A study of the links between the ministries of Jesus and Paul, showing how thematic family resemblances reveal Paul's indebtedness to Jesus' teachings.The critical question of the relationship between Jesus and Paul has been well established in New Testament studies for over 150 years and it needs to be addressed with all the tools of historical criticism that scholarship has developed. So states Gerry Schoberg at the beginning of this new and important work that does just that.By coupling comparative instances in the gospels and the works attributed to Paul, Schoberg invites the reader to enquire more profoundly than in past studies as to the nature of the relationship between Jesus and the most dramatic of Christian converts.At the heart of this study is not only the question of whether the New Testament truly gives a unified vision of the Christian movement, but also how the early followers of Jesus felt able to draw such insightful conclusions about him? Answering such questions through the study of Jesus and Paul offer an insight as to how one is to make theological sense of the many details experienced from day to day and thereby live a life in Christ.
Gerry Schoberg is Senior Academic Administrator and Lecturer in New Testament at Regent College, Vancouver. He holds a PhD in New Testament from the University of Bristol.
PrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsTranslations of Ancient Sources1 Introduction2 Jesus' Table Fellowship with Tax Collectors and Sinners3 Paul's Welcome of the Gentiles4 Jesus' Challenge to Share His Fate5 Paul's Participationist Language6 Jesus' Ministry in the Context of New Creation7 Paul's New Creation Eschatology8 ConclusionsAppendix A: Dating of Ancient SourcesAppendix B: Description of the PhariseesAppendix C: Identification with Deities in the Mystery ReligionsBibliography
This is not a work for a student beginning New Testament studies but for someone seeking to look more deeply into the questions it raises it will be of considerable value.