Jesus the Dayspring: The Sunrise and the Visitation of Israel’s Messiah (New Testament Monographs)
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Messianic expectations in the first century ce were varied, but rarely did they include a figure associated with the sunrise or the direction of the east. However, in Luke’s gospel the prophetic song (the ‘Benedictus’) of the priest Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, includes a title for Jesus that means the ‘dayspring’, ‘dawn’, or ‘rising sun’. Where did this title arise?
In Jesus the Dayspring, Wenkel suggests that the connection between Jesus and the sunrise may have come from any number of texts and traditions contributing to the expectation of God’s divine presence visiting his people from the sunrise. The idea of the Lord who comes from the east also plays an important role in Luke’s narrative of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem from the eastern side of the city as he enters from the Mount of Olives. Such details are often underappreciated but contribute to our understanding of Jesus as a messianic figure who would come like the sunrise.
Wenkel’s search for other potential influences leading to this type of messianic language takes him into Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Hosea and Malachi. By casting his net to include allusions to looking eastward for redemptive hope, Wenkel suggests how Luke’s portrait of Jesus as the ’dayspring’ or ’sunrise’ fits into a larger pattern of resonance across Israel’s scriptures.
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- Explores the connection between Jesus and the sunrise.
- Searches for other potential influences leading to this type of messianic language.
- Suggests that Jesus as the ’dayspring’ or ’sunrise’ fits into a larger pattern of Israel’s scriptures.
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1. Zechariah’s Use of the Term ‘Dayspring’
- 2. The Question of Messianic Hope
- 3. Sunrise Language and God’s Personal Presence
- 4. The Sunrise and Divine Visitation
- 5. Patterns of Redemptive Escalation
- 6. Summary
- Chapter 1 The Visitation of God from the East in the Garden of Eden
- 1. The First Thing Called Good
- 2. Planted in the East
- 3. Cast out toward the East
- 4. Grace in the East
- 5. Summary
- Chapter 2 The Visitation from God in the East in the Exodus
- 1. The Waters Were Divided
- 2. The Quail from the Sea
- 3. The East Wind as the Holy Spirit
- 4. Chasing the Wind
- 5. Summary
- Chapter 3 The Visitation from God in the East in the Tabernacle
- 1. A Place of Anticipation
- 2. A Garden-Temple
- 3. The Honor of Facing the Sunrise
- 4. Cleansing the Tabernacle
- 5. Summary
- Chapter 4
- The Visitation of God from the East in Solomon’s Temple
- 1. Divine and Human Origins
- 2. Eastward Construction
- 3. Eastward Consecration
- 4. Eastward Idolatry
- 5. Summary
- Chapter 5 The Visitation of God from the East in the Exile
- 1. Isaiah’s East Wind of Exile
- 2. Ezekiel’s Temple and the Sunrise
- 3. Second Temple Hope
- 4. Summary
- Chapter 6 The Visitation of God from the East in the City of God
- 1. Zion the Temple-City
- 2. Zion as a New Eden
- 3. Summary
- Chapter 7 The Visitation of God from the East in his Anointed One
- 1. One Stirred up from the East
- 2. A Man Whose Name Is the Rising
- 3. The Sun of Righteousness
- 4. Summary
- Chapter 8 The Visitation of God from the East in the Gospel of Luke
- 1. Framing the Discourse
- 2. Christ for Israel and the Nations
- 3. Jesus Comes from the East
- a. Jesus the Wandering Stranger
- b. Jesus Arrives from the East
- c. Jesus Laments the Lack of Hospitality
- d. Jesus’ Arrival brings Judgment and Salvation
- 4. Summary
- Chapter 9 The Visitation of God from the East and its Transformation in Acts
- 1. Divine Visitation through the Word
- 2. Listening to the Word
- 3. Doing Deeds according to the Word
- 4. Joyful Worship in Response to the Word
- 5. Summary
- Chapter 10 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of References
- Index of Authors