Our Many Sided Gospels
(The next in the series of the interpretation of the New Testament).
The Gospels are perhaps the most read parts of the New Testament. One reason for this phenomena is because the Gospels are easy to read. Another reason is because the Gospels contain stories and information about the life and times of Jesus that speak to the soul. Few readers of the Gospels perceive some of the really knotty issues about the Gospels. These issues will not slow down the causal reader. But these issues will give pause to the determined study group.
What are we talking about when we use the word "Gospel"?
- The word "Gospel" mean "Good news".
- The Good News is about Jesus.
- The Good News stems from the teachings of Jesus.
- The Good News are the retelling by eyewitnesses the stories about Jesus.
External References
As a foreword, contained herein are mentioned a few good external study books and reference material the reader could benefit from. If yiou are going to understake a serious study of the Gospels, the study will last most of your life. You will find yourself needing to consult “External Books” for a deep understanding.
Forms Of Materials
Some of this material is related to us though the Gospels in the narrative form.
Also some of this material comes down to us in the form of “sayings”
Narrative And Sayings
Narratives and sayings are readable and easy to understand. Because of these characteristics, and because the information contained therein is absolutely “ food for the soul”, the Gospels get read and reread over and over again, more than other parts of the scriptures.
The Hard Parts
In spite of all that has been said before, there are places in the Gospels that contain what has come to be known as “The hard saying”of the gospels. After some thought about the context and the historical settings of these sayings, their meaning become clearer.
Here are a few “Hard Sayings that our culture has found in the Gospels:
- Eat my flesh and drink my blood!
- Do these things and you'll never fall!
- I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance!
- Heap burning coals on their heads!
- It is easier for a camel... than a rich man to enter heaven!
- Unless you hate your life,.you cannot be my disciple!
- I saw Satan fall as lightning from heaven!
- No man can serve two masters - both God and mammon!
- He that blasphemes against the Holy Ghost will never be forgiven!
- For God has concluded them all in unbelief.
- Sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ, ONCE for all.
- We all have to die just because of another mans sin?
- Unless you become holy like God you will not see Him.
- A Christian is incapable of sinning?
- Unless your faith can remove mountains you remain in unbelief.
- I came not to bring Peace but Division!
- The violent take the kingdom by force!
- The way to heaven is by having the revelation of who God is!
- Is Baptism necessary for salvation?
- Dying in order to Live?
- Be not unequally yoked
- Faith Comes By Hearing
- When that which is perfect comes.
- The law was added so that the trespass might increase!
- Do these things and you'll never fall!
Reasoning Based On Neglect
Because of neglect of cultural setting and historical setting of these sayings, many ignore and effectually brush aside as impossible, one half the gospel. After that decision on how to treat the Gospel, these readers are drawn to the, other side which is attractive to them
The reasoning goes something like this:
It is true and it is wonderful that Jesus is risen from the dead. It is true and it is wonderful, that Jesus offers peace, joy, and the promise of heaven to those who believe and obey Him.
The Other Half Of The Story
That is the easy half of the Gospel. There is another side of the Gospel, the other half: The hard Part.
This half of the Gospel references: Dying in order to live. The idea of: Losing in order to find, or going down in order go up and freedom in the midst of slavery is hard to fathom. Along with that the idea of success through failure seems all wrong. These ideas at first glance do not work in our culture.
The Two Step, Side Step
Some of the readers sidestep these issues by focusing on more appealing ideas. These ideas include” “The prosperity Gospel”, Healing for all, Getting the kingdom of heaven now, and and similar fantasies. When the Gospels are read and studied and the hard parts of the are ignored the conclusions drawn are far from Christianity. Focusing only only on the attractive part of The gospel leaves half our soul exposed and at risk.
Those Hard Sayings
The hard sayings of Jesus are perceived to be hard because these sayings contain thoughts and ideas that challenge our self, our very being. It exposes our carnal nature.
The proper understanding the Hard sayings requires or is benefited from an understanding of the historical context from which they come.
The proper understanding the Hard sayings requires input from the Holy Spirit.
The proper understanding the Hard sayings will require a life time of study and determination. It is not something that you learn in a 8 hour study and then put it aside and never think about it again...
Cultural Content
The Gospels are presented to us in ideas and precepts and presuppositions that are came from the language and concepts in use by first-century Judaism.
This Is One Of The Problem
This is the problem. This is the readers task: How to take those ideas and concepts and gain understanding in a meaningful and intelligent way to the 21 century, English speaking reader?
The reader cannot divorce themselves from their culture. The reader must gain some insight into the cultural settings and times from which these Gospels came from.
What Are Some The Problems Encounter In A Study?
