Research on early Christology has often been hamstrung by dogmatic, binary categories (God or not God?). But in his excellent Messianic High Christology, Ruben Bühner demonstrates how many 'high,' superhuman, even divine categories were available within the rich tradition of ancient Jewish messianism. Reading Bühner, we get an idea of how New Testament Christologies might have sounded to people living before the resolutions of Nicaea and Constantinople. An outstanding contribution to the early high Christology debates.
~Matthew Novenson, Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Christian Origins, University of Edinburgh
There is a resistance among scholars of both Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity to acknowledge that some traditions within the complex mix of Jewish Messianism that was present before the time of Jesus included characteristics of a divine messiah. Ruben Bühner not only identifies examples in Second Temple Jewish messianic texts but also demonstrates how some New Testament writers expressed their understanding of Jesus as divine in a manner similar to these already existing strands of Jewish Messianism. The result is an important contribution to the integrative study of Jewish Messianism and early (high) Christology.
~Charles A. Gieschen, Professor of Exegetical Theology, Concordia Theological Seminary
Dr. Bühner presents a hermeneutically reflective, comprehensive, and thorough examination of Early Christian and Ancient Jewish literature. He offers indispensable analyses of the development of important areas of New Testament Christology.
~Michael Tilly, Professor of New Testament and Head of the Institute for Ancient Judaism and the History of Hellenistic Religions, University of Tübingen
Ruben Bühner offers a fresh perspective on Christology in the New Testament. By closely comparing early Christian and Jewish beliefs, Bühner makes a strong case for understanding various Christologies in the New Testament as part of Second Temple messianic discourse. Thereby the study will make an important contribution to the discussion of the 'Parting of the Ways' of Judaism and Christianity. This book will be of great interest for students of Early Judaism and the New Testament.
~Cecilia Wassén, Associate Professor, Department of Theology, Uppsala University
…the sustained and intriguing argument that unfolds in this book provides an unexpected and compelling insight into how the earliest Christians thought of Jesus.
~John Moorhead, Journal of Religious History
Bühner’s study is well-researched, insightful, and moves the scholarly conversation forward.
~Kendall A. Davis, Concordia Journal
For any desiring to get an overview of various types of 'superhuman' qualities that messiahs in early Jewish literature possess, this book is a mustread. Bühner writes very clearly, and he generally argues his case rather carefully. Unlike more maximalist presentations of messianism, Bühnerallows texts to speak for themselves, while not denying the broader traditions and trends common in many messiah texts.
~Madison N. Pierce, Bulletin for Biblical Research
This volume is an excellent contribution to the ongoing debates about the origin and development of Christology. One of the great strengths of Bühner’s volume is his text-centered approach. While scholars have long disputed how to define 'divinity' among Jews, creating taxonomies of 'divine'and 'human' based on characteristics or attributes, Bühner shows that New Testament Christological texts make claims about Jesus as a superhuman figure.
~Tyler A. Stewart, Stone-Campbell Journal
