Page 100 - A Dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy

In his teaching ministry, Jesus employed many communicative skills. His utilization of

proverbs, parables, paradox, metaphor, and so on, testifies to his similarity to the teaching of

sages. 123 Ben Witherington agrees when he notes that “Jesus’ main chosen way of public

communication appears to have involved the art of persuasion by figurative or indirect speech,

and thus it seems that he intended to be seen, at least in part, as some kind of sage.” 124 Jesus did

not use the typical prophetic formula, “thus says the Lord;” but instead he used “therefore also

the Wisdom of God said.” 125

Robert Stein concludes that the title of teacher was the most frequently used for Jesus, a

fact that alludes to the prominent role of Jesus as teacher during his public ministry. 126 Stein

also positions Jesus in continuity with the wisdom tradition of the Middle East. 127 It is, therefore,

inductively strong that Jesus was regarded as a Jewish teacher in his setting.

122 Finding a room for the paschal meal, Jesus instructed the disciples to tell the owner
that the teacher needed of it. (Mk. 14:14)

123 Bernard B. Scott, “Jesus as Sage: an Innovating Voice in Common Wisdom,” in The
Sage in Israel and the Ancient Near East, ed. J.G. Gammie and L.G. Perdue (Winona Lake:
Eisenbrauns, 1990), 399-415. For the various use of Wisdom forms by Jesus, cf. L.G. Perdue,
“The Wisdom Sayings of Jesus,” Forum 2 no.3 (September 1986), 3-35.

124 Ben Witherington, III, Jesus the Sage: The Pilgrimage of Wisdom (Minneapolis, MN:
Fortress Press, 1994), 155.

125
Lk. 11:49.
126
Stein, Method and Message, 1.
127 Ibid., 2 and 23. Stein also says, “Jesus also knew the merits of this Socratic method and
frequently used question in his teaching.” Cf. William Fletcher Fleming, An Investigation of the
Historical Origins of the Pedagogy of Jesus (Ann Arbor, MI: A Bell & Howell Company, 1994),
198-218. He investigates the historical origins of teaching methods of Jesus and insists that
Jewish rabbis employed the debate and rhetorical question techniques as well as other methods.
It can be summarized that Jesus shared literary traditions and methods of teaching with his