Books by Brandon D. Crowe

The closely related biblical themes of covenant and law are among the most important in Scripture. In this ESBT volume, Brandon Crowe considers these themes throughout both Old and New Testaments, laying out key principles such as our obligation to obey our Creator, how Jesus' perfect obedience to God's law opens the way to eternal life, and what the law means for us today.

It has often been observed that Jesus' filial obedience is an important Matthean theme. In this work the author argues that the articulation of Jesus as Son of God in Matthew is significantly influenced by the Deuteronomic concept of obedient sonship.After noting the complexities of Matthew's use of Scripture - including the subtle ways he engages texts - Deuteronomy's pervasive influence in ancient Judaism and Christianity is considered. It is argued that the requirement of Israel's covenantal obedience as God's son(s) is a major concern in Deuteronomy, as well as in other Jewish and Christian texts that appear to echo Deuteronomy. Indeed, it is argued that a pattern can be detected in which the sonship of Israel is invoked either to summon Israel to obedience, or to rebuke the nation for disobedience.The author concludes that the necessity of Israel's obedient sonship is an important part of Matthew's interpretive milieu that derives ultimately from Deuteronomy, and our understanding of Matthean Christology is greatly enhanced when viewed in this context. This study may further help us understand why Matthew's concern with obedient sonship applies not only to Jesus uniquely, but also to the early Christian community.

There is much discussion today about how we are to understand the life of Jesus in the Gospels. What was Jesus doing between his birth and death and how does this relate to salvation? This book corrects the Christian tendency to minimize the life of Jesus, explaining why the Gospels include much more than the Passion narratives. Brandon Crowe argues that Jesus is identified in the Gospels as the last Adam whose obedience recapitulates and overcomes the sin of the first Adam. Crowe shows that all four Gospels present Jesus's obedient life as having saving significance.