Jesus’ Heavenly Sacrifice in Early Christian Reception of Hebrews: A Survey
Modern readings of Hebrews tend to reduce the text’s language of Jesus’ sacrificial offering to the event of his crucifixion. In my book, Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews, I argue that such a reduction does not adequately account for either the presence or signif...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2017]
|
| In: |
The journal of theological studies
Year: 2017, Volume: 68, Issue: 1, Pages: 46-71 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Hebrews
/ Church
/ Jesus Christus
/ Self-sacrifice
/ God Father
/ Heaven
|
| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity NBC Doctrine of God NBF Christology NBK Soteriology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Modern readings of Hebrews tend to reduce the text’s language of Jesus’ sacrificial offering to the event of his crucifixion. In my book, Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews, I argue that such a reduction does not adequately account for either the presence or significance of Jesus’ resurrection and bodily ascension for Hebrews’ Christology and soteriology. The book’s claims have rightly raised questions about why Hebrews has not been read this way in the past. This article offers an initial exploration of some early Christian reception of Hebrews. I demonstrate that, while not universal, a variety of texts from the early centuries of Christianity interpret Hebrews’ language of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice as referring to Jesus’ post-resurrection offering of himself to the Father in the heavens. These findings suggest that early Christian reflection on Hebrews, Jesus’ sacrifice, and atonement could approach these interrelated concerns more holistically—that is, orientated towards the full, creedal narrative of the incarnation, than do some accounts of the atonement that reduce Jesus’ sacrifice to his death on the cross. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1477-4607 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of theological studies
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jts/flx085 |