Assignment: Article Summary

Title: Jesus’ Intitulation of God as Abba: Its Sources and Impact on the Idea of God’s
Fatherhood in the New Testament.
Author: Rev. Prof. Stefan Szymik

Submitted by: Danilson Germano da Cruz Lopes

Course: Biblical Theology
Lecturerer: Rev. Prof. Stefan Szymik

Early Christian communities of the first centaury and Christians of today very lightly
refer to God as Father in a personal intimate way. And it begs the questions, what is the
source of such understanding of a God that is at the same time an intimate Father?
Joachim Jeremias argues that this peculiar Christian understanding of God’s Fatherhood
finds its source in the Historical Jesus, as he expressed his filial relation with the Father and
invited his disciples to be adopted into that same relationship with the Father.
This understanding of Jeremias has not gone without much scrutiny and even some
rejection. This article tends to be a contribution to this biblical and theological movement
around Jeremias thought.
It has become clear that even though we can find a few mentions of the Hebrew [AB]
and its variants referring to God in the Hebrew Bible and in the texts of the Second Temple
Judaism, they have a very distinct nature or nuance as the same terminology used in NT and
early Christian writing in their equivalent languages (Greek and Aramaic). For the OT the
term father is used to God in a more collective sense (Is 63:16; Jer 3:4.19), as an expression
that points to Israel’s choice as the nation that is preferred by God than any other (Ps 89:27;
Prov 3:12). The fatherhood of God, in this sense, is impersonal, is distant and points only to
the fact that Israel has God closer to them (Exod 4:22; Num 11:12; Hos 11:1-9).
Another common usage of the word [ABA] is in the liturgical sense or in a context of
prayer where the imagery of an early father is often used to make reference to God. OT and
later Jewish writings were very careful not to equate Yahweh with the other gods of pagan
religious traditions who often had parenting roles. Cleary no way close to the “Abba Father”

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used by Paul (Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15) and used by Christian communities of yesterday and today.
So, the question remains, what is the source?
It seems that the clear source is the Historical Jesus as Jeremias argues. But two
important aspects of the usage of this title to God must be observed in order to avoid the
simplistic indication that Jesus called God father as a child calls ‘daddy’ or ‘dad’ to its own
parent.
Amongst the great testimonies found in the letters of St Paul (Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15), in
the synoptic gospels (Matt 1:1-11; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:29.42; ) and in the gospel of St
John (John 5:19-30) and other christians writings two important aspects cannot be missed in
the title of Father given to God by Jesus. Jesus calls God Father referring to his power as
Lord of heaven and earth, as the creator of all that exists, as a figure that deserves reverence
and respect, on the other hand he also presents God as the Father of human kind and human
destiny as a being that cares and is concerned with humanity, so God the Father of Jesus and
the Father of his followers is both a caring Father to his children and a Powerful Father Lord
of heaven and earth.
Clearly Jesus is the first historical figure to address God as a Father in this specific
twofold way, giving him both a distant and close meaning and significance.
Thus, Christian writers use the same understanding when they write to their audiences,
not because it was a common Jewish practice to call God father, but because Jesus had given
to this title a new meaning and depth.