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Honoring the Son: Jesus in Earliest Christian Devotional Practice
Before the New Testament or the creeds of the church were written, the devotional practices of the earliest Christians indicate that they worshipped Jesus alongside the Father.
Larry W. Hurtado has been one of the leading scholars on early Christology for decades. In Honoring the Son: Jesus in Earliest Christian Devotional Practice, Hurtado helps readers understand early Christology by examining not just what early Christians believed or wrote about Jesus, but what their devotional practices tell us about the place of Jesus in early Christian worship.
Drawing on his extensive knowledge of early Christian origins and scholarship on New Testament Christology, Hurtado examines the distinctiveness of early Christian worship by comparing it to both Jewish worship patterns and worship practices within the broader Roman-era religious environment. He argues that the inclusion of the risen Jesus alongside the Father in early Christian devotional practices was a distinct and unique religious phenomenon within its ancient context. Additionally, Hurtado demonstrates that this remarkable development was not invented decades after the resurrection of Christ as some scholars once claimed. Instead, the New Testament suggests that Jesus-followers, very quickly after the resurrection of Christ, began to worship the Son alongside the Father.
Honoring the Son offers a look into the worship habits of the earliest Christians to understand the place of Jesus in early Christian devotion.
Larry W. Hurtado has been one of the leading scholars on early Christology for decades. In Honoring the Son: Jesus in Earliest Christian Devotional Practice, Hurtado helps readers understand early Christology by examining not just what early Christians believed or wrote about Jesus, but what their devotional practices tell us about the place of Jesus in early Christian worship.
Drawing on his extensive knowledge of early Christian origins and scholarship on New Testament Christology, Hurtado examines the distinctiveness of early Christian worship by comparing it to both Jewish worship patterns and worship practices within the broader Roman-era religious environment. He argues that the inclusion of the risen Jesus alongside the Father in early Christian devotional practices was a distinct and unique religious phenomenon within its ancient context. Additionally, Hurtado demonstrates that this remarkable development was not invented decades after the resurrection of Christ as some scholars once claimed. Instead, the New Testament suggests that Jesus-followers, very quickly after the resurrection of Christ, began to worship the Son alongside the Father.
Honoring the Son offers a look into the worship habits of the earliest Christians to understand the place of Jesus in early Christian devotion.
160 pages, Paperback
Published June 27, 2018
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113 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 14, 2019
This is a really short book which shows that the worship of Jesus as God appears from the beginning of Christianity and is not just the product of later Hellenization of Christianity.
April 11, 2024
A magnificent summary of some very important research. Early Christian devotional practices (i.e. worship) are fascinating and an important aspect of our understanding of how the Church formed. Hurtado's opinion is that understanding Jesus as divine and in a dyadic relationship with God the Father was unique, remarkable, and extremely early, potentially appearing within the first year or months after Jesus' death. Besides being just plain correct in view of the evidence, I enjoy thinking about this period as a person of faith. I would recommend this book to any scholar of the period and any Christian interested in the NT biblical period.
December 19, 2021
The exegetical work in Ch 5 and the responses to Ehrman in the appendix are worth the price of admission! The bibliography at the end will serve as an invaluable resource for a long time as well.
April 23, 2019
This short book is a good introduction to the scholarly argument for the early worship of Jesus. Whilst for many of us this is a given, in the academic world it is far more complicated. Though this book is treating a scholarly topic, it is reasonably easy to read and a good introduction to this topic - as well as an introduction to the worship practices of 1st Century Judaism and 1st Century Romans/Greeks.
For a short book it is well referenced! Also includes an article by the Author (as an Appendix) responding to Ehrman's opposing view.
For a short book it is well referenced! Also includes an article by the Author (as an Appendix) responding to Ehrman's opposing view.
December 27, 2022
Really good concise book. Worship is a better way of evaluating religious beliefs than doctrinal creeds or statements - this is Hurtado’s argument.
March 4, 2019
Larry Hurtado is Emeritus Professor of New Testament Language, Literature and Theology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (although he was born in Kansas City which is automatically a plus for me), and has spent most of the last 30+ years of his career researching and studying Early Christianity and the origins of the earliest "Jesus devotion". I have only become acquainted with his work in the last year or so, and have mainly been keeping up with his blog, https://larryhurtado.wordpress.com. He interacts with a wide range of scholars through his work, both those who share his views on Early Christianity and those who do not, i.e. Richard Bauckham, James D. G. Dunn, Paula Fredriksen, Bart Ehrman, etc.
