Four Gospels, One Jesus

       As we continue reading the Gospels perhaps you are asking, "Why did God give us four parallel, complementary accounts of Jesus' life, ministry, and teachings, and not a single, more comprehensive volume presenting his complete biography?" We need to remember that these too are occasional documents, written to specific audiences with definite pastoral concerns and theological interests. We have talked a little about the importance of context in interpretation, and the Gospels are an excellent example of this principle. We need to look at the historical situation of Jesus, and appreciate what his actions and teachings revealed to his disciples, to the Jewish leaders, and to the multitudes. We also need to think about the historical context of the gospel writers, years after the cross and resurrection. The writers used selectivity in bringing together and arranging their accounts of the teachings and works of Jesus in order to teach and minister to the needs of their audiences. The Gospels are reliable accounts of what Jesus did and said, but they are not exhaustive biographies. They have a message. They teach theology. We need to read each of the four as complete narratives, and study them carefully to understand what the writer was teaching his original readers. Having done that, we can ask how the principles taught relate to us in our 21st century context. As we continue our survey of the gospels over the next couple of weeks pay attention to the unique perspective, emphases, and message of each one. Each contributes to our understanding of who Jesus is and what he has done. Each one also challenges us to live as his disciples. 

Keep reading, and don't forget to record your reactions to the biblical text. Feel free to post questions in the comments section below, if you are wondering about something it may be a question that someone else is thinking about as well! 

Snow day, but keep reading!

NTS class,
Our class today has been cancelled due to the snow, but that doesn't mean the work stops! Continue reading according to the class calender. Our quiz at the start of class next week will be based on the chapters that were due today, 3-5, in our text book. Continue reading the New Testament books as per the calender, and remember, you need to be recording your reactions to these reading week by week as outlined in the course syllabus. If something stands out in your reading of the Bible or the text book that you would like to share with me or the class you can publish it as a comment below this post. Don't worry if it doesn't immediately appear, I have to approve comments before they appear online. God willing I'll see you next week!

The Culture and Context of the New Testament

Today we will be talking about the religious, political, geographical, and cultural climate in which the New Testament was written. Do you think of reading the Bible as an exercise in cross-cultural communication? It really is!  As a missionary needs to learn the culture of the people among whom he or she will live and work, we need to immerse ourselves in the study of the culture(s) of the biblical world. Though we have excellent translations of the Bible into our language, it is still challenging to “hear” these documents as the original readers would have heard them, since we are not immersed in the same cultural context.  Chapter 2 in our text book is a good starting place, but as students of the Bible we need to be life-long learners of the biblical world and its culture. The better we understand the setting and context in which these documents were written, the better we will hear their message(s) as the writers intended. In reading the Bible we need to seek to discern the meaning that the writer intended to communicate to his original audience. Only after we understand what it meant "then and there" can we ask the questions about its meaning "here and now."

Why did the Pharisees have such a problem with the teaching of Jesus? And why is it in Acts that the Sadducees are the ones who seem to have the biggest objection to the preaching of the apostles? Understanding the religious context helps us to grasp what is happening and why. Other examples that would impact a first century reader differently than they do us include the relationship between Jews and Samaritans. Why was it so shocking for Jesus to have a conversation with a Samaritan woman (Jn 4), and why would he make a Samaritan the “hero” of one of the stories He told (Luke 10)?  Why does Luke point out that of ten men who were healed, the one who returned was a Samaritan (Luke 17)? 

The apostle Paul says that God sent His Son when the “fullness of time had come” (Gal 4:4,5). How did Jewish history in the centuries before the coming of the Messiah prepare the way for his arrival and the unfolding of God’s plan? The messianic hope was dynamically alive in the first century, but was it complete and balanced?

I hope you read this chapter carefully, and that you are intrigued enough to continue your study of this important background to the most important Book you will ever read. Your comments are invited below, what stood out to you in this chapter?

Companion Web Site

By the way, Baker Academic has a companion web site for our textbook "Encountering the New Testament." It is strongly recommended that you take advantage of the video overview and outlines, as well as the practice quizzes, in your study and preparation.  The address is...
http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/encountering-the-new-testament-3rd-edition/274454/esources
 (you may have to copy and paste the link to your browser).
SN

My Story

I thought it might be good to start with a short account of my own story.

       In 1979, I was called to serve as a juror on a murder trial. A man had killed his wife; his plea was temporary insanity.  She had become a "born again Christian," and he said that her talk about religion, God, and Jesus, drove him to a state of temporary insanity, when he killed her.  As evidence was presented in the course of the trial, witnesses were brought in to testify of the change in that woman's life.  To me it seemed like a very positive change. They spoke of the peace she seemed to have, and of the assurance she had that she was going to heaven. As the jury began deliberating we were sequestered in a hotel. I noticed a book on a night stand by my bed, and began reading a Gideon Bible. For the first time in my life, I read John 3:16. It sounded too good to be true. I always felt that if I were to get to heaven it would be through my good works, now I was reading that it was through faith in Jesus and his finished work that I could be saved. I did not yet trust in Christ, but God certainly had my attention!

       After the trial concluded, I went home and tried to tune into the "Rock" radio station I liked in those days, and "accidentally" heard the radio program "Unshackled!" (from the Pacific Garden Mission, in Chicago). I realized I was hearing the same story in someone else's life, that as God comes into someone’s life through faith in Jesus, they don't simply hope they might get to heaven someday, they know they are forgiven and have full assurance of salvation. They gave an invitation. I recognized my need, that my sin had separated me from God, and trusted in the finished work of Jesus Christ for my salvation. He did it all, my part was simply to believe and receive. 

       I soon sensed God was calling me to the ministry and I withdrew from the night classes I was taking at a secular college and the next semester began attending Northeastern Bible College. From there I went on to Westminster Theological Seminary for further study in the Biblical languages and hermeneutics.   After finishing a masters degree I went on for a Ph.D. in hermeneutics and biblical interpretation, focusing on  the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament.  Over the last thirty years the Lord has given me opportunities to serve him in pastoral ministry and as a seminary teacher in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I have taught as an adjunct instructor at Northeastern Bible College, Cairn University (then Philadelphia Biblical University), and now New England Bible College. Currently I serve as the senior pastor of Boothbay Baptist Church.

       My life purpose is to know God intimately, to love him passionately, and to serve him joyfully as a part of his church, and to use my gifts, experiences, and abilities to help others grow as his disciples.