Christian Mission: Old Testament Foundations and New Testament Developments
Overview
How did a first-century Jewish messianic movement become the dominant religious force in the Western world? These essays investigate the roots of God’s mission, and the mission of his people in the Old Testament and Second Temple Judaism—specifically in the Psalms, Isaiah, and Daniel. The focus then shifts to the mission of Jesus, and how it continued in the mission of the 12, other Jewish believers, and finally into Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles. These essays trace how the Christian mission developed from its first-century roots, underscoring implications for missions today.
Top Highlights
“This has interesting, if perhaps uncomfortable, implications for models of conversion that prevail within Western pietist spirituality. Likewise it runs counter to the general outlook of much Christian activism, for Jesus’ irreplaceable initiative clearly implies that because the in-breaking of God’s reign is the cause of the disciples’ mission, Christian mission (however faithful) can never be the cause of the kingdom.” (Page 67)
“The language of the parable of the Sower and its interpretation thus correspond to features of thematic content and specific wording within the three-fold cycle of prediction, failure, and correction that constitute Mark 8:27–10:45.” (Page 75)
“For it is striking, as Marcus notes, that the instructions are less concerned with what they should bring than with what they should not, for, as with Israel in the wilderness, God may be relied on to furnish their needs.” (Page 71)
“Neither the Twelve nor Mark’s readers can entertain any illusion that they themselves are responsible for such wildly disproportionate growth.” (Page 76)
“We might even say that it represents the failure of Jesus’ word and preaching in them.” (Page 73)
- Title: Christian Mission: Old Testament Foundations and New Testament Developments
- Authors: Stanley E. Porter, Cynthia Long Westfall
- Series: McMaster New Testament Studies
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2011
- Logos Release Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Missions › Biblical teaching; Missions › History--Early church, ca. 30-600; Mission of the church
- ISBNs: 9781608996551, 1608996557
- Resource ID: LLS:CHRISTNMISSION
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T22:39:12Z