Hebrew Scripture Theology

According to Luke, Jesus’ self-understanding included the perception that the Jewish scriptures anticipated his meaning and mission. So Jesus explained things to his companions on the road to Emmaus: “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27; cf. vv. 44-48). Likewise, Luke depicts Paul’s strategy in explaining Jesus’ identity and significance from the Jewish scriptures, e.g. in Thessalonica: “And Paul went in, as was his custom, and for three weeks he argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ’” (Acts 17:2-3).

Of course, “messianism” from a Jewish perspective does not find its fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth. The “Messiah” article in the Jewish Encyclopedia is one convenient place to get an overview of Jewish ideas on the topic.

Obviously, the literature on the subject is huge, and potentially volatile. In keeping with the central theme of the course, our main interest is in understanding how the question as it is handled by Christian theologians finds resources, responses, even challenges, from the Old Testament itself. The Berkhof and Barr readings for this week, while often not directly addressing our theme, nonetheless flag up the issues of method and interpretation that must be considered in connection with it.

One of the major, even “classic”, treatments of the subject is available online. Sigmund Mowkinckel’s He That Cometh: The Messiah Concept in the Old Testament and Later Judaism (E.Trans. 1954, by New College’s Professor George Anderson) may be viewed here as a “flip-book”; other download and viewing options are here.

A final reminder: do make an effort to consult the commentaries on the passages you study.