The Messianic Theology of the New Testament

by Joshua W. Jipp

One of the earliest Christian confessions—that Jesus is Messiah and Lord—has long been recognized throughout the New Testament. Joshua Jipp shows that the New Testament is in fact built upon this foundational messianic claim, and each of its primary compositions is a unique creative expansion of this common thread. Having made the same argument about the Pauline epistles in his previous book Christ Is Paul’s Royal Ideology, Jipp works methodically through the New Testament to show how the authors proclaim Jesus as the incarnate, crucified, and enthroned messiah of God. 

In the second section of this book, Jipp moves beyond exegesis toward larger theological questions, such as those of Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology, and eschatology, revealing the practical value of reading the Bible with an eye to its messianic vision. The Messianic Theology of the New Testament functions as an excellent introductory text, honoring the vigorous pluralism of the New Testament books while still addressing the obvious what makes these twenty-seven different compositions one unified testament?

Genres: New Testament, Theology

657 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2020

Reviews

[Ryan Storch · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I have some disagreements with Jipp, overall I find his project pointing out that Messianic Identity is central to the New Testament. (pg. 3). His book helpfully traces this theme primarily through the theme of Messianic Kingship. The book moves through engaging with different texts of the New Testament to different theological loci. Overall, I think that his treatment is robust, and even in places of disagreement, the reader will find this book thought-provoking and beneficial. I highly recommend it for students of scripture and preachers or teachers.

[Aaron Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a scholarly book. The problem with scholarly books is that they tend to only appeal to other scholars, therefore, any profound material doesn't often 'make it's way down' to the churches in which they may be most needed. The lay people who make up most of our congregations are not asking questions that a book like this answers, and pastors academic enough, or interested enough to engage with this materiel may still struggle to properly and adequately express these profound insights to people who are just trying to get through the week. Like most books along these lines, it was just too long.
The book is divided into two parts. Part one brings out what is meant by Jesus being the Messiah in each book of the New Testament. Chapters 1-4 are for each individual Gospel, and this was the best part of this book. There was useful materiel here. He then takes the next three chapters to cover Paul's letters and it gets endlessly repetitive. He really didn't need three long chapters and it starts to weigh readers down. I got very bored here and felt like I had read the same things over and over. I wanted the book to be done by the end of part 1, but there was a part 2 that went into more practical side of things. I think there was some good stuff here, but I had completely lost interest. I think the book would have been great if it was just the Gospel sections and Part 2.

Also, the cover is absolutely terrible. C'mon man.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josh Jipp has a unique ability to take a topic and in his first rate scholarly treatment, he gives you a lens through which to read the entire New Testament. He's done it again in the Messianic Theology of the New Testament. The first section of the book traces the theme of Jesus' Messianic identity and theology throughout the New Testament. It's a subject that we often ignore or undervalue, but what Jipp does is shows us that Messianic theology is woven throughout the entire NT, hiding in plain sight.

I think that this is a book that any Christian can appreciate. I'm sure this work will be valuable to scholars and pastors, but I also think that a thoughtful Christian who loves the Bible can also appreciate and greatly benefit from this book. One of the things I appreciate about this volume is its clear organization. It can be enjoyed from cover to cover but it can also be appreciated alongside a person's Bible study and utilized as a reference.

In the latter sections of the book, Jipp gets into more practical applications of Messianic Theology. It's valuable scholarship that is sure to be a blessing to all who read this book!

[David Ochabski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joshua Jipp is an associate professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity and received a Ph.D. from Emory University. He is the author of many books, including Saved by Faith and Hospitality, Christ is King, and Divine Visitations and Hospitality to Strangers in Luke-Acts. The purpose of this book is to answer the ultimate question of how well New Testament Christology can be classified as Messianic. Jipp does this by showing the identity and Christology of Jesus through the context of Messianic culture and showing the primary content of New Testament theology, which is Jesus. This book is separated into the following two factions: Messianic Testimony of the New Testament, which is devoted to exploring the exegesis of Scripture, and Messianic Theology, which focuses on themes such as Christology, soteriology, eschatology, sanctification, etc. Jipp recommends this work for scholars, theologians, pastors, students, and any interested in Messianic testimony.

[Daniel Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good as a reference for particular texts and topics. This book goes through the New Testament canonically and thematically, looking at how the New Testament writers conceive, portray, build on, and apply Jesus' messianic office, especially as manifested in his kingship. At slightly over 400 pages, the book is not brief, but it still seems to sacrifice a bit in depth for the sake of breadth of scope, so it has a more of the feel of an overview. This isn't really a weakness necessarily, just a stylistic note.

[Clifford Luebben · Rating 4 out of 5]

An academic tome, so not an easy or accessible read for the most part, but it is good scholarship, that draws from a wide breadth of scholastic sources from various times, disciplines, and cultures. Excellent insights, especially when things are brought together in part 2. Part 2 is also much more accessible than part 1, so even if one is not interested in working through the scholastic detail of part 1, it might be worth the purchase to read part 2. I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes the landmark publications on NT Messianic Theology for at least a couple decades.