Jesus Reads Scripture: The Function of Jesus' Use of Scripture in the Synoptic Gospels

by Emerson B. Powery

This project highlights Jesus' use of scripture within each Synoptic Gospel as an important component of each Gospel's narrative rhetoric. Using literary analysis--particularly composition criticism, narrative criticism, and comparative analysis--the main object of study is the explicit citation of Jesus, rather than any implied citation, allusion or echo. Concentration on the latter areas offers insight into the way scripture was understood by Christians and Jews in Second Temple Judaism, however, the study of explicit citations provides the basis upon which we assume other allusions may be heard by first century audiences. The study concludes that each Gospel offers its own distinctive portrayal of Jesus' use of scripture based on each one's narrative rhetoric.

296 pages, Hardcover

First published November 29, 2002

About the author

Professor of Biblical Studies

Powery joined the Messiah faculty as Professor of Biblical Studies in 2008. His research, writing, and editing relates to the New Testament, including Jesus Reads Scripture (Brill, 2003) and True to Our Native Land: An African American NT Commentary (Fortress/Augsburg, 2007). His most recent (co-authored) publication, The Genesis of Liberation: Biblical Interpretation in the Antebellum Narratives of the Enslaved (WJKP, 2016), engages the function of the Bible in the 19th-century ‘slave narrative’ tradition, including the narratives of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs.

Powery served on the editorial board of the Journal of Biblical Literature (2005-2013) and the editorial board for the Common English Bible; also, he was a recent past (regional) President of the Society of Biblical Literature (SE Region; 2006-2007).

Presently, he co-chairs the “Slavery, Resistance, and Freedom” section of SBL.

When not dissecting some peculiar Greek phrase, wrestling with a cultural hermeneutical perspective, or listening to Bob Marley’s tunes, Emerson enjoys attending Mets games, with Kimberly and their four sons, in D.C. or Philadelphia.