The <i>Senior</i> Saviour of Irenaeus: Jesus and the Stages of Life

ABSTRACT In Against Heresies 2.22, Irenaeus makes a well-known statement about the length of Jesus’ life: Jesus lived to be nearly 50 years old, thus passing through and ‘sanctifying’ every stage of human life before his death. Although this claim by Irenaeus is frequently referenced, it remains understudied. This article sheds new light on Irenaeus’ teaching by placing it in conversation with ancient discussions of life stages. Many ancient writers describe vast changes that occur in mental and physical constitution as a person passes through various stages of life. That is, an individual becomes almost a new person as they enter a new stage of life. A number of ancient sources even describe passing from one stage to the next as a ‘death’, since an individual transitions into something totally unrecognizable. This widely attested discourse bears important implications for the study of Irenaeus. According to the Bishop of Lyons, Christ needs to sanctify every stage of life in order to enact salvation, since each stage is qualitatively different from the others. Thus, the notion that Christ passed through every stage of life is central to Irenaeus’ Christology and soteriology.