The Sage from Galilee: Rediscovering Jesus' Genius.

• Author: Witherington, Ben, III
• Position: Book review

The Sage from Galilee: Rediscovering Jesus' Genius. By DAVID FLUSSER and R. STEVEN NOTLEY Grand Rapids: WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING COMPANY, 2007. Pp xix + 191. illus. $20 (paper).

When in 1968 David Flusser first published a book in German on the historical Jesus, it is fair to say that he could not have imagined where this effort would lead. One of the first Jewish scholars in the modern era to attempt such a book, he surely did not expect that he would eventually receive such a warm response from a variety of audiences, including even conservative Christians.

However, when the book appeared in English in 1969. in a translation marred by various infelicities and errors, it was largely overlooked or ignored. What we have in The Sage from Galilee: Rediscovering Jesus' Genius is not merely a better rendering of the original work, but rather a thorough revision and improvement, reflecting the development and culmination of Flusser's thinking on the subject up until his death in 2000. This is why Eerdmans rightly decided to publish the book under a new title. Readers familiar with the original German edition of the work will recognize that R. Steven Notley has done a great service in incorporating seamlessly some of Flusser's supplemental material into the existing twelve chapters.

If we ask what David Flusser brought to the study of the historical Jesus that others could not and did not. the answer is manifold. First, the breadth and depth of his knowledge of early Judaism and its sources were vast. He was that rare scholar who had a profound grasp of the requisite languages. culture, physical setting, and archaeology, as well as the literary sources. Second, he had a keen interest in Jesus and in understanding him as a crucial historical figure. Third and most importantly--as Notley so aptly puts it: "Flusser felt no need to deny Jesus his high self-awareness. In his understanding, the historical Jesus was both identified with his people and the cornerstone of the faith of the early Christian community" (p. xi). Flusser also had the rare gift of allowing a person his distinctiveness, not attempting to explain it away, while still being able to show how what had come before him had in various ways prepared for and influenced a figure like Jesus. For example, Flusser highlights and stresses the love ethic of Jesus, in particular its command to love one's enemies, without suggesting that Jesus had any desire to start a new world religion. For...