Jesus and the Forgiveness of Sins
An Aspect of his Prophetic Mission

Examines the Gospel accounts of Jesus' claim to forgive sins and the implications for his identity as a first-century prophet.

Tobias Hägerland (Author)

9781107414815, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 July 2014

324 pages, 4 tables
21.6 x 14 x 1.7 cm, 0.38 kg

'I believe that this book will be extremely valuable for both ardent biblical scholars and other enquiring theologians with an interest in Christology and soteriology. It is well written, superbly structured, and a valuable scholarly contribution to the field.' Dion Forster, Review of Biblical Literature

The Gospels record that Jesus purported to forgive sins. What significance would such a claim have had for his contemporaries and what would the implications have been for his identity as a first-century popular prophet? Tobias Hägerland answers these questions and more as he investigates the forgiveness of sins in the mission of the historical Jesus. The Gospels are interpreted within the context of first-century Judaism as part of a broader reconstruction of Jesus' career as a healer and prophet, and rhetorical criticism is introduced as a tool for explaining how the gospel tradition about Jesus and forgiveness developed. Hägerland combines detailed exegesis and rigorous methodology with a holistic view of the historical Jesus, evaluating recent scholarship about first-century Jewish prophets and utilizing previously neglected textual evidence to present a thorough investigation of the theology of forgiveness in early Judaism and primitive Christianity.

1. Introduction
2. Forgiveness in the gospel tradition
3. Forgiveness and primitive Christian theology
4. Mediators of forgiveness in early Judaism
5. Forgiveness in the mission of the historical Jesus
6. Forgiveness from Jesus to the Gospels
7. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Theology [HRLB], Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG]