The Messiah Must Suffer According to the Scriptures
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The Messiah Must Suffer According to the Scriptures: A Study of the Unique Statements in Luke-Acts A thesis submitted to the faculty of the Athenaeum of Ohio/Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts (Biblical Studies) By Christopher M. Komoroski Cincinnati, Ohio December 2019 Abstract The unique and repeated statement that the “Messiah must suffer according to the Scriptures” in Luke-Acts is an unsolved mystery. There are no specific references to which Scriptures are being fulfilled when this statement is made. The purpose of this study is to explore the internal evidence in Luke-Acts for the Scriptures used to support this statement. This is accomplished through the application of an intertextual method. Three proposed systems which scholars have investigated are explored: first, the Suffering Servant in Isaiah; second, the suffering prophets of Israel and the prophet-like- Moses of Deuteronomy 18; third, the righteous sufferer in the Psalms, who is assumed to be royal David. The project concludes that all three of these motifs can be understood as present in a significant way in Luke-Acts, each with its own particular usage. This thesis by Christopher M. Komoroski fulfills the thesis requirement for the master’s degree in Biblical Studies and is approved by: Advisor: Fr. Timothy Schehr, Ph. D. Readers: Mr. Marco Mulattieri, S.S.L. Fr. Ryan Ruiz, S.L.D. iii Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Suffering Servant of Isaiah Motif ................................................................... 10 Who Is the Servant? .................................................................................................... 10 Suffering Servant in Luke ........................................................................................... 12 Suffering Servant in Acts ............................................................................................ 18 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 23 Chapter 2: Suffering Prophets and Prophet-like-Moses Motif ......................................... 25 Jesus as Prophet .......................................................................................................... 26 Suffering Prophets ...................................................................................................... 28 Prophet-like-Moses ..................................................................................................... 33 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 39 Chapter 3: Suffering Davidic Motif .................................................................................. 40 The Psalms Within the Gospel (Before the Passion Narrative) .................................. 41 The Psalms in the Passion Narrative ........................................................................... 43 The Psalms in the Speeches in Acts ............................................................................ 48 Peter’s Pentecost Speech (Acts 2:14-36) .............................................................. 49 Peter’s Speech Before the Council (Acts 4:1-31) ................................................. 51 Paul’s Speech in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:13-41) .............................................. 55 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 57 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 59 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 61 iv Introduction Luke, in his two-part work of Luke and Acts, speaks of a suffering Messiah, Jesus Christ. While all of the New Testament writers were interested in writing about Jesus, who became the suffering Messiah, Luke, uniquely of all of the New Testament writers, was very interested in asserting that the Messiah needed to suffer, and that that fact is supported by the Hebrew Scriptures. None of the other writers speak of the relationship between the Scriptures and the Messiah when it comes to suffering in the same way as Luke does.1 There are five statements throughout Luke-Acts which refer specifically to the necessity of a suffering Messiah according to the Scriptures.2 All of these statements are found in the post-Resurrection period. Therefore, there is an element in this latter half of Luke-Acts of looking back and interpreting the past events of Jesus’ suffering and Resurrection according to the Scriptures. There are, of course, points throughout the Gospel at which it is communicated that Jesus will suffer in the future. The fact that Jesus is the Messiah is also hinted at and even explicitly (though rarely) stated throughout the Gospel, as well. But there is no point before these five post-Resurrection statements in which the following three ideas combined: (1) Jesus’ Messiahship, (2) the necessity of the suffering of the Messiah, and (3) the idea that the Messiah’s necessary suffering is attested to by the Scriptures. 1 There are other parts of the New Testament that make similar claims about Jesus’ suffering Messiahship. 1 Peter 1:10-11 speaks of the prophets, who predicted “the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory.” However, Luke is peculiar in his continual return to the idea, placing very similar words in the mouth of Jesus in the Gospel and in the preachers of Acts of the Apostles, Peter and Paul. This emphasis leads us to consider how Luke, with a particular use of Scriptural citations and allusions, is making a unique point when compared to the other NT writers (though this comparison does not occur here, since it is outside the scope of this project). 2 Luke 24:26; 24:46; Acts 3:18, 24; 17:3; 26:23. While some other passages have many elements of these statements (e.g. Acts 2:23; 13:27-29), they do not have all of the criteria contained in these statements. The criteria are explained below. 1 The first statement appears in the Emmaus story, in which a disguised Jesus joins two disciples leaving Jerusalem on the day of the Resurrection. The disciples remark that Jesus had been killed and there were some inexplicable testimonies from the morning which possibly meant that He was alive. Jesus then remarks: “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary (ἔδει) that the Christ (τὸν Χριστὸν) should suffer (παθεῖν) these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures (πάσαις ταῖς γραφαῖ) the things concerning himself.3 The three previously mentioned elements are present here. First, Jesus is plainly referred to as the Christ (Χριστός). Second, the necessity of the suffering (usually a form of the verb “to suffer” [πάσχω]) is expressed in the use of “it is necessary” (here: ἔδει). Third, the Scriptures (“writings,” plural of γραφή) are twice referred to, through what the prophets spoke and the reference to the “writings.” The curious part, however, is this: that the Scriptures that are explained are not explicit. Which Scriptures were interpreted? At this point, “Luke does not search the Old Testament for references to individual events…,”4 nor does he with the other four statements that we will examine. On the exploration of this curiosity, we can introduce two points that will be revisited in the other statements. First, it is the interpretation that is crucial. Jesus does not fault the disciples for not knowing the Scriptures. He remarks that it is the belief of “the things” predicted by the Scriptures that was lacking, a belief which involves many steps. The knowledge of the Scriptures, the knowledge of the events, the interpretation linking the two, and the 3 Luke 24:25-27. All biblical citations taken from The Ignatius Bible: Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2005), unless otherwise noted. 4 Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Luke, trans. David E. Green (Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1984), 371. 2 assent to the interpretation (i.e. acknowledging that the interpretation represents the reality of the situation) are the needed elements. It is the interpretation of the recent events in light of what had been previously stated in the Hebrew Scriptures that Jesus explores. The interpretation has to do specifically with Jesus’ identity. The two disciples acknowledged Jesus’ identity as a “prophet mighty in deed and word” (Luke 24:19) and give voice to their own hope that he was the Messiah (“the one to redeem Israel;” Luke 24:21). Jesus then invites them to consider Him as the suffering Messiah, using Scriptural evidence combined with knowledge of the events of the Passion and Resurrection. Second, that while explicit Scriptures are not mentioned, there are many hints which can be gleaned. The prophets are mentioned twice in this pericope. Moses, also, is mentioned by name. But all the Scriptures (πάσαις ταῖς γραφαῖς) are mentioned as well, which covers the whole gamut of the Hebrew Scriptures. With the previous inclusion of Moses and the prophets, we can initially assume that Jesus took “principally from