Chapter 232 of 404

Conclusion: Jesus as a King

We have argued that the earliest sources reveal that while Jesus was initially reticent to claim messiahship publicly, and while even his disciples initially misunderstood the character of his messianic claim, Jesus viewed his mission at least partly in messianic terms. He taught that his disciples would have a role in the Messianic kingdom, which implies that he attributed to himself a messianic role.¹⁰⁷ His disciples claimed him to be messiah, and his execution as king indicates that others believed that he considered himself messiah.¹⁰⁸ Neither Pilate nor the disciples got the idea from each other; rather, it derived from a common ultimate source in Jesus himself. For later followers of Jesus to invent such a title for him is inconceivable; it risked persecution against themselves for following one executed for treason.

We noted above E. P. Sanders’ view that many scholars have been too cautious about assuming that Jesus believed he was a king.¹⁰⁹ Raymond Brown likewise concludes that some of Jesus’ followers may have thought him the Messiah, but that he responded ambivalently because his mission defined the term differently than the popular title would suggest.¹¹⁰

Martin Hengel sums up the evidence well. Although many scholars are reluctant to think that Jesus viewed himself as Messiah, most concur that he does not easily fit within merely sage or prophetic categories alone.¹¹¹ Jesus’ preaching about the kingdom has implications for his own identity;¹¹² Jesus seems to claim that the kingdom is present in him (Matt 12:28//Lk 11:20).¹¹³ Such teachings cohere well with the secure information that Jesus was executed on the charge of claiming to be Israel’s rightful king.¹¹⁴ Clearly Jesus viewed himself not as simply “one ‘eschatological prophet’ among many.”¹¹⁵

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