THE PORTRAIT OF A PROPHET – N T WRIGHT

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N T Wright

The first model we shall scrutinize, is that of N T Wright. Wright attempts through his research to determine the thought processes of the average Galilean contemporaries of Jesus as they watched him walking through the villages, extolling the virtues of the kingdom of the god of Israel and celebrating this said kingdom in meals thrown welcomingly open to all and sundry. He further attempts, to the best of his ability, a retrojection into the worldview and mindset of Jesus. His endeavours lead him to the conclusion that Jesus’ Galilean contemporaries, in watching him and listening to him, would have experienced a flood of memories in which the picture of Jesus would have merged with that of the prophets of old. All evidence, according to Wright (1996:150), points to the probability that Jesus was seen as and saw himself as a prophet and typifies the praxis and worldview of Jesus as that of a prophet bearing an urgent eschatological, or, to be more specific, apocalyptic, message for Israel.
His mighty works are believed by Wright (1996:196) to have been perceived as constituent of the inauguration of the redefined kingdom of Israel’s god, with its backbone of welcome and warning. Moreover, he considers them, together with the parables typical of Jesus’ oral ministry and his other signature actions, to be an integral part of Jesus’ ministry in its entirety, bringing him on par with or maybe even enabling him to surpass the likes of Elijah and Elisha in the prophetic hierarchy. That he saw himself as prophet called to announce the word of Israel’s god to his recalcitrant people and assemble them around him as the true people of YHWH is a probability, but Wright (1996:196) finds himself open to the further possibility that he saw himself as the prophet of Deuteronomy, the prophet to end all prophecies, the prophet through whose work the history of Israel would reach its climax.

J D G Dunn

He aims to give an integrated description and analysis on theological as well as historical level, of the first 120 odd years of Christianity, focusing “inevitably” on Jesus in this, the first volume of his intended work, examining the so-called “quest of the Historical Jesus” along the way. He writes about the fruits of his research: “It will argue that the Gospel traditions provide a clear portrayal of the remembered Jesus since they still display with sufficient clarity for present purposes the impact which Jesus made on his first followers” (Dunn 2003:6). His cloud column is similarly (to that of Horsley) the oral tradition and its importance in the mission of Jesus, which have left vestiges and legacies of far greater stability and continuity in the Jesus tradition than has previously been thought.

My own north star

If a multitude of scholars find a prophet at the end of their road, it is important to know as much as possible about the prophetic phenomenon, so that one may recognize this aspect in the view of Jesus once you attain it. After examining the work and insights of these three scholars, “prophecy” will come under the spotlight. In order to prevent being sidetracked by the multitude of issues that arise along the way, I shall stop at the beginning of chapters 2, 3 and 4 to check my positioning in accordance with my north star; to ascertain whether I am still heading for the goal I set out to achieve and whether all of the issues examined shed light on the common goal.

THE PORTRAIT OF A PROPHET: N T Wright

When checking our positions according to our north star at the starting point of the examination of each of the three models, it is important to ascertain which sources were utilized. Only if the conclusion – that Jesus was a prophet – is based on reputable sources and a sound methodology in the reading and interpretation thereof, can this conclusion be accepted as valid. This will therefore be the first link-up with Wright in the portrait he paints of Jesus. After explaining his methodology to the reader, Wright halts his journey to determine whether John the Baptist could provide us with a suitable background against which to study Jesus. He believes John to have been a prophetic forerunner of Jesus and this chapter tests the feasibility of whether such a belief can be grounded in solid research. Wright subsequently lists statements on the general background of Jesus which he believes are well-known and more or less accepted as axiomatic in modern scholarship. He does this so that the scholar may stand on firm ground, relatively speaking, before venturing with him into uncertainty and uncharted terrain. Comparing notes about a firm starting point for researching the life and mission of Jesus can only give it substance and may, in some way, illuminate the issue at hand.

