Wow! eBook
Jesus and Time: An Interpretation of Mark 1.15: 468
Author(s): Ma'afu Palu (Author)
- Publisher: T.& T.Clark Ltd
- Publication Date: 26 April 2012
- Language: English
- Print length: 288 pages
- ISBN-10: 0567424103
- ISBN-13: 9780567424105
Book Description
This study examines Jesus’ conception of time focusing on the proclamation in “Mark” 1.15, ‘Time is fulfilled and the Kingdom is near’. Palu contends that the background which makes “Mark” 1.15 most intelligible is God’s covenant with day and night which is established in the act of creation, specified in prophetic eschatology, and developed in Second Temple literature; it is God’s commitment to give day and night in their appointed time, promising the restoration of Israel under David’s offspring. On the basis of recent developments in scholarly literature concerning the Greek verbal aspect, this study argues that the perfect verbs in “Mark” 1.15 denote an ongoing dynamic of time fulfilment, closely tied to the ultimate restoration of Israel. This begins with the appearance of Jesus during the days of John the Baptist and is mapped onto two phases of the horizon of Jesus’ view of time. Palu concludes that the biblical notion of time is to be tied intimately to the hope of the restoration of Israel, ultimately manifested as the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Formerly the “Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement”, a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches. The “Early Christianity in Context” series, a part of “JSNTS”, examines the birth and development of early Christianity up to the end of the third century CE. The series places Christianity in its social, cultural, political and economic context. “European Seminar on Christian Origins” and “Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Supplement” are also part of “JSNTS”.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“In what is perhaps the first monograph intimately exploring Jesus’ conception of time, Ma’afu Palu argues, contrary to contemporary scholarship, that understanding this conception is indispensable to interpreting Jesus’ teaching.” –Nick Elder, The Iliff School of Theology, US, Theological Book Review
About the Author
Ma’afu Palu is Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies at the Sia’atoutai Theological College in Tonga teaching Old Testament, New Testament and the Biblical languages. He has received his PhD from the University of Western Sydney in 2009 through Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia.
