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Jesus and the Rites of Repentance

Author

  • Tobias Hägerland

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

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