Preparing for the journey

“The historian of the first century…cannot shrink from the question of Jesus” (Wright 1992:468). In addressing this inevitable question, Wright of necessity chooses for himself “conversation partners” (Wright 1996:xvi) from among the overwhelming number of contemporary writers on Jesus and the gospels. Among these chosen colleagues he has great appreciation for the work of Schweitzer, naming it one of the two main highways of critical writing about Jesus in the late twentieth century. Wright accredits him with the banishing of sentimental portraits of Jesus and the restoration of the concept of Jesus as an enigmatic figure of “overwhelming historical greatness ” (Schweitzer [1901] 1925:274), a larger than life prophetic genius, a hero who, though standing in the sharpest contrast to modern man, yet succeeds in enlisting him as follower on the noble path leading to the kingdom. The greatness of these “Colossi”, as Wright calls both Schweitzer and Bultmann, lies therein that they saw, according to him, more clearly than any 20th century scholar the “…fundamental shape of the New Testament jigsaw, and the problems involved in trying to put it together.” (Wright 1996:5). Thanks to this scholar the necessity has been seen for studying Jesus within (and not merely in shrill contrast to) his Jewish context. He reminded Jesus-researchers that in the world of Jesus, Jewish expectation of God’s climactic and decisive action in history was uppermost.

TABLE OF CONTENTS :

• 1 CHARTING A MAP
  • 1.1 Introduction
    • 1.1.1 N T Wright
    • 1.1.2 R A Horsley
    • 1.1.3 J D G Dunn
    • 1.1.4 Prophecy
  • 1.2 Scriptural passages with prophetic overtones
  • 1.3 A pathfinding mission
  • 1.4 What they set out to do:
    • 1.4.1 N T Wright
    • 1.4.2 R A Horsley
    • 1.4.3 J D G Dunn
    • 1.4.4 My own North Star

