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Jesús de Nazaret: Mensaje e historia
El poder inquebrantable de irradiación y atracción de Jesús de Nazaret alcanza mucho más allá de las fronteras del cristianismo. Este libro ofrece la exposición magistral de su mensaje y de su historia de la mano de un acreditado experto en Nuevo Testamento. Joachim Gnilka ilumina la figura de Jesús por todos los lados accesibles hoy a la investigación histórica. La sitúa en el contexto del mundo político, religioso y social de su tiempo. Tanto de la afinidad como de las tensiones respecto de su pueblo, Gnilka extrae la personalidad y la autoridad de Jesús, que encendieron el conflicto mortal con las autoridades políticas y religiosas de su tiempo. Este libro cautiva a cualquier lector interesado por la historia y la religió las informaciones sobre el trasfondo histórico y la fuerza liberadora del mensaje de la vida de Jesús se enlazan en una unidad viva que proyecta una nueva luz para el lector de hoy sobre la actuación de Jesús en su tiempo y tiende un puente que une el mensaje original de Jesús con las experiencias del ser cristiano hoy.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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May 29, 2024
A HISTORICAL FOCUS ON THE MESSAGE OF JESUS
Joachim Gnilka (1928-2018) was a German Catholic theologian and biblical scholar. He wrote in the original Preface to this 1993 book, “It is not possible, of course, to write a biography of Jesus. One may attempt to reconstruct his message and to elucidate his ministry from the political and intellectual-religious perspective of his time. The biblical depiction of his life takes on quasi-biographical traits only for the final hours, the hours of his passion, which we know were preserved, perhaps with theological reflection, in an early passion narrative. Therefore the reader should… read [this book] as a pointer to the one who for us, as Christians, is simply decisive.”
He adds in the Preface to the Special Edition, “There is a Jesus-portrait of faith… this portrait deals with the exalted Christ… The human Jesus becomes the focal point in the events of particular periods of time, such as the Franciscan movement and the Crusades. The scholarly-historical interest in the human Jesus arose in the Enlightenment… It penetrated the church only gradually and for a long time was viewed skeptically… the events of time influenced the portrayal of Jesus… Jesus the author of order, the liberal Jesus, Jesus the social reformer---all these are aspects that were meaningful for a time… What is presented here is not a life of Jesus. The nature of the sources makes it impossible to write a life of Jesus. The focal point is the message and history of Jesus, with more emphasis on the message.”
He observes, “It is informative that according to the Synoptic Gospels Jesus said little about sin. It is probably even more significant that he always speaks of forgiveness when he refers to sin… Yet precisely in conjunction with the concrete granting of forgiveness in these periscopes, one is to reckon with the influence of the community’s theology. In keeping with their experience of Jesus, the community practiced the granting of forgiveness. The term ‘sinner’ occurs more frequently in the Gospels then elsewhere in the NT, especially in Luke… It has to be regarded as a significant characteristic of Jesus’ activity that he was concerned particularly with those people who were considered notorious sinners by their society and neighborhood.” (Pg. 102)
He points out, “Jesus’ healings are not completely dealt with by appealing to an outdated worldview in which the world is occupied by demons. The healing narratives of the Gospels are completely adapted to their addresses’ scope of understanding. Jesus’ exorcisms are more difficult to evaluate… Can this kind of activity, which still exists among ‘primitive’ peoples today, be made more relevant to us? Demonic possession has been associated with … nervous and mental illnesses… as well as with the phenomenon of loss of identity… Jesus did not create this situation but found it. His exorcistic ministry deals in the liberating manner with persons in this predicament.” (Pg. 119-120)
He notes, “There is no explanation anywhere in the gospel of what the reign of God it. Jesus refused to define it or to explicate it theoretically… a theoretical presentation would not have been appropriate to his language… The message speaks about God’s acts or it promises them. God acts regally, reigns as kind, and manifests his royal power… the redemptive action described as the reign of God is seen as something coming entirely and exclusively from God to us.” (Pg. 135-136)
