Jesus Was Adopted?


Jesus Was Adopted?
Hebrews 5:1-10
Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; 3and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. 4And one does not presume to take this honour, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
‘You are my Son,
   today I have begotten you’;
6as he says also in another place,
‘You are a priest for ever,
   according to the order of Melchizedek.’
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus* offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Interesting things to chase down in our second reading for Sunday. One is the phrase “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” Where did that come from? It’s rather startling for anyone who enjoys celebrating Christmas and hearing the Nativity stories in Luke and Matthew about Jesus being the Son of God from his conception and birth. More, it’s quite shocking for anyone accustomed to saying the Nicene Creed most Sunday mornings, with its words,
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
    the only Son of God,
    eternally begotten of the Father,
    God from God, Light from Light,
    true God from true God,
    begotten, not made ...
with its high Christology lifted directly from the Prologue of the much later (perhaps 90-125 AD) Gospel according to John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1,2). But the words in the Hebrews reading
‘You are my Son,
   today I have begotten you’
come directly from Psalm 2 and the older Gospel according to Luke, and at Acts 13:33. In some ancient manuscripts, the account of Jesus baptism at Luke chapter 3:21,22 reads, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.’” Surprisingly, other ancient manuscripts read, “... And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Beloved Son, today I have begotten you.’” The difference is significant on several levels. One is a historical criticism issue of what the gospel writer (whom we call Luke) originally wrote and why we have two different versions. An answer would be that the more surprising version is Luke’s original, and that it was soon “corrected” to agree with Mark’s older (perhaps 70-72 AD) account, and to agree with the teaching of the Church, and also because it’s inconsistent with Luke’s own Nativity story. And then the question arises, whether the Nativity story itself was added later. It’s a thorny path.
In any event, the surprising version of Luke seems to be what was known to the writer of Hebrews, which may be dated about 80-90 AD. So, that tells that the surprising version was what was in circulation then (unless the author of Hebrews had access to an oral tradition about Jesus’ baptism), which may help date Luke as well. 
The statement, “You are my Beloved Son, this day I have begotten you,” is even more clearly adoptionist than the oldest gospel account of Jesus’ baptism at Mark chapter 1; and the Church made adoptionism (the view that Jesus was adopted as Son of God at his baptism) heresy even before it was settled once for all in the Nicene Creed (eternally begotten). Thus, the need for "correction."
Perhaps it all comes down to “what did the voice from heaven actually say?” and the answer to that is easy: It depends on whose story you are reading. And each story is different. In Mark and Luke the voice is speaking directly to Jesus, there’s no indication anyone else heard it. In Matthew the voice is spoken so that apparently everyone present heard it. Plus, the Luke story has these two different versions, one arguably original and the other arguably a “correction” for reasons of theology and consistency. The Gospel according to John doesn't discuss the baptism event at all, for reasons that any competent Sunday School discussion clarifies.
TW+