Admittedly, I am very new to the study of Christian origins and Jesus devotion. I am not a seminarian, trained theologian, or New Testament historian - I am a Civil Engineer who follows Jesus Christ and has a (sometimes overly) curious mind about his faith. Not only that, but Larry Hurtado is really the first true "New Testament scholar" that I've read (I appreciate works by people like Tim Keller and John Piper, but they are more pastor-theologians). All that being said, it's hard for me to judge Hurtado's case against the other scholars that I have not read.
His case is essentially this: devotion and worship to Jesus erupted extremely early (within the first several months or few years) after Jesus' crucifixion and what His disciples (and Paul) experienced to be His resurrection. This happened within Roman-era Jewish circles as a "mutation" of the worship of the God of Israel (Yahweh), rather than worshiping Jesus as a "second god" or "angelic being". The earliest followers of Jesus believed that the God of Israel required them to give honor and praise to His Son after Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God as ultimate ruler and authority of all creation, proving His status as divine Son by defeating death through God raising Him from the dead.
What Hurtado is arguing AGAINST, I believe, is the notion that worship and devotion to Jesus emerged slowly over several decades throughout the first century, that it originated in Greek circles, and was born out of the pagan ideas of gods/demigods/deities.
I believe Hurtado makes a cogent, concise case for all of this in his short 68 page book (plus a book review of one of Bart Ehrman's works at the end). He cites many of his previous scholarly works, as well as the scholarly works of others who both agree and disagree with him. He uses both Old and New Testament Scripture, writings of the church fathers, writings of Pliny and other extra-biblical/extra-canonical evidence. It's also worth noting that, although Hurtado is a Christian, he approaches the study of Christian Origins as an historian, not an apologist. As a Christian myself, I deeply appreciate this, because it often comes across more authentic and believable. I definitely believe there are some great Christian apologists out there, and I look forward to reading some of their works. However, I'm currently in a season of life where I appreciate as objective of a voice as possible regarding what I've built my entire life on.
Please purchase and read this short and compelling book, and consider taking up one of Hurtado's other works such as "Destroyer of the gods". I certainly plan to.
Admittedly, I am very new to the study of Christian origins and Jesus devotion. I am not a seminarian, trained theologian, or New Testament historian - I am a Civil Engineer who follows Jesus Christ and has a (sometimes overly) curious mind about his faith. Not only that, but Larry Hurtado is really the first true "New Testament scholar" that I've read (I appreciate works by people like Tim Keller and John Piper, but they are more pastor-theologians). All that being said, it's hard for me to judge Hurtado's case against the other scholars that I have not read.
His case is essentially this: devotion and worship to Jesus erupted extremely early (within the first several months or few years) after Jesus' crucifixion and what His disciples (and Paul) experienced to be His resurrection. This happened within Roman-era Jewish circles as a "mutation" of the worship of the God of Israel (Yahweh), rather than worshiping Jesus as a "second god" or "angelic being". The earliest followers of Jesus believed that the God of Israel required them to give honor and praise to His Son after Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God as ultimate ruler and authority of all creation, proving His status as divine Son by defeating death through God raising Him from the dead.
What Hurtado is arguing AGAINST, I believe, is the notion that worship and devotion to Jesus emerged slowly over several decades throughout the first century, that it originated in Greek circles, and was born out of the pagan ideas of gods/demigods/deities.
I believe Hurtado makes a cogent, concise case for all of this in his short 68 page book (plus a book review of one of Bart Ehrman's works at the end). He cites many of his previous scholarly works, as well as the scholarly works of others who both agree and disagree with him. He uses both Old and New Testament Scripture, writings of the church fathers, writings of Pliny and other extra-biblical/extra-canonical evidence. It's also worth noting that, although Hurtado is a Christian, he approaches the study of Christian Origins as an historian, not an apologist. As a Christian myself, I deeply appreciate this, because it often comes across more authentic and believable. I definitely believe there are some great Christian apologists out there, and I look forward to reading some of their works. However, I'm currently in a season of life where I appreciate as objective of a voice as possible regarding what I've built my entire life on.
Please purchase and read this short and compelling book, and consider taking up one of Hurtado's other works such as "Destroyer of the gods". I certainly plan to.
April 30, 2020
Comme le nom de la collection l’indique – Snapshots –, le plus récent livre de Larry Hurtado, Honoring the Son, se veut une brève présentation de l’histoire de la dévotion primitive du Christ au premier siècle. En un tour de force – 76 pages de texte seulement –, Larry Hurtado réussit à introduire avec brio sa thèse concernant l’origine de l’adoration du Christ. Hurtado y décrit de façon systématique, avec concision et clarté l’état de la question : non seulement sa thèse et ses arguments, mais également celles d’autres spécialistes ayant des points de vue divergents. Comme la bibliographie de douze pages en témoigne, Hurtado cite les principaux ouvrages à consulter pour approfondir tel ou tel aspect de la question. L’index des thèmes abordés dans le livre et l’index des textes anciens cités rendent ce petit livret facile à consulter dans l’optique qui intéresse le lecteur. Il s’agit d’un ouvrage incontournable pour initier les personnes intéressées aux débats académiques sur l'origine de la dévotion du Christ.
