Who Is Jesus?

Who Is Jesus?

  • Submitted By: rookiekf123
  • Date Submitted: 01/09/2009 3:55 PM
  • Category: Religion
  • Words: 1091
  • Page: 5
  • Views: 1

Who Is Jesus? Seeing Jesus As He Saw Himself
Jesus saw his own destiny clearly, knowing that he was to die and knowing to the full extent what his death meant. However, this understanding “is not the same as attributing salvific efficacy to his death itself,” (110). Author Thomas P. Rausch explores this theory, drawing on three experts’ interpretations of scriptural text. N. T. Wright, Walter Kasper, and Edward Shillebeeckx all came to similar interpretations of how Jesus viewed his impending death through their close readings. Rausch presents that Wright reached his conclusion with evidence from the Psalms, Daniel, and Zechariah. Wright, “suggests that Jesus had an awareness of his vocation, though something far different from what he calls a ‘supernatural’ awareness of himself…it was like, he says, knowing that he was loved,” (108-109). Jesus does not have a messianic awareness of who he is and of what he has to do, but he does have a strong sense of his mission. Kasper and Shillebeeckx’s arguments complement this idea with the evidence they found in the Gospel. The bulk of their arguments are focused mainly upon the disciples’ renditions of the Last Supper. The “examination of the final meal with his disciples suggests that he saw his death, freely accepted, as part of his life and ministry,” (110). All three experts provide Rausch and the reader with undeniable evidence that Jesus stepped firmly into his destiny, choosing it with a certainty that came from a divine inspiration. His knowledge as to whether or not he was the Messiah is not presented, but it does become clear that Jesus knows exactly who he is and what he must do to complete his mission of spreading the word.
Jesus’ role as a servant is closely examined in the text. Shillebeeckx’s research on four different excerpts of the scripture is presented. He draws from Mark, Luke, and John and these all spoke of Jesus’ acts of service at the Last Supper. The diakonia, a Greek verb for idea of...

Similar Essays