Abstract:
This article maps out recent developments in the exegetical investigation of Jesus. It starts
with a discussion of the Jesus book by Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, in which ‘canonical
exegesis’ is used to argue that Johannine Christology is also present in the other gospels
and that this Christology actually goes back to Jesus. In this way, the book narrows the gap
between the historical Jesus and the Christ of faith. The next section argues for maintaining
the multiplicity of images of Jesus as a literary figure that is the fruit of relatively recent
approaches: redaction criticism, narrative-semantic analysis and intertextuality. The final
section contains a sketch of the current state of research on the historical Jesus and its relevance
for Christology. The multiplicity in the literary and historical approaches poses challenges to
the further development of Christology.
