Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian Prophet

by Dale C. Allison Jr.

Dale Allison's clearly written Jesus of Nazareth will enable people who have followed recent discussions to vindicate and reclaim the central religious significance of the historical Jesus. Allison makes a creative contribution to Jesus studies in several He offers new suggestions for establishing the authenticity of Jesus' word - including what he calls "the index of intertextual linkage" - and for the process of framing a convincing picture of the central thrust and purpose of the activity of Jesus. Referring to fascinating cross-cultural millenarian parallels, he shows that the impetus for the pre-Easter Jesus movement was apocalyptic in nature and that the historical Jesus can best be understood as an eschatological prophet. He presents the first full-length treatment of the question of Jesus and asceticism and shows that Jesus, far from the image suggested by some today, was driven by an apocalyptic asceticism that extended to matters of sex, food, and social relations. Always evenhanded and fair, Allison's new work is nonetheless penetrating, acute, and provocative.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biblical Studies, Religion, History, Christianity, New Testament

270 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 1991

About the author

Dr. Dale C. Allison Jr., an Errett M. Grable professor of New Testament exegesis and early Christianity, has been on the faculty of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary since 1997. Before then he served on the faculties of Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas) and Friends University (Wichita, Kan.).

His areas of expertise include Second Temple Judaism, and he is the author of books on early Christian eschatology, the Gospel of Matthew, the so-called Sayings Source or Q, and the historical Jesus.

He has also written The Luminous Dusk, a book on religious experience in the modern world, and a full-length commentary on the Testament of Abraham. His most recently published works are The Love There That’s Sleeping: The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison, The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus, and Constructing Jesus: History, Memory, and Imagination. He is currently at work on a full-length commentary on the Epistle of James. He is married to Kristine Allison and they have three children.

Reviews

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eu gostaria que mais literatura acadêmica fosse escrita à maneira de Dale Allison. Claro, todo mundo fica curioso (alguns, temerosos) com o que quer que tenha a ver com o Jesus histórico. Não é só o tema que é instigante, mas a maneira envolvente, às vezes íntima, e profundamente consciente das limitações da pesquisa histórica — pro bem e pro mal — que tornam a prosa de Allison agradável. O veredito, na consagrada tradição de Weiss e Schweitzer, é anunciado logo: Jesus foi um profeta apocalíptico cujas expectativas escatológicas coloriram suas expectativas para o futuro próximo, a ética do reino de Deus, e a configuração de uma comunidade que antecipa a vida restaurada. Ainda pretendo mergulhar no assunto, ler propostas diferentes, ponderar as propostas de um Jesus não-escatológico (ou escatológico de uma maneira diferente); todavia, o retrato de Allison é persuasivo e potente ao dissipar objeções a pinturas diferentes. A impressão geral é a de que se nossas fontes mais próximas de Jesus estiverem corretas (escritos do Novo Testamento e dos sinóticos em especial), então é muito difícil, e improvável, que Jesus de Nazaré não tenha sido um profeta apocalíptico que esperava a vinda iminente do reino de Deus. E se o retrato dessas fontes não estiver correto, a alternativa é o agnosticismo total na pesquisa histórica sobre a vida de Jesus. O quadro é escatológico de ponta a ponta. Talvez ainda seja convencido do contrário, ou que o significado da apocalíptica para as expectativas escatológicas de Jesus devem ser vistos de forma distinta, mas acho que as cartas que Schweitzer pôs na mesa ainda estão na frente do jogo da pesquisa histórica.

[Jake Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read from on the historical Jesus from a fascinating perspective! Allison sums up a lot of dense research in accessible ways and when his own interpretation of the data is given it is a treat to read!

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

WAS JESUS THE LEADER OF A "MILLENARIAN MOVEMENT?

Dale C. Allison (born 1955)[1] is an American New Testament scholar, who teaches at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary; he has also written other books such as 'The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus,' 'Constructing Jesus,' etc.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1998 book, "this book functions as a belated prologue to my earlier contribution, 'The End of the Ages Has Come.' In that volume I sought an explanation for the so-called realized eschatology of the New Testament... the early Christian interpretation of the death and vindication of Jesus in eschatological categories was due in the first place to a post-Easter reinterpretation of Jesus' own eschatological prophecies... It is my hope that the present volume will be more persuasive than its predecessor and encourage other students of Jesus and early Christianity to pay more attention to worldwide millenarian movements and comparative messianism."

He comments on Crossan's book [The Historical Jesus], "What is the justification for sorting sources into four periods? Why not three, or five, or six? And why are the lines drawn where they are? Why not a line at 50 or 70 CE or one at 100 CE? Crossan may have good reasons for his choices, but he does not, so far as I can see, let us know what they are." (Pg. 14) After discussing Crossan's studies of the apocryphal literature, he observes, "Still, it is perhaps surprising that Crossan's scouring of extracanonical sources has not, by his own accounting, added much that is truly new." (Pg. 18)

He summarizes his view, "That Jesus was baptized by an eschatological prophet and had among his followers people who proclaimed a near end, that certain followers of Jesus proclaimed his resurrection soon after the crucifixion, that his passion and vindication were associated with eschatological motifs, that many first-century Jews expected an apocalyptic scenario to unfold in their near future, and that our sources compare Jesus with others who believed in such a scenario or at least expected God soon to rule Palestine---these indisputable facts together tell us that Jesus held hopes close to those attributed to him by Weiss ['Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom of God'] and Schweitzer ['The Mystery of the Kingdom of God']." (Pg. 44)

