Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

§17.6 Crucifixus sub Pontio Pilato ,
worthy of himself; 6 like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial
burnt offering he accepted them. ?In the time of their visitation they will
shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble. 8 They will govern
nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever.
9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide
with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he
watches over his elect.
51 Then the righteous will stand with great confidence in the presence of
those who have oppressed them and those who make light of their labours.
2 When the unrighteous see them, they will be shaken with dreadful fear, and
they will be amazed at the unexpected salvation of the righteous. 3 They will
speak to one another in repentance, and in anguish of spirit they will groan,
and say, 4 These are persons whom we once held in derision and made a byword
of reproach — fools that we were! We thought that their lives were
madness and that their end was without honour. 5\Vhy have they been numbered
among the children of God? And why is their lot among the saints?'
Nor should we be surprised that early Christian reflection seized upon Ps.
16.8-11 (Acts 2.25-28; 13.35), since the confidence in God expressed there
seems to extend beyond death to a continuing life and 'pleasures for ever-
I6.1Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the LORD, 'YOU are
my Lord; I have no good apart from you.' . . . 9 Therefore my heart is glad,
and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. l0 For you do not give me up
to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit. 11 You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
(2) If Jesus did indeed draw on Daniel's vision of the 'one like a son of
man', then we need simply to recall the capacity of that vision to encourage hope
of vindication following suffering. 260 As the manlike figure represented the saints
of the Most High in their vindication following horrendous suffering, so he provided
a further expression of the suffering-vindication hope. That Jesus may have
been influenced by this vision is further suggested by the fact that it talks of the
kingdom being given to that son of man (Dan. 7.14), to the saints of the Most High
(7.18, 22, 27). The possibility is thus provided of a direct link between Jesus' ex-
259. Lindars, New Testament Apologetic 38-45; but see also B. Janowski, 'Die Toten
loben JHWH nicht. Psalm 88 und das alttestamentliche Todesverständnis', in Avemarie and
Lichtenberger, Auferstehung — Resurrection 3-45 (here 41-44).
260. See above, §§ 16.3b, 4c, and 17.4c.
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