From Jewish Prophet to Gentile God

This monograph examines the transformation of Jesus from a Jewish prophet operating within Palestinian Judaism to a divine figure in Gentile Christianity. Casey argues that the historical Jesus never claimed divinity and that his deification resulted from specific cultural and linguistic shifts as Christianity moved from its Jewish origins into the Hellenistic world.

The work challenges traditional Christian theology by demonstrating how the transition from Aramaic-speaking Jewish communities to Greek-speaking Gentile churches facilitated fundamental changes in christological understanding. Casey meticulously analyzes key New Testament passages, showing how Greek translations of Aramaic expressions and concepts created new theological meanings that the historical Jesus would not have recognized. He argues that titles like "Son of Man" and "Son of God" underwent radical reinterpretation as they crossed linguistic and cultural boundaries.

Central to Casey's thesis is the claim that early Jewish monotheism precluded any possibility of Jesus understanding himself as divine. He positions his argument against both conservative Christian scholars who maintain high christology reflects Jesus' self-understanding and liberal scholars who inadequately account for the Jewish context. The author employs historical-critical methodology, combining linguistic analysis with social-historical reconstruction to trace how Gentile converts, unfamiliar with Jewish theological constraints, interpreted Jesus through their own religious frameworks.

Casey demonstrates that the deification process accelerated as Christianity became predominantly Gentile and increasingly separated from Judaism. He shows how Paul's theology, though stopping short of explicit deification, prepared the ground for later developments. The Gospel of John represents the culmination of this trajectory, presenting Jesus in terms incompatible with Jewish monotheism but comprehensible within Hellenistic religious thought.

The monograph's significance lies in its detailed documentation of how religious ideas transform through cultural transmission. Casey's work implies that orthodox Christian beliefs about Jesus' divinity rest on historical misunderstandings rather than authentic tradition. This challenges fundamental assumptions about revelation and religious authority, suggesting that core Christian doctrines emerged through human cultural processes rather than divine disclosure. His careful scholarship demonstrates how sociological and linguistic factors shape theological development, offering a naturalistic explanation for Christianity's central claims about Jesus' identity. The work thus contributes to broader debates about the historical reliability of religious traditions and the human origins of theological concepts.