The Significance for Christology of the Quest of the Historical Jesus

1. Introduction
2. The Three Quests for the Historical Jesus

3. The Significance for Christology of the Quest of the Historical Jesus
After unpacking the ‘key points’ from each quest above, the question should be posed now; what is the significance for Christology of the Quest of the Historical Jesus? A well known bible scholar N.T. Wright discloses the answer, “…the historical quest for Jesus is a necessary and nonnegotiable aspect of Christian disciples and that we in our generation have a chance to be renewed in discipleship and mission precisely by means of this quest”.[16] He, then, emphasizes that ‘we shall only discover who the true and living God actually is if we take the risk of looking at Jesus himself. The contemporary debates about Jesus, therefore, are so important because they are also debates about God himself. For us now who live in the twenty first century it is very important to remind ourselves that Jesus Christ in whom we believe had his identity questioned and debated. The proclamation about Jesus we have today is the result of the interpretation that has been made on the same person that is Jesus of history.

It seems that views and studies have for the most part been mistaken but questions, investigations; discussions about the historical Jesus were necessary and valid. Reimarus in his work says that these questionings were necessary “to shake European Christianity out of its dogmatism so that it might face the new challenge of discovering who Jesus actually was and is, and who God actually was and is”. No matter how limited this type of quest would be, it would make an impact on other scholars in their study. The understanding of the Jesus in history and the Christ proclaimed in the gospels and the Church is enhanced. Our faith in the Christ of faith would not be whole if we leave out the human image of the man who lived in history. It takes one to know one. The knowledge of the human Jesus is grace for the human who professes the Christ of faith. This affirms that faith must stay focused on the identity of the Jesus who died for our sake and was raised up by God, with the earthly Jesus who walked the regions of Galilee.

The quest of Jesus has enriched our Christian identity. It has created a new vision, not just of Jesus but of God. Wright, therefore, says that ‘do not be afraid of the Quest. Quests have also acknowledged the continuity between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith of today, which has taken into account the Jewishness of Jesus and traditions that have shaped his own identity and imagination. And most of all it has given light on how the New Testament traditions of which our faith today is built, have developed. Thomas P. Rausch is so right, I think, in his short conclusion of the chapter entitled “The Three Quests for the Historical Jesus” when he says that “for solidly grounded Christology, the historical Jesus is crucial. “Without it”, he adds, “Christian faith and its Christology remain open to the accusation of divinizing Jesus and falsifying his message from time to time”.[17]

4. Conclusion
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