Studies In Hermeneutics Christology And Discipleship

An exploration of the topic of discipleship in Mark's gospel as it relates to Jesus' own mission and purpose. Focusing on six passages that highlight Jesus' interaction with his followers, Henderson frames her readers' understanding of both Jesus and his disciples in the context of Mark's decidedly apocalyptic worldview.

This highly anticipated commentary on the Greek text of Romans by veteran New Testament scholar Richard Longenecker provides solid scholarship and innovative solutions to long-standing interpretive problems. Critical, exegetical, and constructive, yet pastoral in its application, Longenecker’s monumental work on Romans sets a course for the future that will promote a better understanding of this most famous of Paul’s letters and a more relevant contextualization of its message.

A classic study of Christian Iife in changing cultures, between the New Testament and the present day, first published in English in 1960 and long unavailable. `It is impossible to distil a pure creed. Every generation must proclaim the gospel in its own terms. It is foolish to withhold belief from the creeds of another generation simply because we cannot use their language today. But it is just as foolish to assent to all the creeds together, as if orthodoxy were like some cafeteria where you are obliged to eat something of everything... The New Testament contributors were courageous enough to be one-sided. They made their choice, and preached the message in terms their hearers could grasp, opposing clearly the special dangers of their time and place. Must our younger generation (or to take a quite different example, the Japanese people) first be converted to a Hebrew or Greek way of thinking in order to be able to receive the gospel? Or may we, without denying the old creeds, proclaim the same truth in the West, perhaps in terms of the meaning of God's acts for our existence, and in Japan, perhaps in quite different terms?'

The early followers of Jesus drew from Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions and titles to help them understand and articulate who Jesus was. This book opens a window into the Christology of the first century by helping readers understand the eleven most significant titles for Jesus in the New Testament: Lord, Son of Man, Messiah, Prophet, Suffering Servant, Son of God, Last Adam, Passover Lamb, Savior, Word, and High Priest. The authors trace the history of each title in the Old Testament, Second Temple literature, and Greco-Roman literature and look at the context in which the New Testament writers retrieved these traditions to communicate their understanding of Christ. The result is a robust portrait that is closely tied to the sacred traditions of Israel and beyond that took on new significance in light of Jesus Christ. This accessible and up-to-date exegetical study defends an early "high" Christology and argues that the titles of Jesus invariably point to an understanding of Jesus as God. In the process, it will help readers appreciate the biblical witness to the person of Jesus.

Translated by Rosemary Selle The work of one of the world's foremost New Testament scholars, Ulrich Luz, this book gathers eighteen penetrating studies of Matthew's Gospel, available here in English for the first time. Luz's groundbreaking work ranges widely over the critical issues of Matthean studies, including the narrative structure and sources of the Gospel and its presentation of such themes as christology, discipleship, miracles, and Israel. Several chapters also outline and demonstrate the hermeneutical methods underlying Luz's acclaimed commentary on Matthew, for which this book can serve as a companion. Luz is particularly conscious of the Gospel's reception history, a history of interpretation connecting us with the past that determines so many of our questions, categories, and values. Studies in Matthew thus constitutes a noteworthy contribution to biblical hermeneutics as well as to exegesis.

The Sermon on the Mount is perhaps the most famous passage in the Gospel of Matthew. Even unbelievers like Mahatma Gandhi appreciate the teaching of the Sermon and applaud the high morality it espouses. Others see in statements like Òlove your enemies and Òturn the other cheek a powerful rhetoric against war and violence. Most Christians are familiar with the Sermon, and see it as delineating important ethical principles for Christian living. Familiarity with the Sermon, however, can ironically prevent Christians from understanding its true message and significance. Some, for instance, see the Sermon merely as a body of Òethical teachings that has some practical relevance. Many find some of its imperatives too idealistic. In this book, Chia asks basic questions as he reflects on the Sermon on the Mount: What is the main focus of the Sermon? Does the Sermon present a code of conduct for Christians, or is the Sermon really about the dawn of a new eschatological community inaugurated by Jesus Christ? Chia maintains that the Sermon can be properly understood and its significance firmly grasped only when it is read in the light of Christ and God's eschatological kingdom. The Sermon presents the attitude, values, and conduct of the new community that Christ has gathered in his name. But this new reality that has dawned awaits fulfillment at the consummation of the kingdom of God. In the ambivalence of the Òalready and Ònot yet, the Sermon depicts Christian discipleship as an Òimpossible possibility. Yet, the Sermon clearly challenges Christ's disciples to be a community of character and to embody an ethic which is inimical to that of the world.

Annotation. This book addresses the relationship between theological method and experience.