He states, “Jesus lived a celibate life; he renounced establishing his own family, wife, and children… To be single, in rabbinic Judaism, was tantamount to bloodshed and meant to be refused ordination as a rabbi. Only Qumran had monks living a celibate lifestyle… This lifestyle, departing from the norm, once again is focused on the kingdom of God. Marriage and family are not renounced for the sake of some ascetic ideal, nor to attain the kingdom of God, but rather in order to work singlemindedly and with every ounce of strength… Jesus granted his love precisely to those who were deemed unlovable by others.” (Pg. 172-173)
He says, “by accepting women among his followers Jesus did something very provocative for his contemporaries. Women disciples among the Jewish rabbis were inconceivable… When Jesus admits women as disciples, he seeks to alleviate the position of women suppressed by society and to promote the restoration of their human dignity.” (Pg. 179-180)
He acknowledges, “While the reason for Jesus’ teaching is not acceptable to the atheist in the final analysis, it is binding to the disciple. To begin with, the atheist could adopt it because the practice of loving one’s enemy is bound up with prayer… the ability to love one’s enemy is a process the needs to be practiced in prayer first of all… the prevention of war is not yet tantamount to the fulfillment of Jesus’ instruction to love one’s enemy. Jesus’ approach reaches further. The enemy Jesus addresses is any kind of enemy… The sociopolitical dimension cannot be excluded, however.” (Pg. 228)
He explains, “The concrete instructions of Jesus being to the open what is genuinely ‘Christian’; they demonstrate that the historical Jesus certainly had something to do with Christianity, and they even Christianity to be examined… In the course of the history of Christianity these teachings have time and again been allowed to be forgotten, or they were flagrantly opposed; otherwise many wars … among Christians… would not have been possible… The remembrance of Jesus’ concrete instruction is inconvenient. Nevertheless, for the sake of the identity of what is Christian, it remains a given. The instruction also concerns the relationship to the state. In modern times it degenerated into the doctrine of divine right. In contemporary terms, it applies to the responsible citizen.” (Pg. 237-238)
He observes, “we become aware of this special relationship with God… in the little word ‘Abba’ only if we bring to bear the entire context his mission … in its uniqueness Jesus’ authority in mission is not derived historically. The available messianic titles capture it only in part and in fragmentary fashion. The title of Messiah probably comes closest to his missionary claim if two essential changes are included: (1) Jesus … saves his people not by conquering his foes but by presenting himself paradoxically as the one who has been put to death. (2) What links him with God, whom he calls his Father, is the bond of a unique sonship.” (Pg. 262-263)
He suggests, “The empty tomb is not the causal element for the Easter faith. The causal encounter is the encounter with the risen one with his chosen witnesses… Yet the empty tomb or the tomb of Jesus can also be misinterpreted, as we learn from the New Testament already, for instance in the hypothesis of the theft of Jesus’ body that existed even then… What is basic, then, is the attestation by chosen witnesses that the resurrected one is alive.” (Pg. 327)
This book will be of keen interest to those interested in the historical Jesus, and his teachings.
Joachim Gnilka (1928-2018) was a German Catholic theologian and biblical scholar. He wrote in the original Preface to this 1993 book, “It is not possible, of course, to write a biography of Jesus. One may attempt to reconstruct his message and to elucidate his ministry from the political and intellectual-religious perspective of his time. The biblical depiction of his life takes on quasi-biographical traits only for the final hours, the hours of his passion, which we know were preserved, perhaps with theological reflection, in an early passion narrative. Therefore the reader should… read [this book] as a pointer to the one who for us, as Christians, is simply decisive.”
He adds in the Preface to the Special Edition, “There is a Jesus-portrait of faith… this portrait deals with the exalted Christ… The human Jesus becomes the focal point in the events of particular periods of time, such as the Franciscan movement and the Crusades. The scholarly-historical interest in the human Jesus arose in the Enlightenment… It penetrated the church only gradually and for a long time was viewed skeptically… the events of time influenced the portrayal of Jesus… Jesus the author of order, the liberal Jesus, Jesus the social reformer---all these are aspects that were meaningful for a time… What is presented here is not a life of Jesus. The nature of the sources makes it impossible to write a life of Jesus. The focal point is the message and history of Jesus, with more emphasis on the message.”
