Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

THE MISSION OF JESUS §11.5
(2) Equally as significant, the heavenly pronouncement was probably understood
as a combination of Ps. 2.7 and Isa. 42.1. 167
Ps. 2.7 'You are my son, today I have begotten you'.
Isa. 42.1 'Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my
soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him . . .'.
The Isaiah passage looks somewhat remote from the Gospel account of the
heavenly voice, but the quotation of Isa. 42.1 in Matt. 12.18 indicates that there
was a version of Isa. 42.1 current in Christian circles which closely matches the
second part of the heavenly pronouncement at Jordan. 168 Here is confirmation
that the early story-tellers in the assemblies and churches of the Nazarene sect
portrayed Jesus as the royal Messiah, son of God, in accordance with Ps. 2.7,
and servant of Yahweh in accordance with Isa. 42.1. This was a status and function
for Jesus which they saw to have been inaugurated by Jesus' anointing by
the Spirit at Jordan.
b. But What Actually Happened?
It is all very well identifying the import of the tradition as it has come down to us.
But how did the tradition reach its present form? In one degree or other, most
specialists who have studied the passage have followed the line marked out by
Strauss: here we have a classic example of the 'historical myth'. 169 That is to say,
there is no reason to doubt that Jesus was actually baptized by John; but the account
of the heaven(s) being opened, the Spirit descending as a dove, and the
heavenly voice, are all evidence of mythical elaboration. 170 Such elaborations
are obvious ways in which the first Christians sought to bring out the significance
of that event for their evaluation of Jesus.
Moreover, the Liberal attempts to read here an experience of Jesus, Jesus'
own experience of being commissioned by God, are undermined by the character
167. There is a large consensus on this point; see, e.g., Davies and Allison, Matthew
1.336-39.
168. Matt. 12.18 cites Isa. 42.1 — 'Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved,
with whom my soul is well-pleased . . .'. That the form of Matt. 12.18 is not simply due
to influence from Matt. 3.17 is confirmed by the fact that the translation variants used by Matt.
12.18 are attested elsewhere (details in Davies and Allison, Matthew 1.337-38).
169. Strauss, Life 87, 242-46.
170. For the symbolism of the dove see, e.g., the brief review in Fitzmyer, Luke 483-84;
fuller review in Davies and Allison, Matthew 1.331-34.
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