Chapter ten.
The Paschal Significance of the Jewish cult.
“the
sacrifice of the firstborn son constitutes a strange and relatively overlooked
bond between Judaism and Christianity and thus a major but unexplored focus for
Jewish-Christian dialogue. In the past, this dialogue has too often centered on
the Jewishness of Jesus, and particular, his putative roles, even if real, have
historically been vastly less important in Christian tradition than Jesus'
identity as the sacrificial victim, the son handed over to death by his loving
father or the lamb who takes away the sin of the world.”[1]
The study of Romans 3.21ff has led to the
conclusion that the Passover was the source of the language and imagery used by
Paul to describe the death of Christ. After decades of research, there is
independently of this study a growing appreciation that the traditional titular
method of approaching Christological study has failed to yield significant
results.[2] This growing recognition has caused some to
question the very methods that have been employed in the reconstruction of the
early church's thinking. So for example, Osborn stated that a new approach to
the Christological material is needed and said: “Christological theory is in
the process of a paradigm shift in methodology. Where this process will take us
is not at the moment apparent.”[3] Wright[4] endorses this shift saying: “Today there is
tacit agreement that the study of titles is not the way to proceed- even to the
extent of leading some Jesus-scholars relegating them to the margin of their
enquiries.”
Meythodological changes.
Part of this methodological shift has been to
recognise the antiquity of the Christological material. It is increasingly
being realised that the liberal reconstruction that saw Christological
development to have been driven by the Gentile mission does not fit the
evidence. Holloway for example, has cautioned against such reconstruction
saying: “it is dubious to erect historical reconstructions without
acknowledging and taking into account, the pre-history of such traditions.”[5] Berkey adds to this growing disquiet when he
said; “the discovery of Jewish roots of the New Testament is indeed of
tremendous significance for the search for the origins of Christology.”[6] Deismann has commented that “the origin of the
cult of Christ (and that means Christology) is the secret of the earliest
Palestinian community.”[7] He went on to say that it was the Jewish
Christians who were the driving force of Christology in the first century. The
early development of the Christological material is also supported by Martin
who said that: “it was the Jerusalem church which reworked the messianic Psalms
and applied them to Jesus.”[8]
[1] Levinson, Death, Preface X.
[2] So Caird, “Jesus”, 59; Keck, “Towards”, 368-9; Holloway, “Christology”, 77; Hurtado, “Retrospective”, 23 and Macgregor, “Principalities”, 17
[3] Osborn, "Christology", 49.
[4] Wright, Jesus, 614.
[5] Holloway, "Christology", 280.
[6] Berkey, "Perspectives", 118.
[7] Deismann cited by Hengel, Son, 65.
[8] Martin, “Reflections”, 39.