Jon Sobrino and the quest of the historical Jesus

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the work of Jon Sobrino, one of the better known Liberation theologians alive today. Sobrino is especially well known for his writings on Christology. The starting point for Sobrino's Christology is the historical Jesus. Intent on presenting a Jesus who can relate to the poor and oppressed today, Sobrino has emphasized certain key characteristics and features of the life of Jesus that best exemplify a liberation perspective. He contends, for example, that the historical Jesus experienced conflict and opposition in Galilee and was forced to re-evaluate his mission and ministry. Through this crisis, Sobrino says, the historical Jesus exemplified a faith lived out amidst conflict. For those in Latin America, the faith of the historical Jesus therefore becomes the archetypical model of faith in action. As Sobrino's Christology is based on the historical Jesus, it is illuminating to evaluate Sobrino's work from the perspective of western biblical scholarship, which has been concerned with the quest of the historical Jesus for over two hundred years. This thesis explores how the historical Jesus functions in Sobrino's Christology and evaluates whether Sobrino is successful in avoiding the failures of previous quests of the historical Jesus.