Help Composing a Search

Today my readings included John 19:19. It started me thinking if any Patristic writers or commentaries elaborate on an interpretation somewhat broader than just the historical "King of the Jews"

I usually think of the title as a perjorative or derogatory but what about a prophetic interpretation where Jews becomes a broader term applying to Jews and Gentiles in the sense of the Israel spoken of by Paul in Romans and Galatians? I set up my search as follows but how can I do better at conceptualizing or refining my searches? Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

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Justin Gatlin

Hi Fos,

I don't think the Church Fathers ever took King of the Jews in the sense you suggest, so the main reason you won't come up with anything in your search is that it is not there. It is probably relevant that "Jews" is not ever used in a general sense, although "Israel" may be. Nevertheless, I have some ideas for improving your search.

First, click "Your Books" and type communitytag:fathers. This will keep you from clogging up your results with a bunch of other commentaries.

Second, I would include the parallel references. So, I would change the search back to All Passages but make my search string: (Greek OR Gentile OR nation) INTERSECTS (bible:"John 19:19" OR bible:"Matthew 27:37" OR bible:"Mark 15:26" OR bible:"Luke 23:38")

Third, I think you have probably already done this, but make sure that the -ed button on the top right is clicked so that your search will automatically match different forms (like Greek/Greeks).

Finally, if you are a subscriber, you can do a smart search for "Did any of the church fathers take 'king of the Jews' figuratively?"

[quote]

The concept of Jesus as "King of the Jews" appears to have been primarily understood literally by early Christian writers, though with some nuanced interpretations. Origen, an early Church Father, discussed this title in relation to Christ's crucifixion, noting that it was written above Jesus' head on the cross[1]. Origen interpreted this as evidence of Jesus' kingdom, linking it to biblical prophecies about Christ's kingship. However, the articles do not provide explicit evidence of Church Fathers taking this title purely figuratively. The term "King of the Jews" is consistently associated with Jesus' messianic role and his claim to spiritual and temporal authority, as seen in the Gospel accounts of his trial and crucifixion[2][3]. Some modern theological interpretations suggest a more complex understanding of this title, considering Jesus as both dependent on and sovereign over the Jewish people in his role as their king[4]. However, these discussions do not directly address how early Church Fathers might have interpreted this title figuratively.

[1] Manlio Simonetti, ed., Matthew 14-28, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 289.
[2] Marianne Blickenstaff, “King of the Jews,” in The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, ed. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2006–2009), 504.
[3] Louie Giglio, At the Table with Jesus: 66 Days to Draw Closer to Christ and Fortify Your Faith (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2022), 208.
[4] Mark S. Kinzer and Jennifer M. Rosner, Stones the Builders Rejected: The Jewish Jesus, His Jewish Disciples, and the Culmination of History (New York, NY: Cascade Books, 2024).

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1315490#Comment_1315490

Second, I would include the parallel references. So, I would change the search back to All Passages but make my search string: (Greek OR Gentile OR nation) INTERSECTS (bible:"John 19:19" OR bible:"Matthew 27:37" OR bible:"Mark 15:26" OR bible:"Luke 23:38")

Now that you put the references in the search string, you need to specify that they are milestones i.e.

(Greek OR Gentile OR nation) INTERSECTS (milestone:bible:"John 19:19" OR milestone:bible:"Matthew 27:37" OR milestone:bible:"Mark 15:26" OR milestone:bible:"Luke 23:38")

Justin Gatlin

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1315514#Comment_1315514

(Greek OR Gentile OR nation) INTERSECTS (milestone:bible:"John 19:19" OR milestone:bible:"Matthew 27:37" OR milestone:bible:"Mark 15:26" OR milestone:bible:"Luke 23:38")

Are you sure? When I run it, I get the same result either way. I thought that it implied the milestone for INTERSECTS Bible searches.

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1315530#Comment_1315530

Are you sure? When I run it, I get the same result either way. I thought that it implied the milestone for INTERSECTS Bible searches.

I was going to add that it works if your Reference matching is Default as I always use Narrow, which needs the milestone keyword.

Justin Gatlin

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1315542#Comment_1315542

That makes sense, I leave mine on default. Thanks for the clarification.