The thesis begins with an Introduction dealing with the Source Analytical studies on the Fourth-Gospel which appraise us with the recent view that John has redacted an earlier source and the result is the present Gospel of John. In the second section of the Introduction, an exegesis of the 'Statement of Purpose', John 20.31, was done in the light of the above analytical study, as it is directly related to the title of the Thesis. In the third section, the concept of person was briefly looked into as it is central to any Christological discussion. The first chapter deals with the context of the Christological emphasis in John. Christological terms like 'Christ ', 'Son of God' were examined to ascertain the readership of the Gospel and vice versa. In a sense it is an examination of the destination of the Gospel in the context of the Christological terms used in the Gospel. A comparative study with the book of Acts was made, in the use of these terms, which shows that the Gospel was intended for both Jews and Gentiles, and the non-Palestinian Hellenists seems to be the readership of the Gospel. The second chapter takes up the nature of the Christological emphasis in John as the present Thesis proposes to deal with Johannine Christology. In this context the Johannine incorporation of the Christological issues into the 'Signs' and 'Discourses' was examined. It seems both the signs and discourses in John are used as vehicles to make Christology all inclusive in the Gospel. Jesus becomes both the revealer and the content of that revelation. The contemporary thought-forms were incorporated by John to bring out his particular Christology. The third chapter draws comparison with the Synoptics (Mark in particular) to bring out the distinctive Johannine Christology among the Gospel writers. Here we find John has common tradition with Mark and he shows marked progress over the Marcan Christological assertions. We also find that John was drawing out the implications of Christology to the Christian faith. So in the Fourth chapter faith or response to the Johannine Christology was looked into. John records the signs performed by Jesus, yet coming to Jesus without seeing the signs is superior form of faith to John. Eternal life is offered to those who acknowledge in faith that Jesus is the Christ and Son of God. It is right knowledge of Jesus than doing something, though commitment with the assent to belief in Christ, is envisaged in the Johannine concept of faith. In the final chapter the significance of Johannine Christology in the light of Jn. 20.31 was looked into. John's is incarnationistic Christology and as such we find hints that he was waging a battle against the Adoptionists on the one hand and the Docetics on the other. We also find that to John, Jesus is not just a Messiah ('Xpi,atio'), but a Divine Messiah ('vaoC toil esog'). This indicates that to John Incarnation is no humiliation, but a different mode of the exalted state of the Son of God. So the call to faith in Jesus by John is a call to faith in Jesus as the Divine Messiah. Few observations can be made from the above study. John takes up, like the Synoptics, the 'who is Jesus?' question, but deals with it in such a way that Christology becomes all-inclusive in his Gospel. We find the 'Kingdom of God' of the Synoptic emphasis is replaced by the person of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel. The emphasis that Jesus is the Divine Messiah, or this relationship of Jesus with the Father, is shown in John as essential for the relationship with the world, i.e. man's salvation. In other words, 'Jesus in his person is revelation' becomes the exclusive content of the Gospel. Eternal life is. obtained by having right knowledge of who Jesus is. This emphasis on Christology makes Soteriology no longer the controlling factor. In the face of the tendencies of his day, later known as Adoptionistic and Docetic views, John emphasises Incarnationistic Christology though his historical interest is theologically motivated, as shown above.

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This doctoral thesis is an exploration into the influence of Jewish eschatological thought upon the way the death of Jesus came to be understood in earliest Christianity. It is essentially a tradition-historical sketch which begins with Paul on one end, and works back to the lifetime of the historical Jesus. My question is, Did Jewish eschatological expectation provide the fundamental interpretive grid for the theological explanation of Jesus' death in the period 30-60 CE? My thesis enters into this question by first engaging the academic debate over the nature of Jewish apocalyptic eschatology. I then engage in an exploration of the influence of Jewish eschatology in early Christian literature. My objects of focus are laid out in the following order: pre-Pauline materials contained in Paul's writings; primitive traditions found in the early chapters of Acts; the synoptic Sayings Source (Q); and dominical material in the Jesus tradition. My primary contention is that Paul's theological-apocalyptic understanding of Jesus' death as a definitive saving event was passed on to him from the earliest Christian community in Jerusalem, and ultimately goes back to Jesus' own expectations of martyrdom and vindication as the fulfilment of God's eschatological plan.