He adds, "Finally, it is significant that any millenarian movement that survives has to come to terms with disappointed expectations, since the mythic dream or end never comes. The evidence that this happened in early Christianity is substantial. In sum, then, we may fairly conclude that Jesus was the leader of a millenarian movement." (Pg. 64)

He observes, "Most of us have known many moderns who take their eschatology straight, with as little symbolism as possible. It suffices to recall Hal Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth and its onetime popularity. Now do we really have suitable reasons, other than saving our theology, for holding that, when the Jesus tradition speaks about the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven, that this was not meant literally? Why imagine instead that this was just a picturesque way of saying something about Jesus' vindication after death, or prophesying the judgment of Jerusalem in 70 CE?" (Pg. 159)

He notes, "It is true that ascetical practices as well as reservation towards sexual intercourse were part of the Judaism of Jesus' day, it is also true that such practices and such reservation were often intensified in an eschatological context---which is precisely what happened with Jesus. His asceticism was not... an attempt to free the soul from the body in order to gain either transcendent knowledge or salvation... Jesus' asceticism, including his sexual continence, was rather part and parcel of his eschatological expectation." (Pg. 201)

This book [as well as Bart Ehrman's' Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium'] are excellent modern presentations of the case for Jesus as an "eschatological prophet," and it will be of great interest to students of the historical Jesus.

[Joe Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are few authors I enjoy reading more than Dale Allison. Let me be frank-I'm not a scholar and there are many sections that are difficult to read within his works. However, I've never read a scholar who knows his field better than Allison. Almost every point he makes is backed by numerous peer reviewed journals and scholarly books. Even William Lane Craig, who vehemently opposes Allison's conclusions, is impressed with his background and research in the historical Jesus field.

Overall, Allison picks up Schweitzer's old thesis of the Apocalyptic Jesus. He also does a number on Borg's, Crossan's, and Mack's views on the historical Jesus. With Crossan, he easily pokes holes on his sources (e.g. Gospel of Thomas) and attempts to answer the different layers of Q (e.g. Mack). The most natural setting, Allison argues, is to set Jesus within the apocalyptic context. From a historical perspective, which opposes the acceptance of uncritical gleaning of the Gospels, it seems Allison is right. There are times, however, when he almost breaks the point of no-return; in other words, it seems that Jesus is almost lost to us in modern times. Though he does eventually disavow that view, and the term "cynic," he does show us the difficulty of the sources and the biased nature of scholarship. Though I don't always agree with Allison, his book is a must-read for all those seeking to understand the historical Jesus.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had hoped this book would explain the concept of millenarian/apocalyptic prophet. To the degree it did so, it was indirect. Instead, the book contains three sections brought together from elsewhere in order to wade into the scholarly debate on the historical Jesus. The first chapter is primarily a critique of John Dominic Crossan's work. It does touch on some millenarian movements which I was unfamiliar with. I had to look up elsewhere what it meant to say that a person was a millenarian or apocalyptic prophet. The second chapter looks more at Jesus' eschatological views and again contrasts Allison's take with other scholars. The third and final chapter examined the degree to which Jesus may have been ascetic in contrast to some scholar's view that he was anything but ascetic.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent contribution with unique results. Sometimes dismissive of contrasting points of view; sometimes uncritically confident in his own claims.

[Quincy Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

good explanation of Jesus as millenarian and ascetic, explained fairly and logically. the epilogue is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing in all of Jesus scholarship

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book Allison gives a rigorous defence of the position that Jesus was a prophet with an "apocalyptic" message, who expected the final overturn of evil within his own generation. The book is often technical and assumes familiarity with current debates on the reconstruction of the historical Jesus. Allison's case is strongest and argued most thoroughly when he takes on the competing reconstructions of John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, and Stephen Patterson. He also disagrees sharply with scholars such as N. T. Wright who try to take some apocalyptic sayings of Jesus symbolically, though does not engage Wright's reconstruction as extensively as one could. In the final chapter Allison argues that Jesus was an ascetic with regard to certain things, particularly sexuality and worldly possessions, and that this was connected to Jesus' expectations of the imminent end of the age.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a powerful and succinct defense of the notion that during his time Jesus was an eschatological prophet, first and foremost. Allison takes on the best alternatives and their supporters head on (such as the notion of Jesus being an aphoristic sage via Crossan). He illustrates how difficult it is to try to reconstruct what Jesus himself might have taught given the fact that the only texts we have reporting his sayings have gone through the hands of living communities with histories and agendas. Having a basic notion of what New Testament scholarship consists of and some of its basic concepts is probably necessary to fully appreciate the book.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this work Allison engages with three topics on the historical Jesus: his method, Jesus as an eschatological prophet, and Jesus as an ascetic. Contrary to authors like Borg and Wright who acquiesce at the future eschatological Kingdom of God, Allison makes a strong case, in the vein of Schweitzer, for Jesus as an eschatological prophet (who got it wrong). I think a good case can be made as a middle ground between these views as the Kingdom of God know-and-not-yet as Meier and Dunn seem to envisage at least implicitly. Allison certainly engages the Jesus Seminar and finds them wanting. A good helpful read.

[Shane Wagoner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Demolishes the fallacious arguments of John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, Stephen Patterson, and N.T. Wright in order to reclaim the apocalyptic worldview of Jesus for a new generation. The definitive defense of the apocalyptic Jesus.