Primitive Christology: Analysis of Titles of Jesus

Primitive Christology: Analysis of Titles of Jesus
Oscar Cullman identified ten main titles of Jesus in the New Testament. He grouped them under the categories of "earthly work" of Jesus (with titles like Prophet, Suffering Servant, High Priest), "future work" (Messiah, Son of Man), "present work" (Lord,Saviour) and ""pre-existence" (Word, Son of God, God) of Jesus. Cullmann traces most of the titles of Jesus to the Old Testament though he is inclined to find two titles influenced by other traditions, "Son of Man" title to the "heavenly man" concept of oriental religions and "Logos" to the Greek mythology.

One of the major concerns of the earliest christologies was to show that Jesus is the Christ of God. Ferdinand Hahn, a student of Gunther Bornkamm, argued that between the Palestinian Jewish Church and Gentile churches there existed another group, the Hellenistic Jewish Church. He argued that various christological titles reflected the Christologies of these communities. For him the exaltation of Jesus was not present in the earliest of christologies. It was the Hellenistic Jewish Church which applied the titles of Lord and Christ to the risen Jesus, as they emphasized the present work of Jesus while the Palestinian Church conceived Christ to be inactive during the interim period of resurrection and parousia.

The Son of Man title which in the teaching of Jesus reflected his expectation of an eschatological functionary other than himself, was quickly identified with Jesus as they hoped for the return of Jesus as Judge. During the earthly ministry Jesus rejected the Jewish concept of Messiah and probably the very word, but his followers liked to interpret him in messianic categories.The titles "Son of David" and "Son of God" were linked to the Jewish expectation of the Messiah, the anointed one, the Greek form of which is Christ (from the Greek root, "chrio," to anoint). According to Pannenberg, "The special significance of the title, Christo, lies in the breadth and capacity for change in its content, which in addition, also could take up the entire tradition about Jesus, including, the passion tradition" Jesus-God and Man, p.32). Christ signified Jesus fate and Israel's eschatological expectation. While most other titles disappeared from usage, the title Christ even overshadowed the name Jesus.

R. H fuller in his Foundations of New Testament Christologies (1965) accepted Hahn's method but reversed it to argue that each title was redefined during the three stages of Christological development, namely, Palestinian, Hellenistic, Jewish, and Hellenistic Gentile transitions. Christology reflected only the thinking of the Church about Jesus, not of Jesus consciousness of himself.
It was the Hellenistic Gentile church which in the title, Lord, expressed the divinity of Jesus and read it back to Jesus' earthly career.