Brant Pitre. Jesus and Divine Christology

Jesus and Divine Christology is a study of the historical Jesus. Brant Pitre challenges the prevailing notion that the historical Jesus did not see himself as divine, a view often attributed to the later Nicene Council. Through an exegetical analysis of Gospel narratives within their literary context, Pitre argues that divine Christology can be traced back to the words and deeds of the historical Jesus, not only in John but also in the Synoptics.In chapter 1, Pitre surveys scholarly opinions that argue the historical Jesus did not view himself as divine, challenging this notion by contending that Jesus, within a first-century Jewish context, used riddles, questions, and allusions to Jewish Scripture to reveal his divine identity as the heavenly Son of Man, the divine Messiah, the Son of God, and, at times, even as coequal with the one God of early Jewish monotheism (pp. 12, 327–28). Criticizing the methodologies of other scholars for assessing the authenticity of Jesus’s words and deeds, Pitre proposes adopting E. P. Sanders’s triple-context approach to establish historical authenticity. This approach employs three criteria: contextual plausibility within first-century Judaism (e.g., Josephus’s reference to a sudden windstorm in the Golan Heights [J.W. 4.75–77] supports the historical plausibility of the calming of the storm miracle); coherence with other evidence about Jesus (e.g., the association of Jesus’s exhortation, “don’t be afraid” with many of his miracles [e.g., Luke 5:10] supports the historical plausibility of the walking on water miracle); and consequences in the early church (e.g., recognizing James, Peter, and John as “pillars” in the early church [Gal 2:9] supports the historical plausibility of the Transfiguration narrative). Pitre applies these criteria consistently throughout his study to every text he examined to prove its historicity.In chapter 2, Pitre seeks to “demolish the modern scholarly myth . . . that Jesus is not depicted as divine in the Synoptic Gospels, but only in the Gospel of John” (p. 40) by examining the “epiphany miracles” of Jesus (stilling the storm, walking on the sea, and the Transfiguration). While acknowledging that prophets in Jewish tradition also performed miracles, Pitre argues that these particular events surpass any human power, depicting Jesus as equal to God. For each epiphany miracle, Pitre offers an exegetical analysis that highlights its Old Testament allusions and background, systematically refutes scholarly arguments against its historicity, and applies the triple-context approach to confirm its credibility.In chapter 3, Pitre argues that Jesus used riddle-like parables to both reveal and conceal the mystery of his divinity. He contends that Jesus’s demand for loyalty above even familial ties (Matt 10:37 par.) is a claim to equality with God, as it parallels the Old Testament’s call for total devotion to God alone. Similarly, Jesus’s command to the rich young man to follow him (Mark 10:17–22 par.) demonstrates that eternal life depends not only on obedience to God’s commandments but also on allegiance to Jesus. Finally, Pitre argues that Jesus’s riddle about the Messiah being both David’s son and David’s Lord reveals that Jesus saw himself as the divine Messiah seated at God’s right hand as his equal. For each of these cases, Pitre refutes scholarly arguments against the historicity of these sayings before applying the triple-context approach to affirm their authenticity.In chapter 4, Pitre explores the “heavenly dimension” of Jesus’s apocalyptic worldview, focusing on three key texts: (1) the healing of the paralytic (Mark 2:1–12 par.), (2) John the Baptist’s question about Jesus being “the one who is to come” (Matt 11:2–6 par.), and (3) the Johannine thunderbolt (Matt 11:25–27 par.). Pitre contends that the healing of the paralytic narrative presents Jesus as both a human being and the heavenly Son of Man from the apocalyptic vision of Daniel. In Jesus’s response to John the Baptist, Pitre argues, Jesus merges the roles of the human Messiah and the coming of God into a single event. Similarly, the Johannine thunderbolt reveals Jesus’s hidden divine sonship and God’s concealed divine fatherhood. As in previous chapters, Pitre rebuts objections to the historicity of these texts and applies the triple-context approach to establish their authenticity.In chapter 5, Pitre examines instances where Jesus is accused of blasphemy: John 8:58–59, 10:30–33, and the Sanhedrin trial (Matt 26:63–66 par.). He argues that in the Johannine episodes, Jesus is accused of blasphemy for claiming equality with God. During the Sanhedrin trial, Jesus is charged with blasphemy for claiming to be the divine figure depicted in Ps 110:1–3 and Dan 7:13–14, who would one day receive the worship due to God alone. After refuting arguments against their historicity, Pitre applies his triple-context approach to confirm the historicity of these claims.In chapter 6, Pitre discusses three key implications of his study. First, his study demonstrates that early divine Christology originated with the historical Jesus’s claims to be the divine Messiah and Son of God. Second, because of Jesus’s claims of divinity, the split between Christianity and Judaism occurred just a few years after the resurrection, much earlier than other scholars have suggested. Finally, Pitre explains that the time gap between Jesus’s claims and the Nicene Creed reflects the early church’s efforts to reconcile Jesus’s divine identity with the strict monotheism of Jewish tradition.The strength of Pitre’s argument lies in his disciplined and consistent use of the triple-context approach. He effectively demonstrates the coherence of the Gospel narratives within both Jewish and Christian traditions. Pitre convincingly argues that objections to the historicity of many Gospel narratives often arise from philosophical biases rather than a rigorous consideration of their historical and textual contexts. Furthermore, he makes a compelling case for Jesus’s equality with God specifically in the examples of his demand for fidelity to himself which belongs only to God (Matt 10:37 par.), his assertion that obeying him is required to inherit eternal life, just as obeying God’s commandments (Mark 10:17–22 par.), and his response to accusations of blasphemy in the Johannine texts.However, Pitre’s arguments are weakened by certain methodological and terminological inconsistencies. Anchoring his case in Jesus’s use of riddles, questions, and allusions introduces an element of subjectivity that may not persuade skeptical readers. For instance, his claim that the epiphany miracles equate Jesus with God is unconvincing to a skeptical reader. Particularly in the Transfiguration narrative, he stretches the text beyond its exegetical limits. Similarly, his argument that the Sanhedrin trial depicts Jesus as God’s equal is unconvincing, as sitting at God’s right hand traditionally denotes honor rather than equality (e.g., 1 Kgs 2:19).Pitre’s inconsistent use of the terms “divine” and “God” further complicates his argument. While he acknowledges that “divine” does not necessarily mean “equal to God” and can instead signify “god-like” or “superhuman” (p. 4 n. 10), he frequently uses these terms interchangeably. This lack of precision makes it difficult to determine, when examining the Gospel narratives, whether he is arguing that Jesus is divine in the sense of being “god-like” or in the sense of being equal to God. For instance, Pitre claims that the narrative of forgiving the paralytic portrays Jesus as the divine Danielic Son of Man, yet he simultaneously asserts that forgiving sins is a prerogative belonging solely to God. This terminological ambiguity undermines the strength of his conclusions.In conclusion, Pitre should be commended for challenging scholarly skepticism about Jesus’s divine self-awareness and for situating his arguments within Jewish and Christian literary contexts. However, the subjectivity of his approach and the imprecision of his terminology limit the persuasiveness of his argument, particularly for skeptical readers.