The Titles of Jesus

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The titles that we attribute to Jesus are of eternal significance. Therefore we should know what we believe and what the various titles of Jesus mean. After summarizing the search for the historical Jesus in scholarship this file contains research into the following titles of Jesus. Click the download button to read the file. These are the categories I employ:

A. Titles from Leadership Roles (Offices) in Israel 

  1. Rabbi, Teacher, Instructor
  1. Wise Man, Wisdom
  2. Prophet, Nazarene, Prophet like Moses, Elijah
  1. High Priest, Priest in the Order of Melchizedek
  1. Branch, The Nazarene
  1. Son of David, the Root of David (Rev. 5:5; 22:16)
  1. King, Ruler ἡγούμενος (Mt. 2:6), Ruler of the kings of the earth (Rev 1:5), the one who has the key of David (Rev. 3:7), Lion of the tribe of Judah (= king of the beasts), Lord of lords and King of kings (Rev. 17:14); King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16)
  1. Messiah = All the above titles
  2.                                                                                                                                                                                              B. Titles Compared with Historical Figures of Israel (Organized according to flow of NT books)
  1. Moses
  2. Elijah
  3. David (or see King above)
  4. Greater than Jonah and Solomon
  5. Serpent on a pole John 3:14)
  6. One greater than Jacob or Israel (John 4:12)
  7. The last Adam
  8. Seed of Abraham
  9. Melchizedek (Hebrews)
  10. Righteous Abel (Heb. 12:24)

 

C. The Apocalyptic Eschatological Heavenly Jesus

  1. Lord
  2. Son of God
  3. Son of Man
  4. Heavenly Man; He who descended from heaven; sent from God
  5. God; Emmanuel
  6. Form of God; Image of God; the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature

D. Titles Associated with Family

  1. Son (see C above)
  2. First born; First born of creation; Beginning of God’s creation; First born from thedead; Resurrection and the Life; First Fruits, Heir
  1. Bridegroom
  2. Servant? (see E6 below)

 E. Titles Associated with Actions  

  1. Creator, Author of life
  2. Logos, Word of God
  3. Savior
  4. Righteous Sufferer
  5. Servant
  6. Shepherd
  7. Baptizer with the Holy Spirit
  8. Leader, Apostle, Head of the body, the church, The one who holds the seven stars in his hand (Rev. 2:1)
  9. Example
  10. Mediator of a new covenant (Heb. 12:24)
  11. The Faithful Witness; the faithful and true witness (Rev. 1:5; 3:14)
  12. Warrior; one who has double edged sword (Rev. 2:12)
  13. Thief (Rev. 16:15)

F. Titles Associated with Objects or Animals 

  1. Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5)
  2. Lamb of God
  3. Bread of Life; Manna
  4. Light of the World; Bright Morning Star (Rev 2:28; 22:16)
  5. The Door
  6. The True Vine
  7. Rock and Cornerstone

G. Adjectival Attribute Descriptions  

  1. Righteous one and Holy One of God
  2. Elect one or Chosen One
  3. Mighty one; One before me; Greater one
  4. The first and the last (Rev. 1:17-18a); the Amen (Rev. 3:14); Alpha and Omega,Beginning and the End (Rev. 22:16)
  1. The holy one, the true one (Rev. 3:7) ὁ ἅγιος, ὁ ἀληθινός; The Way, the Truth, and the Life
  1. Our hope (1 Tim. 1:1)

 

 

Purpose of Each Gospel

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Discerning the purpose of a particular writing can be important. In this file I rehearse in outline form the various purposes that have been proposed for each gospel.

Mark’s gospel has been seen as only having the historical purpose of preserving the traditions of Jesus based on Peter’s recollections, as an eschatological proclamation about the immediate coming of the parousia, as an apologetic to correct a misconstrued Christology, as an evangelistic message about an exalted Christology, and as instruction on the call to discipleship.

Matthew’s gospel has been seen as primarily teaching, as primarily apologetic, and as displaying a unifying purpose for Matthew’s community.

Luke-Acts with the emphasis upon Acts has been called a history of both Jesus’ life and the early church, as a vindication for use in Paul’s trial, as an evangelistic document to convert the nations, as an anti-docetic apologetic, as an apology to Rome that Christianity should be viewed as a legitimate religion, as an apology to Jewish Christians who view Paul with suspicion, and as edification for Luke’s audience reciting the growth of the church and the victory of Christianity.

John’s gospel has been viewed as primarily evangelistic, as an apology against outsiders, as an apology against forces within the church, as primarily edification for believers, and as having a theological purpose of presenting Jesus as God.

At the end of the file I also enumerate purposes for the writing of the hypothetical document names Q.

Click on the download button to read this file.