The First Problem
The first problem is this: Authorship. Who wrote the Gospels? Just who was it that put pen to paper and wrote these books? Of course, iIn the real sense of the word, The Holy Spirit is the author. They Holy Spirit was behind and guided the writing of the Gospels.
Who Did Not Write the Gospels
Who was not the author? Who did not take pen and paper in hand and write down the events?
Jesus. Jesus is not the author of the Gospels. Jesus did not write any of the Gospels. Others, eyewitness reports and other second handed sources were used by the authors of the Gospels, compelled by the Holy Spirit. . But nothing was written by Jesus Himself.
What about Jesus?
The Gospels contained in our New Testament contain collections of sayings woven together as a part of a historical narrative of Jesus' life and ministry.
The second problem
The second problem has roots in the soil of the first problem. Others, not Jesus, wrote the Gospels. No only that, we have before us four Gospels. We have four different sources. We have four different accounts. We have four different audiences . We have four different reason for writing.
Who For?
Each of the writers of the Gospels had a recipient in mind when the work was penned. It would help us greatly in our quest for understanding if we knew who in each case.
We have before us four different Gospels. There are problems that arise from this. The problem is: what is the correct way of grasping their meaning.
What Are “The Gospels”
The Gospels are first and foremost, books about the life of Jesus and His actions in human history. .This makes them especially easy to read and interesting to us. Because the Gospels are about Jesus they contain things about that Jesus said and did. The gospels are a collection of his teachings,sayings and actions. These writings are narratives about Jesus life. These narratives include among other things, large blocks of Jesus sayings.
The third problem
The culture of Jesus.
Culture and cross culture issues and effects are very hard to deal with especially if you are not even aware of your own culture. Most people are not aware of “culture” There is a book that may put some light on the subject. The book was called “The Ugly American” The Ugly American has no concept that there are other cultures in the world, and if others are encountered, the culture that the Ulgy American comes from is judged as being the best. To quote the book A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They're loud and ostentatious." The book information: The Ugly American by Eugene Burdick and William J. Lederer
In some cultures, you can be very offencive by blowing your nose in public, by pointing your shoe at someone, by not saying the proper greeting. By not understand local customs and procedures one can be either in trouble or become laughable. I had some one, who was about to take a first trip overseas tell me that they had heard” When you arrived in the destination crountry, they open up the suit cases and go through the things in them. This person relating this information to me told me that they cannot do that to him because he is an American citizen.
Valuable Knowledge
It would be valuable to the reader to know that Jesus was born into and immersed in Aramaic. Jesus did not have the cultural context of 21 century USA. Jesus spoke, was educated in and his native tongue was Aramaic. His culture was Aramaic. He was immersed in Aramaic. The way He expressed himself, the cultural yardstick his listeners used to measure is words was Aramaic.
The fourth problem: Greek
The saying and the teachings where first spoken in Aramaic, in the Anaemic cultural background. But the gospels were written down in Greek. The language and ideas had to be transferred from one culture to another. This further confuses the issues we have with the Gospels.
Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit wrote the Gospels. But the Holy Spirit did not dictate the books to humans like a tape recorder or typewriter. The Holy Spirit did not send the human authors an Email outlining what needed to be written and what words to use. The human personality was at work with the message of the Gospels.
The Fifth Problem : Language
This is written to try to brings some understanding of the problem of language and the problems it presented. One of the problems the reader will run into when the study of the gospel is undertaken is of language and how to treat it.
If you read carefully the Gospels you can find reported certain sayings of Jesus. You can find the saying, in an identical setting, in the same place in time, in other places in the Gospels.
The saying you are looking for may even be found in two or sometimes even three Gospels. The problem is the identical words are not used to describe the event or to quote the words out of Jesus mouth.
You will discover, in reading the Gospels, that the same saying of Jesus appears, not infrequently, in two or three of the gospels. You will notice that even when the event occurs in the same chronological sequence of historical setting, this said event may not be reported with the same words or phases as the others. The authors were in full control of their personalities. They were not tape recorders and did not report the events and sayings in the same words. In fact, if the reporting was identical this would be cause for doubt. As in newspapers they did not report the same event in the same way by using the same words.
The Sixth Problem
Us
There is one thing that needs to be clear and direct. We need to understand this one thing. This is a story written from the hand o of God. This is His doing, none of ourselves. It would nt be smart to try to outsmart God. What we know about Jesus is from the scriptures. What we know about Jesus is given to us by God. What we know about Jesus and the things He said and did are the things that we are supposed to know. These is only one way in this path to knowledge, His way. The Gospels are what they are. They will not be changed or altered by some one who thinks they ought to be different
The Gospels were not written by Jesus. The Gospels were written about about Jesus. and this was not a weakness. This is one aspects of the genius of the Gospels.
