Jesus of Nazareth: What He Wanted, Who He Was

Jesus of Nazareth

Gerhard Lohfink

Jesus of Nazareth

What He Wanted,

Who He Was

Translated by

Linda M. Maloney

LITURGICAL PRESS

Collegeville, Minnesota

www.litpress.org

A Michael Glazier Book published by Liturgical Press

Cover design by Ann Blattner. Illustrations by Br. Martin Erspamer, OSB, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Indiana. Used with permission.

Scripture texts in this work are based on the New Revised Standard Version Bible © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This volume was originally published in German as Jesus von Nazaret. Was er wollte, wer er war (Freiburg i.B.: Herder, 2011).

© 2012 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lohfink, Gerhard, 1934–

    [Jesus von Nazaret. English]

    Jesus of Nazareth : what He wanted, who He was / Gerhard Lohfink; translated by Linda M. Maloney.

        p.   cm.

    “A Michael Glazier book.”

    Includes bibliographical references.

    ISBN 978-0-8146-8058-2 — ISBN 978-0-8146-8059-9 (ebook)

      1. Jesus Christ—Historicity. 2. Jesus Christ—Person and offices.

I. Maloney, Linda M. II. Title.

BT303.2.L6413 2012

232—dc23

2012020860

To the memory of

Father Heinrich Bacht, SJ

…ponder daily over death and life,

if thou mightest find it,

and let thy bearing be joyous

and go not out of the world

without first having publicly testified

thy love and reverence

for the Author of Christianity.

—Matthias Claudius, Letter “To my son Johannes,” 1799

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Chapter 1

The So-Called Historical Jesus

Chapter 2

The Proclamation of the Reign of God

Chapter 3

The Reign of God and the People of God

Chapter 4

The Gathering of Israel

Chapter 5

The Call to Discipleship

Chapter 6

The Many Faces of Being Called

Chapter 7

Jesus’ Parables

Chapter 8

Jesus and the World of Signs

Chapter 9

Jesus’ Miracles

Chapter 10

Warning about Judgment

Chapter 11

Jesus and the Old Testament

Chapter 12

Jesus and the Torah

Chapter 13

The Life of Jesus: Living Unconditionally

Chapter 14

The Fascination of the Reign of God

Chapter 15

Decision in Jerusalem

Chapter 16

Dying for Israel

Chapter 17

His Last Day

Chapter 18

The Easter Events

Chapter 19

Jesus’ Sovereign Claim

Chapter 20

The Church’s Response

Chapter 21

The Reign of God: Utopia?

Notes

Preface

There are innumerable books about Jesus. The reason is obvious: we can never finish with him, and every age must encounter him anew. Some of the many Jesus books are very good. Some are very bad. The bad ones are bad because they are far from understanding that the real “historical Jesus” cannot be grasped independently of faith in him. Which faith? That of the first witnesses and those who handed on the story, those who had to describe “accurately” or, better, “faithfully to the person” what had encountered them in Jesus.