Description
Most scholars understand that the Day of Atonement ritual of Leviticus 16 provides the main template for understanding Jesus’s death and exaltation in the argument of Hebrews. This study suggests that the perspective of Hebrews is much wider than that, conceiving of the ascension as the inauguration of Jesus’ office as “Son” at the “right hand of God.” The title “Son” is the fulfillment of the promises made to David (2 Sam 7:12–15), which are claimed for Jesus explicitly in Heb 1:5 and 13. This connection to the Davidic covenantal traditions brings closer the theology of Hebrews and the theology of other New Testament documents, which opens new vistas for understanding early Christianity.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
Statement of the Problem
State of Affairs: The Day of Atonement Ritual Provides the Analogy to Jesus’s Ascension
Alternative Suggestion: Moses’s Inauguration of the Sanctuary Provides the Analogy to Jesus’s Ascension
A Third Way: The Enthronement of the Ideal Davidic King Provides the Analogy to Jesus’s Ascension
Delimitations and Methodology
Chapter 2: The Davidic Covenant and the Expectation of an Ideal King in the Hebrew Bible and early Judaism
The Institution of the Davidic Covenant
Righteous Kings and the Davidic Covenant in Monarchic Israel
The Davidic Covenant in the Rest of the Hebrew Bible
The Davidic Covenant in Early Judaism
Conclusion
Chapter 3: Ascension and Inauguration of the Rule of the “Son” in the Letter to the Hebrews
“… When He Brings the Firstborn into the World” (Heb 1:6): Ascension and the Enthronement of the Son
“ … A Great High Priest Who Has Passed through the Heavens” (Heb 4:14–16): Ascension and Entrance into God’s Rest
“A Hope That Enters the Inner Shrine behind the Curtain” (Heb 6:19–20): Ascension and the Appointment of a Faithful Priest
“When Christ Came as a High priest of the Good Things That Have Come” (9:11–14, 24; 10:19–25): Ascension and the Inauguration of the New Covenant
“You Have Come to Mount Zion” (12:18–29): The Ascension of the Believers to the Heavenly Jerusalem
Conclusion
Chapter 4: Conclusion: Jesus’s Ascension Inaugurates His Rule as the Eschatological “Son” of God, Fulfilling the Expectations of a Davidic Righteous Ruler in the OT
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Felix H. Cortez is associate professor of New Testament at Andrews University.
Reviews
“It is important for Christians to know why Jesus ascended and how it has any relevance to us, and Cortez’s work is a true help to not only see the importance of the ascension, but how Jesus was enthroned as the righteous Davidic King promised long ago.” -Spencer Robinson at SpoiledMilks
