Interpreting a Riddle

Using the ambiguity of a text, the writer suggests Jesus was implicitly arguing that though he could be perceived to be the Messiah, the title "son of David" should not lead people to think that he was going to restore, unite and rule the kingdom of Israel. Jesus in fact was doing a silent revolution subverting the tyrannical legacy of David and his original son Solomon. The writer offers a rereading of the "son of David" verses in the Gospels which cohere around the Matthean version of Jesus’ "triumphal entry into Jerusalem." The Gospel writers contrast David with Jesus, with special reference to their three areas of identification: geographical, ministerial and administrative. This contrast, he shows, finds its climax in the last of book of the Bible where a mighty "lion of Judah" turns out to be a "vulnerable Lamb" who is projected as holding the key of history and is the crucified centre of all powers and authorities. This study challenges the uncritical glorification of David in the Christian tradition

Ambiguity · Art · Gospel · Historical Jesus · Kingdom · Literature · Messiah · Political science · Politics · Proclamation · Son of man · Subversion · Theology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Law · Philosophy