Jesus and Judgment: The Eschatological Proclamation in Its Jewish Context

In a time when it is fashionable to depict Jesus in noneschatological terms-a Cynic preacher, perhaps-Marius Reiser demonstrates that the theme of judgment lies close to the heart of Jesus' proclamation. The significance of this book is made clear in a new introduction, "The Question in Contemporary Scholarship," in which Reiser engages the current American discussion of the historical Jesus. Reiser shows that, for Jesus, the certainty of the coming judgment is the presupposition of the ultimate coming of the reign of God. Judgment and salvation are two sides of the same coin. This book thereby offers a corrective to a one-sided emphasis on Jesus' message of salvation-to say nothing of the picture of a noneschatological Jesus. Jesus and Judgment offers anoverview of the concept of judgment in early Jewish literature and in the preaching of John the Baptizer. It then concentrates on the teachings of Jesus, both sayings and parables. Included are excursuses on important related motifs like the "divine passive" and "conversion."

Marius Reiser is Professor of New Testament at the University of Tubingen.