This Jesus: Martyr, Lord, Messiah

255 Pages·2004·24.713 MB·English

by  Markus Bockmuehl

This Jesus
Martyr, Lord, Messiah
M a r k u s B o c k m u e h l
THIS JESUS
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THIS JESUS
Martyr, Lord, Messiah
MARKUS BOCKMUEHL
“Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty
that God has made him both Lord and Messiah,
this Jesus whom you crucified.”
(Acts 2.36 NRSV)
T&.T CLARK INTERNATIONAL
A Continuum imprint
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Copyright © T&T Clark Ltd, 1994
First published 1994
This edition published 2004
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Unless otherwise indicated. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised
Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian
Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used
by permission. All rights reserved.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publicalion Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0567082962 (paperback)
Printed on acid-free paper in Great Britain by The Bath Press, Bath
Contents
Preface............................................................................................ix
A Note on Abbreviations...............................................................xi
Introduction: Which Jesus?..........................................................1
Another Book on Jesus?..................................................................1
Which Jesus?....................................................................2
"This Jesus".......................................................................7
Sources for the Historical Jesus......................................................9
Evidence for Jesus Outside the New Testament..............9
The Gospels - What Did Jesus Really Say and
Do?....................................................................................17
Hie Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith..................................21
Chapter One: Where Did Jesus Come From?..........................24
Bethlehem in Judaea.......................................................................25
The Birth of Jesus...........................................................................30
The Flight to Egypt.........................................................................34
Nazareth..........................................................................................36
The Childhood of Jesus...................................................................37
Capernaum......................................................................................38
Conclusion......................................................................................40
Chapter Two: Was Jesus the Messiah?......................................42
The Messianic Hope in Ancient Judaism......................................42
The Term "Messiah"........................................................43
Royal Theology................................................................43
The House of David..........................................................44
Kingdom and Redemption...............................................46
First-Century Messianism...............................................48
Was Jesus the Messiah?..................................................................51
Conclusion......................................................................................58
v
vi This Jesus
Chapter Three: Why DM Jesus Predict the Temple's
Destruction?...................................................................................60
Jesus' Temple Prophecy..................................................................60
The Temple........................................................................60
Jesus' Prediction of Destruction........................................62
Other Predictions of the Temple's Destruction..............................63
Reasons for the Vitality of this Interpretative Tradition................68
Theological Reasons..........................................................68
Social & Political Reasons................................................69
Reasons for Jesus' Prediction..........................................................71
Conclusion......................................................................................75
Chapter Four: Did Jesus Fail?....................................................77
The Aims of Jesus: The Galilean Ministry....................................79
The Call Vision and its Significance...............................79
The First Crisis: Temptation in the Wilderness..............80
Early Ministry and Message of the Kingdom of
God...................................................................................80
Kingdom Praxis and Initial Controversy.........................81
Theological Disputes and Growing Opposition...............83
The Execution of John the Baptist...................................85
The Turning Point and the Second Half of Jesus' Ministry..........85
Caesarea Philippi..............................................................85
Transfiguration: Divine Confirmation of Jesus'
Call....................................................................................87
Departure for Jerusalem...................................................89
The 'Triumphal Entry"....................................................91
Jesus’ Demonstration in the Temple................................92
The Last Supper................................................................92
From Gethsemane to Execution.......................................95
Conclusion.......................................................................................96
Resurrection and the Aims of Jesus................................96
Epilogue: Did Jesus1 Future Hope Fail?..........................98
Chapter Five: Was Jesus a Christian?........................................103
Jesus the Jew and Jesus the Christian...........................................103
What Kind of Jew Was Jesus?........................................................104
A Survey of First-Century Judaism..................................104
Judaism and the New Testament.....................................104
Contents vii
Flavius Josephus on the Four Philosophies........................105
Was Jesus a Christian?......................................................................119
Chapter Six: How Did Jesus Pray?................................................125
The Synoptic Gospels........................................................................126
Jesus' Experience of Prayer..................................................126
Jesus' Prayers.......................................................................129
The Gospel of John.............................................................................136
The Rest of the New Testament........................................................140
Conclusion..........................................................................................143
Chapter Seven: Why Was Jesus Exalted to Heaven?..................145
From Jesus to the Creeds: Three Reasons for the
Development......................................................................................145
Tlie Resurrection and Exaltation of Jesus.........................................147
The Gospel of Jesus: From the Preacher to the Message..................155
The Worship of Jesus.........................................................................157
Conclusion........................................................................................162
Conclusion: This Jesus.....................................................................164
Summary.............................................................................................164
"So What?" Some Implications........................................................166
Epilogue: Open Questions..............................................................168
Further Reading...............................................................................171
Notes...................................................................................................179
Index of Modern Authors...........................................................„.221
Index of Passages Cited...................................................................225
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Preface
Passing through London's Heathrow Airport in September 1992
on my way to a sabbatical term in Jerusalem, I happened to pick
up a copy of A. N. Wilson's newly released work Jesus from a
bookstore's best-seller shelf. By the time I reached my destina­
tion, 1 had decided to abandon my intended research project and
to write instead a small book on an issue to which I felt a string
of recent publications and my own students' questions had given
a pressing urgency. At the end of the 20th century, is it possible
to affirm a view of Jesus of Nazareth that relates with integrity
both to historical scholarship and to orthodox Christian faith?
Unable to say everything about this vast and daunting subject, I
sensed the need at least to say something.
In writing and revising, then, I have had in mind chiefly
my students at Cambridge University, St. George's College in
Jerusalem and Regent College in Vancouver. For their benefit I
have intentionally avoided foreign language quotations and
unfamiliar abbreviations, and tried wherever possible to confine
the more technical discussion of biblical scholarship to the
notes.
While in broad outline this book took shape in Jerusalem
in the autumn months of 1992, it contains material revised from
earlier publications and reproduced by permission. Parts of the
Introduction appeared in Epworth Review 21 (1994), pp. 18-31
as "Jesus of Nazareth in Recent Debate"; the other revisions are
Chapters Three (from Crux 25.3 (1989) 11-18) and Six (from
J. I. Packer & Loren Wilkinson (eds.), Alive to God: Studies in
Spirituality Presented to James Ifouston (Downers Grove:
InterVarsity, 1992), 56-71).
Finally, there remains only a writer's pleasant task of
giving thanks to generous patrons and friends. The staff and
students from every continent at St. George's College, Jerusalem