Perspectives of Jesus in the Writings of Paul
Overview
Was Paul shaped by the movement that began with the teaching and activities of Jesus, or did he start something new? Attempts to answer this question one way or the other have a long history dating back to the nineteenth century. Gerry Schoberg raises the question again in light of more recent scholarship—especially in light of historical Jesus research and the so-called “New Perspective” on Paul.
Schoberg seeks family resemblances between Jesus and Paul on matters that are both fundamentally important and distinctive, and that can best be explained in terms of Paul’s dependence on Jesus. Three aspects of Jesus’ ministry—his welcome of the marginalized, his challenge to his followers that they would share his fate, and his belief that God was doing something profoundly new—are presented as the source of three corresponding aspects in Paul’s thought—his welcome of Gentiles, his language of participation, and his belief in the present reality of new creation.
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- Examines the family resemblances between Jesus and Paul
- Unpacks recent scholarship on the historical Jesus and the “New Perspective” on Paul
- Discusses Paul’s dependence on Jesus
- Jesus’ Table Fellowship with Tax Collectors and Sinners
- Paul’s Welcome of the Gentiles
- Jesus’ Challenge to Share His Fate
- Paul’s Participationist Language
- Jesus’ Ministry in the Context of New Creation
- Paul’s New Creation Eschatology
Top Highlights
“I intend to make the case that Paul was fundamentally shaped by certain perspectives that Jesus expressed in his ministry. This would fall into the quest for what Furnish called ‘material correspondences’ between Jesus and Paul.77 I will not necessarily be looking for common sayings, but for a common mindset78—that is, for issues on which Jesus and Paul shared a core commitment, even though they may have expressed their commitments differently.” (Page 14)
“William Wrede added fuel to the fire by arguing that in moving from the religion of Jesus, which called people to yield their whole selves to God, to the theology of Paul, which stressed the importance of believing in the acts of God—‘the incarnation, death, and resurrection of a celestial being’—Paul became ‘the second founder of Christianity.” (Page 3)
“The first kind of response has been to argue that the difference in Paul is not a diversion from the teaching of Jesus, but rather a development of it.” (Page 4)
“The third form of response to the arguments of Baur and Wrede came in the form of attempts to detect evidence of the Jesus tradition in Paul’s letters.” (Page 6)
“The second way in which scholars sought to defend Paul’s dependence on Jesus was to look for a line of continuity in their theology.” (Page 4)
This advances the discussion about the relationship of Jesus to Paul, or Paul to Jesus, by a decade. I have tired of facile knockdowns of Paul because he doesn’t talk often enough about kingdom, or because he doesn’t rehearse some of the Sermon on the Mount, and yet those facts won’t go away. But deeper than specifics is a pattern of thinking, and Schoberg’s proposals show Jesus and Paul were on the same page, even if Paul carried on the conversation Jesus began.
—Scot McKnight, professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary
Schoberg sheds new light on the thorny question of how Paul relates to Jesus. Perspectives of Jesus in the Writings of Paul takes a new and creative approach that, in my view, is both stimulating and compelling. Schoberg shows how the lines of continuity between Jesus and Paul are meaningful and very significant. In essence, we see in Paul’s outreach to Gentiles a replication of the distinctive elements of the ministry of Jesus. Those who claim Paul invented a new faith need to read Schoberg’s well-written book carefully.
—Craig A. Evans, professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College
- Title: Perspectives of Jesus in the Writings of Paul: A Historical Examination of Shared Core Commitments with a View to Determining the Extent of Paul’s Dependence on Jesus
- Author: Gerry Schoberg
- Series: Princeton Theological Monograph Series
- Volume: 190
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2013
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 498
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bible. N.T. Epistles of Paul › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Jesus Christ › Person and offices; Paul, the Apostle, Saint › Teachings
- ISBNs: 9781620320082, 9780227902097, 9781498263269, 1620320088, 0227902092, 1498263267
- Resource ID: LLS:PRSPCTVJSSWRTNG
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:26:11Z