Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

THE CLIMAX OF JESUS' MISSION §19.3
then the very allusion suggests both the expectation of suffering, as Israel of old
had suffered from its persecutors, and the anticipation of vindication following
that suffering. The Jesus tradition certainly recalls Jesus as expressing such expectation
and hope, and though open to the suspicion that precisely such a tradition
reflects Christian interpretation of what they believed to have happened in
the event, the tradition on this point is much more substantive than is often appreciated.
That Jesus anticipated the likelihood of his being done away with,
whether by underhand means or by formal execution, is highly probable. And
that his message of God's kingly rule gave him equally firm hope that in that
eventuality God would vindicate him, whether immediately or in the (imminent)
final resurrection, is no less probable.
So, did Jesus see his calling as more than simply proclaiming the kingdom's
coming and inculcating the kingdom life? Did he also intend somehow to
'bring in' the kingdom? Did he go to Jerusalem for what was his last (or first!)
visit to challenge the leaders of Israel, a last do-or-die attempt to turn Israel back
to its God? Did he see himself as lead-player in the final crisis which would result
in God coming in his royal power to dispense judgment and blessing? Did he
intend that his anticipated suffering and death would somehow serve to ensure
that the penitent faithful would come through their final tribulation securely into
the kingdom? To none of these questions can we give a firm Yes. But neither can
we give a firm No. And it remains more likely than not that talk of rejection (the
prophetic tradition), of the son of man suffering, and of a cup to be drunk and a
baptism to be endured began in greater or less part with Jesus himself reflecting
on his own destiny.
Of the hints still clearly recalled in the Jesus tradition, there are two which
have captured most attention, both traditionally and in most recent discussion:
the talk of the Temple's destruction and its rebuilding (in another form?) and the
last supper's talk both of a (re)new(ed) covenant and of wine to be drunk new in
the kingdom. Beyond that, firm data more or less cease, and we are left to speculate
on the basis of such further reflection as the Evangelists provide. What we
can say is that the open-endedness or ambiguity of the hopes or aims expressed
in these utterances reached closure and achieved clarity in the earliest selfunderstanding
of the first Christians and in the way they rooted what they went
on to experience, understand, and practise in these utterances.
19.3. The Lasting Impact of Jesus' Mission
The lasting impact of Jesus' mission is most clear on two fronts: Christianity and
the Gospels. However much or little we conclude it is possible to say about the
mission and teaching and intention of Jesus, it is impossible reasonably to dis-
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