The Seventh Problem
Why Four Gospels
We have for our study and learning, four Gospels. This is an odd fact. We do not have four Revelations. We have four Gospels, but we do not have four versions of Romans. We do not have four Acts. Why do we have a seemly four repeats of the same story? Why do we have four gospels? Mathew, Mark, Luke and John are the Gospels. Mathew Mark and Luke are very much alike, with some differences. John is different. The differences between Matthew, Mark, and Luke are important.
The Synoptic Gospels
Mathew Mark and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels. Synoptic means being seen together. They have a common view point. They were written with a synoptic focus, because the witnesses to these events were used as a collection point. They share stories about the same events. But each saw something different in certain aspects.
Use this for an example. The book of Mark has little new or original material at all. You could read the other two Synoptic Gospels and almost have all the information contained in Mark.
A Little Background
As part of a theological education in today's Bible schools, the student will encounter the Gospels put into parallel for study. Putting the gospels in parallel means making an arrangement of the gospels in parallel columns. The reason for putting them into parallel columns is to make it easier to discover for ones self the similarities and differences between them. Having parallel columns of the same passages of different gospels on the same page, will allow the difference to leap out at the student.
The first person we know of who coin the term “harmony of the gospels” was Andreas Osiander (1498-1552). He was a German Bible scholar He applied this phase to the parallel layout used by him. Parallelism was one of the tools used in this sort of scholarship. It saved a lot of flipping the pages.
Before this, some had tried to harmonize the four account into one document. The gospels were attempted to compile the four gospels into a single paraphrased narrative called the Diatessaron. All we know about this work work is from references to it by other writers.
The Diatessaron represented the weaving together of material from the gospels to present one, continuous narrative of Jesus' life.
Few scholars have given this method much credence. Few accept the outcome of “harmonizing ” the texts into one, all inclusive record of Jesus. They feel that investigating the historical context is a better method for study.
It is now the practice to recognize the differences and compare the variations between the gospels and use their findings as an aid for interpretation.
The parallel arrangements was first used, as far as we know, in the third century by a scholar named Amonnius of Alexandria. Ammonius took the text of Matthew and arranging it in parallel columns. Then he wrote beside the text in the columns any passages from the other three gospels which corresponded to them.
This resulted work showed the relationship between Matthew and the other three gospels. this method did not show any parallels which existed independently among the other three.
When the 4th century came along, a cross-reference system was under development which provided a way to locate and study a passage which had parallels in any of the other gospels.
In the 1700’s a parallel arrangement of the texts of the first three gospels begain to be widely used.this arrangement acquired a name. The title for this arrangement was synoptic gospels meaning “to view at the same time”.
Synoptic Gospels
The synoptic gospels consisted of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They were given this name because because of their similar but not identical perspective.
The reasoning behind seeing the gospels in parallel is not to harmonize, but rather the bring out the difference and determine from the context, the “why” of the differences.
the parallels help to bring awareness of the kinds of contexts in which existed in the development of the church.
John Was Different
John is strikingly different from the synoptics. John does not fit this scheme. John can not be treated as the others.
Comparative Study
Here are some characteristics of “Being Seen Together”.
1. Some of the narratives and sayings contained in one gospel is repeated almost word for word in one or both of the other gospels
2. Some narratives and sayings , part of which appears vital to the record of Jesus' teaching, is included in only one gospel
Facts
- It is evident from this method of study that the gospels were not written independently of one another. It is found that there is a high degree of verbal similarity among Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is almost as if the authors had a pile of pearls before them, and each pearl was a story or saying. Each of them would pick up a pearl and string them in to a bracelet. The bracelet becomes the book. However the stories were not in the same order and were not told in the same wording.
- These stories were first told in Aramaic,then written down in Greek, yet another transition to the present day English.
- Then Greek word order is extremely free. With that being said, the similarities that exist extend even to precise word order.
- It is not logical that three people in three different parts of the Roman Empire would tell the same story with the same words. Yet this is what happens in the first three gospels.
The order of the Gospels
This is what the majority of scholars might agree on today. Mark wrote his gospel first. Mark may have been recalling parts of Peter's preaching.
Luke and Matthew acquired access to Mark's writings. They used Mark as the source and authority and a commission for their own writings. But Luke and Mathew had access to other sources than Mark. They all have materials about Jesus that Mark either did not have or never found it for his purposes to use them It seems from reasoning the gospels that both Luke and Mathew has some of materials in common This common materials never, or almost never presented in the same order. This may mean that that they did not have access to each others’ writings.
John was truly independent from the others. His gospels has little common material. This, we would note, is how the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the gospels.
A final word here. If you are interested in the serious study of the gospels, you will need to refer to a synopsis (a presentation of i he gospels in parallel columns). The very best of these is edited by Knit Aland, titled Synopsis of the Four Gospels (New York: United Bible Societies, 1975).