September 18, 2019
Read my full review at Spoiled Milks (09/21/18).
In this book, Larry Hurtado distills the last 30 years of research into one small book.
His Introduction briefly reviews 20th century scholarship on how Jesus received cultic (that is, ”religious") devotion.
Chapter 2 covers worship in the ancient world. Worship was "the heart of Roman-era religion" (21). They viewed gods as the guardians of homes, towns, nations, and the Roman Empire. While you would have your own god(s), when you went to other towns you would worship and 'honor' other gods. To refuse to honor gods "might provoke them to retaliate, or at least to take offense" (22). It was irresponsible (and antisocial) to refuse to worship other gods. Chapter 3 looks at ancient Jewish monotheism. Everyone honored each others gods, except for the Jews. They worshipped only Yahweh alone.
Chapter 4 brings us to the early Christian "mutation." Jews died for their belief that they worshiped one God alone. How did Jewish Christians come to incorporate Jesus into their devotional practices? Paul regularly refers to Jesus as "Lord" (Rom 10.9-13; Phil 2.9-11; Isa 45.23; 1 Cor 8.4-6). Chapter 5 presents the different ways in which Jesus was worshiped, honored, and revered not as a second god, nor at God's expense, but with God as a recipient. Prayers, calling on Jesus' name, the place of Jesus in baptism and the Lord's supper, prophecy, and hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs all feature the uniqueness of Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, in the New Testament time.
Every chapter was good, and it was especially helpful to have the brief overview of Greco-Roman thought when it came to religious worship. The Jews stood in stark contrast to them, with many being mocked and martyred for their beliefs. For Paul, the other NT authors, and the early churches to view Jesus so highly would be in stark contrast to the Jewish way of life, while still fitting with the Old Testament!
The writing here is very academic. Hurtado can be as precise as he needs to be to get his point across, but less people will want to read it. One example is how Hurtado once described this new devotional pattern (worshiping God the Father and the Son) as “binitarian" but now describes this Christian development as “dyadic." However he doesn't explain what a dyad is. (Wikipedia: "In sociology, a dyad is a group of two people, the smallest possible social group. As an adjective, 'dyadic' describes their interaction.”)
I do hope many pastors and teachers will pick this up to show the historical significance of Jewish Christians worshiping Jesus and calling on his name to be saved. Hurtado's book helps to affirm the divine position of the Son of God.
In this book, Larry Hurtado distills the last 30 years of research into one small book.
His Introduction briefly reviews 20th century scholarship on how Jesus received cultic (that is, ”religious") devotion.
Chapter 2 covers worship in the ancient world. Worship was "the heart of Roman-era religion" (21). They viewed gods as the guardians of homes, towns, nations, and the Roman Empire. While you would have your own god(s), when you went to other towns you would worship and 'honor' other gods. To refuse to honor gods "might provoke them to retaliate, or at least to take offense" (22). It was irresponsible (and antisocial) to refuse to worship other gods. Chapter 3 looks at ancient Jewish monotheism. Everyone honored each others gods, except for the Jews. They worshipped only Yahweh alone.
Chapter 4 brings us to the early Christian "mutation." Jews died for their belief that they worshiped one God alone. How did Jewish Christians come to incorporate Jesus into their devotional practices? Paul regularly refers to Jesus as "Lord" (Rom 10.9-13; Phil 2.9-11; Isa 45.23; 1 Cor 8.4-6). Chapter 5 presents the different ways in which Jesus was worshiped, honored, and revered not as a second god, nor at God's expense, but with God as a recipient. Prayers, calling on Jesus' name, the place of Jesus in baptism and the Lord's supper, prophecy, and hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs all feature the uniqueness of Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, in the New Testament time.
Every chapter was good, and it was especially helpful to have the brief overview of Greco-Roman thought when it came to religious worship. The Jews stood in stark contrast to them, with many being mocked and martyred for their beliefs. For Paul, the other NT authors, and the early churches to view Jesus so highly would be in stark contrast to the Jewish way of life, while still fitting with the Old Testament!
