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Interpreting Jesus's Intentions Through Christological Analysis

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Abstract

This paper examines Raymond Brown's (1994) Christological analysis of the New Testament Gospels, focusing on how historical, linguistic, and cultural context shapes our understanding of Jesus's intentions, words, and actions. Drawing also on Rausch (2017), the paper explores the challenges of discerning Jesus's authentic voice amid the Gospel authors' own biases, language, and cultural frameworks. Key issues include the non-historiographical nature of scripture, the attribution of sayings to Jesus, and the tension between his human and divine portrayals. The paper concludes that careful critical reading of scripture is essential for understanding Jesus's self-concept and theology.

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What makes this paper effective

The paper consistently grounds its claims in specific textual evidence from Brown (1994) and Rausch (2017), citing page numbers and direct quotations to support its interpretive points.
It maintains a balanced analytical tone, acknowledging multiple possible interpretations — such as whether Jesus genuinely lacked knowledge of ordinary affairs or whether the Gospel authors elevated his portrayal — without overstating conclusions.
The paper connects scholarly analysis to broader theological implications, such as how the humanization or elevation of Jesus affects different Christian audiences, demonstrating applied critical thinking.

Key academic technique demonstrated

The paper demonstrates effective synthesis of multiple scholarly sources around a single analytical question. Rather than summarizing Brown and Rausch separately, it weaves their arguments together to build a coherent argument about the difficulty — and necessity — of critically reading scripture to recover Jesus's authentic intentions.

Structure breakdown

The paper opens with Brown's method and its rationale, then deepens into the problem of scriptural intent versus authorial construction. It introduces Rausch to reinforce the challenge of attribution before concluding with what can be reasonably discerned about Jesus's theology and self-concept. The progression moves from methodology to problem to partial resolution, forming a clear analytical arc.

Introduction to Brown's Christological Method

Brown (1994) offers an astute Christological analysis through a close and critical reading of scripture. A close reading allows for the contextualization of each Gospel, helping to resolve issues such as conflicting or inconsistent imagery and anecdotes. Given the inconsistencies between the Gospels, it becomes imperative to piece together Jesus's core intentions and the meanings behind both His words and His actions. The need to understand scripture historically and linguistically is also apparent in Brown's analysis. Brown (1994) emphasizes the importance of historical and cultural context in interpreting scripture. For example, attributions of "magical action" — which go beyond "miracle" — correspond with Greek "miracle worker" stories circulating during the period in which scripture was being codified (Brown, 1994, p. 35). Brown notes that the Gospel portrayal of Jesus's miracles was qualitatively different from either the magical powers attributed to Greek "miracle workers" or similar Levantine pagan concepts.

Challenges of Discerning Jesus's Intent in Scripture

It may be difficult to discern Jesus's intent based on words and actions recorded in scripture because of the extraordinary nature of scripture itself — scripture was not designed to be historiographical. Even if the Gospels are Christographical, their authors purposely constructed the figure of Jesus while simultaneously attempting to account relatively accurately for His teachings, sayings, and actions. Scripture also implies that Jesus had "limited knowledge of the ordinary affairs of life," which could mean several things: that Jesus actually experienced a unique life divorced from "ordinary affairs," or alternatively, that the authors of the Gospels deliberately elevated the personage of Christ to a superhuman level (Brown, 1994, p. 35).

Either way, Brown's (1994) critical analysis of scripture is essential within the context of Christology. If Jesus had little knowledge of ordinary affairs, then ordinary readers will not find it easy to view Jesus as a historical personage. If, however, Jesus possessed more knowledge of ordinary affairs than the Gospel authors conveyed, then Jesus would be humanized to a greater degree than some Christians may be comfortable with. Perceiving Jesus's intentions — both the intentions of his own story and his theological intentions — may be all but impossible, given that the apostles were responsible for recording Jesus's actions and words, and those recordings were shaped by factors including language, culture, and potentially personal biases.

2 Locked Sections · 230 words remaining

The Attribution of Sayings and Apostolic Influence · 120 words

"Rausch on sayings not originating directly from Jesus"

Jesus's Theological Identity and Self-Concept · 110 words

"What can be discerned about Jesus's own theology"

Conclusion

Rausch, T. P. (2017). Who is Jesus: An Introduction to Christology. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.

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Key Concepts in This Paper

Christology Gospel authorship scriptural intent historical context linguistic analysis apostolic attribution Jesus's self-concept miracle narratives canonical formation New Testament