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Historical Jesus Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Volume 2.2 June 2004 CONTENTS Editorial Foreword 115-116 MICHAEL F. BIRD The Case of the Proselytizing Pharisees?—Matthew 23.15 117-137 JAMES G. CROSSLEY The Semitic Background to Repentance in the Teaching of John the Baptist and Jesus 138-157 DONALD CAPPS Jesus as Power Tactician 158-189 ALAN F. SEGAL ‘How I Stopped Worrying about Mel Gibson and Learned to Love the Quest for the Historical Jesus’: A Review of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ 190-208 RIKK WATTS ‘Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall…’: A Review of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ 209-218 ALAN F. SEGAL Being Dispassionate about The Passion of the Christ: A Response to Rikk Watts’s Review 219-223 RIKK WATTS A Matter of Horizons, The Passion Through the Looking Glass: A Response to Alan F. Segal’s Review 224-229 Book List 230-231 Notes for Contributors 232 [JSHJ 2.2 (2004) 115-116] ISSN 1476-8690 EDITORIAL FOREWORD Invitation to Contribute Articles With this issue the first two volumes of JSHJ have been completed. The response has, frankly, been overwhelming. The first volume sold out, was reprinted, and it has also sold out. Clearly the journal addresses an interest and meets a need. On behalf of the editorial board and the publisher, who have believed in this project from the beginning, I wish to thank you, our readers and subscribers. We need, however, an increase in high-quality contributions to continue developing the journal and to maintain the level of academic excellence shown in these first two volumes. And so I wish to encourage those with the expertise to contribute an article for consideration. While a majority of the articles will continue the focus on traditional historical Jesus studies, the vision for the jour- nal is broader than this. I would encourage readers to consult my inaugural article, ‘On Finding a Home for Historical Jesus Discussion: An Invitation to the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus’, JSHJ 1.1 (2003), pp. 3-5, for a description of the variety of themes that the journal encourages (this article may also be downloaded from the journal’s website: www.continuumjournals.com/jshj). One clarification should perhaps be made. Many of the articles published thus far have argued that a particular pericope or tradition is probably historical and then proceeded to show the implications this has for understanding the figure of Jesus. While such articles are the bread and butter of this journal’s focus, it would be equally valid to have articles that argue that a particular peri- cope or tradition commonly used in historical reconstructions of Jesus has a provenance other than the historical Jesus, and thus should not be used in histori- cal reconstructions of Jesus. This type of argument also makes a contribution to this discipline, and such articles would be equally considered for publication. Please consult the ‘Guidelines for Contributors’ on the last page of this issue for further instructions. © The Continuum Publishing Group Ltd 2004, The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX and 315 East 26th Street, Suite 1703, New York, NY 10010, USA. 116 Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Introduction to this Issue This issue contains a most interesting mix of articles and is evidence of the breadth and depth that this journal’s focus can provide. The first article is from Michael F. Bird, a PhD candidate in New Testament at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. His article explores the most appropriate context for understanding Jesus’ woe in Matthew 23.15, which describes the Pharisees as those who ‘…cross sea and land to make a single convert…’ While this text is frequently used as evidence for Jewish proselytiz- ing activity amongst Gentiles, this article argues against this interpretation and comes to quite a different conclusion. The second article, by James G. Crossley, of the Department of Theology at the University of Nottingham, considers the term ‘repentance’ in the teaching of John the Baptist and Jesus. A careful consideration of the term’s Semitic context contributes to a better understanding of this important term. The third article is by Donald Capps, the William Harte Felmeth Professor of Pastoral Psychology at Princeton Theological Seminary. This article encourages us to ‘think outside the box’. By someone beyond the traditional guild of histori- cal Jesus scholars, it invites us to reconsider the traditional rejection of psycho- logical studies with respect to Jesus as it explores the role of ‘power tactician’. One of the areas of interest for JSHJ is the interpretation of Jesus in art. The final four essays consider Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ. Alan F. Segal of Barnard College, Columbia University and Rikk Watts of Regent College, Vancouver, two scholars with different backgrounds and very different interpretations of the movie, were invited to review the movie and then respond to each other’s review. Their engagement with the movie and interaction with each other should enhance our own understanding and response to it. Robert L. Webb Executive Editor, JSHJ © The Continuum Publishing Group Ltd 2004. [JSHJ 2.2 (2004) 117-137] ISSN 1476-8690 THE CASE OF THE PROSELYTIZING PHARISEES?