He observes, “It is informative that according to the Synoptic Gospels Jesus said little about sin. It is probably even more significant that he always speaks of forgiveness when he refers to sin… Yet precisely in conjunction with the concrete granting of forgiveness in these periscopes, one is to reckon with the influence of the community’s theology. In keeping with their experience of Jesus, the community practiced the granting of forgiveness. The term ‘sinner’ occurs more frequently in the Gospels then elsewhere in the NT, especially in Luke… It has to be regarded as a significant characteristic of Jesus’ activity that he was concerned particularly with those people who were considered notorious sinners by their society and neighborhood.” (Pg. 102)
He points out, “Jesus’ healings are not completely dealt with by appealing to an outdated worldview in which the world is occupied by demons. The healing narratives of the Gospels are completely adapted to their addresses’ scope of understanding. Jesus’ exorcisms are more difficult to evaluate… Can this kind of activity, which still exists among ‘primitive’ peoples today, be made more relevant to us? Demonic possession has been associated with … nervous and mental illnesses… as well as with the phenomenon of loss of identity… Jesus did not create this situation but found it. His exorcistic ministry deals in the liberating manner with persons in this predicament.” (Pg. 119-120)
He notes, “There is no explanation anywhere in the gospel of what the reign of God it. Jesus refused to define it or to explicate it theoretically… a theoretical presentation would not have been appropriate to his language… The message speaks about God’s acts or it promises them. God acts regally, reigns as kind, and manifests his royal power… the redemptive action described as the reign of God is seen as something coming entirely and exclusively from God to us.” (Pg. 135-136)
He states, “Jesus lived a celibate life; he renounced establishing his own family, wife, and children… To be single, in rabbinic Judaism, was tantamount to bloodshed and meant to be refused ordination as a rabbi. Only Qumran had monks living a celibate lifestyle… This lifestyle, departing from the norm, once again is focused on the kingdom of God. Marriage and family are not renounced for the sake of some ascetic ideal, nor to attain the kingdom of God, but rather in order to work singlemindedly and with every ounce of strength… Jesus granted his love precisely to those who were deemed unlovable by others.” (Pg. 172-173)
He says, “by accepting women among his followers Jesus did something very provocative for his contemporaries. Women disciples among the Jewish rabbis were inconceivable… When Jesus admits women as disciples, he seeks to alleviate the position of women suppressed by society and to promote the restoration of their human dignity.” (Pg. 179-180)
He acknowledges, “While the reason for Jesus’ teaching is not acceptable to the atheist in the final analysis, it is binding to the disciple. To begin with, the atheist could adopt it because the practice of loving one’s enemy is bound up with prayer… the ability to love one’s enemy is a process the needs to be practiced in prayer first of all… the prevention of war is not yet tantamount to the fulfillment of Jesus’ instruction to love one’s enemy. Jesus’ approach reaches further. The enemy Jesus addresses is any kind of enemy… The sociopolitical dimension cannot be excluded, however.” (Pg. 228)
He explains, “The concrete instructions of Jesus being to the open what is genuinely ‘Christian’; they demonstrate that the historical Jesus certainly had something to do with Christianity, and they even Christianity to be examined… In the course of the history of Christianity these teachings have time and again been allowed to be forgotten, or they were flagrantly opposed; otherwise many wars … among Christians… would not have been possible… The remembrance of Jesus’ concrete instruction is inconvenient. Nevertheless, for the sake of the identity of what is Christian, it remains a given. The instruction also concerns the relationship to the state. In modern times it degenerated into the doctrine of divine right. In contemporary terms, it applies to the responsible citizen.” (Pg. 237-238)
He observes, “we become aware of this special relationship with God… in the little word ‘Abba’ only if we bring to bear the entire context his mission … in its uniqueness Jesus’ authority in mission is not derived historically. The available messianic titles capture it only in part and in fragmentary fashion. The title of Messiah probably comes closest to his missionary claim if two essential changes are included: (1) Jesus … saves his people not by conquering his foes but by presenting himself paradoxically as the one who has been put to death. (2) What links him with God, whom he calls his Father, is the bond of a unique sonship.” (Pg. 262-263)
He suggests, “The empty tomb is not the causal element for the Easter faith. The causal encounter is the encounter with the risen one with his chosen witnesses… Yet the empty tomb or the tomb of Jesus can also be misinterpreted, as we learn from the New Testament already, for instance in the hypothesis of the theft of Jesus’ body that existed even then… What is basic, then, is the attestation by chosen witnesses that the resurrected one is alive.” (Pg. 327)
This book will be of keen interest to those interested in the historical Jesus, and his teachings.
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