Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus of Nazareth
What He Wanted,
Who He Was
Translated by
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
This volume was originally published in German as
© 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
—Matthias Claudius, Letter “To my son Johannes,” 1799
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
The So-Called Historical Jesus
The Proclamation of the Reign of God
The Reign of God and the People of God
The Gathering of Israel
The Call to Discipleship
The Many Faces of Being Called
Jesus’ Parables
Jesus and the World of Signs
Jesus’ Miracles
Warning about Judgment
Jesus and the Old Testament
Jesus and the Torah
The Life of Jesus: Living Unconditionally
The Fascination of the Reign of God
Decision in Jerusalem
Dying for Israel
His Last Day
The Easter Events
Jesus’ Sovereign Claim
The Church’s Response
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.