—MATTHEW 23.15 Michael F. Bird University of Queensland Brisbane, QLD, Australia ABSTRACT This essay examines Matthew 23.15 in the context of the debate concerning pre- Christian Jewish proselytizing activity amongst Gentiles. The study assesses the historical authenticity of the logion and examines the various positions for under- standing its meaning. It then attempts to argue that Matthew 23.15 is an authentic saying of Jesus aimed at censuring a Pharisaic group for endeavouring to recruit Gentile adherents (God-fearers) to the cause of Jewish resistance against Rome. It concludes that the logion does not constitute evidence for the existence of a Jewish proselytizing mission. Key Words: proselyte, proselytizing, Matthew 23.15, Pharisees In recent times there has been a shift in the way that Jewish missionary activity in Second-Temple Judaism has been viewed.1 Around the turn of the twentieth century, it was common to argue that Judaism was indeed a missionary religion, and this view found notable expression in the works of Adolf von Harnack and Emil Schürer.2 The position was reinforced by several Jewish scholars including G.F. Moore, B.J. Bamberger, W.G. Braude and S. Sandmel.3 This perspective 1. For a brief survey of the debate, see Rainer Riesner, ‘A Pre-Christian Jewish Mission’, in Jostein Ådna and H. Kvalbein (eds.), The Mission of the Early Church to Jews and Gentiles (Tübingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 2000), pp. 211-50 (211-20). 2. Adolf von Harnack, The Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries (trans. James Moffatt; 2 vols.; London: Williams & Norgate; New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904– 1905), I, pp. 1-18; Emil Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (ed. and rev. G. Vermes, F. Millar and M. Black; 3 vols.; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1973–87 [1886]), III.1, pp. 150-76. 3. G.F. Moore, Judaism in the First Centuries of the Christian Era: The Age of the Tannaim (3 vols.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1927–30); B.J. Bamberger, Proselytism in the Talmudic Period (Cincinatti: Hebrew Union College; New York: Ktav, 2nd © The Continuum Publishing Group Ltd 2004, The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX and 315 East 26th Street, Suite 1703, New York, NY 10010, USA. 118 Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus was virtually canonized with Karl Kuhn’s article in TDNT and A.D. Nock’s early work on conversion,4 and despite occasional dissenters,5 it remained basically unchallenged so that Jeremias could state, ‘Jesus thus came on the scene in the midst of what was par excellence the missionary age of Jewish history’.6 However, in the last twenty years this consensus has been contested and is argu- ably in the process of being overturned.7 Consequently there has been an abun- dance of publications on this topic that have endeavoured to either defend8 or edn, 1968); W.G. Braude, Jewish Proselytizing in the First Five Centuries of the Common Era: The Age of the Tannaim and Amoraim (Providence: Brown University Press, 1940); and Samuel Sandmel, The First Christian Century in Judaism and Christianity: Certainties and Uncer- tainties (New York: Oxford University Press, 1969). 4. K. Kuhn, ‘prosh&lutoj’, in TDNT, VI, pp. 727-44; A.D. Nock, Conversion: Old and the New in Religion from Alexander the Great to Augustine of Hippo (Oxford: Oxford Univer- sity Press, 1933), pp. 61-62; cf. Harry J. Leon, The Jews of Ancient Rome (rev. Carolyn A. Osiek; Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995), pp. 250-56. 5. E.g. Johannes Munck, Paul and the Salvation of Mankind (trans. Frank Clarke; London: SCM Press, 1959), pp. 264-71; L. Goppelt, ‘Der Missionar des Gesetzes. Zu Röm. 2,21 f’, in L. Goppelt, Christologie und Ethik. Aufsätze zum Neuen Testament (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1968), pp. 137-47 (138-39 n. 5). 6. Joachim Jeremias, Jesus’ Promise to the Nations (trans. S.H. Hooke; SBT, 24; London: SCM Press, 1958), p. 12; cf. Moore, Judaism in the First Centuries of the Christian Era, I, pp. 324: Judaism was ‘the first great missionary religion of the Mediterranean world’. 7. Cf. Shaye J.D. Cohen, ‘Adolph Harnack’s “The Mission and Expansion of Judaism”: Christianity Succeeds Where Judaism Fails’, in Birger A. Pearson (ed.), The Future of Early Christianity: Essays in Honor of Helmut Koester (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991), pp.
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