Biblical Theology
Chair: Desi Alexander
Secretary: Dwight Swanson
The Messiah and Biblical Theology
At the heart of the Christian faith is the affirmation that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. The implication of this for Biblical Theology is especially important given that Jesus himself grounded his own understanding of his identity in the Old Testament and this clearly influenced how his earliest disciples viewed him. However, in recent years it has become fashionable amongst academics to claim that the concept of a Messiah is a late development barely touched upon in most of the Old Testament. Naturally,this calls into question the veracity of the New Testament witness to Christ.
In the light of this, the Biblical Theology Study Group is keen to explore how evangelicals may best respond to recent developments in both OT and NT studies regarding the concept of Messiah and its association with Jesus of Nazareth. We are especially interested in receiving offers of papers that will explore from a variety of perspectives the concept of Messiah in the OT and/or the NT endorsement of Jesus as the Messiah. In addition to receiving papers from members of the study group, we welcome offers of papers from sympathetic non-members who have recently completed their PhD, or are in the process of doing so. In the first instance, offers of papers should be made to the Secretary of the Biblical Theology Study Group, Dr. Dwight Swanson at dswanson@nazarene.ac.uk.
Wednesday 7 July
1400 - 1600 Registration
1600 Tea/Coffee
1700 Opening Session:
Peter Head: Hebrews and Messianism
1830 Dinner
1945 Evening Session:
Nick Lunn: Typological Interpretation of the Joseph Narrative in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts
Sung Ho Choi: Christology and Redemptive History in Matthew's Gospel and the Royal Enthronement Psalms
Thursday 8 July
0730 Breakfast
0845 Prayers
0930 - 1245 Morning Session:
NT Tyndale Lecture: Richard Bauckham
1100 Coffee/Tea
1130 Mark Keown: Paul’s Radical Use of Messiah in Philippians and Beyond
1300 Lunch
1400 Tyndale Lecture:
Robin Parry: Lamentations and Political Theology
1600 Coffee/Tea
1700 Afternoon Session:
Kevin Ellis: From whispers to a crescendo: the Messiah at the turn of the Christian era
1830 Dinner
1945 Anthony Petterson: The Messiah in the Minor Prophets
Wolter Rose: The Identity of the King in the Book of Zechariah
Friday 9 July
0730 Breakfast
0845 Prayers
0930 Session 1:
Dwight D Swanson: Isaiah’s Immanuel / Open Forum
1100 Coffee/Tea
1130 Open Forum/ Planning
1300 Lunch
For more information about bookings, click here.