Throughout the New Testament, many of the passages that mention Jesus’ death make use of brief formulas to ascribe salvific significance to it. Among these are passages such as the following: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as...
Presentation given to the Historical Jesus Section at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature November 24, 2019 San Diego, California Ever since the “historical Jesus” became an object of scholarly study, but especially since the publication of Albert...
In the thought of Paul, Jesus had suffered and died because he had been dedicated to the same objective that was Paul’s own in his work as an apostle, namely, building up a community of people who would live in love, righteousness, and solidarity under Jesus as their...
Rather than regarding Jesus’ death as the basis upon which believers in Christ are justified and forgiven, Paul maintained that it was through Jesus’ faithfulness to death to the task of establishing a community in which all would live under him in love and...
Over the course of history, the New Testament passages that relate Jesus’ death to the salvation of others have been interpreted in many different ways. When we analyze the traditional interpretations of the significance of Jesus’ death, however, we see that they are...
Rather than viewing Jesus’ death in isolation from the ministry that had preceded it, Jesus’ earliest followers would have seen his crucifixion as the result of the conflict and opposition that his activity on behalf of others had generated, as well as his dedication...
When Jesus’ earliest followers came to ascribe saving significance to his death, they did so in light of their faith in his resurrection and his exaltation to God’s right hand. Ultimately, it was their belief in Jesus as risen and exalted Lord and the conviction that...
Most of the allusions to Jesus’ death that appear in the New Testament consist of brief formulas that relate his death in various ways to the salvation and redemption of believers. Underlying these formulaic allusion to his death, however, is a basic narrative...
Pauline scholars commonly look to the ideas of substitution and participation to interpret Paul’s affirmations that believers have been justified, redeemed, and reconciled to God through Jesus’ death or blood. Here it is argued that both of those ideas as...
In addition to speaking of Jesus giving up his life for others, the Gospel of John refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and views his death as the means by which he is glorified and lifted up to heaven. The First Epistle of John and...