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Jesus and the Message of the New Testament
Joachim Jeremias was one of the most innovative and productive New Testament scholars of the twentieth century. This volume brings together some of his best-known works on historical Jesus research and core issues concerning Gospel tradition.
- GenresTheologyNew Testament
142 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2002
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About the author
Joachim Jeremias
97 books24 followersJoachim Jeremias was a German Lutheran theologian, scholar of Near Eastern Studies, and professor of New Testament studies.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 10, 2018
Jeremias (1900-1979) was a remarkable scholar whose interesting work has stood the test of time. The son of a Lutheran pastor, a member of the Confessing Church, a contemporary (and, perhaps foil) of Barth/Bultmann/Tillich, and a committed churchman, he writes with a refreshing, unabashedly Christian directness. He was an exegete and biblical theologian who carried out his research and writing not in order to engage in meaningless controversies or justify the existence of his professorship, but in order to sharpen the Christian Church's proclamation in the present. He is ever-mindful about what his discoveries mean for the Faith today. This means that, even if much of his work has been surpassed, it still has a distinct freshness and urgency.
This collection published under Fortress Press's "Fortress Classics in Biblical Studies" brings together a handful of essays and lectures previously published in different journals during the 1960s: "The Search for the History Jesus;" "The Sermon on the Mount;" "The Lord's Prayer;" and "The Central Message of the New Testament;" which is really composed of four separate essays: "Abba," "The Sacrificial Death of Jesus," "Justification by Faith," and "The Revealing Word."
Jeremias's assumptions are those of a 20th century German form-critic, but his conclusions are far more balanced and nuanced than I expected. An Aramaicist, Jeremias frequently has brilliant - absolutely brilliant - interpretations of Jesus-logia that other scholars have overlooked; by tracing the Greek of Christ's sayings back to proposed Aramaic foundations, he makes some startling discoveries that usually strengthen (that's right!) the New Testament's claim to historicity and reliability.
I'll now briefly outline what I found to be the overriding point of each chapter:
1) "The Search for the Historical Jesus" - Christ's claim to divine authority is THE origin of Christianity; the study of Christ's own words is THE central task of New Testament scholarship (12). The "search for the historical Jesus" began with Reimarus and was concluded with Schweitzer who pointed out that each scholar creates a Jesus according to his own image. Jeremias looks at Christ's words about Himself and concludes that the one who reads the Gospels must conclude that God Himself is speaking. Those who formed the early Church were certain they had heard the Word of God.
2) "The Sermon on the Mount" - Jeremias pulls three main approaches to the Sermon from Christian history: Perfectionism, Impossible Ideal, and Interim Ethic. He refutes all three and concludes that the Sermon is early Christian instruction (Didache), written to teach new converts how they must follow their Lord in a radically new way. The Gospel (Kerygma) is preliminary, and this Didache is a "set of examples" from Jesus, demonstrating to His disciples how to apply the Gospel to every aspect of life (35). Matt. 5-7 and its Lukan parallel delineate the new, lived-faith (36).
3) "The Lord's Prayer" - "The Lord's Prayer is the clearest and, in spite of its terseness, the richest summary of Jesus' proclamation that we possess" (49). It is addressed to "Abba," and is completely unique in this respect among all other ancient Jewish prayers. It is a bold and daring thing to pray to God as Father in the name of Jesus, and it is also fundamentally eschatological; it anticipates what is coming tomorrow in order to live a godly life today.
4) "The Central Message of the New Testament" - Christ's relationship to the Father and word "Abba" uniquely encapsulate the greatest truth of the New Testament: that God in Jesus Christ has saved sinners, establishing a new relationship with them so that they may boldly call him "Father."
- Paul's various illustrations of Christ's death (as sacrifice, as criminal who bore our punishment, as redeemer, as perfectly obedient man) all emphasize the "for us" aspect of the cross.
- Justification by Grace through Faith is, in the New Testament, nestled within baptismal imagery. It is not only forensic, but salvific, or soteriological. It is a gift, and it is the beginning of a movement toward a goal (93). Justification has mystical and forensic elements.
- The prologue to John's Gospel is a hymn of praise that can sound a note so joyful because the early Christian community experienced for itself the shocking reality of the Logos. God spoke from silence, and his Word is Jesus of Nazareth.
This is an excellent collection of essays that, even 50-75 years later, are remarkably powerful.
This collection published under Fortress Press's "Fortress Classics in Biblical Studies" brings together a handful of essays and lectures previously published in different journals during the 1960s: "The Search for the History Jesus;" "The Sermon on the Mount;" "The Lord's Prayer;" and "The Central Message of the New Testament;" which is really composed of four separate essays: "Abba," "The Sacrificial Death of Jesus," "Justification by Faith," and "The Revealing Word."
Jeremias's assumptions are those of a 20th century German form-critic, but his conclusions are far more balanced and nuanced than I expected. An Aramaicist, Jeremias frequently has brilliant - absolutely brilliant - interpretations of Jesus-logia that other scholars have overlooked; by tracing the Greek of Christ's sayings back to proposed Aramaic foundations, he makes some startling discoveries that usually strengthen (that's right!) the New Testament's claim to historicity and reliability.
I'll now briefly outline what I found to be the overriding point of each chapter:
1) "The Search for the Historical Jesus" - Christ's claim to divine authority is THE origin of Christianity; the study of Christ's own words is THE central task of New Testament scholarship (12). The "search for the historical Jesus" began with Reimarus and was concluded with Schweitzer who pointed out that each scholar creates a Jesus according to his own image. Jeremias looks at Christ's words about Himself and concludes that the one who reads the Gospels must conclude that God Himself is speaking. Those who formed the early Church were certain they had heard the Word of God.
