The Church
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 61, No. 1 – Fall 2018
Editor: W. Madison Grace II
By Brandon D. Crowe. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017. 288 pages. Paperback, $30.00.
In The Last Adam: A Theology of the Obedient Life of Jesus in the Gospels, Brandon Crowe’s desire is to examine how the four Gospels present Jesus as the last/ new Adam through Jesus’s life and actions. Crowe states that he wrote this book to answer a question he has often asked himself: “What is Jesus doing in the Gospels?” (ix). Crowe seeks to answer this question by arguing that the Gospels do not dichotomize the “lifelong obedience of Jesus … from his death” (16), but that “the work of Christ in the Gospels is a unified obedience that entails both his life and his death” (17). This obedience, then, results in the life of Jesus portrayed as a “saving character” (17).
After a helpful introductory chapter where Crowe surveys the history of interpretation relevant to his thesis, Crowe develops his main point through the next six chapters. In chapter two, Crowe surveys the four Gospels and how they “consistently use Adam language and imagery for Jesus,” as this language and imagery builds upon an “Adamic protology” (23). In the genealogy of Luke, Jesus is represented as standing “at the head of a new humanity” (33), whereas Matthew’s genealogy “presents Jesus as a covenant representative” (35). Crowe further argues that the title of Son of Man also presents Jesus as the Last Adam because the language of Daniel 7 describes one who is both an individual and a representation of those whom he represents (39). The many texts regarding the Son of Man not only associate Jesus with the figure from Daniel 7 but also provide a variety of Adamic connections as well (43–48).
Chapter three focuses upon the title Son of God, and here Crowe argues that this title given to Jesus is not limited only to his connections to Israel; rather, this title is also intimately connected to Adam. Thus, Jesus is the last Adam of Israel’s history (55) and where both Israel and Adam failed, Jesus proved to be the better son since “Sonship in Scripture is consistently paired with obedience” (61). Crowe notes that the obedience of Jesus is immediately highlighted in the early portions of the Gospel stories primarily through the baptism and temptation narratives (68–70, 74–78), and in each instance Jesus identifies with “God’s people as their representative” (68) and his “obedience benefits those whom he represents” (78).
Chapter four analyzes the fulfillment passages in the Gospels by examining the obedience of Jesus after his baptism and temptation as well as “what it means for Jesus to be described as righteous and the fulfiller of righteousness” (83). Crowe’s analysis gives prominence to Matthew 3:15 since Jesus states his purpose is to fulfill all righteousness. Crowe notes both the importance of this verse in the broader context of Matthew (86–93) and its emphasis since these words were the first spoke by Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel (86). Thus, Jesus’s “fulfillment of all righteousness should be viewed in light of the coming day of eschatological salvation that entailed eschatological righteousness” (88–89). Chapter five advances Crowe’s thesis specifically in the Gospel of John. Crowe argues persuasively that “Jesus’s obedience stands in the foreground of John’s narrative, and this obedience is necessary for salvation” (117). What the Baptist declared in John 1:29 finds its fulfillment in the obedience of Jesus within the Passion Narrative as the Last Adam where the obedience/disobedience of Jesus/Adam is uniquely seen. (134–37, esp. 137).
Chapter six focuses on the theme of the Kingdom of Righteousness in the Gospels, and Crowe primarily discusses the following: (1) the role of Jesus in implementing the kingdom of God (140–53), (2) Jesus’s authority to bind the strong man (153–166), and (3) the relationship between Jesus’s miracles and his messianic obedience (166–170). Jesus is presented as one who manifested the obedience “that overcomes the disobedience of Adam” and “the effects of Adam’s sins” (170). However, as Crowe notes the kingdom is not fully established since it is the resurrection of Jesus that allowed the kingdom to be fully realized (170). This is a helpful transition to chapter seven, and Crowe argues that the life and death of Jesus are “organically interwoven” so that his work must be viewed as a “unified whole” (171). It is the resurrection that proves Jesus was fully obedient as the last Adam, and his full obedience “to the Father uniquely qualifies him to save his people from their sins… serving as the (new) covenant sacrifice” (176).
Chapter eight brings Crowe’s work to a conclusion, as he attempts a theological synthesis between Adam’s character and Jesus’s obedience. Crowe notes that the incarnation of Jesus allowed Jesus to accomplish what was not possible for another human, and therefore the “incarnation is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for salvation” (201). Much remains to be accomplished in the obedience of Jesus, and the four Gospels portray his obedience in full.
Throughout the work, Crowe successfully argues that the Gospels present the obedience of Jesus as necessary for salvation and that Jesus is compared and contrasted to Adam in his character.This argument primarily falls within the baptism and temptation narratives. Also helpful is Crowe’s observance of both historical and recent scholarship in Gospel studies. Crowe notes throughout his work that it is not intended to cover all areas of his chapter’s respective discussion, but he footnotes a wealth of sources for the reader to conduct further research.
What is absent in this work, however, is a discussion on the event of Jesus as a boy in the temple (Luke 2:42–52). How does Crowe reconcile the obedience of Jesus to his heavenly Father and his earthly parents in this scene, and how does it fit into the Adam/Jesus comparison?
The Last Adam is a helpful contribution to the field of Gospel studies. Crowe carefully demonstrates the core of his thesis throughout the work and persuasively shows how the Gospel writers carefully present the obedient life of Jesus as necessary for salvation. This work will prove helpful for any interested and it commends itself to be read widely.