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The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of the fire of eschatological judgment and testing, as distinct from the fire of hell or Gehenna, in the New Testament. The relevant texts, which indicate that both the righteous and the wicked are subjected to fire, can be subsumed under the general category of the “fiery ordeal.” Through an analysis of this understudied motif, the thesis demonstrates that belief in the dual (purificatory and punitive) function of fire is attested to in the Christian tradition at a date earlier than is frequently recognized. The first chapter of Part I introduces the topic, provides the historiographical context, reviews the relevant literature, and lays out the basic methodology. Chapter 2 attends to matters of Religionsgeschichte, paying special attention to fire in Zoroastrian apocalypticism and in Greek and Roman thought. Part II establishes the Jewish apocalyptic context from within which the expectation of judgment by fire originated. Chapter 3 draws attention to the multiple functions of fire in the Hebrew Bible, including its role in theophanies, while giving primary attention to its role in judgment, testing, and refining. In Chapter 4 we turn our attention to the apocalyptic literature of Second Temple Judaism, noting that judgment by fire comprises not only punishment for the wicked but also testing and even purification for the righteous or repentant. Part III of our investigation discerns elements of the fiery ordeal motif in the New Testament. After a brief survey of the various functions of fire in the New Testament in Chapter 5, Chapter 6 examines the preaching of John the Baptist and the historical Jesus, particularly with regard to “baptism in fire” (Q 3:16; Mark 9:49; Luke 12:49-50) and several of Jesus’ more enigmatic sayings concerning fire (Luke 17:26-32; 23:31; Gos. Thom. 82). Chapter 7 traces the contours of the development of this motif in Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians (3:10-15) and in the Petrine Epistles (1 Pet 1:7; 4:12; 2 Pet 3:10-13), noting the distinctive ways in which 1 and 2 Peter reinterpret the fiery ordeal. In Chapter 8 we conclude that the above traditions, which encompass both very early and very late New Testament texts, testify to a shared belief that everyone, both the righteous and the wicked, would be subjected to eschatological judgment by fire and that the righteous would experience this judgment as a fiery ordeal through which they would be tested and, in some cases, ultimately purified.

This thesis argues that Mark, through appropriation of motifs, concepts and images of Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature, in his picture of Jesus and his disciples represents them as the holy community, the holy people of God or the righteous remnant of the last days. It begins with an examination of the concept of the holy people in Leviticus and its later developments in the Second Temple period, demonstrating that the idea of holiness does not belong solely to the priestly tradition but is appropriated by other Jewish literature. The holiness of the people is a dynamic concept that describes the relationship with the Holy God in their midst through obedience to his will revealed in the Torah and abstention from any kind of impurity. Moreover, Jewish apocalyptic literature of the period reveals a concern about the restoration of the holiness of Israel in the last days. This background illuminates the issue of the holy people in Mark. The wide range of motifs and concerns from 2TJ connected with holiness made their way into the Gospel and were absorbed by Mark or underlay his narrative. All aspects of Jesus' identity and ministry are connected to a certain degree with the issues of purity and holiness. It becomes clear that for Mark the Temple in Jerusalem is not the centre of holiness that it should be. This centre is now Jesus, the Holy One of God among the people of God, \\ho manifests Yahweh's presence and directly reveals his will instead of mediation through the Torah. Jesus restores the people of God through cleansing and bringing \vholeness in the last days. In the light of Jesus' identity, Mark re-defines such fundamental categories of Israel's holiness as the Temple, the Torah and the Holy People of God, thus forming the identity of the early Christian community through continuation and discontinuation with ancient Judaism. In the light of this radical redefinition Mark depicts Jesus' followers through Isaianic images of the restoration of the people, the motif of suffering and vindication of the righteous, the notion of the elect and the stumbling remnant, and through strong connection with Christology. Mark shows how the community, the new family and the new temple, is being formed around the Holy One of God. The holiness of the new people of God is represented as a dynamic relationship with Jesus, the source of holiness and power of the community. Faithfull following and obedience to Jesus and his teaching, i.e., fulfilling the will of the Holy God in the last days, makes the community holy in the Gospel of Mark.