2) "The Sermon on the Mount" - Jeremias pulls three main approaches to the Sermon from Christian history: Perfectionism, Impossible Ideal, and Interim Ethic. He refutes all three and concludes that the Sermon is early Christian instruction (Didache), written to teach new converts how they must follow their Lord in a radically new way. The Gospel (Kerygma) is preliminary, and this Didache is a "set of examples" from Jesus, demonstrating to His disciples how to apply the Gospel to every aspect of life (35). Matt. 5-7 and its Lukan parallel delineate the new, lived-faith (36).
3) "The Lord's Prayer" - "The Lord's Prayer is the clearest and, in spite of its terseness, the richest summary of Jesus' proclamation that we possess" (49). It is addressed to "Abba," and is completely unique in this respect among all other ancient Jewish prayers. It is a bold and daring thing to pray to God as Father in the name of Jesus, and it is also fundamentally eschatological; it anticipates what is coming tomorrow in order to live a godly life today.
4) "The Central Message of the New Testament" - Christ's relationship to the Father and word "Abba" uniquely encapsulate the greatest truth of the New Testament: that God in Jesus Christ has saved sinners, establishing a new relationship with them so that they may boldly call him "Father."
- Paul's various illustrations of Christ's death (as sacrifice, as criminal who bore our punishment, as redeemer, as perfectly obedient man) all emphasize the "for us" aspect of the cross.
- Justification by Grace through Faith is, in the New Testament, nestled within baptismal imagery. It is not only forensic, but salvific, or soteriological. It is a gift, and it is the beginning of a movement toward a goal (93). Justification has mystical and forensic elements.
- The prologue to John's Gospel is a hymn of praise that can sound a note so joyful because the early Christian community experienced for itself the shocking reality of the Logos. God spoke from silence, and his Word is Jesus of Nazareth.
This is an excellent collection of essays that, even 50-75 years later, are remarkably powerful.
February 15, 2015
What a wonderful book this was for me to read. Jeremias give a great body of information on the background of the teaching of Jesus. The years of commitment to his area of expertise comes through loud and clear. This is really a book that needs to be read by any one who claims to be a Christian and certainly anyone who wants to defend the faith. I highly recommend it. It is a great alternative to books by Ehrman, Crossan, and Borg.
September 20, 2024
A superbly insightful summary of the core of the message of the New Testament. Begins with a look at the problem of the historical Jesus. Is he even important to our faith? He concludes with a resounding yes. Christianity begins and is based on the “appearance of a man who was crucified under Pontius Pilate.”
He then takes a look at the sermon on the mount. How do we understand this key sermon of Jesus? Making the case that, rather than a single sermon, it is a collection of the sayings of Jesus, it essentially shows how the Christian life is different from Jewish life—how to live in the new era of salvation.
He then looks at the Lord’s Prayer. His famous analysis of abba as an address of God is summarized here. He makes the case of how central this prayer has always been to the church. He goes through a line-by-line exegesis.
The concluding chapter is called The Message of the New Testament. He begins by examining God as Father. He then proceeds with the centrality of the atoning power of Jesus’ death—a power which Jesus himself talked about. Also, how this death is ‘for us.’ He looks at the redemption metaphor and how this would have been a powerful metaphor for those intimately familiar with slavery. As a Lutheran, Justification by faith is of course important, but he explains how it is much more than a forensic concept, meaning more like God’s salvation or finding God’s grace. This is also the start of a new life, as signaled with baptism. He ends with a look at the Prologue of John. In short, the Logos is the God who was silent and now speaks, just as before creation God was silent, but now God speaks clearly in his Logos, Jesus Christ.
I don’t know if I’ve read a better summary of the message of the New Testament. It is not a dumbed-down version. He pursues truth with the scholarly rigor that characterizes German New Testament study, but he does it with a warm faith—a truly rare combination.
Well worth the time and well worth a re-read.
He then takes a look at the sermon on the mount. How do we understand this key sermon of Jesus? Making the case that, rather than a single sermon, it is a collection of the sayings of Jesus, it essentially shows how the Christian life is different from Jewish life—how to live in the new era of salvation.
He then looks at the Lord’s Prayer. His famous analysis of abba as an address of God is summarized here. He makes the case of how central this prayer has always been to the church. He goes through a line-by-line exegesis.
The concluding chapter is called The Message of the New Testament. He begins by examining God as Father. He then proceeds with the centrality of the atoning power of Jesus’ death—a power which Jesus himself talked about. Also, how this death is ‘for us.’ He looks at the redemption metaphor and how this would have been a powerful metaphor for those intimately familiar with slavery. As a Lutheran, Justification by faith is of course important, but he explains how it is much more than a forensic concept, meaning more like God’s salvation or finding God’s grace. This is also the start of a new life, as signaled with baptism. He ends with a look at the Prologue of John. In short, the Logos is the God who was silent and now speaks, just as before creation God was silent, but now God speaks clearly in his Logos, Jesus Christ.
I don’t know if I’ve read a better summary of the message of the New Testament. It is not a dumbed-down version. He pursues truth with the scholarly rigor that characterizes German New Testament study, but he does it with a warm faith—a truly rare combination.
Well worth the time and well worth a re-read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews