Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

§15.6 Who Did They Think Jesus Was?
It is worth noting these details, if only for two reasons. (1) There was evidently
sufficient knowledge regarding Jesus' descent for it to be obvious to all
concerned that he did not have a priestly lineage. (2) Those who made evaluations
of Jesus, whether his disciples or others, did not feel free to create facts regarding
his lineage or to fit him better into some expected role. This in turn suggests,
by way of contrast, that the knowledge regarding Jesus' fitness to be
considered for other roles was well grounded also.
15.6. The Prophet
Much the more interesting possibility was that Jesus might be considered a
prophet. For in terms of eschatological expectation, the role of prophet was almost
as prominent as that of royal Messiah and more widespread than the hope
of an anointed priest.
a. Jewish Expectation
Three prophetic figures feature in Jewish eschatological expectation.
(1) Mai. 4.5-6 evidently aroused considerable speculation regarding the
return of Elijah: 'Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and
terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to
their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike
the land with a curse'. This expectation was echoed in Sir. 48.9-10: 'you who
are ready at the appointed time, it is written, to calm the wrath of God before
it breaks out in fury, 181 to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore
the tribes of Jacob'. The expectation does not seem to have left much trace in
the pseudepigrapha, 182 though it is alluded to in the DSS. 183 But the expectation
obviously lies behind various formulations in the Gospels, 184 as also the
opinions voiced in Mark 6.15 par. and 8.28 pars, concerning who Jesus might
be. 185 One of the most interesting features of Jewish expectation is the associ-
181. The Syriac reads, 'before the day of the Lord'; the Hebrew is missing.
182. But see Sib. Or. 2.187-90.
183. 4Q521 fragment 2 3.2: 'The fathers will return to the sons' (echoing Mai. 4.5; Sir.
48.10); 4Q558: 'to you I will send Elijah, before. . . .'
184. Luke 1.17: John the Baptist 'will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to
turn the hearts of the fathers to the children . . .'; Mark 9.11-12/Matt. 17.10-11: 'Elijah comes
(first) to restore all things'; Matt. 11.14: 'Elijah who is to come'; John 1.21: 'Are you Elijah?'.
185. More detail in J. Jeremias, El(e)ias, TDNT 2.931-34. Note also Justin, Dial. 8.4;
49.1.
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