Jesus and YHWH-Texts in the Synoptic Gospels

Jesus and YHWH-Texts in the Synoptic Gospels
Author: Scott Brazil
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2024-02-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567713962

Scott Brazil examines the frequent practice of applying Old Testament YHWH-texts to Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels. He argues that this YHWH-text phenomenon evidences a high Christology in the primitive church that traces back to Jesus himself. He thus finds in this Synoptic practice a stinging contradiction against the modern critical theory that a high Christology took many decades to develop in the early church and exists only in John among the canonical Gospels. Brazil surveys the Synoptic Gospels in canonical order, exegeting dozens of passages in which OT texts originally referring to YHWH are either clearly or most probably applied to Jesus. He observes the frequency, diversity, and ubiquity of the practice, as well as its wide range of OT source material and its parallel to the NT practice of applying OT messianic texts to Jesus. And from the data he offers several ramifications, including the early deliberate employment of YHWH-texts to Jesus, the likelihood that Jesus is the source of the practice, the high Christology of the Synoptics, and the redemptive-historical metanarrative that Jesus is the divine interpreter and central figure of the Jewish Scriptures. Ultimately, Brazil argues that understanding the prolific application of OT YHWH-texts to Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels cannot be neglected without truncating genuine NT Christology.

A Man Attested by God

A Man Attested by God
Author: Kirk
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 656
Release: 2016
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802867952

Thought-provoking alternative perspective on the full humanity of Jesus Christ In A Man Attested by God J. R. Daniel Kirk presents a comprehensive defense of the thesis that the Synoptic Gospels present Jesus not as divine but as an idealized human figure. Counterbalancing the recent trend toward early high Christology in such scholars as Richard Bauckham, Simon Gathercole, and Richard Hays, Kirk here thoroughly unpacks the humanity of Jesus as understood by Gospel writers whose language is rooted in the religious and literary context of early Judaism. Without dismissing divine Christologies out of hand, Kirk argues that idealized human Christology is the best way to read the Synoptic Gospels, and he explores Jesus as exorcist and miracle worker within the framework of his humanity. With wide-ranging exegetical and theological insight that sheds startling new light on familiar Gospel texts, A Man Attested by God offers up-to-date, provocative scholarship that will have to be reckoned with.

Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament

Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament
Author: Christopher J. H. Wright
Publisher: Langham Publishing
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2014-10-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1907713948

We cannot know Jesus without knowing his story. And that story began long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The Gospels tell us clearly that Jesus himself, along with his earliest followers, understood who he was and what he came to do in the light of the story of Israel as told in the pages of the Old Testament. Like them, we too will find that our own understanding of both Jesus and the Old Testament is transformed as we see each in the light of the other. Engaging with the Scriptures, Christopher J. H. Wright uncovers Jesus’ self- understanding as Son of Man and Son of God, following the path and fulfilling the call that God had placed before Israel. Through this we discover that the deeper we go into understanding the Old Testament, the closer we come to the heart of Jesus. In this revised and updated second edition Wright digs deeper into the Old Testament revealing the God whom Jesus embodied. Each chapter is followed with questions and exercises, which can be used either in personal study or in group discussion.

The Case for Jesus

The Case for Jesus
Author: Brant Pitre
Publisher: Image
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2016-02-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0770435491

“This book will prove to be a most effective weapon… against the debunking and skeptical attitudes toward the Gospels that are so prevalent, not only in academe, but also on the street, among young people who, sadly, are leaving the Churches in droves.” – Robert Barron, author of Catholicism For well over a hundred years now, many scholars have questioned the historical truth of the Gospels, claiming that they were originally anonymous. Others have even argued that Jesus of Nazareth did not think he was God and never claimed to be divine. In The Case for Jesus, Dr. Brant Pitre, the bestselling author of Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, goes back to the sources—the biblical and historical evidence for Christ—in order to answer several key questions, including: • Were the four Gospels really anonymous? • Are the Gospels folklore? Or are they biographies? • Were the four Gospels written too late to be reliable? • What about the so-called “Lost Gospels,” such as “Q” and the Gospel of Thomas? • Did Jesus claim to be God? • Is Jesus divine in all four Gospels? Or only in John? • Did Jesus fulfill the Jewish prophecies of the Messiah? • Why was Jesus crucified? • What is the evidence for the Resurrection? As The Case for Jesus will show, recent discoveries in New Testament scholarship, as well as neglected evidence from ancient manuscripts and the early church fathers, together have the potential to pull the rug out from under a century of skepticism toward the traditional Gospels. Above all, Pitre shows how the divine claims of Jesus of Nazareth can only be understood by putting them in their ancient Jewish context.

Knowing Jesus in the Old Testament?

Knowing Jesus in the Old Testament?
Author: Andrew Malone
Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2015-02-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1783593504

The language of 'christophanies' is used technically by scholars to refer to appearances of the incarnate Son of God after his resurrection, as narrated in the New Testament Gospels and Acts. At a more popular level, though, the term is increasingly applied to alleged appearances of the pre-incarnate Son in the Old Testament. That Jesus appeared to - and was even recognized by - the likes of Abraham and Moses is usually argued from several scriptural trajectories. The New Testament suggests that God the Father is invisible, inviting us to ask who conducted the Old Testament appearances; the mysterious Angel of the Lord has often been interpreted as a manifestation of the divine Son; and several New Testament passages imply Old Testament appearances of and encounters with Jesus. It seems obvious, indeed orthodox, to affirm that Jesus has always been at work in communicating with and saving his world. However, Andrew Malone argues that, while Christ-centred readings of the Old Testament abound, christophanies prove to be a flimsy foundation on which to build. Despite apparent success, any scholarship commending the idea does not withstand close scrutiny. Malone carefully sifts the evidence to show that the popular arguments should be abandoned, and that the pursuit of Old Testament christophanies ultimately threatens to undermine the very values it promotes. He concludes that it better honours the Trinity and the text of Scripture to allow that the Father and the Spirit, as well as the Son, were themselves involved in Old Testament appearances.

Jesus and Scripture

Jesus and Scripture
Author: Steve Moyise
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2011-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441237496

Steve Moyise, an expert on the use of the Old Testament in the New, offers a brief but reliable introduction to the use of the Old Testament in the Gospels' portrayals of Jesus.

Echoes of a Prophet

Echoes of a Prophet
Author: Gary T. Manning Jr.
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2004-12-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567639282

Echoes of a Prophet examines intertextual connections to Ezekiel found in John and in Second Temple literature. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain many allusions to a number of Ezekiel's oracles, while other Second Temple works refer to only a few of Ezekiel's oracles, and those only rarely. In each case, Manning examines the evidence for the presence of the allusions, studies the implied interpretational methods, and comments on the function of the allusion in advancing the author's ideas. He also analyzes John's allusions to Ezekiel: the good shepherd, the vine, the opened heavens, imagery from the "dry bones" vision, and water symbolism. He observes that John has a few unique tendencies: he alludes to all five of Ezekiel's "oracles of hope" and primarily uses that imagery to describe the giving of the Holy Spirit and new life through Jesus.