It can be said that in the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and in the uncontested Pauline Letters, the New Testament is very sparing in its use of the title Saviour. 93 This reticence is explained by the fact that the title was widely used in the Hellenistic world; it was conferred on gods such as Asclepius, a healer god, and on divinized kings who were hailed as saviours of the people. The title, then, could become ambiguous. Furthermore, the notion of salvation, in the Greek world, had a strong individual and physical connotation, while the New Testament, in continuity with the Old, had a collective amplitude and was open to the spiritual. The Pastoral Letters and Second Peter use the title Saviour often and apply it both to God and to Christ. 94
The relationship between salvation and the Jewish people becomes an explicit object of theological reflection in John: “Salvation comes from the Jews” (Jn 4:22)
In Jesus’ public life, his power to save was manifested not only in the spiritual plane, as in Lk 19:9-10, but also – and frequently – in the bodily realm as well. Jesus cures sick people and heals them; 95 he observes: “It is your faith that has saved you”. 96 The disciples implore him to rescue them from danger and he accedes to their request. 97 He liberates even from death. 98 On the cross his enemies mockingly recall that “he saved others” and they defy him to “save himself and come down from the cross”. 99 But Jesus rejects a salvation of this kind for himself, because he has come to “give his life as a ransom (lytron: means of liberation) for the many”. 100 People wanted to make him a national liberator, 101 but he declined. He has brought salvation of a different kind.
This saying of Jesus is found in a context of opposition between Jewish and Samaritan cults, that will become obsolete with the introduction of adoration “in spirit and truth” (4:23). At the end of the episode, the Samaritans acknowledge Jesus as “the Saviour of the world” (Jn 4:42).
The title Saviour is above all attributed to the risen Jesus, for, by his resurrection, “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins” (Ac 5:31). “There is salvation in no other” (4:12). The perspective is eschatological. “Save yourselves” Peter said, “from this corrupt generation” (Ac 2:40) and Paul presents the risen Jesus to Gentile converts as the one “who rescues us from the wrath that is coming” (1 Th 1:10). “Now that we have been justified by his blood decisive link, much more surely will we be saved through him from the wrath” (Rm 5:9).
This salvation was promised to the Israelite people, but the “nations” can also participate since the Gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first, and also the Greek”. 102 The hope of salvation, expressed so often and so forcefully in the Old Testament, finds its fulfilment in the New.
33. The idea of election is fundamental for an understanding of the Old Testament and indeed for the whole Bible.
God is the Liberator and Saviour, above all, of an insignificant people – situated along with others between two great empires – because he has chosen this people for himself, setting them apart for a special relationship with him and for a mission in the world
char) Israel is one of the more important teachings of Deuteronomy. The choice which the Lord made of Israel is manifest in the divine intervention to free it from Egypt and in the gift of the land. Deuteronomy explicitly denies that the divine choice was motivated by Israel’s greatness or its moral perfection: “Know that the lord your God is not giving you this good land to occupy because of your righteousness; for you are a stubborn people” (9:6). The only basis for God’s choice was his love and faithfulness: “It is because he loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors” (7:8).