Jesus and the Forgiveness of Sins: An Aspect of his Prophetic Mission

by Tobias Hägerland

Overview

The Gospels record that Jesus purported to forgive sins. What significance would such a claim have had for his contemporaries and what would the implications have been for his identity as a first-century popular prophet? Tobias Hägerland answers these questions and more as he investigates the forgiveness of sins in the mission of the historical Jesus. The Gospels are interpreted within the context of first-century Judaism as part of a broader reconstruction of Jesus' career as a healer and prophet, and rhetorical criticism is introduced as a tool for explaining how the gospel tradition about Jesus and forgiveness developed. Hägerland combines detailed exegesis and rigorous methodology with a holistic view of the historical Jesus, evaluating recent scholarship about first-century Jewish prophets and utilizing previously neglected textual evidence to present a thorough investigation of the theology of forgiveness in early Judaism and primitive Christianity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781139179829
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/10/2011
Series:	Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series , #150
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Tobias Hägerland is a teacher of New Testament exegesis, theology and hermeneutics at Lund University, Sweden. He has published articles in journals such as the Journal for the Study of the New Testament, New Testament Studies and The Catholic Biblical Quarterly.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Forgiveness in the gospel tradition; 3. Forgiveness and primitive Christian theology; 4. Mediators of forgiveness in early Judaism; 5. Forgiveness in the mission of the historical Jesus; 6. Forgiveness from Jesus to the Gospels; 7. Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

"...Hägerland is careful in laying out the methodological tools for the study as well as for his handling of the issues related to historical Jesus studies. Students who are working in this area would do well to use this text as an example of how such studies should be done.... All in all, this work is a good one that will be helpful to anyone dealing with the issue of Jesus and forgiveness.... overall it is well worth careful study."
—Samuel Lamerson, Knox Theological Seminary, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

From the Publisher