Stanley E. Porter and Bryan R. Dyer. <i>Origins of New Testament Christology: An Introduction to the Traditions and Titles Applied to Jesus</i>

Origins of New Testament Christology is a textbook that introduces students to the titles applied to Jesus throughout the New Testament. Stanley E. Porter and Bryan R. Dyer approach this topic by presenting the Jewish, Greco-Roman, and New Testament backgrounds for each of Jesus’s titles and traditions. In addition, each chapter contains a concluding section demonstrating each title and tradition’s contribution to New Testament Christology. Porter and Beyer devote eleven chapters to each of Jesus’s titles and traditions in the New Testament, and then they conclude with a final chapter that culminates with “Jesus as God.”Porter and Dyer’s work regarding New Testament Christology involves more than just the titles; it also involves the traditions that the NT established about Jesus. The authors define traditions as “a belief or pattern of thought that is given meaning within a group of people, often passed down from a point of origin that is given special meaning” (p. xxii). According to the authors, the christological traditions are identifiable by “conceptual imagery that the New Testament writers incorporate into their compositions” (p. xxii).The following christological titles and traditions are covered in the book: (1) Jesus the Lord, (2) Jesus the Prophet, (3) Jesus the Son of Man, (4) Jesus the Son of God, (5) Jesus the Suffering Servant, (6) Jesus the Passover Lamb, (7) Jesus the Messiah, (8) Jesus the Savior, (9) Jesus the Last Adam, (10) Jesus the Word, and (11) Jesus the High Priest. As I mentioned earlier, the book concludes with “Jesus as God.” Every section of the book points to the concluding chapter, where a High Christology is summarized thanks to supporting evidence in the main corpus.The authors are clear that they wanted to use biblically external evidence in support of the various traditions in the NT (pp. xxii–xxiii). For this reason, every chapter presents the reader with data from the Jewish, and if possible, the Greco-Roman literature regarding the titles in the NT. They do this to avoid the appearance of a Christianization of the traditions. However, they are very clear that one should not understand the Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions leading toward an NT fulfillment on their own (p. xxiii). One should understand the titles and traditions within their cultural contexts and how they are applied in the NT literary context. The authors provide a cultural overview of the traditions and titles and then show how the NT uniquely demonstrates each title and tradition as fulfilled in Christ.I appreciate the section introducing the reader to Jesus as the Son of Man (pp. 47–64). Having taught New Testament Survey classes for many years at the undergraduate level, I find many students are not familiar with this particular christological title and its significance. Porter and Dyer provide a helpful synopsis of the Son of Man traditions in the OT (Dan 7:13), literature in the OT Pseudepigrapha (1 En. 46:1–5; 48:10; 52:14; 52:8–9; 69:29; 71:17; ), and the NT (e.g., Mark 14:62). This synopsis, while not exhaustive, provides students with a helpful introduction to the Son of Man traditions found in the Gospels.While it is interesting that Porter and Dyer did not cover Jesus as King in their work, they include the concept underneath the title and tradition of his role as the Messiah (137). However, it seems they would spend some more space on the subject of Jesus as King since they introduce the reader to the concepts of Jesus as Prophet and Jesus as High Priest. Jesus as King seems to be a title worth covering, being that the title and tradition receive so much attention throughout the NT and are treated separately from Jesus’s Messianic title (e.g., 1 Tim 6:15; Rev 19:16). One may also find themes and traditions relating to the kingship of Jesus (Matt 2:2; 25:31; Luke 1:32). Yet, I do understand the authors’ rationale for not treating the subject of Jesus’s kingship separately, and this does not overshadow the contribution of the work as a whole.The authors close the work nicely by encouraging their readers to consider how each christological title and tradition supports the doctrine that Jesus is God. Before summarizing the theses of each chapter, they remind their readers that one can expand the semantic range of Jesus’s title as “lord” to include more than just a master, but God himself (p. 232). Indeed, they harken back to their section of “Jesus is Lord,” which deals with Pauline Christology, which extrapolates how Paul viewed Jesus’s title as Lord in a divine way. The authors set out to show how the christological titles and traditions in the NT promote a high Christology, and they handle the subject in a way that is effective yet manageable with details.This work by Porter and Dyer provides Bible college students with a practical introduction to the christological titles and traditions. This work is best suited for undergraduate courses and maybe a first-year seminary course. Its brevity and depth make it a good work for a book review assignment in a New Testament survey class. I plan on using it for some of the classes I teach in the future.