Jesus, the Son of God: Biblical meaning, Muslim Understanding ...

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St Francis Magazine Vol 7, No 3 | August 2011!especially if people tried to make Him King and started a rebellionagainst the Romans. 51 So Luke's explanatory comment, "becausethey knew He was the Christ" spotlights Jesus' ministry and mission,while the declaration "You are the Son of God" highlights Hisdivine nature.Since these two terms are so closely related by the fact thatGod's Son filled the role of the Christ, it is not surprising that theyare often used in close proximity or if they are used in parallel constructionsalmost interchangeably at times, especially since that iswhat an author might do to emphasize the relationship betweenthese terms or to emphasize the various aspects of Jesus' person tohis audience. This is a common pedagogical strategy 52 of the NewTestament authors, using different names or descriptions for Jesusin the same verse or passage to show the relationship between theseterms and to develop a well-rounded picture of who Jesus is andwhat His work was. Another reason an author switches back andforth between terms is to communicate the relative prominence ofthe concepts he wishes to focus on at each point in the text. Thismeans that both terms are relevant and have their place in the textas determined by the author, which is all the more reason theyshould be translated distinctly and faithfully in a translation. 53!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!51 Many of the Jews thought Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for, butthey misunderstood what that meant and wanted to make Him an earthly king(John 6:14–15).52 For another example of this strategy, see Luke 8:39 where Jesus said to the manfrom whom He had cast out demons, " 'Return home and tell how much God hasdone for you.' So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus haddone for him." By putting these references in parallel constructions and in closeproximity, the author is teaching his audience that Jesus is God. Also see: Mark1:1–3 where Mark uses three different terms to refer to Jesus: "Jesus Christ", "theSon of God" and "the Lord [God]"; Titus 2:13 "the glorious appearing of our greatGod and Savior, Jesus Christ"; and Acts 9:20–22 "[Saul] began to preach...thatJesus is the Son of God...Yet Saul...baffled the Jews...by proving that Jesus is theChrist." The various titles used for Jesus in these and many other passages are distinctand are not meant to be substitutes for one another, but rather each title focuseson different aspects of Jesus' nature or work.53 In its analysis of the frequency and use of the Biblical terms that refer to Jesus(including their comparison of these terms in parallel passages), the MIT movementignores fundamental linguistic discourse concerns such as the local and widerSt Francis Magazine is published by Interserve and Arab Vision!""!
St Francis Magazine Vol 7, No 3 | August 2011!2. Mat 16:15–20: “But what about you? Who do you say I am?”16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the livingGod.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah,for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father inheaven..." 20 Then He warned His disciples not to tell anyonethat He was the Christ.Similar to Mat 26:63, "the Christ, the Son of the living God" isan escalation of two unique terms. Both refer to Jesus, but eachterm highlights different things about Him: "the Christ" focuses onHis ministry as Savior and King while "the Son of the living God"spotlights the divine Father-Son relationship and the fact that Jesushas the same attributes as God Himself. Jesus' use of "My Father"here further emphasizes His unique identity as God's Son. 54 In addition,Jesus' jubilant, emphatic response shows that Peter's declarationrevealed something extremely significant and far beyond humancomprehension: that Jesus truly is the Son of God. AlthoughPeter may not yet have realized the full meaning of what he said, itis clear (from chapter one on) that Matthew intended his audiencenot only to realize that Jesus was the promised Christ, but also torecognize His unique relationship and equality with God. 55!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!contexts of each New Testament book and the relative prominence of participantsand themes at any given point in the text. They also ignore other important pragmaticconcerns of how an author uses language to interact with his audience, including:what he assumes, how he defines his terms, and the basic pedagogicalstrategies he uses to teach key concepts and lead his audience to understand importanttruths. Especially important is the matter of author-audience dynamics wherethe author gives his audience access to his own vantage point so that they understandmore than most of the participants in the text did.54 As in John 5:17, it is significant here that in calling God His Father, Jesus wasclaiming to be equal with God. This is another important reason that the term"Father" should be kept in a translation. Taking "Father" terms for God out of theBible text (along with "Son" terms for Jesus) changes both the meaning and thefocus that the author intended.55 The MIT movement's analysis and interpretation of this passage is a good exampleof how they ignore the pragmatic-discourse principle of author-audiencedynamics as it pertains to participant awareness and the author's vantage point andintent. As a result they miss a key part of the meaning of these verses and so fail toSt Francis Magazine is published by Interserve and Arab Vision!"#!
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