Thought of the day
I’ve been busy today researching for an article for the forthcoming Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus. My entry is on ‘The Tribes of Israel’ and it needs to be submitted rather quickly - not an easy task for someone who doesn’t look beyond the Apostle Paul all too often. Of course, if anyone could recommend any books, articles or important topics to me that I ought not skip on in relation to this article, please log your suggestions a.s.a.p! Actually, the subject of the tribes of Israel in connection with the historical Jesus is a fascinating one and the study process is giving me a good deal to think about.
For example, and this leads me to my thought of the day, in relation to Acts 26:6-8 Jacob Jervell writes:
‘The restoration of Israel is the same as the hope of resurrection’ (Luke and the People of God, p. 86)This caused me to rub my chin thoughtfully! Is it really ‘the same’? If not the same, what relation does the prophetic hope for the restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel have to do with resurrection? This leads me to a wider set of questions that won’t settle down: Assuming at this point a reconstruction of the ‘historical Jesus’ that has more in common with Sanders/Wright etc than Crossan, was Jesus’ hope for the restoration of Israel (cf. the establishment of the Twelve disciples, and the tradition [Q?] represented in Matt 29:28/Luk 22:30) a simple failure? Is the Christianisation of this language in Jas 1:1 the only resolution to the tension possible? Why am I so damned attractive?
Labels: Idle musings