Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels

546 Pages·2016·3.66 MB·English

by  Richard B. Hays [Hays

“A real masterwork from one of the most creative of contemporary New
Testament scholars. Anyone who feels nervous about exploring a fully
theological reading of the Gospels will take heart from this comprehensive,
sophisticated, and profoundly nourishing account of how the Gospels themselves
use Scripture theologically and invite us to do the same.”
—Rowan Williams, Master, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge
“In Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels, Richard Hays reads the four Gospels
with an acuity of perception that is unmatched. His attention to scriptural
subtexts allows each of the evangelists’ visions to emerge from behind centuries’
worth of obscuring and false assumptions, and to seize one’s imagination afresh.
Hays’ prose is elegant and his arguments are utterly persuasive. Are we really
prepared to hear the evangelists speak with this kind of clarity and power?”
—Susan Garrett, Dean and Professor of New Testament, Louisville
Presbyterian Theological Seminary
“Richard Hays has written another wonderful book. Exhibiting the extraordinary
literary sensitivity and erudition of his Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul,
Hays produces here an even more important argument than in that previous,
now-classic work. By tracing carefully the underpinnings of Hebrew biblical
allusions in the Gospels, Hays shows how tightly these works are bound up with
Israel, the God of Israel, and the Scripture of Israel. The theological implications
of this work are astounding. Hays expresses it all in clear and limpid prose that
makes the exegesis and the stakes clear as a bell.”
—Daniel Boyarin, author of The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Christ
(2012), University of California, Berkeley “This exceptional book combines
thoroughness and elegance in equal measure, and also conjoins scholarly rigor
with bold Christian conviction in its conclusions. Richard Hays has produced
here a gripping account of the diverse approaches of the Evangelists to the Old
Testament, and it is a volume to which I can confidently predict I will return
again and again.”
—Simon Gathercole, Reader in New Testament Studies and Fellow,
Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge “Roughly a quarter of a century
after his groundbreaking monograph Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul,
Richard Hays stimulates the ongoing discussion of intertextuality in New
Testament writings with an impressive analysis of Scripture’s polyphonic
resonance in the four canonical stories of Jesus and how these intertextual
semantic effects contribute substantially to the meaning and rhetorical cogency
of the narratives. Richard Hays’ ability to survey broad fields of knowledge and
to synthesize complex textual phenomena makes Echoes of Scripture in the
Gospels essential reading for everyone who is interested in the relevance of
Scripture for understanding New Testament texts.”
—Matthias Konradt, Lehrstuhl für Neutestamentliche Theologie, Theologische
Fakultät, Universität Heidelberg “Every time Richard Hays has written a major
book, he has opened our eyes to previously unimagined possibilities. This new
book will do that too, only this time the view is an even more breathtaking
invitation to fresh exegesis and theology. Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels
challenges us to think differently about the way we read each of the four gospels
—and therefore, by implication, about the traditions and early communities that
stand behind them, and ultimately the elusive but powerful figure of the master
exegete whose scripture-laden story these documents are telling.”
—N. T. Wright, Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity,
University of St Andrews “In this stimulating volume, Hays aims at a conversion
of our imagination. By thoroughly discussing how the four Gospels adopt
Scripture and create their stories of Jesus by use of numerous Scriptural echoes,
Hays lays the foundations for a biblical theology of the Four Gospels.”
—Jörg Frey, Chair of New Testament Studies, University of Zürich
“Richard Hays’ Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels allows us to hear a rich
chorus of voices in Scripture long silent. Like his Echoes in the Letters of Paul,
