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The Testament of Jesus
A Study of the Gospel of John in the Light of Chapter 17
Foreword by Paul N. Anderson
Series: Johannine Monograph Series
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
From the Foreword by Paul N. Anderson:
"Among the most provocative New Testament scholars of the tweitieth century, Ernst Kasemann tops the list, and his most striking work is The Testament of Jesus. This brief book is significant not because the bulk of Johannine scholars have fully agreed with it; indeed, most have taken exception to many of its points. The impact of Kasemann's 1966 Shaffer Lectures, delivered at Yale Divinity School and rendered in book form in German and English over the next couple of years, lay in his capacity to communicate worthy insights in sharp and provocative ways, blocking some paths of discussion while opening others…. The Testament of Jesus cannot simply be read. It can only be engaged--refuted and embraced--and dialectically so."
Ernst Käsemann (1906–1998) served as a professor of New Testament at Universities of Mainz (1946–51), Göttingen (1951–59), and Tübingen (1959–71), where he became Emeritus Professor and continued to write, lecture, and engage. His antithetical engagements with his mentor, Rudolf Bultmann, are legendary; he served as President of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS) in 1972.
Critical Acclaim for The Testament of Jesus by Ernst Käsemann:
“This stunning reaction to Bultmann’s Johannine interpretation follows in the path of F.C. Baur and William Wrede, sharing the critical sharpness and polemic of both. Käsemann’s eye for theological controversy and his passionate theological engagement challenge traditional assumptions and invite us to hear the text and read the evangelist’s critics in fresh ways.”
— Robert Morgan, University of Oxford
“One of the most influential, albeit highly controversial, studies of the Fourth Gospel in recent decades is Ernst Käsemann’s The Testament of Jesus. Although the book’s subtitle, ‘A Study of the Gospel of John in Light of Chapter 17,’ suggests an exegetical analysis of that chapter, this is no plodding commentary. Rather, the study offers a provocative and sometimes irritating sketch of Johannine theology.”
— Marianne Meye Thompson, Fuller Theological Seminary
“All his writing demonstrates his conviction that ‘true dialogue depends on meeting, irritating and stimulating each other precisely where the stakes are the highest.’ That describes this book nicely, for it represents Käsemann at his iconoclastic best.”
— Wayne Meeks, Yale University
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