This dissertation analyzes the Matthean “Son of Man” sayings, paying particular attention to their function in the development of conflict and in the anticipation of conflict resolution. The major premise is that the Son of Man is described in Mt as being at the center of the formative conflict that both forced the split between “this generation” of unbelieving Jews and the Matthean community and initiated the community’s Gentile-inclusive mission. According to Matthew, the Son of Man is not engaged in aimless conflict; he confronts and destroys his enemies for the sake of promoting his universal reign and establishing his Church, i.e., the “sons of the kingdom” (13.38), among the nations (cf. OG Dan 7.14; 24.14; 28.18-20). It is his authority over the kingdom of God, given subsequent to and consequent to the judgment of God against “this generation” in 70 CE, that enables the global mission of the disciples, provides the raison d’être for their mission, and assures the Christian community that the Son of Man will return at the eschaton to bring a final end to conflict. A corollary question that will be investigated is what Jesus’ idiomatic self-designation meant to Matthew and his community. The first chapter observes that despite the enormous literary footprint of the “Son of Man” debate, their is a notable lack of adequate studies concerning the Matthean “Son of Man” concept. What literature exists is surveyed, common trends in the debate are analyzed, and a statement of the thesis is provided. Based on the successes and failures of previous studies, it is suggested in the second chapter that the most promising method by which to examine the Matthean “Son of Man” concept is composition-critical and narrative-sensitive. This provides a rational for examining the Matthean “Son of Man” sayings in relation to the gospel’s structure and plot, both of which are shown to have been shaped by the theme of conflict. Finally, interpretive issues such as synoptic relationships, composition date, authorship, provenance, and the status of Matthew’s community are discussed. Chapters Three and Four examine the “Son of Man” sayings in Matthew 8-13 and 16-26 respectively to determine how each saying contributes to the evolving Matthean “Son of Man” concept and the unfolding conflict between Jesus and his “sons” and Satan and his “sons” (cf. 13.37-39). It is shown that the “Son of Man” sayings are not a heterogeneous mixture of “earthly,” “suffering,” and “future” statements that simply concern the life and ministry of Jesus. Matthean redaction has woven the “Son of Man” sayings into a grand tapestry of meaning, sewn into the conflict that precipitated the split of the Matthean community from “this wicked and adulterous generation.” It is shown that the advancement of conflict is matched by the resolution of conflict. This resolution occurs in two stages. According to Matthew, God began to resolve the conflict with “this generation” in 70 CE, whence he destroyed Jerusalem and bestowed upon the Son of Man universal dominion and an everlasting kingdom. The Son of Man’s empowerment enables him to preside over the Eschatological Assize, consequently fulfilling the predictions of end-times reprisal given to “this generation” (cf. 11.20-24; 12.39-42) and bringing a permanent end to conflict. Chapter Five examines the allusion to Old Greek Dan 7.13-14 in 28.18-20 and its connection to the commissioning of the disciples. It is suggested that “all authority in heaven and on earth” is not obtained through a supposed proleptic experience of the Parousia in Jesus’ resurrection or death, or simply by means of his son-ship to the Father. Rather, the Son of Man’s universal sovereignty, by which the Matthean community is empowered to “make disciples of all nations,” was received from the Ancient of Days after the Temple’s ruination in 70 CE. That is, the exaltation of the Son of Man, which is physically signaled by the destruction of Herod’s Temple, initiated and provided justification for the Matthean community’s schism from “this generation” and their mission to the Gentiles. Additionally, the divine empowerment of the Son of Man grounded the community’s eschatological hope for conflict resolution. This chapter ends with a discussion of how this theory impacts one’s understanding of Matthean christology, missiology, and salvation-history. The final chapter summarizes the preceding evidence, details the contributions of this dissertation, and concludes that for Matthew “Son of Man” is more than a mere signal word for speech about Jesus’ death, resurrection, and exaltation. “Son of Man” is a self-designation employed by Jesus that Matthew has interpreted as a title referring to Jesus’ office as the exalted human-like figure of Old Greek Dan 7. Like the enigmatic “man” of Daniel’s night-vision, the Son of Man is the representative of the elect who remains with his community “until the end of the age” (28.20).

This thesis deals with an examination of influence of the Parables of Enoch on the oldest Jesus traditions. The presupposition of this examination is chronological setting of these traditions. The core of this thesis is an analysis of a selected motive in the Parables of Enoch and also in Jesus traditions. This motive is a figure of the Son of Man, which is important for both of compared materials. Then we will try to propose a possible influence of some eschatological ideas from the Parables on Jesus himself. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

[From Introduction]. "God, ... through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." "Among all churches throughout the world there is a growing conviction that God's great reconciliation in Jesus Christ is still the answer desperately needed by modern man." The United Presbyterian Church U.S.A.'s Confession of 1967 made "reconciliation the all-embracing category for describing God's work and man's response, including especially his response in social and political action".

