Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels

✍ Scribed by Richard B. Hays

• Publisher: Baylor University Press
• Year: 2016
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 580
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The claim that the events of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection took place "according to the Scriptures" stands at the heart of the New Testament's message. All four canonical Gospels declare that the Torah and the Prophets and the Psalms mysteriously prefigure Jesus. The author of the Fourth Gospel states this claim succinctly: in his narrative, Jesus declares, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me" (John 5:46). Yet modern historical criticism characteristically judges that the New Testament's christological readings of Israel's Scripture misrepresent the original sense of the texts; this judgment forces fundamental questions to be asked: Why do the Gospel writers read the Scriptures in such surprising ways? Are their readings intelligible as coherent or persuasive interpretations of the Scriptures? Does Christian faith require the illegitimate theft of someone else's sacred texts?

Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels answers these questions. Richard B. Hays chronicles the dramatically different ways the four Gospel writers interpreted Israel's Scripture and reveals that their readings were as complementary as they were faithful. In this long-awaited sequel to his Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul, Hays highlights the theological consequences of the Gospel writers' distinctive hermeneutical approaches and asks what it might mean for contemporary readers to attempt to read Scripture through the eyes of the Evangelists. In particular, Hays carefully describes the Evangelists' practice of figural reading--an imaginative and retrospective move that creates narrative continuity and wholeness. He shows how each Gospel artfully uses scriptural echoes to re-narrate Israel's story, to assert that Jesus is the embodiment of Israel's God, and to prod the church in its vocation to engage the pagan world.

Hays shows how the Evangelists summon readers to a conversion of their imagination. The Evangelists' use of scriptural echo beckons readers to believe the extraordinary: that Jesus was Israel's Messiah, that Jesus is Israel's God, and that contemporary believers are still on mission. The Evangelists, according to Hays, are training our scriptural senses, calling readers to be better scriptural people by being better scriptural poets.

✦ Table of Contents

Title Page......Page 5
Copyright Page......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 11
Introduction......Page 18
1. The Gospel of Mark Herald of Mystery......Page 34
§1. “Take heed what you hear”......Page 35
§2. Apocalyptic Judgment and Expectancy......Page 36
§3. Jesus as the Crucified Messiah......Page 68
§4. Watchful Endurance......Page 116
§5. “Hidden in order to be revealed”......Page 127
2. The Gospel of Matthew Torah Transfigured......Page 134
§6. The Law and the Prophets Fulfilled......Page 135
§7. The End of Exile......Page 140
§8. Jesus as Emmanuel......Page 173
§9. Making Disciples of All Nations......Page 213
§10. The Transfiguration of Torah......Page 226
3. The Gospel of Luke The Liberation of Israel......Page 232
§11. Continuing the Scriptural Story......Page 233
§12. The Promise of Israel’s Liberation......Page 237
§13. Jesus as the Redeemer of Israel......Page 267
§14. Light to the Nations......Page 314
§15. Opened Eyes and Minds......Page 327
4. The Gospel of John The Temple of His Body......Page 333
§16. “Come and see”......Page 334
§17. “Salvation is from the Jews”......Page 342
§18. Jesus as the Temple......Page 365
§19. The Vine and the Branches......Page 396
§20. The Figural Web......Page 405
Conclusion......Page 407
Notes......Page 429
Bibliography......Page 489
Index of Scripture and Ancient Sources......Page 520
Index of Names......Page 570