The Four Gospels
The books that have come to be known as the Gospels are Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Each of these books have characteristics that set them apart from the others an each of the contain some of the same material. Mathew Mark and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels. Synoptic means being seen together. They have a common view point. They were written because of witnesses to these events were used as a collection point. They share stories about the same events.
You should find out in your studies that the book of Mark has little new or original material at all. You could read the other two Synoptic Gospels and almost have all the information contained in Mark. Then it must be determined if mark came first or last?
Different Audience
One reason, besides the fact that four Gospels is what the Holy Spirit wanted, is the fact that each author was writing to a different audience that had different needs. There were at least four different Christian communities who needed a Gospel for their particular circumstance. They needed a book about Jesus written for them in the culture and language they needed. The individual gospels needed to meet the needs of these particular groups. They all tell the same basic story but in different methods.
The gospel written for one community of believers did not necessarily meet all the needs in another community.
Mark seems to have been written first.
Matthew and Luke came later. Matthew and Luke had Mark to refer to, but had material that Mark did not have. Matthew and Luke wrote independently of one another.
The Gospel of John was written for a different group still. John had another set of reason for writing his work.The force behind all of these writings was the Holy Spirit.
We have four Gospels before us because there were at least four different potential Christian communities who needed a Gospel for their particular circumstance. They needed a book about Jesus written for them in the culture and language they needed. The individual gospels needed to meet the needs of these particular groups. They all tell the same basic story but in different methods. The gospel written for one community of believers did not necessarily meet all the needs in another community.
The Correct Position
Is one better than another? Is one more applicable than the other? Can we pay more attention to one and ignore, for all practical purposes? Is one more spiritual than another?
The correct view this this: None of the gospels supplants the other Each stand on their own merit. They all are equal. They are inspired by the Holy Spirit. The stand side by side. On their own merits. They are equal in authority. They were all commissioned by the Holy Spirit. The did were written for different groups.
They Do Have In Common
First: They all present Jesus as an real historical figure in an historical context. They are comprised of believable real actions in history.
Second: They all presented Jesus as who He was and what He did as being rooted in history. This was God dealing with man inside of, not outside of time.
Third: They all presented Jesus’ act of death and Resurrection in the terms of being an act of love toward mankind.
Fourth Jesus is portrayed by all the Gospels as being worthy of worship as the risen and exalted Lord.
Fifth: All the Gospel filled the need of a book of Jesus in the individual groups of Christians who were not familiar with Aramaic. These were mostly Greek speakers and Greek culture.
Sixth: These new Christians were urban, city people. Jesus came from the country side. The new Christians came from an pagan environment. The Jews did not.
The Need We have
All we know about Jesus comes from these books. We depend on the fact that the Holy Spirit uses these books to deal with us in our time.
What They Are Not
These books are stories, not biographies. These books are stories and contain biographical materials. But they are still in all stories.
What They Are
These books are the recording of witnesses memories They are a record of the life of God meeting man in mans time and in circumstances that man could grasp. It is history. This history is a result of God dealing with man in time.
If these were mere biographies, the four of them could not stand side in a equal manner. They could not posses equal value. Only one could be correct.
The value of these books is this: Being commissioned by the Holy Spirit by the command of God, these books can stand side by side, equal in inspiration , equal in information, equal in Holiness.
Context Is Everything
Did you ever hear the phrase, Locating, Location, Location? This is used in the real estate market. The value of ownership, of everything about the house or property is its location. We might say in our case, context, context, context.
The value of these books is their context, their historical context. The historical context of these writings explain first of all about Jesus himself.
If we want to know about the mind of Jesus we most know:
The culture He was raised in.
(Part of that cultural setting is the religion of the first century)
( Jesus grew up and was living in the cultural setting of Palestinian Judaism.)
That was the setting He was educated in.
That was the setting He lived in.
That was the setting He taught in.
That is the setting we must understand.
In our attempt to understand His teaching, sayings and parable we must understand the culture they were delivered in.
As well as Jesus, we must also realize that the human authors of these books were also a part of their culture.
They were not separate, from divorced from the cultural. The cultural settings influenced the very reasons they had for writing these books.
Getting A Background
If you ever want to “know” the gospels in the true sense of the word, you must understand that it is not a casual undertaking. You must be curious to the point that you will be motivated to open books external to the Bible to supplement your knowledge and understanding.
You must gain a personal knowledge of the culture and times that Jesus lived in. Through this knowledge, you will begin to see why Jesus and his followers did the things they did and said the things they said in certain situations.
for an example if you are seeking a proper understanding and interpretation of Scripture, you must have an awareness of the historical, cultural, and religious context in which the Bible was written. Because the events took place 2000 years ago, sometimes the reasons for actions in that time become lost on us. As an example the uproar over Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath has got to be understood against the backdrop of the Mishnah’s detailed list of forbidden Sabbath activities.
