The Saving Cross of the Suffering Christ: The Death of Jesus in Lukan Soteriology

228 Pages·2016·1.01 MB·English

by  Benjamin R. Wilson

Benjamin R. Wilson
The Saving Cross of the Suffering Christ
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift
für die neutestamentliche
Wissenschaft
Edited by
Carl R. Holladay, Matthias Konradt,
Hermann Lichtenberger, Judith Lieu,
Jens Schröter and Gregory E. Sterling
Volume 223
Benjamin R. Wilson
The Saving Cross
of the Suffering Christ
The Death of Jesus in Lukan Soteriology
ISBN 978-3-11-047582-1
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-047711-5
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-047590-6
ISSN 0171-6441
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Contents
Preface IX
Citations and Abbreviations XI
Chapter 1 – Introduction and History of Research 1
I. Introduction 1
II. History of Research 2
. Minimalist Perspectives on the Death of Jesus in Luke-Acts 3
. Competing Paradigms for Understanding the Lukan Passion 21
. Evidence Used in Maximalist Appraisals of the Lukan Cross 29
III. The Present Analysis 32
Chapter 2 – The Passion before the Passion: Anticipatory Allusions to Jesus’
Fate of Rejection, Suffering, and Death 38
I. Introduction 38
II. The Divine Necessity of the Death of Jesus within his Christological
Vocation 40
. Simeon’s Oracle (Luke 2:29–35) 40
. Rejection at Nazareth (Luke 4:16–30) 41
. First Passion Prediction (Luke 9:21–22) 43
. Second Passion Prediction (Luke 9:44–45) 45
. An Impending Baptism (Luke 12:49–50) 46
. Third Passion Prediction (Luke 18:31–34) 47
. Luke 13:31–35 and 17:25 49
. Summary 50
III. The Ignorance of the Disciples and Omission of the Ransom Saying 51
. The Disciples’ Ignorance Prior to the Resurrection Appearances 52
. The Resolution of the Disciples’ Ignorance in Luke 24 59
. Luke’s Omission of the Ransom Saying 62
IV. Conclusion 65
Chapter 3 – The Lukan Last Supper: Text and Interpretation 67
I. Introduction 67
II. The Text of Luke 22:15–20 68
. Addressing Arguments in Support of the Short Form of the Text 71
. Summary 77
VI Contents
III. Interpretation of Luke 22:15–20 78
. Strands of Biblical Tradition in the Lukan Last Supper 78
. The Meaning Assigned to Jesus’ Death 88
. Tradition and Lukan Thought 91
IV. Conclusion 94
Chapter 4 – The Passion Narrative within its Lukan Framework 96
I. Introduction 96
II. Jesus’ Christological Vocation in the Passion Narrative 98
. The Quotation of Isa 53:12 in Luke 22:37 98
. “This Cup” and Jesus’ Prayer at the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39–
46) 101
. The Examination before the Sanhedrin (Luke 22:66–71) 103
. The Mockery of Jesus at the Cross (Luke 23:35–39) 106
. Jesus’ Prayer from the Cross (Luke 23:46) 108
. Summary 110
III. The Soteriological Significance of Jesus’ Death in the Passion
Narrative 111
. The Innocence of Jesus and the Barabbas Exchange (Luke 23:18–
25) 112
. Jesus’ Prayer of Forgiveness (Luke 23:34a) 114
. The Salvation of the Penitent Criminal (Luke 23:35–43) 118
. The Darkness and the Temple Veil (Luke 23:44–45) 120
. The Centurion’s Declaration (Luke 23:47) 125
. Summary 128
IV. Conclusion 129
Chapter 5 – The Death of Jesus Proclaimed 131
I. Introduction 131
II. Scripture and the Apostolic Proclamation of the Cross 132
. The Law of Moses 134
. The Prophets 140
. The Psalms 145
. Summary 148
III. Acts 20:28 149
. Text of Acts 20:28 151
. Interpretation of Acts 20:28 152
IV. Conclusion 156
Contents VII
Chapter 6 – The Pattern of Proclamation within a Jewish Context 157
I. Introduction 157
II. Repentance, Divine Forgiveness, and Atonement within Judaism 160
. The Priestly Pattern of Religion 160
. The Centrality of Cultic Conceptions within Early Judaism 164
. Possible Indications of Anti-Cultic Conceptions of Worship within
Jewish Tradition 170
. Summary 176
III. The Pattern of Proclamation in Luke-Acts 177
. Luke’s Attitude toward the Institutions of Judaism 178
. The Post-Resurrection Kerygma in Luke-Acts 182
IV. Conclusion 189
Chapter 7 – Conclusion 191
Appendix 1 – Pre-Passion References to Jesus’ Death & Synoptic
Parallels 193
Appendix 2 – Retrospective References to the Passion in Acts 194
Bibliography 195
Subject index 214

Preface
Thisbookisarevisionofadoctoraldissertation submittedtotheFacultyofDi-
vinityattheUniversityofCambridgein2014.Inthecourseofitscompletionand
publication, I have accrued a substantial debt of gratitude to the supervisors,
colleagues, friends, family members, and supporters who invarious ways have
enabled the book’s production.
Mysupervisor,DrSimonGathercole,hashelpedmeateveryturn.DrGather-
cole’sattentiontodetailandprecisioninthinkingareaninspiration,andIhave
learnedagreatdealfromhispatientreading,insightfulfeedback,andgentledi-
rection. Likewise, Dr James Carleton Paget generouslycontributed considerable
timeandefforthelpingmetosortoutmythoughtsatvariousstagesinthisproj-
ect, particularly during the second year of my research. His objective criticism
was immensely useful, and his friendship enriched my time in Cambridge. My
examiners,DrPeterHeadandDrGrantMacaskill,offeredmuchhelpfulcriticism
which has greatly aided in the revision of this work. I would also like to thank
others who have given valuable advice on bits and pieces of this thesis, if
only by mentioning their names: Professor Judith Lieu, Professor Steve Walton,
Ben Pascut, Peter Malik,Chris Thomson,Colin Bullard, Sarah Dixon, and more
generally,the NT Graduate Seminar at Cambridge.
Theyearsspentinresearchforthisprojectwereadelight,largelyonaccount
of the broader relational context within which my research took place. St An-
drews Street Baptist Church was a supportive and edifying church home for
my wife and me during our time in Cambridge, and we could not have asked
for a more gracious and kind community of friends than what we had over
the years that this book was written. My parents kindly provided the necessary
financialsupportformetoundertakethisresearchproject.Iamtrulygratefulfor
their generousgift.
Finally, I am indebted to no one more than to my wife Rachael. She sacri-
ficed much in order for me to pursue my dream, and her sense of humor kept
me sane during the lonely times of my research.Thank you, Rachael, for your
tireless encouragement. I would say that this book is dedicated to you, but
thenyou would probably feel obliged to read it!