WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?
A look at messianic expectations throughout history and whether Jesus fulfilled them
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by Herbert W. Bateman IV, Darrell L. Bock, Gordon H. Johnston
"Without question, Jesus is an unsurpassed, certainly an unequaled figure in human history," say the authors of Jesus the Messiah: Tracing the Promises, Expectations, and Coming of Israel's King (ISBN: 978-0-8254-2109-9, $36.99). "Belief in his life, death, and resurrection has transformed and even redirected world empires, cultures, and people." He can, however, be both "endearing and repelling. Thus Jesus has been, and continues to be, a worthy person to ponder. Jesus the Messiah is such a presentation about Jesus, specifically a consideration about his messiahship."
There are many books that attempt to determine who Jesus really was--social reformer, religious reformer, etc.--but Bateman, Bock, and Johnston take a broader approach: by tracing God's promise of Messiah as presented in the Hebrew Scriptures, then reflected upon in the later second temple period, and finally fulfilled in the promise of Jesus, the authors offer a contextual-canonical, messianic, and Christological development of God's promise of a "messiah" within the larger framework of Jewish history found in canonical and extra-biblical literature.
They make their argument in three parts: In Part One, Promises Of A King, Johnston looks at contextual and canonical dimensions for the Davidic dynasty of Israel. In Part Two, Expectations Of A King, Batmen looks at First Testament and second temple literature to determine what messianic expectations were. In Part Three, The Coming Of A King, Bock describes how the Second Testament builds upon the First Testament promises of a Messiah.
"The point is this," say Bateman, Bock, and Johnston. In the period immediately following the death of Jesus, "the only 'canonical' Testament people had was the Hebrew Scriptures. So we must be willing to travel back in time when the Old Testament canon had yet to be fully fixed and the New Testament promises were not yet realized."
The authors did not intend to create an overly technical work, but it does cater to anyone seriously versed in Scripture. In the end, "it is our hope that readers will better comprehend and even more importantly appreciate the dynamics of messianic prophecy and fulfillment. The consummations of God's promises are yet to come. But Scripture, early Christian preaching, and history point to Jesus and God's Messiah, Israel's king, who rules over and is worshiped by Jew and Gentile alike."
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Herbert W. Bateman IV has taught beginning and intermediate Greek for more than twenty years. He is the editor of Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews, Three Central Issues in Contemporary Dispensationalism, and Authentic Worship.
Darrell L. Bock is research professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. A former president of the Evangelical Theological Society, he is the author of the best-seller Breaking the Da Vinci Code and numerous works in New Testament studies, including Jesus According to Scripture.
Gordon H. Johnston (ThD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is associate professor of Old Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He has spent a number of years sifting through archaeological digs. In addition to his work in the field, Dr. Johnston has published numerous articles and essays in scholarly journals.
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QUESTIONS FOR JESUS THE MESSIAH
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