JESUS REMEMBERED—CHRISTIANITY IN THE MAKING VOL. 1

Written by James D.G. Dunn Reviewed By Jeremy Duff

Jesus Remembered provides a balanced, thoughtful, presentation of Jesus research, and makes a significant new contribution in several areas. It is the first of a three volume series, ‘Christianity in the Making’ which aims ‘to give an integrated description and analysis, both historical and theological, both social and literary, of the first 120 or so years of Christianity’ (6). This first volume focuses on Jesus, the second will stretch to around 70AD, while the third will consider ‘the second and third generations of Christianity’.

Jesus Remembered is split into five parts. First, a history of scholarship structured around the concepts of a ‘flight from dogma’ and a ‘flight from history’, both of which Dunn opposes. Part two considers sources, tradition and historical context. Then comes ‘the mission of Jesus’, focusing on the kingdom and discipleship. Part four looks at Christology—both how Jesus was perceived and his own self-understanding. Finally comes ‘the climax of Jesus’ mission’ considering both Jesus’ death and resurrection.

This is a huge undertaking: throughout Dunn analyses the texts, and interacts with scholarship, in a stimulating but balanced way, making this book an ideal core text in historical Jesus studies. The book’s main significance probably lies in three particular areas in which Dunn breaks new ground, all of which, interestingly, concern method.

Chapter 6 lays out Dunn’s basic approach to investigating Jesus, and explains the title ‘Jesus Remembered’. He argues that we should not think of the synoptic tradition as providing evidence of what Jesus said or did, but rather of what he was remembered as saying or doing—evidence of Jesus’ impact. This may seem pedantic but it is significant, undermining the claim that any theology or ascription of meaning in the tradition is post-Easter. For, as Dunn explains, Jesus was having his impact on his disciples pre-Easter. They were finding meaning in the events as they happened. The tradition started then. ‘Dogma’ and meaning are not necessarily additions to the tradition made by the later church. For example, about miracles Dunn writes: ‘what the witnesses saw was a miracle, not an “ordinary” event which they interpreted subsequently as a miracle’ (673).

In chapter 8, drawing on the work of Kenneth Bailey, Dunn demonstrates how the Jesus tradition would have been ‘an informally controlled tradition’, which means that the key features of the story or teaching are remembered precisely, but the other details can change. Dunn accepts that there was a literary relationship between Mark, Matthew and Luke. However he does argue that often the relationship between synoptic parallels can best be explained as the result of the writers having different oral sources, between which there is fluctuation in the details, but not the key point. Thus, for example, Matthew 15:1–20 is not an edited version of Mark 7:1–23, but draws on a different strand of oral tradition.

Alongside this Dunn argues that the tradition is fundamentally conservative, in that anything claimed as being from Jesus would have been tested by what was already known about Jesus before being accepted into the tradition. Thus minor developments or repackaging could occur, but core distinctive features of the tradition cannot have been added later, because they would not have cohered with what was there already. Thus Dunn’s method focuses on ‘the characteristic Jesus’. Aspects of Jesus which are widespread in the tradition (both in terms of the number of sources, and across the different types of material) are accepted as authentic. More unusual elements of the tradition are left on one side, not as inauthentic, but as impossible to authenticate.

The resulting picture of Jesus is convincing and thought-provoking. Evangelicals might wish to argue more strongly for the importance and authenticity of certain pieces of tradition. However, Dunn is cautious rather than negative: modest in his claims; admitting when he thinks demonstrability fades into possibility. It is Dunn’s methodology, though, which is most important, and here he does much to clarify and establish principles which many evangelicals may have instinctively believed, but have found difficult to demonstrate. As such it is a particularly useful book for evangelicals engaging in historical Jesus studies who feel uneasy with many of the underlying assumptions and methods commonly used.


Jeremy Duff

Liverpool Diocese