2:2). There are many more examples.12
It is in this light that Jesus’ “I have come” statements should be understood. He has not come as an angel, of course; rather, he has come from heaven to accomplish his saving work among humanity, even as God himself came down to deliver Israel from Egypt: “I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians” (Exod 3:8); “You cannot see my face since you are mortal, but my words you are allowed to hear, those which I have come to speak…I have come to save my people, the Hebrews” (Ezekiel the Tragedian 103, 107). We note too what the pagans say in reference to Paul and Barnabas, in reaction to the healing of the crippled man: “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” (Acts 14:11).
Jesus uses the same language in the Synoptic Gospels to describe the purpose of his ministry. He tells his disciples, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out” (Mark 1:38). When criticized for associating with sinners, Jesus replies, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). Elsewhere he states that, as the Son of Man, he “came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45) and “came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). The latter passage is quite significant, for it recalls the promise of God to act as Israel’s true shepherd: “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak” (Ezek 34:16).13
That this manner of speaking implies coming from heaven to earth to accomplish a saving work is made explicit in the Gospel of John. Jesus declares, “I have come in my Father’s name” (John 5:43); “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (6:38, 42); “I know whence I have come and whither I am going” (8:14); “for this purpose I have come to this hour” (12:27); “I have come as light into the world” (12:46); and “For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth” (18:37). These explicit statements are consistent with the more transparent Christology in the Gospel of John, but they also clarify the rather exalted Christology implied by the “I have come” statements in the Synoptic Gospels.
We find additional evidence of the exalted meaning of the “have come” language in how evil spirits react to encounters with Jesus. In the synagogue at Capernaum, a demonized man says to Jesus, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24). When Jesus speaks of having come, it is in reference to redeeming humanity. But from the point of view of the evil spirit, the coming of Jesus means destruction. We see this again in the encounter of the demonized man in the vicinity of Gerasa, on the east side of the Sea of Galilee: “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me” (Mark 5:7).
The people at Capernaum are astounded by what they have witnessed, declaring, “What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him” (Mark 1:27). Jesus has made use of no incantations or charms. He has not invoked any holy names or made use of any paraphernalia (as exorcists typically did). He has commanded the evil spirit to depart, and he did so by his own authority. The power of Jesus is such that when he encounters evil spirits, they are terrified and cry out, “You are the Son of God” (Mark 3:11). The implication is that they know perfectly well that Jesus’ origin and authority are not those of an ordinary human. This is because they know where he has come from.
Jesus’ divine origin is clearly implied in the parable of the vineyard (Matt 21:33–46 = Mark 12:1–12 = Luke 20:9–19). The parable tells the story of an absentee landlord who leases his vineyard to tenants. When the time comes to collect the profits, the landlord sends his servant. The tenants refuse payment and rough up the servant. The landlord sends more servants. They too are treated violently. Finally, the landlord sends his “beloved son.” The tenants see their chance and so murder the son.
The parable is an allegory. Jesus has drawn on Isaiah’s song of the vineyard, which is itself an allegory that describes Israel’s utter fruitlessness despite God’s loving and sufficient care (Isa 5:1–7). Jesus employs the general setting of Isaiah’s song, but he introduces new characters (tenants, servants and the son) and shifts the blame from the vineyard itself to the tenants. The meaning of the allegory is quite clear: God is the owner of the vineyard, the vineyard is Israel, the tenants are the religious leaders, the servants are the prophets, and the son of the vineyard owner is Jesus.14 The parable of the vineyard clarifies just who this Jesus is who has come.
The most explicit Christological expression in the Synoptic Gospels is found in the hearing before the Jewish high priest and council (Sanhedrin). Jesus is asked by the high priest, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” (Mark 14:61, i.e., “Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?”). Jesus replies, “I am; and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (14:62). The high priest is shocked. He regards Jesus’ answer as blasphemy and as deserving of death (14:63–64).
The high priest is shocked because Jesus has not only answered in the affirmative (yes, he is the Messiah, Son of God), he has declared that as the Son of Man who comes with the clouds (a clear allusion to Dan 7:13) he will sit at God’s right hand (an allusion to Ps 110:1: “Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool”). The statement is shocking indeed, for Jesus has implied that he will sit at God’s right (a place of honor) on God’s throne, sharing in God’s authority, which includes judging the enemies of God. This is a rather exalted self-understanding, and its claim to authenticity is very strong.
It is in the light of material such as this that distinguished Princeton New Testament professor Dale Allison Jr. can say, “We should hold a funeral for the view that Jesus entertained no exalted thoughts about himself.”15 As we have ourselves, Allison mostly focuses on the Synoptic Gospels, dealing with materials that almost all critical scholars accept as authentically reflecting Jesus’ teachings.
What Paul and Other New Testament Writers Say
Before concluding this chapter we should ask what other first-century writers had to say about Jesus. We are especially intrigued by the testimony of Paul, whose letters predate the Synoptic Gospels by a couple of decades and so reflect very early beliefs about Jesus. What was it about Jesus that so moved the Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus, “Hebrew of Hebrews”?
There can be no doubt that before his conversion to the Jesus movement, Saul was a devout Jewish monotheist. There was nothing pagan about him. There would have been no openness to the idea that God could somehow have taken up residence in a human being. What Christology, or messianic hope, Saul may have entertained would likely have been the hope that God would some day raise up a gifted man from the line of David, a man who would restore Israel’s fortunes, drive the Romans from the Holy Land and bring about peace and justice for all. But I doubt very much that Saul the Pharisee would have understood such a Messiah as in some sense God in the flesh.
Yet, several times in his letters Saul—who adopts his Roman name Paul—applies to Jesus texts that refer to Yahweh. Let us explain. When in his letter to the Christians of Rome, Paul says, “For, ‘every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Rom 10:13), he has quoted Joel 2:32 (noted in italics). In the context of Paul’s argument, “Lord” refers to Jesus (as is clear in Rom 10:14–17). Humans cannot call on the name of the Lord (Jesus) unless the good news is proclaimed, that is, the “preaching of Christ” (v. 17). What is important to note is that the Lord of whom Joel the prophet speaks is Yahweh, the God of Israel. Paul’s knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as the Greek translation, assures us that he knows full well what he has done.
In his letter to the Christians of Philippi (in Macedonia) Paul says that