The writing here is very academic. Hurtado can be as precise as he needs to be to get his point across, but less people will want to read it. One example is how Hurtado once described this new devotional pattern (worshiping God the Father and the Son) as “binitarian" but now describes this Christian development as “dyadic." However he doesn't explain what a dyad is. (Wikipedia: "In sociology, a dyad is a group of two people, the smallest possible social group. As an adjective, 'dyadic' describes their interaction.”)
I do hope many pastors and teachers will pick this up to show the historical significance of Jewish Christians worshiping Jesus and calling on his name to be saved. Hurtado's book helps to affirm the divine position of the Son of God.
June 18, 2018
When did Christians begin to worship Jesus as God? Some scholars believe that the ascription of divinity to Jesus only happened in the latter part of the first century or in the beginning of the second. Honoring the Son: Jesus in Earliest Christian Devotional Practice is the latest offering by Larry Hurtado, in which he argues that worshipping Jesus as God was an early Christian practice. Honoring the Son is, in fact, a brief synopsis (95 pages including indexes) of Hurtado’s work over the past few decades. This book, edited by Michael F. Bird, is part of the Lexham Press series known as “Snapshots.” Larry Hurtado is Emeritus Professor of New Testament Language, Literature and Theology at the University of Edinburgh and, beginning with his first book entitled One God, One Lord: Early Christian Devotion and Ancient Jewish Monotheism, has written extensively on this topic for over thirty years.
For the rest of the review see http://www.biblestudywithrandy.com/20...
For the rest of the review see http://www.biblestudywithrandy.com/20...
July 1, 2022
A short version of Dr. Larry Hurtado's (1943-2019) extensive research on early Christianity, focusing on "Jesus devotion." He does an excellent job of investigating the devotional habits of early Jesus followers and shows that Jesus was worshipped as God at an early date following the Resurrection (naysayers tried to put it back a couple of centuries and force Greco/Roman cultic influence on the subject). I highly recommend this brief monograph and I am looking at reading more of Dr. Hurtado's work.
April 17, 2023
A short and helpful read for understanding how, when and why Jesus came to be worshipped alongside the Jewish God.
One take away is that for the ancient world belief in God/gods was connected to how you worshipped and sacrificed. As the early church emerged we see a shift to belief statements and creeds.
Hurtado also looks at the early evidence for the dyadic and triadic nature of God in various areas of church practice.
One take away is that for the ancient world belief in God/gods was connected to how you worshipped and sacrificed. As the early church emerged we see a shift to belief statements and creeds.
Hurtado also looks at the early evidence for the dyadic and triadic nature of God in various areas of church practice.
December 31, 2020
An excellent, condensed resource highlighting the major findings of the author's scholarship. It is an essential read to understanding and seeing the historical proof of early Christianity's acceptance and worship of Jesus as God.
November 22, 2022
Helpful little book on the worship of Christ in the early church. Hurtado argues that the worship of Christ as God find's its origin in ancient Jewish monotheism and not Hellenistic worship practices. He also has a section in which he critiques one of Bart Erhman's latest books. Recommended.
November 24, 2024
Hurtado’s “Honoring the Son” is yet another important contribution by this impactful historian. Hurtado argues that the evidence of the worship of Jesus as divine is pervasive in the early church and demonstrates how early the church’s doctrine of the divinity of Jesus was formed.
November 2, 2018
A good book - brief, well structured, well evidenced from the Scriptures, well argued. I'm convinced!
July 26, 2018
A fantastic summary of Hurtado’s research and publications.
February 6, 2020
A very short overview of many of the arguments that Hurtado has made in previous book and journal articles.
July 28, 2021
Skimmed it, couldn't get into it. Honestly, I thought it was a different book.
May 30, 2024
Great distillation of Hurtado's thinking on how quickly Jesus was worshipped as the Christ.
September 18, 2019
Read my full review at Spoiled Milks (09/21/18).
In this book, Larry Hurtado distills the last 30 years of research into one small book.
His Introduction briefly reviews 20th century scholarship on how Jesus received cultic (that is, ”religious") devotion.
Chapter 2 covers worship in the ancient world. Worship was "the heart of Roman-era religion" (21). They viewed gods as the guardians of homes, towns, nations, and the Roman Empire. While you would have your own god(s), when you went to other towns you would worship and 'honor' other gods. To refuse to honor gods "might provoke them to retaliate, or at least to take offense" (22). It was irresponsible (and antisocial) to refuse to worship other gods. Chapter 3 looks at ancient Jewish monotheism. Everyone honored each others gods, except for the Jews. They worshipped only Yahweh alone.
