From Qumran to Nazareth: Reflections on Jesus’ Identity as Messiah in Light of Pre-Christian Messianic Texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls

Much scholarly activity has focused on the texts of the Qumran community and their potential parallels to the New Testament, a process over which some care must be taken lest too much be read across from one source to another. Clearly the Scrolls tell us that within the Second Temple era great diversity reigned, making it a difficult task to make simple historical connections. In this article, we will explore two aspects of Jesus’ messianic portrayal by the New Testament authors and then attempt to determine clues from the Scrolls that will aid in formulating a critical theology of Jesus as the Messiah. The study will deal with the explicit claims of Jesus’ divine sonship and the implicit notion of how Jesus’ actions and deeds are indicative of his identity as Israel’s awaited Messiah.