Treasures New and Old: Essays in Honor of Donald A. Hagner ed. by Carl S. Sweatman and Clifford B. Kvidahl (review)

In recognition of Donald Hagner's recent retirement, Carl S. Sweatman and Clifford B. Kvidahl offer an impressive group of essays written by scholars who have worked alongside or been directly influenced by Hagner's long reach into the field of NT studies. Hagner has an impressive catalogue of publications and academic honors spanning nearly fifty years. His curriculum vitae is listed at the beginning of the volume and evidences a highly productive career as a NT scholar.

The contents of the volume are split into five sections. Each section testifies to the breadth of Hagner's own interests. Part 1 contains four essays related to Second Temple Judaism and Jesus. Lee Martin McDonald does some comparative work between Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity ("Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity: Similarities and Differences"). Craig A. Evans dialogues with Reza Aslan's work, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (New York: Random House, 2013) and argues that Jesus had zeal but was certainly not a political zealot ("Was Jesus a Zealot? Finding the Right Context for an Ambiguous Concept"). Samuel Byrskog provides some insights after twenty years of research concerning Jesus as the "only teacher" ("Jesus the Only Teacher: Further Thoughts"). Peter Stuhlmacher considers Jesus's role as a priestly intercessor ("The Intercession of Jesus").

In part 2, the focus changes to studies in Matthew's Gospel. David Wenham begins the section with a tongue-in-cheek argument for Matthean priority ("Matthean Priority: You Must Be Joking"). Craig L. Blomberg addresses some of the parallelomania among studies of Matthew, Mithras, and Midrash, along with arguing that Jesus is a victim of oppression before he conquers oppression ("Matthew, Mithras, and Midrash"). Jeannine K. Brown offers a fresh look at Matthew's use of the servant motif in Isaiah ("Matthew's Christology and Isaiah's Servant: A Fresh Look at a Perennial Issue"). Richard A. Burridge blends his work on Matthew as biography and the topic of anti-Semitism in Matthew ("Matthew's [Portrayal of] Jesus: A Jewish Messiah in an Anti-Semitic Gospel?"). Roland Deines ("The Description of Faith in the Gospel of Matthew") reviews the topic of faith and its function in Matthew's narrative. The final essay addresses faith in Matthew once more, but from the perspective of the disciples' doubt (Benjamin Schliesser, "Doubtful Faith? Why the Disciples Doubted until the End [Mt. 28:18]).

Part 3 transitions from Jesus studies to studies in Paul. William R. Telford kicks off the section with an analysis of the relationship between Paul and Mark ("The Resurgence of the Paul/Mark Nexus: A History of Scholarship from Volkmar to Crossley"). In the next essay, Paul Barnett explores the complicated relationship of Paul and Peter from the textual evidence of Romans, Philippians, the Pastoral Epistles, and the Book of Acts ("Paul in Rome"). Charles Lee Irons rounds out the studies on Paul with an examination of righteousness in the Psalms of Solomon and its consequences for how we understand the term in Paul's critique of "keepers of the law" ("Righteousness in the Psalms of Solomon and Paul").

Part 4 offers two short studies on Hebrews. Thomas R. Schreiner reexamines the warning passages in Hebrews in response to some of his recent critics ("Another Look at the Warnings in Hebrews: A Response to the Critics"), and Scott D. Mackie considers the origins of Hebrew's high priest christology ("Experiential Cultic Soteriology and the Origins of Hebrews' High Priest Christology").

Part 5, the final collection of essays moves to more practical matters, addressing the interpretation and function of the Bible. In the first essay, Craig S. Keener compares the recent work of Bart Ehrman with the precedent work of Robert McIver on oral tradition ("Bart Ehrman vs. Robert McIver on Oral Tradition"). Reidar Hvalvik shows the interpretative prowess of the painter Michelangelo...