This dissertation intends to reveal the theme of the conqueror, which is spread throughout the book of Revelation. I try to determine the identity and function of the conquerors who were faced with various problems in their present situations. Various present situations such as the political, economical, social, and religious phenomena that the first Christians confronted must be considered. Thus, the main aim of Revelation is to persuade compromising Christians to disengage from pagan idolatry and to sustain those who resist. One must remember the fact that the designated conquerors were absolutely embedded in their historical and sociological situation. We should recognize why John wanted to send his prophetic message through various symbolic references and universes, providing a different heavenly perspective in contrast with an earthly point of view. In general, the conquest can be linked with both a military and political meaning, such as Messiah and the son of David in Jewish literature and the Old Testament. But the conqueror figure in Revelation can be understood from a different angle. The characteristic of the conqueror is explained through the symbolic transformation of redemptive death and victory. It means that the idea of conquering has been changed. Conquering doesn’t depend on a military or political power that is the interpretation of the traditional messianic expectation, but self-sacrifice of the Lamb on the cross. The characteristic of the Lamb as conqueror is closely linked with the image of an atoning, sacrificial victim. The theme of suffering and death in Revelation is linked with the victory of the conquerors. That is, the conquerors can be defined as those who endure suffering, slander, poverty and tribulation unto death as Jesus has done. From a worldly perspective, Satan looks like the almighty figure as the conqueror that persecuted the people of God, but in terms of the heavenly perspective, he is defeated and conquered by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of God in 12:11. Therefore, conquering is provided from the heavenly perspective to encourage the conquerors as seeing the present reality. Just as the Lamb has conquered the evil ones by his blood, the conquerors should conquer the evil ones by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Thus, the victory of the conquerors can be attained by means of witness and death. The idea that the conquerors are the victims might provide the people of God with a powerful symbolic transformation as a marginalized group in a hostile world. The conquerors are provided with a heavenly perspective, implying an eschatological fulfillment and God’s presence in the New Jerusalem. The image of the New Jerusalem provides a rhetorical effect that the people of God as conquerors will experience salvation in the future. Whereas the city of Babylon was drunk with the blood of the conquerors, the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven will dwell with God as the completion of the fulfillment God promised (cf. 21:1-22:5). / Thesis (PhD (New Testament Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / New Testament Studies / PhD / unrestricted

This thesis analyses the concept of the "Day of the Lord" as it comes to expression in Luke-Acts. In these books, this Old Testament concept is reinterpreted and used in conjunction with another Old Testament theme: the coming of the Son of man. An analysis of the Lukan passages about the coming of the Son of man (Luke 17:22-37i 21:5-36; 12:35-48) in the context of the contemporary historical situation of first-century Judaism reveals that when speaking of the coming of the Son of man, the Lukan Jesus is referring to a number of comings; namely, his own life (Luke 12) and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE (Luke 17 and 21). The Old Testament imagery of the Son of man is used to show the nature of this coming: a vindication of those suffering "for my name's sake" (Luke 21: 17). In Luke this message of hope and judgment is brought to Israel; Acts shows how the final age has dawned, extending this message of hope and judgment to the gentiles. The suffering of Jesus and his resurrection of vindication become the suffering of the church to be ended by another day of vindication and resurrection. Luke-Acts, therefore, points out the eschatological character of the coming of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, for they are the beginning of an event that will be consununated in the final coming. In the mean-time, those who eagerly await that coming can claim the already fulfilled promises and testify to the Spirit-filled restoration taking place already now, in the last days. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Scholars have often seen the interpretation of the Son of Man as crucial in discovering Jesus’ self-understanding, given that the expression occurs so frequently and almost exclusively on Jesus’ lips. After ascertaining the authenticity of the Son of Man sayings, I carry out the exegesis in the Gospel of Mark using a methodology consisting of examining Biblical passages within the context of the Bible as a whole and of historical-critical and philological perspectives. Also, the narrative context of the saying is taken into account. I show that the Son of Man is a Messianic title derived from Daniel 7:13, and that the book of Daniel’s content and themes were used as a basis for the Son of Man sayings themselves. In addition to using the Son of Man as a Messianic title, Jesus used the title as a claim for divinity.

The thesis deals with the power in the Gospel of John, specifically with the term EXOUSIA, which means power or authority. This thesis engages in separate passages of the Gospel of John in which the evangelist uses the term EXOUSIA, it examines its context in which was the term used and tries to determine in which meaning it is used. Thereby,this thesis tries to answer the question what does the evangelist understand under the term power (EXOUSIA).

The thesis deals with the Jesus' logia about vocation contained in Matthew 8, taking into account the synoptic parallel of the text in Luke. The original Greek text is, first, translated into Czech and then linguistically analyzed. The thesis further examines the original setting of the logia and their foundation in the hypothetical Q source. With the help of selected commentators (France, Hagner, Osborne, Fausti) are the logia and their meaning interpreted within the wider context of contemporary research. These modern interpretations are supplemented by views of the early Church Fathers. The method used in the present thesis is the analysis of the original text and a comparison of relevant commentaries.