The following books are recommended with the caution that this list is not exhaustive by any means.
Jesus in Context: Background Readings for Gospel Study
by Bock, Darrell L., Herrick, Gregory Baker Academic
Also Holmans Bible Dictionary
Teaching Methods: The Parables, Hyperbolic, Proverb, Similes and Metaphors, Poetry, Question, and Irony
Jesus use parables in teaching, getting His point across. Easy to understand, tied to reality and haveing only one point. Do not build a whole system of theology on the context of one parable. The parable is one and only one point.
Parable
parable is a story that could be in prose or verse. The parable illustrates one principles, or lesson.
Jesus used other forms of teaching as well.
Jesus used the overstatement. We call this hyperbolic.
It is defined as :
Hyperbolic
1. having the nature of hyperbole; exaggerated.
2. using hyperbole; exaggerating.
It is using overstatement to get your attention
For further enlargement on this subject I recommend the book
G. B. Caird, in The Language and Imagery of the Bible
A point in a story can be overstated or understated. The reason for this is not deception or hoodwinking the reader. Rather, to impress the hearer with the significance or insignificance of it.
An illustration of the overstatement in in Matthew:
Matthew 5:29-30
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
And in Mark:
Mark 9:43-48
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where
“‘their worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’
Here in these selected passages, Jesus is telling his disciples to gouge out an offending eye or cut off an offending arm.
Another exmple:
Luke 14:26
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even life itself—such a person cannot be my disciple.
Is this to be taken literally? Does anyone do such things? No. Jesus was trying to get our attention and emphasize a point by making an overstatement.
What he meant was that people are to do away with anything in their lives that causes them to stumble and sin.
We all can recognize overstatement when we see it. It is a very effective tool.
Student are to take the teacher for what He means, not for what he says!
Proverb
1. A short pithy saying in frequent and widespread use that expresses a basic truth or practical precept.
Jesus was very effective in His use of the proverb. Some examples are:
Matthew 6:21
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
And:
Mark 3:24
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Luke 7:35
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
Similes and Metaphors
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea;
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like", "as", or "than".
Matthew 10:16
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Matthew 19:24
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Poetry
1. the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevatedthoughts.
Poetry was used by Jesus. Jesus used poetry in getting His point across. He was using poetry in the Hebrew tradition. In his proclamations Jesus used Hebrew poetic structures. These are found in the Scriptures and other ancient Hebrew and Aramaic literature.
Matthew 7:6-8
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
ASK, SEEK, KNOCK
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.
Luke 6:27-28
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
LOVE FOR ENEMIES
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Question
1. a sentence in an interrogative form, addressed to someone in order to get information in reply.
Matthew 17:25
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
25 “Yes, he does,” he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
Irony
1. the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend.
Jesus used irony in his teachings.
Matthew 16:2-3
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
2 He replied,“When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
A good external book to read on the subject is :
Robert H. Stein's The Method and Message of Jesus' Teaching
The Historical Context of Jesus
Many if not the majority of the scholars today who make it their field of study to find the historical context for Jesus and the historical context of early Christianity hold the belief that the Gospels and life of Jesus must be studied within his historical and cultural context,, or much understanding will be missed.
Every culture has its setting, the “forces” that are trying to and do cause change to that particular time and place. . The same goes for Jewish culture at that time. It also had tension, trends and political changes under the influence of Romans rule and Hellenism.
Jesus lived in the 1st century. Jesus was in the culture of Galilee and Judea.
There were conflicts ongoing at that time. Both political and religious.
External books to read on these subject:
Key events in the life of the historical Jesus : a collaborative exploration of context and coherence / edited by Darrell L. Bock and Robert L. Webb
Prima Scriptura : an introduction to New Testament interpretation / N. Clayton Croy
The reason why it is difficult to undestand the historical context of Jesus because so many of his teachings contain very little context.
The stories and saying of Jesus were being passed around from person to person, service to service, from group to group in isolation from the context of the original a certainly they were helpful but it made for a difficult study 2000 years later.
Some of Jesus' sayings were transmitted along with their original contexts. There are called by the scholars as pronouncement stories.
Pronouncement story
The pronouncement story is best defined or described as is a short narrative that leads to a climatic statement otherwise known as an pronouncement.
In most cases the pronouncement is usually somewhat like a proverb. It is expressed in concise and easy to remember language..
Mark 12:13-17
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
PAYING THE IMPERIAL TAX TO CAESAR
13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
And they were amazed at him.
Here, the context is a question about paying taxes to the Romans. It would be hard to reconstruct the original context for this saying if it had not been transmitted with its original context.
