messiah - lecture Flashcards
intro
- Confession at Caesarea Philippi (Mark 8:27)
- But…
o Relatively sparse as title associated with JC in Gospel tradition – almost never spoken by Jesus
o Exceptions = Mk 9:41, L 4:41, Mt 23:10, L 24:26
o See Mk 14:51, 14:26, 31
wrede and messianic secret
- Wrede and the Messianic secret
o View of earliest Christology (Rom 1:3-4, Acts 2:36)
o Title was added after JC death e.g. Paul letter to Romans
o JC = adopted as God’s son after resurrection
o Criteria of dissimilarity?
o H, suspicious as many referred to JC as Christos etc.
problem of messianism in judaism
o Meshiah = anointed
o ‘all the evidence for anointed figures (in the Old Testament) relates not to future redeemer figures but to historical figures’ (T&M, Jesus, p.532)
o Books of Samuel and Psalter mention kings as ‘Yahweh’s anointed’
♣ 1 Sam 12:3, 5
♣ Psalm 2:2, 18:51
o Also note Isaiah 45:1 for transference of term to Cyrus
o In exile, it is applied to High Priest (Lev 4:3, 5, 16)
o Cf. also late texts such as 1 Chron 29:22, Sir 45:15 and Dan 9:25
use of term in Qumran
- absolute usage of term first attested at Qumran (oldest manuscript of OT, 2nd century BC) and subsequently in Psalms of Solomon
o 1QS 9:9-11 ‘the prophet and the messiahs of Aaron and Israel’
o CD 12:22-13:1
o 4Q521
o (majority of scrolls do not say anything about the messiah)
o Psalms of Solomon 17:32, ‘and he will be a righteous king, taught by God, over them, and there will be no unrighteousness among them in his day, for all shall be holy, and their king shall be their Lord Messiah’
♣ Emphasis on anointed kingly figure
o Ps of S 18:5-7, ‘may God purify Israel for the day of mercy…in bringing up his messiah. Blessed are those who shall be in those days, to see the good things of the Lord, which he will perform for the generation that is to come, under the rod of discipline of the Messiah of the Lord, in the fear of his God, in wisdom of spirit, and of righteousness and strength’
o Note lack of militant Messiah here
jewish basis
o 1 Enoch 48:10 and 52:4 – transcendent figure belonging to heavenly realm
o 4 Ezra 7:28-9 and 12:31-2 – ‘for my son, the Messiah, shall be revealed; this is the Messiah whom the most high has kept until the end of days, who will arise from the seed of David’
o 2 Baruch 29:3, 30:1, 39:7 – ‘and when it has been revealed, it will uproost the host gathered around it’
o 2 Baruch 40:1 – ‘the last ruler at that time will be left alive bound, after the entire host has been destroyed, and he will be put in fetters and carried to Mount Zion, and my Messiah will charge him with all his wicked deeds and will assemble and set before him all the works of his hosts’
o 2 Baruch 70:9 – ‘all will be delivered into the hands of my servant, the Messiah’
o SibOr 3.286-7 – ‘and then the God of Heaven will send a king and will judge each man in blood and the gleam of fire’
o SibOr 5.256-9 – ‘there will be one exalted man from the sky who stretched out his hands on the fruitful wood, the best of the Hebrews, who will one day cause the sun to stand still’
o SibOr 5.414-425 – speaks of man from heaven. Messiah will rebuild temple
points to be made
o Difficult to construct picture as there is no clear definition of Messiah
♣ Figure who brings redemption, national figure?