[pt] O estudo objetivou analisar o texto de Mc 10,41-45 que afirma que o Filho do homem veio para servir e dar a sua vida em resgate de muitos. Após a pesquisa da expressão Filho do homem nos livros extrabíblicos, no AT e no NT, o texto marcano foi examinado através dos passos do Método Histórico-Crítico. Esses pressupostos foram decisivos para determinar com maior segurança o sentido do termo resgate, não apenas na pena do evangelista, mas também no contexto veterotestamentário e na cultura greco-romana. A dissertação procura refletir sobre a visão de Marcos acerca do resgate realizado por Jesus entendido como um serviço por ele feito enquanto Filho do homem. Enfim, através de todo o estudo realizado foi possível confirmar que o Filho do homem se autocompreendeu como um servo comissionado da parte de Deus para realizar uma missão em prol de toda a humanidade pecadora. / [en] The study aimed to analyze the text of Mk 10,41-45 which states that the Son of man came to serve and give his life in ransom for many. After researching the expression Son of man in extra-biblical books, OT and NT, the Marcan text was examined through the steps of the Historical-Critical Method. These assumptions were decisive in determining with greater certainty the meaning of the term rescue, not only in the evangelist s pen, but also in the Old Testament context and in Greco-Roman culture. The dissertation seeks to reflect on Mark s view of the rescue performed by Jesus understood as a service made by him as Son of man. Finally, through all the study carried out, it was possible to confirm that the Son of Man understood himself as a commissioned servant from God to carry out a mission on behalf of all sinful humanity.

Libertação, Conversão e Catequese em Jo 9 tem o propósito de identificar o itinerário percorrido por uma pessoa cega de nascença para confessar sua adesão de fé, publicamente, a Jesus, como o Filho do homem, em tempos de exclusão da sinagoga. A libertação das normas e leis que não estão em defesa da vida e, que, por isso, não são de Deus, exige coragem, a partir da abertura dos olhos e da mente, frente a uma situação que exclui. O primeiro capítulo aborda o evangelho segundo a comunidade joanina como um todo, evidenciando suas principais características, sua relação com as festas judaicas e o sábado. O segundo capítulo aprofunda o estudo da narrativa da cura do cego de nascença, para evidenciar como a libertação, conversão e catequese aparecem no texto. Essa narrativa apresenta o processo de adesão a Jesus como o Filho do homem e, como, para isso, Ele precisa ser visto perfeitamente como Ele é. Para tal, é necessária a abertura gradativa da visão, mesmo em tempo de punição e exclusão, por parte dos judeus fariseus, a quem nEle confessa sua fé. O entendimento a respeito de quem é Jesus dá-se a partir do fazer o que ele manda; enfrentar com coragem os interrogatórios do grupo dos judeus fariseus e não temer mostrar opinião contrária a eles, mesmo que isso resulte em uma punição. O cego curado é modelo para a comunidade ao se deixar iluminar por Jesus. O terceiro capítulo aprofunda como a catequese pode ser feita a partir do texto de Jo 9. Estuda a forma como a comunidade joanina desenvolveu o seu processo catequético, o da comunidade judaica e da comunidade cristã primitiva. Com base no itinerário de libertação e conversão, realizado pelo cego curado, apresentamos alguns elementos indicativos para a catequese de adultos em nossos dias. / Liberation, Conversion and Catechesis have the purpose, in John 9, to identify the itinerary of a person born blind in order to profess publicly his adhesion of faith to Jesus, as the Son of Man, in a time of exclusion from the synagogue. The liberation from laws and rules not directed towards defending life and, therefore, not according to the will of God, with regard to an excluding situation, takes courage after having opened eyes and mind. The first chapter considers the gospel according to the community of John as a whole, pointing out its main characteristics, its relation to the Jewish Feasts and the Sabbath. Chapter two deepens the study of the narration about the healing of the man born blind so as to make clear how liberation, conversion and catechesis become evident in the text. The narration presents the process of adhesion to Jesus as the Son of Man, showing how, accordingly, Jesus has to be seen exactly like he is. Therefore, the person who professes faith in Him, even in times of punishment and exclusion by the Jews and Pharisees, needs having his eyes gradually opened. The understanding of who Jesus is begins with doing what he orders, confronting courageously the questionning by the group of Jews Pharisees and not fearing to express an opinion contrary to theirs, even at the risk of punishment. The man born blind now healed, who lets himself be illuminated by Jesus, is a model for the community. Chapter three shows how the text of John 9 can be used for catechesis and how the community of John, the Jewish and the ancient Christian communities developed their catechetical process. Based on the itinerary of liberation and conversion made by the man born blind now healed, indicative elements for the catechesis of adults in our days are presented.