Jesus and the Law of Moses - by Paul T Sloan

About the Book

This book explores the Synoptic Gospels' depiction of Jesus as an authoritative teacher who heralds Israel's restoration and participates in intra-Jewish debate about how to keep the Law.

Book Synopsis

Jesus regularly engaged the Law and its interpretation in his interactions with both crowds and other teachers. While many scholars have interpreted his teaching as criticizing legalism, nationalism, or external piety, in this groundbreaking study of Jesus and the Law in the Synoptic Gospels, Paul Sloan suggests an alternative.

Putting the Gospels in conversation with other early Jewish sources, Sloan argues that the proper framework for understanding Jesus's legal instruction is his announcement of Israel's covenantal restoration. In this context, the Gospels depict Jesus as the divinely commissioned herald of the restoration and the authoritative interpreter of the Law, criticizing misinterpretation and transgression--not legalism, nationalism, and external rituals. From this perspective, Jesus's disputes with contemporaries constitute intramural debates about the Law's interpretation and proper observance. Sloan also shows how Jesus's action in the temple and his crucifixion are better understood within this restorationist context, and he concludes by examining the congruity between Jesus's teaching of the Law and the use of the Law in Acts and in Paul's Letters.

This thorough study contributes to the ongoing discussion of Jesus and the Law in the first-century Jewish context. It will challenge students of the Gospels and readers of the broader New Testament to reconsider some common misunderstandings of the Law and its reception in early Christianity.

From the Back Cover

"A captivating analysis"

This book explores the Synoptic Gospels' depiction of Jesus as an authoritative teacher who heralds Israel's restoration and participates in intra-Jewish debate about how to keep the Law. Examining Jesus's own instruction and some legal disputes, Paul Sloan challenges readers to reconsider some common misunderstandings of the Law and its reception in early Christianity.

"Jewish Law provided not the contrast to Jesus's message but its context and much of its content. Sloan restores this dimension to the Synoptic Gospels' representations of Jesus. An exemplary work of scholarship."
--Paula Fredriksen, Boston University (emerita)

"Christian readers of the Gospels often find themselves in the awkward position of explaining away sayings of Jesus about the Law. Sloan shows in this lucid, readable book how it is possible--and indeed necessary--that Jesus means exactly what he says."
--Matthew V. Novenson, Princeton Theological Seminary

"A timely and welcome corrective to the persistent and dominant dichotomies that pit Jesus and the Gospel against Moses and the Law and mistakenly assume that Jesus canceled the so-called ritual or ceremonial commandments. I hope that this promising work will reach the widest possible audience."
--Isaac W. Oliver, Bradley University

"In this incredibly helpful book, Sloan addresses several misguided interpretations of Jesus's relationship with the Law, and in their place he provides a compelling alternative: As a faithful interpreter of the Law, Jesus heralds the restoration of the people of God."
--Madison N. Pierce, Western Theological Seminary

"Exhibiting remarkable mastery of ancient Jewish literature and legal discourse from the Hebrew Bible to the rabbis, Sloan presents a captivating analysis of Jesus's view of Law observance for the sake of Israel's restoration. While affirming Jesus's broader commitment to Torah observance, Sloan's innovative concept of 'eschatological nomism' uncovers the profound legal reasonings Jesus applied as he pursued his eschatological mission within the boundaries of ancient Judaism."
--Yair Furstenberg, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

"Truly a fresh, creative, and convincing argument!"
--Joshua W. Jipp, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"This illuminating and important book reminds us afresh that we cannot understand the Synoptic accounts of Jesus's disputes about the Mosaic Law without putting them in dialogue with biblical texts, Jewish restorationist eschatology, and rabbinic legal reasoning."
--David M. Moffitt, University of St. Andrews

"'Who do you say that I am?' the Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels asks. In Jesus and the Law of Moses, Sloan answers, 'Jesus is God's eschatological agent sent to Israel to unleash a renewed fidelity to both the covenant and the Law of Moses.' If you want to understand the Synoptic portrayal of Jesus, you need to read this book!"
--Matthew Thiessen, McMaster University; author of Jesus and the Forces of Death

"This is one of the best and most important books on Jesus and the Gospels in decades. Sloan has accomplished the rare feat of producing a field-shifting book that is also accessible to readers outside the scholarly guild. A must-read for anyone wanting to understand Jesus and his message more fully."
--Jason A. Staples, North Carolina State University

"A significant and nuanced contribution to the complex question of the Gospels' portrayal of Jesus's teaching on the Law. Sloan demonstrates that Jesus's legal teachings and disputes are not rejections of the Law but authoritative interpretations aimed at its full observance in the dawning eschatological age. In doing so, Sloan effectively challenges common scholarly misconceptions."
--Cecilia Wassén, Uppsala University

About the Author

Paul T. Sloan (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is associate professor of early Christianity at Houston Christian University in Houston, Texas. He is the author of Mark 13 and the Return of the Shepherd and the coeditor of Son of God: Divine Sonship in Jewish and Christian Antiquity, New Studies in Textual Interplay, and Visions and Violence in the Pseudepigrapha.