Seeking the Imperishable Treasure

In Seeking the Imperishable Treasure, Johnson tracks the use of a single saying of Jesus over time and among theologically divergent authors and communities. He identifies six different versions of the saying in the canonical gospels and epistles (Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, James, and Colossians), as well as the Gospel of Thomas and Q. After tracing the tradition and redaction history of this wisdom admonition, he observes at least two distinctly different wisdom themes that are applied to the saying: the proper disposition of wealth and the search for knowledge, wisdom, or God. What he discovers is a saying of Jesus--with roots in Jewish wisdom and pietistic traditions, as well as popular Greek philosophy--that proved amazingly adaptable in its application to differing social and rhetorical contexts of the first century.An important and very readable contribution to Q and Gospel of Thomas studies by an experienced member of the International Q Project. With a careful historical-critical approach, Johnson examines how early Christians adopted and updated a saying of Jesus. --Christoph Heil, Professor of New Testament, University of Graz, Austria, and Member of the International Q Project's Editorial BoardWith studies like Steve Johnson's, the study of the Gospel of Thomas is entering a new, more mature, phase, where careful, thorough analysis of particular texts can begin to make substantive contribution to our understanding of the Jesus tradition and its early history. An exemplary piece of critical scholarship.--Stephen J. Patterson Professor of New Testament, Eden Theological SeminarySteven R. Johnson is Associate Professor of Religion at Lycoming College (Williamsport, Pennsylvania). He is a managing editor of the International Q Project and is the author and editor of Q 7:1-10: The Centurion's Faith in Jesus' Word and Q 12:33-34: Storing up Treasures in Heaven (forthcoming).