point hear with and through Jesus' first
disciples another example of the eschatological plus (§16.1) — a boasting in the
plenitude of authority bestowed on him, an exultation at the closeness of his relation
with God as Father, and a sense that the climax of eschatological revelation
depended on his imparting it to others? All these elements link into implicit
claims already documented. The question, then, would be whether it was Jesus
himself, who on one occasion at least, crystallized them in the form preserved
here. Or should the saying proper be attributed rather to those responsible for the
early formation of the Jesus tradition, aware as we may suppose them to have been
of such implicit eschatological claims and concerned to formulate them more explicitly
and memorably for teaching and liturgical purposes? 66 1 can see nothing in
the text which points decisively in favour of one alternative rather than the other.
(2) The parable of the wicked tenants (Mark 12.1-9 pars.):
Matt. 21.33-41
33 'Listen to another
parable. There was a
landowner who planted
a vineyard, put a fence
around it, dug a wine
press in it, and built a
watchtower. Then he
leased it to tenants and
went to another
country. 34 When the
harvest time had come,
he sent his slaves to the
tenants to collect his
produce.
35 But the tenants
seized his slaves and
Mark 12.1-9
1 Then he began to
speak to them in
parables.
'A man planted
a vineyard, put up a
fence, dug a wine
trough, and built a
watchtower; then he
leased it to tenants and
went to another
country. 2 At the
appropriate time,
he sent a slave to the
tenants to collect from
them his share of the
produce of the
vineyard. 3 But they
seized him, and
Luke 20.9-16
9 He began to tell the
people this
parable:
'A man planted
a vineyard.
and leased
it to tenants, and went
to another country for a
long time. 10 When
the season came, he
sent a slave to the
tenants in order that
they might give him his
share of the produce of
the vineyard; but the
tenants
GTh 65
He
said: A good man had
a vineyard.
He gave
it to tenants that they
might cultivate it and
he might receive its
produce from them.
He sent his servant so
that the tenants might
give him the produce of
the vinevard. They
seized his servant (and)
65. See above, n. 29. Particularly worthy of note is 1QH 12[4].27: 'through me you have
enlightened the face of the many'.
66. Cf. Fuller: 'Matt. 11:27 is not a "christological contraction", but an explicit expression
of the implicit Christology of Jesus' own use of Abba' (Foundations 133 n. 20), in critique
of Hahn, Hoheitstitel 327 (Titles 312); Fitzmyer: 'Although I am inclined to regard the substance
of these sayings (Luke 10.21-22) as authentic, that substance should more likely be traced to an
implicit Christology expressed in Jesus' words and deeds in his earthly ministry' (Luke 2.870).
Davies and Allison, however, 'fail to detect any truly telling signs of an origin with Jesus', but go
onto argue for the influence of Exod. 33.12-13, with the implication that the Moses-like prophet
(Deut. 18.15) would have the same exceptional face-to-face knowledge of God (Deut. 34.10)
(Matthew 2.283-86). For earlier discussion see my Jesus and the Spirit 27-34.
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