In Jesus in Jerusalem: The Last Days, Eckhard J. Schnabel provides a comprehensive overview of the people, places, chronological markers, and events that are of significance to Jesus’ earliest followers from the week before his death until his ascension (1). Schnabel describes the aim of his book as “seeking to understand Jesus’ actions and words during his last week in Jerusalem” (2–3). He aims to “help believers grasp in fresh ways what it means to be a follower of Jesus, who was crucified in Jerusalem in AD 30 and whom God raised from the dead on the third day” (9). Schnabel seeks to distinguish his study from previous works by avoiding the methodological skepticism that animated prior reconstructions of the historical Jesus (3). Schnabel writes, “scholars whose methodological skepticism allows only naturalistic explanations and who refuse to seriously consider supernatural explanations cannot claim to have neutrally investigated all available evidence and weighed all possible explanations” (374). Schnabel rejects the approach of Rudolf Bultmann and others who conclude that we can know essentially nothing about the historical Jesus and criticizes narrative approaches to the Gospels (and younger New Testament scholars) for deliberately disregarding historical questions (3–4, 8). The author views the canonical Gospels as ancient biographies presenting eyewitness testimony that should be used as the primary basis in reconstructing Jesus’ life (4–5).
The first and longest chapter of the book is dedicated to seventy-two named and unnamed people or groups mentioned in the last week of Jesus’ life. In each subsection, Schnabel concisely explores what can be known about each person or group, revealing many fascinating details and theories. A few clarifying examples: first, following Richard Bauckham, Schnabel suggests that Mary and Cleopas are Jesus’ aunt and uncle (34); second, he identifies Nicodemus as the uncle of the wealthy Jewish aristocrat Naqdimon ben Gurion and brother of the famous Gurion (35–37); third, he notes that Herod Antipas and his wife Herodias were banished to Gaul because Herodias requested that Caligula grant Herod the status of “king” (90).
The second chapter explores seventeen places. Schnabel investigates smaller scale areas at the town and city level, such as Jerusalem, Bethany, Bethphage, and Emmaus, as well as larger scale locations, such as the residences of Annas, Caiaphas, and Herod Antipas, the Sanhedrin building, the praetorium, and Jesus’ tomb. The book takes a generally optimistic approach to the archaeological evidence under consideration. However, it would be unfair to say that Schnabel always agrees with the traditional location of each site. For instance, Schnabel states that we cannot establish Caiaphas’ residence based on the current archaeological evidence with any certainty (125). On the location of Jesus’ tomb, citing Dan Bahat, Schnabel concludes that it is not possible to be certain, but there are no better options that should lead us to reject the authenticity of the traditional location (135). This is illustrative of Schnabel’s conclusions for many of the locations he explores.
The third chapter covers ten timelines, and the fourth chapter explores twenty-four events from Jesus’ final days. Schnabel identifies three events that prompted the Jerusalem leadership to arrest and execute Jesus: Jesus raising Lazarus, the anointing of Jesus by Mary in Bethany, and Jesus’ prophetic action in the temple (164–165). The best description of the approach employed in chapters 3 and 4 is a phrase Schnabel uses to describe the works of John Wenham and Murray Harris, “responsible harmonization” (354). Schnabel suggests possible timelines for the events described in the four Gospels, but he is clear throughout that with many of these reconstructions, it is not possible to be certain. For example, when establishing the geographic movements of Jesus’ followers on Easter morning, Schnabel provides three different scenarios (357–359). He describes one as “a reconstruction of what might have happened based on the four accounts of the Gospels, which are taken seriously as based on eyewitness testimony, not a statement of fact of what must have happened,” and the same applies to the other two possible scenarios (354).
The fifth chapter looks at the significance of the events which occurred during Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem, with Schnabel exploring five main themes: Jesus as messiah, Jesus and the temple, Jesus’ death, Jesus’ resurrection, and Jesus’ mission and the mission of his followers. Given the exhaustive nature of the preceding chapters, this final chapter feels particularly brief. Schnabel acknowledges this, and says that to do justice to the themes and topics explored in the final chapter, he would have to offer an entire New Testament theology.
The book is formatted in an effective manner. It includes thirteen excurses, twenty-one tables to help arrange timelines and geographic movements, and eleven figures (pictures and illustrations) that help readers follow Schnabel’s reconstruction. The figures and tables are informative and orient the reader spatially. Schnabel admits that his choice to use endnotes may frustrate some readers, but it does allow for a quicker and more accessible read (9).
Jesus in Jerusalem represents what is perhaps best described as “an informed conservative point of view”—a phrase Schnabel uses to describe the works of Gary R. Habermas and William L. Craig, among others (573). Some readers will disagree with Schnabel on presuppositional grounds or reject his use of harmonization; nevertheless, the book represents a balanced and comprehensive study of the Gospels that advances many detailed and compelling reconstructions of Jesus’ final days in Jerusalem. Schnabel adeptly interacts with primary and secondary literature related to the Gospels, as well as archaeological, rabbinic, and early Christian literature. This encyclopedic investigation will benefit students, pastors, and church leaders alike. In Jesus in Jerusalem, any readers seeking to acquaint themselves with the debates surrounding the last days of Jesus will find an adroit and gifted guide.
David Z. Blackwell is a PhD candidate in New Testament and Christian origins at the University of Edinburgh.
David Blackwell
Date Of Review:
May 19, 2022