Jesus: Word Made Flesh

by Gerard S Sloyan

Overview

This book means to explore who Jesus was, is, and is to come, and by what series of events this man of Jewish history came to be viewed by millions as a man of God-like powers in their present lives and their hoped for future." Rich in familiarity with Jesus' Jewish world, Gerard Sloyan helps us discover a Jesus thoroughly situated in his own time and place. Grounded in the New Testament gospels, Sloyan's study leads us to an already interpreted Jesus, distinctly portrayed by each evangelist. Going outside the New Testament, Sloyan takes us into the theological questions and developments that culminated in the affirmations of the councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon. This impressive, clearly written work challenges readers to see both the historical Jesus who preached the in-breaking of God's reign and the post-resurrection Jesus whom Christians named Lord and Savior.

Gerard S. Sloyan, STD, PhD, is professor emeritus of religion at Temple University and currently visiting professor at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. He has written extensively on Jesus, including The Crucifixion of Jesus (Fortress Press, 1995) and Why Jesus Died (Fortress Press, 2004).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814659915
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	04/01/2008
Series:	Engaging Theology: Catholic Perspectives
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Gerard S. Sloyan, STD, PhD, is professor emeritus of religion at Temple University and currently visiting professor at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. He has written extensively on Jesus, including The Crucifixion of Jesus (Fortress Press, 1995) and Why Jesus Died (Fortress Press, 2004).

Table of Contents

Contents
Editor’s Preface   ix
Author’s Preface   xi
Chapter One:
Who Jesus Was in the Religion of Israel   1
     The Actual or Real Jesus   2
     Being Raised Up from the Dead to a New Life—Fact or Fancy?   3
     Witnesses to the Movement Rather Than to the Man  6
     The Little Known of Jesus’ Infancy and Early Years   8
     Jesus Grown to Adulthood   13
     Jesus as Teacher: Debates over Law Observance   13
     The Distinctive Purpose of Each Evangelist   18
     The Story of Israel Without Which Jesus Cannot Be Understood   19
     Kings and Kingdoms   20
     The Influence of the Babylonian Exile and Hellenism   22
     Jesus the Quintessential Jew   23
     The Chronicle Continued: The Markan Story   24
Chapter Two:
The First We Hear of Jesus in History’s Record   30
     The Biblical Title Messiah (Christos), Anointed One   32
     Kyrios as Sovereign Lord or Master   33
     Jesus’ Coming (Parousia) at the End in Glory   35
     Saul/Paul’s Faith in Jesus Found in Other Letters   37 
     The Silence of Paul’s Extant Letters on Jesus’ Public Life   40
     Jesus in Paul’s Corinthian Correspondence   42
     The Jesus of the Epistolary Corpus   48
     Signs of Jesus’ Jewishness Wrongly Imposed on Gentiles   52
     Jesus in the Last Written Extant Letter of Saul/Paul   56
     A Pauline Letter That Paul Did Not Write   58
     Jesus in Hebrews and Revelation   59
Chapter Three:
Knowing Jesus from What He Taught   68
     Jesus’ Many Teachings in Matthew   70
     The Beatitudes and the Woes   71
     The Our Father 76 The Devil in the Desert   78
     Recorded Prayers from Jesus’ Lips   79
     The Lengthy Prayer Spoken at the Last Supper   80
     Jesus’ Descent from a Long Line of Storytellers   81
     More of Jesus’ Teaching in Matthew   85
     Some Further Matthew Parables Explored   88
     Luke’s Teachings of Jesus Special to Him   93
     Prodigality Can Mean Generous Giving but Not Here   97
     Jesus as Exorcist and Wonderworker   101
     A Brief Foretelling of Jesus’ Life, Death, and Resurrection as Bringing Redemption   103
Chapter Four:
What John Does with the Figure of Jesus   105
     John’s Technique of Having Jesus Mystify, Then Explain   108
     The Last Supper Discourse   113
Chapter Five:
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection   117
     The Markan Passion Narrative as Basic to Matthew and Luke   118
     The Roman Legionaries and the Pilate Characterization   123
     Some Touches Proper to Luke and John   127
     The Crucifixion Proper   129
     All Other References to Jesus’ Death Unlike These Playbooks   133 
     The Resurrection of Jesus that Changed Everything   135
     Three Non-Markan Ways of Bringing the Story to an End   137
Chapter Six:
Jesus in Late New Testament Epistles and Second-Century Writings   146
     Jesus in the Extra-Canonical Writings: 1 Clement   149
     Jesus in the Didachē   151
     The Letters of the Great Ignatius, Martyr   153
     Jesus in the Second-Century Apologists   154
     Jesus in the Lengthy Treatise of a Missionary Bishop   155
     Late Apocryphal Gospels, Some Orthodox, Some Gnostic in Intent   158
Chapter Seven:
Jesus at the Center of Doctrinal-Political Argument   160
     The Vocabulary of Debate and Its Major Topic   162
     The Heretical Teaching of Arius   164
     Basil’s Defense of the Holy Spirit as a Divine Person   166
     The Christological Teaching that Prevailed After Nicaea   168
     Nestorius’s Defense of the Humanity of Christ   170
     Eutyches and the Chalcedonian Settlement   172
Epilogue   178
Further Reading   183
Index of Scripture and Ancient Texts   185
Index of Subjects and Persons   192

Editorial Reviews

Gerard Sloyan is certainly an authority on Jesus! This short work—an amazing, very literate and accurate condensation of all important aspects of modern Christology—is the fruit of his earlier works.
Catholic Books Review


Clearly and engagingly written, this book is ideal for an undergraduate Christology course and a worthy summary of the author’s life-time study and reflection.
Horizons


[A]n extraordinary accomplishment. . . . to study Jesus: Word Made Flesh is to receive the wisdom of a ‘Church Father’ and hence to enter further into the mystery of Christ.
Worship


[T]his is a responsible book, written by a responsible scholar, using his responsibility to serve both the church and the academy.
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly


Sloyan’s approach, walking through various portions of the Scriptures with an eye to who Jesus is in each, yields valuable insights on almost every page.
Libraries Alive


The book is written in an engaging, confident style and serves the purpose of this series well.
The Bible Today


[A] deftly written examination, and a top pick for Christian studies collections.
Midwest Book Review


College teachers and scholar colleagues will find here a beautiful example of the contribution of a scholar who is in sure command of his subject, who has put together a compelling restatement and helpful analysis of the New Testament belief in Jesus the Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world. As Fr. Sloyan notes at the outset of his work, this is the fifth book on Jesus he has written, the first being a religious education aid written in 1960. This latest work, written nearly 50 years later, is his best so far.
Donald Senior, CP, America

From the Publisher