Matthew 12:1-8
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
Matthew 12
JESUS IS LORD OF THE SABBATH
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
The key to understanding these stories lay in the pronouncement. Not the details leading up to the pronouncement.
There is a problem. Not all of Jesus teaching come down to us with their historical context
Paul Himself passes on the teachings of Jesus with out the context. . Read what Paul had to say,
1 Corinthians 7:10
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.
1 Corinthians 9:14
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
Acts 20:35
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
There is no historical context here. Where are the teaching from? The historical context for the passages in Corinthians are found in the Gospels.
The saying about divorce is found in Matthew.
Matthew 5:30-32
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
DIVORCE
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.
Another context for divorce is found here
Mark 10:1-12
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
Mark 10
DIVORCE
1 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied.
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’[a] 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8 and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
Right to make a living
Matthew 10:1-19
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
Matthew 10
JESUS SENDS OUT THE TWELVE
1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil[a] spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[b] drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for workers are worth their keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at that person’s house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,
Right to wages
Luke 10:6-7
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
6 If the head of the house loves peace, your peace will rest on that house; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for workers deserve their wages. Do not move around from house to house.
The saying in acts, quote above here, is not found in any of the gospels and therefor completely with out context. It took the Guidance of the Holy Spirit
The evangelists themselves, under their own guidance of the Spirit, who put the sayings in their present contexts. This is one of the reasons we often find the same saying or teaching in different contexts in the four gospels—and also why sayings with similar themes or the same subject matter are often grouped in a topical way.
Suggested Study Or Outline for a start of a life long study of the Gospels.THE GOSPELS of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Study guide outline
I.Background information for the reader
(this material should give the reader some background material)
(Take notes)
A. What we know about the persons who wrote the books in question.
(The Holy Spirit was the prompter and commissioner.)
1. Matthew. Matthew was an apostle. Mathew wrote in the third person
The Qualifications needed for being an Apostle
(Apostle must have the spiritual gift of apostleship. This was a gift The gift was given by Jesus Christ after His ascension into Heaven, Eph. 4:8-11.)
( This gift was imparted by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, 1 Cor. 12:11; Acts 2.)
(Apostleship was given by God. It was God’s decision. 1 Cor. 1:1; 12:18; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1.)
( Was an eyewitness of the resurrected Lord, Acts 1:22; 1 Cor. 9:1.)
(An apostle was given powers of miracles, Heb. 2:4; 2 Cor. 12:12.)
( An apostle was successful in evangelism, 1 Cor. 9:2; 2 Cor. 3:1-3; Gal. 2:7-9.)
( An apostle had the capacity to endure patiently, 2 Cor. 12:12.)
2. Luke was associated with Paul, After conversion became the only Gentile author
for any book in Bible. Luke always wrote in the first person
When using the word “associated” with Paul, this is what is meant:
( 1. to connect or bring into relation, as thought, feeling, memory, etc.)
( 2. to join as a companion, partner, or ally)
( 3.to unite; combine )
3. Mark was always associated with Peter. become the interpreter of Peter Mark wrote in the third person
B. Date they are written.
1. The letters we have in the New Testament seem to be written some place in time. the AD 40’s.
2. The Gospels seem to have been written in the same place in time. around the AD 60’s.
3. Mark was written before the other synoptic gospels. This is an educated guess
3. Because none of then discussed the destruction of Jerusalem & Temple, AD 70, it is good to assume they were written before that event.
C. What Matthew, Mark, and Luke had in common
1. Shared Common point of view of Jesus life and times.This is why they are called "synoptic"
2. Shared Common material. The things they saw from the same view point were mini-apocalypse, the passion account, great commission) and the parables.
3. Each had a literal relationship to each other in the genre of writing used.
2. Who was Marks’ intended audience.
a. Marks’ work was intended for the both feet on the ground, businesslike, commonsensical minded Gentiles in Roman empire.
(1) Words notated, proposes, and progress: right now, doing things swift action!
(2) Jesus is the royal. King. Messiah suffering servant of Isaiah
(3) His identity is not immediately known
( revealed knowledge )
(4) The nation of Israel will in the future, experience a “New Exodus” described in the Old Testament book of Isaiah
(5) Matthew and Luke has made use of Mark as a primary source.
3. Luke
a. Written for Gentiles living in the “kingdom” Governorship” , “under the rule of “ Romans.
b. For all people, all inclusive . Luke’s work had something for all.
(1) Luke preached that salvation was possible for all levels of society
(2) Acts (The second part of Luke’s writing) preached that salvation was for all geographical regions of society (Today’s Europe and Asia and beyond)
b. People on the fringes were welcomed and addressed
c. The Role of the Holy Spirit in Human existence was emphasized
d. Much use of Prayer was reported
e. This work addressed the relationship of Isaiah and nation of Israel
D. Themes
1 Matthew directed .major themes at the Jews.
(1) Mathew’s themed teachings
The Sermon on the Mount: (5:1-7:29
Principles Of Evangelism 10:11-42
The great parable chapter13:1 52
The theme of “authority”18:1-35,
The coming of the Son of Man 24:1-25:46).
