The Prophetic Vision and the Real Jesus: Growth of the Prophetic Vision and Its Impact on the Mission of Jesus in Matthew's Gospel

Using the method of intertextuality Adrian Leske has traced the growth of the prophetic vision from Amos to the Exile demonstrating how after the Exile the dominant influence on that vision down to the time of Jesus is the positive and new message of Deutero-Isaiah. With opposition from the Zadokite priesthood and exploitation from foreign rulers the prophetic and Levite communities find refuge in Upper Galilee and surrounding areas. Using the Gospel of Matthew the most Jewish of the Gospels Leske demonstrates how that vision impacted the teaching of Jesus to these communities and how he perceived his mission as the Servant/Son of man. Understanding this prophetic vision and the Jewish nature of Matthews Gospel brings new insights to Matthean Christology as well as the authorship and date of that Gospel in relation to the other Gospels. That it may be fulfilled... Adrian Leske sets before the reader a comprehensive and convincing study of the development of Israels prophetic vision of salvation and how it is fulfilled in Jesus Messiah suffering servant as portrayed in Matthews Gospel. The breadth and depth of this eminently readable study is astonishing--it is the fruit of a lifetime of patient biblical scholarship. --Dean Zweck Lecturer Emeritus Australian Lutheran College Adrian Leske has written an insightful and very readable account of the prophetic vision that clarifies its development through the prophets and demonstrates its unique culmination in the Gospel of Matthew and Jesus. In contrast to beginning with a commonplace method and theory such as the two-source hypothesis--which only obstructs the search for the historical Jesus--Leske instead lets the prophetic vision speak for itself by providing numerous textual references and descriptions of key historical contexts. His first-rate language and exegetical skills contribute to a deeper historical understanding of the prophetic vision and he concludes with a challenge to conventional understandings of Jesus. --Tim Labron Professor Concordia University of Edmonton Adrian M. Leske is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Concordia University of Edmonton Canada. He is the author of the commentary on Matthew in The International Bible Commentary (1998) and has published numerous articles in the area of biblical studies.