Teaching the Historical Jesus: Can We Drop the Quests Already?

Abstract This article offers a critical reflection on the teaching of the historical Jesus in undergraduate theological education, with particular attention to the continued pedagogical use of the so-called “Quests for the Historical Jesus.” Writing from a Nordic theological context, the author reflects on developing and teaching a bachelor-level New Testament course within a Lutheran educational framework shaped by historical-critical methods and increasing methodological plurality. The article examines how introductory textbooks commonly present historical Jesus research through the narrative of the Three Quests. The author questions whether this historiographical framework remains pedagogically useful, arguing that it risks marginalizing ongoing scholarship, obscuring methodological diversity, and reproducing gendered and Eurocentric patterns within the field. By comparing alternative textbook approaches that foreground sources, methods, and interpretive questions, the article proposes pedagogical strategies that situate the quests as a contested construct rather than a neutral organizing narrative.