There have been disputes surrounding how we are to interpret the work of Jesus and how in fact he saw himself.
One such view is that of a restoration prophet. In Matthews account of the triumphal entry Jesus is thought to be a prophet from Nazareth and in Luke crowds are said to think a prophet had appeared before them showing it was possible for Jesus to have been seen as a prophet in his lifetime.
There were many prophets around at the time however Jesus did not attempt to recreate Jewish history and so is thought to fit better into a prophet role similar to John the Baptist.
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Jesus himself was baptised by John which may be a look back to the Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah.
This also implies that Jesus was closely connected to John who definitely was a prophet and so adds weight to the view of Jesus as a restoration prophet.
Jesus shared in John’s eschatological message of impending judgement and need for repentance so it was likely that Jesus held great respect for John.
The fact that Jesus appears to be heavily influenced by John certainly points to Jesus holding a prophetic role.
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Many texts, from the inter-testamental period in particular, look to a time when there would be mass repentance and a return to god however this does not feature heavily in Jesus’ teachings.
Its feature in early Christian life suggests it must have some importance and it is included in Mark showing some form of relevance.
If Jesus did in fact seek guidance from old texts for views on repentance it would lead to a view of a restoration prophet however the minimal nature of the teachings may suggest this was the gospel writer’s view and was included to push this agenda.
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In addition, Jesus’ call for 12 apostles is a key part of his mission that generally goes unopposed.
For the Jews the number 12 holds great importance due to its association with the 12 tribes of Israel who were expected to be brought together during the end times.
The deliberate and conscious inclusion of the 12 would point towards a prophetic role as he would be fulfilling Jewish longings.
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E. P. Sanders has stated that Jesus’ cleansing of the temple shows him as a restoration prophet as a key part of Jewish eschatological belief was that the restored community would worship in a new and heavenly temple and Jesus’ actions alluded to this event.
Moreover, in the Dead Sea scrolls there contained a plan for a vast and splendid place of worship whilst other texts have also implied the rebuilding of the Temple.
When looking overall, Jesus’ demonstration can seem ambiguous in that some see it to be a criticism of the corruption in the temple at the time.
However his focus on the kingdom may be a sign of future destruction that would be followed by divine rebuilding.
If the latter is taken to be the correct interpretation then Sanders would be right in his stance of seeing Jesus as a restoration prophet.
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On the contrary, Bultmann believes that Jesus took more of a son of man title originating out of the apocalyptic view of the early Christians.
However others have said that Bultmann’s reliance on the son of man text in Enoch makes his claim a little too extreme and if Jesus did speak of the son of man he wasn’t referring to himself.
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Another view of Jesus is that of Messiah meaning anointed one and was particularly associated with a warrior king who would defeat the enemies of God.
E. P. Sanders has said that there are only two occasions where Jesus accepts the title Messiah and even these are historically weak and a general conclusion that Jesus probably wouldn’t have had accepted the title is adopted.
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Conclusion
In conclusion I would state that the idea of Jesus as a restoration prophet is the most apt.
Due to the evidence and arguments provided only that of restoration prophet seems strong enough to stand against criticism.
Although both son of man and messiah have reason to be argued their validity against the view of restoration prophet does not appear to be a better way of understanding the person of Jesus.
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