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Analysis of m. Aboth 3.16-17 refutes E.P. Sanders' views in 'Paul and Palestinian Judaism', which states that early rabbinic soteriology on works-righteousness is wholly based upon pseudo-scholarship. On the contrary, the soteriology has a legalistic foundation and is acknowledged by older rabbis such as Gamaliel II and R. Akiba. Gamaliel agrees with Paul's statement in Gal 3.10 regarding the divine standard of justice, while Akiba acknowledges the obvious tension between God's tolerance of minor sins and his goodness.

John Dominic Crossan depended significantly on the 'Gospel of Thomas' to portray the historical Jesus and his arguments for the priority and independence of this gospel are examined.

In several recent works, Bart Ehrman has argued that Jesus frequently taught about the coming of a figure called the Son of Man who was a divine figure, cosmic judge, and ruler of the kingdom of God. Although Jesus did not see himself as this Son of Man, his disciples mistakenly identified him as this figure as a result of their belief in Jesus's resurrection. This article surveys the use of the title Son of Man by Jesus and Jewish literature and generally confirms Ehrman's view of the meaning of the title. It further argues that the standard criteria of authenticity which Ehrman confidently employs in his works also confirm that Jesus identified himself as the Son of Man. Thus, the high Christology of early Christianity is not the result of "legend" as Ehrman claims but resulted from Jesus's own divine claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Matthew 27:51–53 is characterized by Matthean vocabulary, style, and theological themes that support viewing the passage as Matthew's composition rather than an early scribal interpolation or pre-Matthean tradition which he adopted. The structure of the text presents the account as historical narrative rather than poetry. The earliest extant interpretations treated the passage as literal history rather than fiction. Matthew viewed the resurrection of the saints at the time of the crucifixion as a fulfillment of Ezekiel 37 which signaled that the era of the new covenant and new creation had arrived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines and critiques the portrayal of Jesus as a merkabah mystic in Bruce Chilton's Rabbi Jesus. After providing a brief summary of Chilton's presentation of Jesus' spirituality, the article explores the origin of merkabah mysticism and questions whether available sources confirm the existence of a developed mysticism that included the practice of the ascent during Jesus' lifetime. The article also examines the New Testament texts to which Chilton appeals as evidence of Jesus' mysticism. The article concludes that Chilton's fascinating theory has only meager support in the canonical Gospels since a careful comparison of the words and activities of Jesus of Nazareth and the descenders of chariot in Tannaitic and hekhaloth literature discovers more differences than similarities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines and evaluates important interpretations of the εκ πιστεως; εις; πιστιν prepositional series in Rom. 1:17. It evaluates these interpretations in light of four criteria: (1) Is the interpretation consistent with usage of the construction in ancient Greek texts? (2) Does the interpretation address a theme of Romans that is prominent enough to account for its inclusion in the programmatic statement? (3) Is the interpretation consistent with Paul's normal modes of expression? (4) Is the interpretation compatible with the Hab. 2:4 citation? These criteria raise serious doubts about several well-established interpretations and suggest that scholars should more seriously consider the interpretation of Chrysostom and other Greek fathers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]