Matthew is a refection of the Pentateuch.
(2) The Old Testament is to be fulfilled
(3) The Gentile mission is a fulfillment of Genesis 12:3, The promise to Abram
The Hour :The Decisive Moments
1. 2:4 My hour has not yet come
2. 4:21,23 The hour is coming ... for worship in spirit & truth
3. 5:25,28 The hour is coming ... to hear His voice
4. 7:8,30 No one laid hands on Him because His hour had not yet come
5. 8:20 No one arrested Him because His hour had not yet come
6. 12:23,27 The hour has come for the Son of Man to be gloried
7. 13:1 Jesus knows it is the hour of departure from the world
17:1 The Hour “Father, the hour has come;
Glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify Thee.”
For more information:
Understanding Matthew: The Early Christian Worldview of the First Gospel by Stephen Westerholm
2. Mark
a. For down to earth common sensed Romans
(1) Get things done and get them done now.
(2) Jesus is the Messiah as well as the suffering
servant of Isaiah
(3) His identify will not be known at first, later revealed
(4) Israel to undergo a new exodus as discussed in Isaiah.
(5) Matthew and Luke apparently use Mark as a source of information.
The Gospel of Mark
The Gospel of Mark is a narration of the life of the life and ministry of Jesus. It starts with the baptism of Jesus and ends at the ascent ion of Jesus.It closely examines the last week of Jesus life.
Jesus seen as:
1. Some one who believed in action.
2 A person who evicted demons and other spiritual entitie and in this process heals.
4. A person causes events that can not be explained by the laws of nature and so is held to be an act of God:
5. In Mark, Jesus keeps his real stature a secret.
6. Jesus conceals his message with parables.
Mark's gospel, for example, is especially interested in explaining the nature of Jesus' messiah-ship in light of Isaiah's "second exodus"
For more information:
Meeting St. Mark Today: Understanding the Man, His Mission, and His Message by Daniel J. Harrington
3. Luke
a. Written to and for the Gentiles population
b. contained in that, it was for all people.
(1) Luke’s message contained hope for all levels of society
(2) The second part of Luke was acts Acts Spoke to the whole rest of the known world.
b. Spoke for and gave hope for societies underdogs
c. Talked and pointed out the historical Hoy Spirit
d. The power of prayer
e. Isaiah and nation of Israel in relationship to Isaiah.
Luke emphasized the following :
1. the humanity of Jesus Christ. He was a complete human being.
2. his perfection as a human. He was a perfect human being
3. Jesus was the perfect man At the same time He was God
4. Jesus gave the perfect sacrifice for sin and doing so in perfect love
5. the perfect Savior for humankind.
6. Theme time periods: three major time periods:
(A) The time of the "Law and the Prophets" was in effect until John the Baptist
(B) The time period of Jesus, when "the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached"
( C ) . The last time period begins after the ascension of Christ and continues until his return.
9. The theme of salvation.
10. Jesus as being sympathetic towards Samaritans
11. Jesus as being sympathetic towards Gentiles
12. importance of women
13. importance of Children
14. Importance of the the poor
For more information:
Luke (Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching) by Fred B. Craddock
The “Different Gospel”
The Fourth Gospel: The Gospel of John
I. Things in general and background
A. Author (the disciple whom Jesus loved)
B. Date Between 96 AD and early part of the second century
C. Language scholars agree John was written in Greek and that an Aramaic source text was used for portions
.D. The Johannine corpus
Traditionally associated with John the apostle (the Gospel of John, the three Letters of John and the Revelation of John).The Gospel of John was not completely accepted by all, in the second centry at first. About the 180s, when Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, fully accept it.
