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Messianic Theology of the New Testament

Dr. Joshua Jipp, associate professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, joins David Capes this week on The Stone Chapel podcast. He has written an important book entitled The Messianic Theology of the New Testament (Eerdmans, 2020).  His particular focus is to survey and understand the royal messianism associated with the Davidic dynasty.  He makes the point that there is no standardized, pre-existing view of the messiah at the time of Jesus; instead, there has been a robust “messianic discourse” that has been going on for hundreds of years centered on King David and his legacy.

To hear the podcast on Apple podcasts click here.

The Stone Chapel is a podcast of the friends and staff of the Lanier Theological Library in Houston, Texas.  It is hosted by Dr. David Capes, Senior Research Fellow at the library and former faculty member at Houston Baptist University and Wheaton College.  The purpose of the podcast is to bring to our audience great conversations from the world’s leading experts in theology, biblical studies, archaeology, Church history, the Dead Sea Scrolls, ethics, ministry, and a host of other topics close to the mission of the library.

The Lanier Theological Library is a magnet for scholars, church leaders and influencers.  For the last ten years, it has welcomed hundreds of academics and church leaders from across the globe for public lectures, study, panel discussions, consultations, and encouragement.

These podcasts as well as the Lanier library and the Stone Chapel are generously underwritten by Mark and Becky Lanier and the Lanier Theological Library Foundation.  If you have questions or comments, please be in touch: Email david.capes@lanierlibrary.org

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God’s Messiah in the Old Testament

Andy Abernethy, Wheaton College

Andrew Abernethy, PhD Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, is a former colleague of David Capes at Wheaton College.  He is an Associate Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and Degree Coordinator for the Master of Arts in Biblical Exegesis.  He is author of many articles, but the focus of this podcast is a book he wrote along with Dr. Gregory Goswell of Christ College in Sydney, Australia.  It is entitled God’s Messiah in the Old Testament: Expectations of a Coming King (Baker Academic, 2020).  While some scholars find precious little “messianism” in the Old Testament, others find it in nearly every verse.  So, what is the truth?  Abernethy and Goswell take a book by book approach to work through those passages that look forward to a coming messianic king.

To listen to the podcast click here.

The Stone Chapel is a podcast of the friends and staff of the Lanier Theological Library in Houston, Texas.  It is hosted by Dr. David Capes, Senior Research Fellow at the library and former faculty member at Houston Baptist University and Wheaton College.  The purpose of the podcast is to bring to our audience great conversations from the world’s leading experts in theology, biblical studies, archaeology, Church history, the Dead Sea Scrolls, ethics, ministry, and a host of other topics close to the mission of the library.

The Lanier Theological Library is a magnet for scholars, church leaders and influencers.  For the last ten years, it has welcomed hundreds of academics and church leaders from across the globe for public lectures, study, panel discussions, consultations, and encouragement.

These podcasts as well as the Lanier library and the Stone Chapel are generously underwritten by Mark and Becky Lanier and the Lanier Theological Library Foundation.  If you have questions or comments, please be in touch: Email david.capes@lanierlibrary.org

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A Dissident Rabbi

As reformation is fomenting in Europe, there is a Jewish fellow who proclaimed himself Messiah and developed a huge following in the Ottoman Empire and parts of Europe.  According to him, the redemption of the world was at hand.  His name was Sabbetai Zevi.  The year is 1665. 9780691183572

His followers set aside their traditional Jewish beliefs and practices for new standards set by Zevi.  But there was a naysayer in the bunch, a dissident rabbi who warned his countrymen that Zevi was not the Messiah after all.  So they should abandon their enthusiasm for this man and return to their traditional practices.  His name was Jacob Sasportas.  A new book, written by Yaacob Dweck, provides a biography of this Separdic rabbi who stood up to Zevi.  It is published by Princeton University Press.

As it turned out, this “messiah” converted to Islam at the behest of the Ottoman sultan.  It’s was a wild and crazy century for Europe and the Ottoman Empire.  This book tells a fascinating story.   For more click here.

 

 

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Who does Mark say that I AM?

One of my favorite features of our book, Rediscovering Jesus (InterVarsity, 2015), comes in the Gospels themselves.  In each chapter we ask the question: Who does Mark/Matthew/Luke/John say that I am?  In effect, we take a look at how each evangelist tells the story of Jesus.  Here is an excerpt from the chapter on the Markan Jesus.

WHO DOES MARK SAY THAT I AM?

And who is this Jesus? He is the Messiah (Christ) and Son of God—that is, God’s end-timeRediscovering Jesus agent whose task is to liberate the world from evil, oppression, sin, sickness, and death. The world that Jesus enters is hostile and contrary to the human race. The Messiah appears in order to claim all that God has made on behalf of heaven. In Mark’s account Jesus moves quickly along “the way” challenging and disrupting demonic powers, disease, religious authorities, storms and, ultimately, the power of Rome itself.

But Jesus does not appear from nowhere; prophets such as Malachi and Isaiah have written of him long ago. They foresaw his coming, and John the Baptizer arrived right on schedule to prepare his way. If John is God’s messenger (Mal 3:1) and the voice crying out in the wilderness (Is 40:3), then surely Jesus is the “Lord” whose paths must be made straight (Mk 1:2-3). But the word “Lord” here is no polite address to an English country gentleman or a simple affirmation of a person in authority; it is the way Greek-speaking Jews uttered the unspeakable name of the one, true God of Israel. Jesus the Christ is no ordinary man, for the very name of God—a name protected by the Ten Commandments—belongs rightly to him. As Mark’s story unfolds, it is apparent why this is so.

When Jesus heard that a prophet had again appeared in Israel, he left Nazareth to see for himself. As he entered the Jordan River to be baptized, onlookers would have thought that Jesus was becoming a disciple of John. But it was what Jesus heard and saw next that dramatically changed his life. He saw a vision: the heavens were ripped open, and the Spirit descended on him like a dove. Then he heard a voice from heaven: “You are my Son” (Ps 2:7) and “with you I am well pleased” (Is 42:1). Whether or not anyone else saw or heard what was going on in the heavens that day is unclear. Mark tells us only that Jesus saw and heard; perhaps Jesus’ special sonship was a secret that needed protecting for a while. But it was enough for Jesus to see and hear it, because it was about him and him alone. He knew what he must do next. He must leave behind Nazareth and the anonymity of the workshop for a public life in Galilee and beyond. He must trade a builder’s tools for the skills of a traveling rabbi.

 

To read more, check out our book here.