o Relatively speaking, not a lot of material
♣ But…
• Messianic figures mentioned by Josephus and others
• Seem to have Messianic traits without being called Messiah
• Cf. esp. Simon and Anthronges in ‘Robber War’ (Ant 17.279)
o ‘if there really is no climate of messianic expectation, or if there is no latent messianic hope as a resource for the ordinary people to draw on, it is hard to see how these movements can attract support in large numbers’ (Chester, Messiah, p.357)
problems with wrede
o Earliness of claim and striking association with Xian movement
♣ ‘here it is necessary to explain how the earliest Xians could think it appropriate to use ‘christos’ of Jesus, and set it centrally, yet also apparently assumes its applicability, and feel no special need to explain it’ (Chester, Messiah, p.310)
o very difficult to account for prominence of messianic title if JC never spoke of himself in that way
♣ cannot, for instance, arrive at explanation via resurrection
♣ ‘the title Messiah would have been unsuitable for interpreting a life which focused on the cross and resurrection…it could not have interpreted the cross and resurrection, but the cross and resurrection could have given it deeper meaning’ (T & M, Jesus, p.540)
o messianic secret in Mark: is it messianic or a secret, or consistently held?
- can we be as certain as some that messianism is not an issue in 1st cent Palestine?
o How to explain messianic figures in first Jewish revolt and period preceding?
o See Chester above
triumphal entry
o Triumphal entry
♣ Role of Zech 9:9
♣ Davidic element prominent at end of ministry, in Jerusalem, but not before?
title
♣ but merely tells us about substance of accusation made against JC, not self-consciousness
♣ but would there not have had to have been some substance to charge for Romans to have proceeded?
♣ Also note prominence of questions re. messianic identity at trial
luke 4:16-21
♣ Clearly programmatic
♣ Seen in Mt 11:4-5/L 7:22-3
♣ Portrayed as fulfilling Isaiah 61:1
♣ Note 11QMelch and 4Q521 – JC fulfilling duties associated with prophet anointed with spirit
JC as non-militant messiah
o note contrast between Z 9:9 and militant expectation
♣ Z can be taken to imply overthrow of Roman Empire
♣ Same with JC – speaks of future kingdom which is very different from present reality but never makes it plain how it will come into being
o Note how Davidic descent of JC is taken for granted in NT (Rom 1:3-4) but that JC never lays claim to it. Seems to view it as inadequate in Mk 12:36-7
o How do we understand Mk 8:27-30 and 14:61-2
♣ Sense of get behind me satan at Mk 8:33
conclusions
- Messianic hopes and expectations perculated JC’s ministry in whatever form
- Cannot talk of predominant and unified messianic ideology at time of JC.
o But…hints particularly from later 1st cent material that it is wrong to dismiss it as an elite or obscure title
o Wrede and others’ attempts to rid dominical tradition of messianic character is problematic, not least because it is difficult to account for the swift way in which JC (and his followers) became associated with title (very quickly becomes equiv. to name) - Trying to discover what JC meant by term = difficult
o Dominical tradition = parsimonious in use of term (more prominent in final days)
o Usage not associated obviously with violence
o Difficulty in defining what JC means by KofG or SofM – complex redefinition?
son of man in NT
- Term confined to Gospels exc. Acts 7:56 and Rev 14:14
o Though note Jer’s view that Paul knew of term but chose not to use it: 1 Cor 15:27, Phil 3:21 which betray knowledge of Psalm 80 and 1 Cor 15:21 and Rom 5:15 for use of ‘man’ for JC - In synoptic tradition usage confined entirely to JC (only in J 12:34 is it in another’s mouth)
- Found in all parts of tradition: 13 x in Mk, 12 x Q, 8 x M, 6 x L, 11 x J
3 types of general usage
o 7 sayings re. earthly activity of JC as SM (cf. Mk 2:10, Mt 8:20/L 9:58)
o more referring to suffering SofM (Mk 8:31, L 22:48)
o some referring to heavenly SofM, picking up on Dan 7 (Mk 8:38, Mt 24:27/L 17:24, Mk 13:26, 14:62)
historical background - psalm 80 and dan 7
- Ezekiel and Psalm 80 – in former refers to humanity of prophet, in Ps 80:17, one who sits on right hand of God identified as SofM (parallels with Mk 14:62? Unlikely)
- Dan 7:13 – ‘I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven…to him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples and nations, and languages, should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed’
o Figure linked with ‘Saints of Most High’ in 7:18, 22 and 27 – purely symbolic?