The Historical Jesus and the Temple: Memory, Methodology, and the Gospel of Matthew

by Michael Patrick Barber, Dale Allison (Foreword by)

Overview

In this book, Michael Patrick Barber examines the role of the Jerusalem temple in the teaching of the historical Jesus. Drawing on recent discussions about methodology and memory research in Jesus studies, he advances a fresh approach to reconstructing Jesus' teaching. Barber argues that Jesus did not reject the temple's validity but that he likely participated in and endorsed its rites. Moreover, he locates Jesus' teaching within Jewish apocalyptic eschatology, showing that Jesus' message about the coming kingdom and his disciples' place in it likely involved important temple and priestly traditions that have been ignored by the quest. Barber also highlights new developments in scholarship on the Gospel of Matthew to show that its Jewish perspective offers valuable but overlooked clues about the kinds of concerns that would have likely shaped Jesus' outlook. A bold approach to a key topic in biblical studies, Barber's book is a pioneering contribution to Jesus scholarship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009210850
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/13/2023
Pages:	350
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.98(d)

About the Author

Michael Patrick Barber is Professor of Scripture and Theology at the Augustine Institute Graduate School. He is co-author, with Brant Pitre and John Kincaid, of Paul, A New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology (Eerdmans, 2019).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. The demise of 'authenticity' and the challenge of methodology; 3. Jesus and the Jerusalem temple; 4. Jesus and the destruction of the temple; 5. Jesus, David, and the Temple; 6. The son of David and the temple-community; 7. Jesus, sacrifice, and priesthood.