Hays has performed nothing less than a Copernican revolution in turning the
whole discipline of literary parallels and influences upon an author ‘inside out’:
instead of New Testament authors like Mark or Matthew reaching back to pluck
some citation to fit their need in presenting the gospel, Hays demonstrates that it
was Scripture itself pressing and prodding and pushing its way into the formative
thoughts and sermons and teachings about Jesus. Instead of a monotone word of
the Evangelists’ redaction, now suddenly a mixed chorale of melodies, a
heavenly polyphony of scriptural songs burst through brightly, brilliantly to
illuminate the ‘good news’ of God’s reign. In Hays’ Echoes of Scripture in the
Gospels, God is anything but silent.”
—David P. Moessner, A. A. Bradford Chair and Professor of Religion, Texas
Christian University
“A masterful achievement by a great scholar at the peak of his powers, Echoes of
Scripture in the Gospels is a book that I expect to be revisiting for the rest of my
life. Richard Hays traces with both depth and clarity the diverse uses the
Evangelists make of the Hebrew Scriptures. His conclusion draws its title from
the Emmaus Road story: ‘Did not our hearts burn within us?’ Indeed they did,
and do.”
—Alan Jacobs, Distinguished Professor of Humanities in the Honors Program,
Baylor University
ECHOES OF SCRIPTURE IN THE
GOSPELS
Richard B. Hays
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY PRESS
©2016 by Baylor University Press Waco, Texas 76798
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission in writing of Baylor University Press.
If a Scripture quotation deviates from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, ©1989, it is the author’s
modification.
Cover design by Hannah Feldmeier Cover art by Hannah Feldmeier, based on a photograph of the Four
Evangelists scene within the Lamentation Window, Cologne Cathedral, Cologne, Germany. Photograph
courtesy of Father Dave Dwyer.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hays, Richard B., author.
Title: Echoes of scripture in the gospels / Richard B. Hays.
Description: Waco : Baylor University Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015041443 | ISBN 9781481304917 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781481305129
(ePub) | ISBN 9781481305136 (mobi) | ISBN 9781481305143 (web pdf) Subjects: LCSH: Bible.
Gospels—Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Bible. Gospels—Relation to the Old Testament. | Bible. Old
Testament—Relation to the Gospels.
Classification: LCC BS2555.52 .H385 2016 | DDC 226/.066—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015041443
For Judy, my true companion.
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
C
ONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
Figural Interpretation of Israel’s Scripture
THE EVANGELISTS AS READERS OF ISRAEL’S SCRIPTURE
1
The Gospel of Mark
Herald of Mystery
§1. “Take heed what you hear”
Mark as Interpreter of Scripture
§2. Apocalyptic Judgment and Expectancy
Israel’s Story in Mark’s Narrative
§3. Jesus as the Crucified Messiah
§4. Watchful Endurance
The Church’s Suffering in Mark’s Narrative
§5. “Hidden in order to be revealed”
Mark’s Scriptural Hermeneutics
2
The Gospel of Matthew
Torah Transfigured
§6. The Law and the Prophets Fulfilled
Matthew as Interpreter of Scripture
§7. The End of Exile
Israel’s Story in Matthew’s Narrative
§8. Jesus as Emmanuel
§9. Making Disciples of All Nations
The Church’s Mission in Matthew’s Narrative
§10. The Transfiguration of Torah
Matthew’s Scriptural Hermeneutics
3
The Gospel of Luke
The Liberation of Israel
§11. Continuing the Scriptural Story
Luke as Interpreter of Scripture
§12. The Promise of Israel’s Liberation
Israel’s Story in Luke’s Narrative
§13. Jesus as the Redeemer of Israel
§14. Light to the Nations
The Church’s Witness in Luke’s Narrative
§15. Opened Eyes and Minds
Luke’s Scriptural Hermeneutics
4
The Gospel of John
The Temple of His Body
§16. “Come and see”
John as Interpreter of Scripture
§17. “Salvation is from the Jews”
Israel’s Story in John’s Narrative
§18. Jesus as the Temple
§19. The Vine and the Branches
The Church’s Oneness in John’s Narrative
§20. The Figural Web
John’s Scriptural Hermeneutics
Conclusion
Did Not Our Hearts Burn within Us?
Notes
Bibliography
Index of Scripture and Ancient Sources
Index of Names