 

NT Narratives Class Handouts

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These are the handouts that I used to teach a course on the gospels. The table of contents includes:

A. QUESTIONS OF METHODOLOGY:

        8 Exegetical Lenses

Jewish or Christian Exegesis of the Old Testament                        pages 4-6

Reading the Gospel for the First Time:

An Introduction to the Problems                                                            7-8

A Summary of the Exegetical Lenses                                                     9-10

  1. The Infrared Lens of Genre and the

Ultraviolet Lens of Literary Techniques                                               11-26

2. The Wide-Angled Lens of Context                                                     27-29

3. The Structural Lens of a Skeleton Outline                                       30-34

4. The Exegetical Microscope of Grammar                                          35-39

5. The Telescopic Lens of Historical Background                               40-43

6. The Motion Picture Camera of the History of Interpretation      44-51

7. The Finished Photo of Theological Exegesis                                    52-55

8. The X-Ray Camera of Spiritual Exegesis                                          56-61

The Synoptic Problem                                                                               62-81

A History of Methods Employed to Interpret the Gospels                82-99

B. AN OVERVIEW OF THE LIFE OF JESUS

Jesus and John the Baptist                                                                      101-103

Jesus’ Proclamation of the Kingdom of God                                        104-108

The Parables of Jesus                                                                                109-120

The Purpose of the Miracle Stories                                                        121-128

The Passion and Resurrection Narratives                                            129-138

C. THE CANONICAL GOSPELS THEMSELVES

Outlines of the Gospel of Mark                                                              139-156

The Ending of Mark and Textual Criticism                                         157-176

Outlines of the Gospel of Matthew                                                        177-191

The Themes of the Gospel of Matthew                                                 192-199

The Outlines of Luke and Acts                                                               200-210

The Marginalized Emphasis in Luke                                                    211-216

The Normativity of the Book of Acts                                                    217-219

The Outlines of the Gospel of John                                                     220-229

Uniqueness of the Gospel of John                                                       230-242

Symbolism in the Gospel of John                                                       243-250

M Source

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Matthew employed Mark and Q, the sayings source common to Luke and Matthew, for sure. Scholars have given the title M material to the additional material where Matthew produces doublets, employs a different structure from the Q material in Luke, or disrupts the original structure of sayings of Jesus.

In all likelihood M was written by Matthew himself before his gospel as an apologetic against the synagogue and in support of the church. The material is placed into five sermons of Jesus to imitate the five books of Moses. Click the download button to read the file.

 

L Source

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Luke begins his gospel by revealing that he has employed sources which implies more than two. Certainly he employed Mark and Q, the sayings source common to Matthew and Luke. But in all likelihood he also employed what we call the L source since the content of emphasis upon the marginalized and wealth is consistent throughout the document. Luke writes this, “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus.” In an orderly fashion, as he says, Luke systematically employs one source and then another and then another throughout his gospel. He does not combine the sources together as Matthew does.

I call L The Gospel of the Least, the Last, the Lost and the Leftovers. It consists of 24 pericopae with 200 verses; 14 parables; and 3 healing narratives. Click the download button to read the file.

 

Jesus Sayings

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Jesus was a marvelous teacher whose sayings have spoken to tens of generations of people. What makes it special? What does it consist of? This file divides the sayings of Jesus into various categories.

First of all there are stories that have a saying as its central emphasis. There are three types: controversy dialogues, teaching dialogues, and biographical narratives.

Second there are the dominical sayings where Jesus speaks as a teacher of wisdom in proverbs. blessing pronouncements, and exhortations. as a prophet with negative woes, judgment statements, and calls to repentance  as well as positive revelations and predictions about the future. Jesus also acts as a king or elder by giving legal pronouncements and sayings that were used in the church’s creeds, missionary charter, and church discipline regulations. Jesus also acted as a priest through worship regulations including prayer, regulations about purity, and statements about piety. Unique to Jesus are the “I Sayings” where Jesus speaks as the Son of Man, like a divine giver of eternal wisdom, as a king issuing divine laws, as a prophet offering divine revelations, and as a rabbi calling for discipleship.

Click the download button to read this file on the sayings of Jesus.

 

Jesus and the Law

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How did Jesus employ the laws of the Old Testament? Was Jesus more strict than the Jews of his time? Was Jesus loyal to the law and observant of its regulations but dismissed the traditions that had grown up around the law? Did Jesus attempt to transcend the law by penetrating to its essence and expressing its ultimate ideal? Or did Jesus violate the law in order to cancel and change its prescriptions? Christians have emphasized grace. How does the law fit in with this emphasis?

This file investigates this fascinating question and asks what it means when Christians proclaim that Jesus fulfilled the law. Here the arguments for the supercessianist view, the reformist view, and the eschatological view are enumerated.

Finally the views of the New Testament writers are investigated including the views of Luke, Matthew, Mark, John, James, and Paul on the relationship of the Christian to the law. Click the download button to read this file.

 

 

Gospel Sources

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The Synoptic Problem is the title given to attempts to determine the relationship between the first three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The close similarity and identical wording of much of the material is compelling evidence that they used each other’s gospels. But who was first? There are three main theories.

Saint Augustine posited that the canonical order suggests that Matthew was first, followed by Mark and then Luke. The Owen-Griesbach Hypothesis accepts the priority of Matthew but proposes that Luke used Matthew and Mark conflated Matthew and Luke. Markan priority is accepted by about 90 percent of scholars. The Farrer Theory suggests that Mark is first, Matthew used Mark, and Luke used Matthew and Mark. Along with the majority of scholars I accept the Two Source-Hypothesis which posits that Mark is first and Matthew and Luke used Mark and Q independently of one another. For arguments for each view see the file on Gospel sources by clicking the download button.

Birth and Death Narratives Handout

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I used these handouts to teach a class which included material that future preachers could use during advent and lent, seasons of the church calendar that come around every year.

This 150 page file first outlines the Old Testament prophecies that speak about Jesus.

Next material is presented to help a reader understand the passion narrative of Jesus (pages 18-108)

Finally, helpful material is included about the birth narratives which are found in Matthew and Luke.

Click the download button to read this file.