The Self-Disclosure of Jesus: The Modern Debate about the Messianic Consciousness

2023 Reprint of the 1953 U.S. Edition. Edited by Johannes G. Vos. Full facsimile of the original edition and not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In this classic work Vos "...challenges classic Liberalism's rejection of Jesus' self-conscious messianic awareness. As Vos sees it, this anti-supernaturalist assessment of the Gospel witness evidences itself in three key assumptions: (1) whatever occurs in history can never be absolutely true or authoritative; (2) all historical events are fundamentally similar and explainable in terms of natural phenomena, and (3) all historical events exist in an interrelated chain of cause and effect so that all events are part of a closed naturalistic system. While the material is somewhat dated, similar arguments put forward on the contemporary scene have already been tried and found wanting by Vos' keen exegetical and theological insight. - Jeff Waddington - Westminster Bookstore Staff

Publisher Review:

Did Jesus claim to be the Messiah? What Vos discerned in 1926 applies equally to ours: "a certain class of writers" regards with "disfavor ... the Messianic element in the Gospels." His comprehensive, detailed refutation of such writers has helped evangelicals answer these questions affirmatively almost one hundred years ago years (First released in 1926).

Contents: The strategic importance of the Messianic consciousness -- The denial of the Messianic consciousness -- The agnostic position: Wrede -- The theory of prospective Messiahship -- The theory of development of Jesus into the Messianic consciousness -- The theory of the purely formal significance of the Messianic consciousness --"The Christ" -- "The Lord" -- The Son of God -- The Son of God (continued): ascription of the title to Jesus by others -- The Son of God (continued): the sonship of Jesus in the fourth Gospel -- The Son of Man -- The Savior -- The Messianic death.