Titles For Jesus Flashcards
What are the main different titles for Jesus
Messiah, Son of God and Son of Man
Meaning of messiah
Anointed one/ chosen one
Examples of anointed people in Jewish scripture
A priest- Exodus 28:41
A king- 1 Samuel 10:1
A prophet- 1 Kings 19:19
Links to ‘messiah’ concept
Idea of :
Liberating people
Conquering their enemies
Example of an earthly ruler type of messiah in JS
Psalms 22:27-28
Second idea Jews had about the messiah
The messiah will preform signs
Where in JS did it say that the messiah will preform signs
Isiah 35:5-6
NT Wright on Jesus and the term messiah
‘Jesus rarely uses the term messiah and rarely spoke of himself in this way’
Thoughts on why Jesus did not use the term ‘Messiah’ much
Because he didn’t want all the associations that went with it (military ruler, political king…)
Where is ‘Son o Man’ seen in Jewish scripture?
Daniel 7:13-14
What does Daniel 7 say specifically the son of man
That the son of man is a heavenly figure who is like a man- human and divine
It combines his human-nes and the role God has chosen for him
Specific quote from Daniel 7:13-14
‘Son of man coming on with the clouds of heaven’- apocalyptic
What does the son of man bring
Salvation and judgement
Son of man in Enoch?
1 Enoch refers to the son of man as being pre-existant
When is the term son of man often used
Often used in connection with Jesus’s suffering, death and ressurection
Son of man in John?
The son of man has contact with angels- John 1:51
Son of man in luke
Luke 9:26-27 and 18:31-34
Son of man in Mark
Mark 8:31 and 10:33-34
What does Bart D Ehrman say about son of God
He says that the son of man might be a cosmic figure who would come to judge and might not necessarily be Jesus.
He thins this link between Jesus and the son of man is made later by the early church
What does James Dunn say about the term son of man
Says there is n scholarly consensus on interpretation of the phrase
Mention of son of God in Jewish scripture
- King of Israel was known as the Son of God
- The nation of Israel was seen as God’s first born son
- Psalms 2:7 mentions ‘son of God’
What does Ruth Edward say about the term son of God
She says that is it included for the sake if gentile readers, for whom the term ‘messiah’ would not mean anything
Son of God in Hellenistic culture
Son of God was seen as a heroic human figure
Mention of son of God in John
John 30:30-31
Mention of son of God in Matthew
Matthew 27:54, 14:33 and 16:15
Roman view on the term ‘son of man’
They may have seen this as a threat to power as they believed the emperor was divine
Son of God in Luke
Luke 1:35 and 4:41
Son of God in the trial before Pilate
The Jews cry out ‘crucify him’ on the bases that he ‘made himself the son of God’
Jesus about the term son of God
Jesus does regard God as his father- he called him ‘abba’
Raymond Brown quote about the titles for Jesus
The titles for Jesus are ‘an index of the way in which the early church confessed its understanding of what Jesus meant for mankind’
V. Taylor on the titles for Jesus
The NT exercise great restraint in describing Jesus as God, he is ‘both more and less than God’ as he is ‘man as well as God’, perhaps the variety of titles try to explore Jesus’s complexity
Raymond Brown on describing Jesus as ‘just’ God
This might lead to a ‘semi-docetic’ position in which one might ignore Jesus’s human-ness, his fear, pain…
In what way is the term son of God useful
It is useful as it conveys the sense of distinction between God and Jesus
NT Wright on the term son of God
The term son of God is a focal point for a wider variety of ideas of Jewish messianic hope that God himself would be present with his people
NT wright on Jesus and Jewish scripture
Jesus fulfils both of the two great symbols of Judaism- Torah and temple
In Jesus the Hebrew scriptural portrayal of God comes to life