II. The difference between John and the Synoptics
A. The prospects is the not same point of view. Deals with a time after resurrection and giving of the Spirit.
B. The time span covered by John is several years.
C. Themes
1. “The Book of Signs”: 1:19 -- 12:50
A. Wedding at Cana
B. Dialogue with Nicodemus
C. Samaritan Woman at the Well
D. Healing at the Pool of Bethesda
E. Bread of Life Discourse
F. Man Born Blind
G, Raising of Lazarus
D. John Set the ministry primarily in Jerusalem.
E. John used narrative form of expression.
IIII. Different in emphasis: The book of John
A. “I AM” Statements
1. Bread of Life 6:35 Satisfies our deepest spiritual hunger
2. Light of the World 8:12 Illuminates a dark world
3. Door of the Sheep 10:7 The only entrance into God’s Family
4. Good Shepherd 10:11 Personal concern for each in the flock
5. Resurrection & the Life 11:25 Conquers death providing eternal life
6. The Way, Truth, & the Life 14:6 Hope for the lost sinner
7. True Vine 15:1 We can be productive attached to the Vine
B. The Hour - Decisive Moments
1. 2:4 My hour has not yet come
2. 4:21,23 The hour is coming ... for worship in spirit & truth
3. 5:25,28 The hour is coming ... to hear His voice
4. 7:8,30 No one laid hands on Him because His hour had not yet come
5. 8:20 No one arrested Him because His hour had not yet come
6. 12:23,27 The hour has come for the Son of Man to be gloried
7. 13:1 Jesus knows it is the hour of departure from the world
17:1 The Hour “Father, the hour has come;
Glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify Thee.”
For more information:
John's Creation; A Model for Understanding the Gospel of John
John Pople (Author)
Study in parallel.
Putting the gospels in parallel means making an arrangement of the gospels in parallel columns.
One reason behind this move is to locate their similarities and differences. The first person who made this a practice was Andreas Osiander (1498-1552). He was a German Bible scholar who was the first person to use the phrase “harmony of the gospels”. He applied this phase to the parallel layout he organized.
The term “harmony of the gospels” was not used until the sixteenth century. Bible scholars began to compare and harmonize the four accounts of Jesus in the second century forward.
At that time scholars compiled the four gospels into a single paraphrased narrative called the Diatessaron. All we know about this work work is from references to it by other writers.
The Diatessaron represents the weaving together of material from the gospels to present one, continuous narrative of Jesus' life.
This has been tried my several scholars in the last two hundred years.
Few have given this method much credence. Few accept the outcome of “harmonize” the texts into one, all inclusive record of Jesus.
It has come into practise to recognize the differences and compare the variations between the gospels and use their findings as an aid for interpretation.
This was first tried in the third century by a scholar named Amonnius of Alexandria.
Ammonius took the text of Matthew and arranging it in parallel columns. Then he wrote beside the text in the columns any passages from the other three gospels which corresponded to them.
This resulted work showed the relationship between Matthew and the other three gospels. It did not show any parallels which existed independently among the other three.
When the 4th century came along, a cross-reference system was developed which provided a way to locate and study a passage which had parallels in any of the other gospels.
In the 1700’s a parallel arrangement of the texts of the first three gospels begain to be developed. The title for this arrangement was synoptic gospels meaning “to view at the same time,”
Matthew, Mark, and Luke became known as the designation “synoptic gospels” because of their similar perspective, in contrast to John, on the life of Jesus.
John is strikingly different from the synoptics. John does not fit this scheme. need for Comparative Study
1. Some of the material contained in one gospel is repeated almost word for word in one or both of the other gospels
2. Some material, part of which appears vital to the record of Jesus' teaching, is included in only one gospel
The purpose of studying the gospels in parallel is not to fill out the story in one gospel with details from the others. Usually such a reading of the gospels tend to harmonize all the details and thus blur the very distinctive in each gospel that the Holy Spirit inspired. Such "filling out" may interest us at the level of the historical Jesus, but that is not the theological level, which should be our first concern
.
First: Discover the difference between the gospels
Second, the parallel method will help us to be aware of the different kinds of contexts in which the same or similar materials lived in the ongoing church.
The gospels were not written independently of one another.
Take, for example, the fact that there is such a high degree of verbal similarity among Matthew, Mark, and Luke in their narratives , as well as in their recording of the sayings of Jesus.
(1) that these stories were first told in Aramaic, yet we are talking about the use of Greek words;
(2) that Greek word order is extremely free, yet often the similarities extend even to precise word order
(3) that it is highly unlikely that three people in three different parts of the Roman Empire would tell the same story with the same words—even to such minor points of individual style as prepositions and conjunctions. Yet this is what happens over and again in the first three gospels.
The order of the Gospels
The best explanation of all the data is the one we suggested earlier—that Mark wrote his gospel first, probably in part at least from his recollection of Peter's preaching and teaching. Luke and Matthew had access to Mark's gospel and independently used it as the basic source for their own. But they also had access to all kinds of other material about Jesus, some of which they had in common. This common material, however, is scarcely ever presented in the same order in the two gospels, a fact suggesting that neither one had access to the other's writing. Finally, John wrote independently of the other three, and thus his gospel has little material in common with them. This, we would note, is how the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the gospels.
A final word here. If you are interested in the serious study of the gospels, you will need to refer to a synopsis (a presentation of i he gospels in parallel columns). The very best of these is edited by Knit Aland, titled Synopsis of the Four Gospels (New York: United Bible Societies, 1975).