• 2. THE PORTRAIT OF A PROPHET – N T WRIGHT
  • 2.1 Eschatological prophet of the kingdom of God
    • 2.1.1 Preparing for the journey
    • 2.1.2 A preliminary viewing: John the Baptist
    • 2.1.3 Preparing the basic canvas
  • 2.2 Sketching an outline: The profile of an eschatological prophet
  • 2.3 Against a backdrop in bold colours: The kingdom drama
    • 2.3.1 A drama in three acts: Act one: Annunciation
    • 2.3.2 Act two: Welcome, challenge and summons
    • 2.3.3 Act three: Judgment and vindication
    • 2.3.4 Dramatic recension: Same title, different plays
    • 2.3.5 The script: How best to convey the message
      • 2.3.5.1 Parables
      • 2.3.5.2 Miraculous deeds
      • 2.3.6 Code red: Symbols and controversy
      • 2.3.6.1 The Torah
      • 2.3.6.2 The Temple
    • 2.3.7 Positive symbols of the kingdom
      • 2.3.7.1 A new worldview
      • 2.3.7.2 The rebuilt Temple
• 2.3.8 Hues of tragedy: The death of a prophet
  • 2.3.8.1 The charge of leading people astray
• 2.4 The portrait: Finishing touches
  • 2.4.1 For the art critics viewing this picture: Who are we?
  • 2.4.2 Where are we?
  • 2.4.3 What is wrong?
  • 2.4.4 The Beëlzebul controversy
• 2.5 A true likeness?
• 3. WALKING THE SECLUDED ALLEY OF Q: A VIEW OF THE PREMARKAN JESUS? R A HORSLEY
  • 3.1 Q
  • 3.1.1 A sighting by word of mouth
  • 3.2 A prophet bent on covenant-renewal? Q 6:
  • 3.3 An image of a commissioning emissary
  • 3.4 The backdrop: A sweeping scope: Reflections on genre,
  • context and origin
  • 3.5 A sighting in Q: The reflection of a prophet
  • The message of the prophet in view
• 4. A MEANDER DOWN MEMORY LANE: J D G DUNN
  • 4.1 Preparing for the journey
  • 4.2 Tripping the well-trodden road of Jesus-scholarship
  • 4.2.1 As the crow flies
  • 4.3 Road maps and starting lines
    • 4.3.1 Where to start and what sources to use
    • 4.3.2 External sources
    • 4.3.3 The earliest references to Jesus
    • 4.3.4 The Gospels
      • 4.3.4.1 The Gospel of Mark
      • 4.3.4.2 Q
      • 4.3.4.3 The Gospels of Matthew and Luke
      • 4.3.4.4 The Gospel of John
      • 4.3.4.5 The Gospel of Thomas
      • 4.3.4.6 Other Gospels
      • 4.3.5 Where the sources led us
      • 4.3.5.1 In silhouette
      • 4.3.5.2 Literate/illiterate?
    • 4.3.6 Geography and biography
      • 4.3.6.1 Galilee in general
      • 4.3.6.2 Sepphoris and Tiberias
      • 4.3.6.3 Capernaum
      • 4.3.6.4 Jerusalem
      • 4.3.6.5 Caesarea-Philippi
• 4.4 The birth and application of the sources
  • 4.4.1 The gospel genre
  • 4.4.2 The traditioning process
  • 4.4.3 Oral transmission
• 4.5 Historical context: A backdrop
• 4.5.1 Judaism
• 4.5.2 “Jew”, “Israel”
• 4.6 From backdrop to view: How to proceed
  • 4.6.1 Can a picture truly emerge?
• 4.7 Jesus: His image revealed
  • 4.7.1 The Kingdom of God
  • 4.7.2 Jesus’ banquet: An open invitation
  • 4.7.3 Discipleship
• 4.8 The image: Stirring memories of
  • 4.8.1 Messiah
  • 4.8.2 Prophet
    • 4.8.2.1 Apocalyptic and / or / nor / eschatology: Confusion at the crossroads
  • 4.8.3 Sage
• 4.9 Jesus’ last days
• 4.10 In conclusion
• 5. COMPARING AND ASSESSING THE JOURNEYS
  • 5.1 M Borg
    • 5.1.1 Jesus the Spirit person
    • 5.1.2 Jesus the sage
    • 5.1.3 Jesus as healer and exorcist
    • 5.1.4 Jesus the prophet
    • 5.1.5 Jesus as movement initiator
  • 5.2 N T Wright
    • 5.2.1 A summary of Wright’s route
    • 5.2.2 An assessment: Wright’s journey in retrospect
  • 5.3 R A Horsley
    • 5.3.1 A summary of Horsley’s route
    • 5.3.2 An assessment: Horsley’s journey in retrospect
  • 5.4 J D G Dunn
    • 5.4.1 A summary of Dunn’s route
    • 5.4.2 Horsley and Dunn: Comparing notes on the journey
    • 5.4.3 An assessment: Dunn’s journey in retrospect
• 6. PROPHETIC ICONS: THE PROPHETIC PHENOMENON
  • 6.1 Status quo typical for prophetic intervention
  • 6.2 The prophet
  • 6.3 The phenomenon “prophecy”: Conveyor of the word
  • 6.4 Symbolic actions
  • 6.5 Visions
  • 6.6 Suffering
  • 6.7 The prophetic message – valid for ever?
  • 6.8 The prophetic message: Divine wrath, divine love
  • 6.9 Speaking with divine authority
  • 6.10 The prophetic formula
  • 6.11 Prophet and Spirit
  • 6.12 “I”
  • 6.13 Disciples
  • 6.14 Guardian of God’s people
  • University of Pretoria etd – Dannhauser, E H (2006)
  • 6.15 Aspects of the phenomenon “prophecy”
    • 6.15.1 Eschatology
    • 6.15.2 Wisdom
  • 6.16 Venturing outside of theology: Sociology
  • 6.17 Spirit persons
  • 6.18 Prophets: Messengers from God or ventriloquists for kings?
• 7. CONCLUSION
  • 7.1 Was Jesus a prophet? Different routes, one destination
  • 7.2 N T Wright
  • 7.3 R A Horsley
  • 7.4 J D G Dunn
  • BIBLIOGRAPHY

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