The Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Revisionist History through the Lens of Jewish-Christian Relations

This essay challenges the standard paradigm for the intellectual history of 'Jesus Quests' popularized by Albert Schweitzer and mimicked by almost every survey since. I argue that historical reconstruction begins at least with Augustine (perhaps sooner) and with an eye to Jewish-Christian relations. By analyzing key moments in the intellectual history of Jesus studies, I argue that a common thread has been Jewish-Christian relations. This thread suggests that an important (perhaps seminal) impetus for study of the historical Jesus before the Enlightenment and through to the modern period has been largely neglected by the standard 'Jesus Quests' paradigm.