100 siGuRD GRinDheim on the other hand, the most important background for the concept of faith in an eschatological figure is found in the septuagint. if the identification of Jesus as the object of faith took place in the hellenistic church, that would strengthen this hypothesis. But if the origin of the idea is older, going back even to the historical Jesus himself, the best explanation seems to be that Jesus saw himself as filling the role of God, and that he therefore expected to be the one on whom his fol- lowers relied for salvation. it is of course also possible that these two explanations should not be seen as mutually exclusive alternatives. Jesus may also have redefined messiahship in light of the traditions of the heavenly son of man. the title could then refer to a heavenly character that shared the powers of God (cf. mark 14,61-62) 42. Fjellhaug international university college sigurd GRinDheim no–0572 oslo summary Did Jesus call his followers to believe in him? or did he merely call them to believe in God or in the contents of his teaching? this article examines the evidence found in the synoptic Gospels and discusses its possible christological implications in light of the scriptures of israel and the writings of second temple Judaism. if Jesus expected to be the object of his disciples’ faith, his expectation may be understood in light of his redefinition of messiahship. But he may also be seen to have placed himself in the role of God, who was the object of israel’s faith in the scriptures of israel and in second temple Judaism. 42 see further s. GRinDheim, Christology in the Synoptic Gospels. God or God’s servant? (london 2012) 69-70.