Jesus and the Rites of Repentance
Author
Summary, in English
The question as to whether Jesus preached repentance has been discussed in historical Jesus research over the past twenty years, apparently without any scholarly consensus being at hand. This article seeks to eliminate some unnecessary confusion from the debate by investigating early Jewish conceptions of repentance and suggesting that a distinction should be maintained between moral and ritual repentance. It argues that Jesus, while most probably expecting moral repentance of his followers, did not uphold the customary rites of repentance. The article suggests some reasons for Jesus' avoidance of traditional penitential prayers and practices, which may account for the instances of strong criticism against him indicated by the synoptic Gospels.
Publishing year
2006
Language
English
Pages
166-187
Publication/Series
New Testament Studies
Volume
52
Issue
2
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Topic
- Philosophy, Ethics and Religion
Keywords
- penitential rites
- Historical Jesus
- early Judaism
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0028-6885