Chapter 4 brings us to the early Christian "mutation." Jews died for their belief that they worshiped one God alone. How did Jewish Christians come to incorporate Jesus into their devotional practices? Paul regularly refers to Jesus as "Lord" (Rom 10.9-13; Phil 2.9-11; Isa 45.23; 1 Cor 8.4-6). Chapter 5 presents the different ways in which Jesus was worshiped, honored, and revered not as a second god, nor at God's expense, but with God as a recipient. Prayers, calling on Jesus' name, the place of Jesus in baptism and the Lord's supper, prophecy, and hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs all feature the uniqueness of Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, in the New Testament time.
Every chapter was good, and it was especially helpful to have the brief overview of Greco-Roman thought when it came to religious worship. The Jews stood in stark contrast to them, with many being mocked and martyred for their beliefs. For Paul, the other NT authors, and the early churches to view Jesus so highly would be in stark contrast to the Jewish way of life, while still fitting with the Old Testament!
The writing here is very academic. Hurtado can be as precise as he needs to be to get his point across, but less people will want to read it. One example is how Hurtado once described this new devotional pattern (worshiping God the Father and the Son) as “binitarian" but now describes this Christian development as “dyadic." However he doesn't explain what a dyad is. (Wikipedia: "In sociology, a dyad is a group of two people, the smallest possible social group. As an adjective, 'dyadic' describes their interaction.”)
I do hope many pastors and teachers will pick this up to show the historical significance of Jewish Christians worshiping Jesus and calling on his name to be saved. Hurtado's book helps to affirm the divine position of the Son of God.
In this book, Larry Hurtado distills the last 30 years of research into one small book.
His Introduction briefly reviews 20th century scholarship on how Jesus received cultic (that is, ”religious") devotion.
Chapter 2 covers worship in the ancient world. Worship was "the heart of Roman-era religion" (21). They viewed gods as the guardians of homes, towns, nations, and the Roman Empire. While you would have your own god(s), when you went to other towns you would worship and 'honor' other gods. To refuse to honor gods "might provoke them to retaliate, or at least to take offense" (22). It was irresponsible (and antisocial) to refuse to worship other gods. Chapter 3 looks at ancient Jewish monotheism. Everyone honored each others gods, except for the Jews. They worshipped only Yahweh alone.
Chapter 4 brings us to the early Christian "mutation." Jews died for their belief that they worshiped one God alone. How did Jewish Christians come to incorporate Jesus into their devotional practices? Paul regularly refers to Jesus as "Lord" (Rom 10.9-13; Phil 2.9-11; Isa 45.23; 1 Cor 8.4-6). Chapter 5 presents the different ways in which Jesus was worshiped, honored, and revered not as a second god, nor at God's expense, but with God as a recipient. Prayers, calling on Jesus' name, the place of Jesus in baptism and the Lord's supper, prophecy, and hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs all feature the uniqueness of Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, in the New Testament time.
Every chapter was good, and it was especially helpful to have the brief overview of Greco-Roman thought when it came to religious worship. The Jews stood in stark contrast to them, with many being mocked and martyred for their beliefs. For Paul, the other NT authors, and the early churches to view Jesus so highly would be in stark contrast to the Jewish way of life, while still fitting with the Old Testament!
The writing here is very academic. Hurtado can be as precise as he needs to be to get his point across, but less people will want to read it. One example is how Hurtado once described this new devotional pattern (worshiping God the Father and the Son) as “binitarian" but now describes this Christian development as “dyadic." However he doesn't explain what a dyad is. (Wikipedia: "In sociology, a dyad is a group of two people, the smallest possible social group. As an adjective, 'dyadic' describes their interaction.”)
I do hope many pastors and teachers will pick this up to show the historical significance of Jewish Christians worshiping Jesus and calling on his name to be saved. Hurtado's book helps to affirm the divine position of the Son of God.
July 30, 2018
6/10 (not bad): I'm a big fan of Larry Hurtado's work, but I was disappointed with this book. It's essentially a summary and simplification of his larger works (especially Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity), but at less than 30,000 words, it's just too short (Lord Jesus Christ is more than twelve times the size). I'm not against short books, but $16 for 76 pages of text is hardly value for money.
January 15, 2019
A helpful and brief (76 page) summary of historian Larry Hurtado’s research into early Christian attitudes to Jesus, and what made the early Jesus movement distinct within it’s context. Like a shorter version of his book ‘Destroyer of the gods’. I preferred the latter for it’s attention-grabbing detail, but - if you have less time, and an interest in first century history, religion, or the development of the Christian faith - this little slice of Hurtado is essential reading. It’s not, despite it’s length, a light book - the tone is dense and thinky, but quite readable.
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