A Biblical Vision, Part II: Mastering the New Testament Witness to Christ

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A B i b l i ca l Vi s i on, Par t I I : Mas ter i ng the New Tes tament Wi tnes s to Chr i s t

(2) Tax collectors were a feared and hated group, viewed as traitors of the nation and friends of the oppressors

4. Political domination and oppression was the chief cause of resentment of Israel’s population (did not line up with their identity as God’s people).

F. A time of world mingling of religions (great diversity of religious belief and spiritual practice)

1. Emperor worship was popular, but did not preempt other local god worship.

2. Eastern religions poured into empire (centers of Egypt, Syria, Phrygia in Turkey)

3. Astrology, the occult, and philosophies were diverse, odd, filled with much superstition and magic.

II. The Contemporaries of Jesus: Jewish Reactions to Jesus

In some ways, Mark 14.62 is the most important Son of Man saying, being the one most clearly grounded in Daniel 7.13-14. Jesus here responds probably positively to the high priest’s question, but changes the terms of reference to his preferred self-designation: not Messiah, but rather Son of Man. This may reflect Jesus’ attempt to avoid stereotyping or being placed in a pigeonhole in regard to the kind of Messianic figure he was claiming to be. He would forge his own image of the role of the eschatological Messianic figure. This saying envisions the Son of Man having a future role in the judgment of Israel, in particular of the Jewish officials who were now judging Jesus! Jesus’ mission would not be completely fulfilled either in his life or in his death, but would carry on beyond death. This is a remarkable claim, but not an impossible one for an early Jew who believed in resurrection, as Jesus surely did.

~ Ben Witherington III. New Testament History . pp. 123-24.