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Message/Ministry and/or Teaching of Jesus. Introduction to Jesus. Please read the course disclaimer Consider it carefully. Sources for the Life and Teaching of Jesus. The four canonical gospels 3 Synoptics Fourth Gospel References in Acts and letters Josephus Roman historians
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Message/Ministry and/or Teaching of Jesus Teaching of Jesus - 00
Introduction to Jesus • Please read the course disclaimer • Consider it carefully Teaching of Jesus - 00
Sources for the Life and Teaching of Jesus • The four canonical gospels • 3 Synoptics • Fourth Gospel • References in Acts and letters • Josephus • Roman historians • Rabbinic materials • Non-canonical gospels Teaching of Jesus - 00
What are the gospels? The gospel genre • Memoirs (apomnëmoneumata) • Acts (praxeis) • Lives (bioi) • Foundation Narrative • Euaggelia • Foundational events of the Christian faith • Kerygmatic perspective • A term coined by Mark for written form Teaching of Jesus - 00
What are the gospels? Four gospels • Three gospels, not one gospel • The rejection of the harmonistic approach • The reason for the gospels • The need of the Christian communities • The need to proclaim the gospel Teaching of Jesus - 00
What are the synoptic gospels? How gospels arose • The rise of the gospels (AD 50-80) • The data • Similarities in order between Mark, Matthew and Luke • Close verbal similarities between Mark and parts of Matthew and Luke • Less close verbal similarities between teaching sections in Matthew and Luke • Material in Matthew and Luke with no parallel in any other gospel Teaching of Jesus - 00
What are the synoptic gospels? • What Jesus said and did was remembered and retold • A collection of teaching was put together (= Q) • A bit later Mark was written collecting mostly narrative • Finally Matthew and Luke combined Mark and Q and their own traditions Teaching of Jesus - 00
Alternative Hypothesis • What Jesus said and did was remembered and retold • The telling became standardized into the basic story plus the teaching • The basic story was written as Mark • The story (expanded) plus the teaching was written as Matthew and Luke Teaching of Jesus - 00
The role of Jesus for the early church • Jesus as foundation story • Jesus as interpreter of Jewish tradition • Jesus as model of Christian life • The teaching of Jesus • The life-style of Jesus • Jesus as model of Christian ministry • Jesus' teaching on ministry • Jesus' example of ministry Teaching of Jesus - 00
The Virgin Birth • Redactionally this truth is variously expressed Teaching of Jesus - 00
Luke expresses it precisely • Dialogue between Mary and the angel (1:34-38) • Mary protests that she has not had sexual intercourse • The angels responds: God can work the impossible • Luke's account revolves around God's visiting his people and reversing their fortunes Teaching of Jesus - 00
Matthew is more indirect • He explores the legal nuances of the event • Mary is discovered to be pregnant before the wedding night • This required a divorce • Deut 22, especially 22:23ff was likely not enforced • m. Gittin divorce; m. Sotah the adulteress • A divorce required two witnesses • Not to divorce his "wife" would be to cover sin and thus partake in it, and Joseph was a "righteous" man Teaching of Jesus - 00
Matthew’s indirect story • Only a direct command of God prevents Joseph from acting • The virginity of Mary is further stressed by the remark in 1:25 • Matthew's account revolves around the "fulfillment" of Isa 7:14 • Matthew also concerns himself with the question of legitimacy and legality Teaching of Jesus - 00
The Matthean birth narrative • There is no birth narrative as such in Matthew, but a series of incidents surrounding the birth of Jesus • The arrangement of the incidents may be linked to a chain of testamonia • Fact which ties all together is that Herod the Great is king Teaching of Jesus - 00
The Genealogy • Matt 1:1 consciously formulated to imitate the formulae of Genesis • The genealogy is an edited form of 1 Chron 1-3 (LXX) • Four women are mentioned, preparing the way for Mary • Names are omitted • The last division has 13 names, either because Mary was counted or because a name was dropped in transmission • Matt 1:16 is carefully worded to protect both Davidic descent and the virgin birth Teaching of Jesus - 00
The schematic form (14 x 3) may have a meaning • Waxing and waning moon = rise and fall of Israel's fortunes (Fenton) • Gain, loss, regaining of royalty (Plummer, Allen) • David repeated 3 times (Hill) • The genealogy varies from the Lucan genealogy • One or both are creations of the evangelist for theological purposes • One is a descent via Mary and the other via Joseph • One is the royal line and the other Joseph's actual line Teaching of Jesus - 00
Luke’s theme = the inclusion of the outcasts and the poor • The baby is born in poor circumstances • Hired shepherds were “Jews who had made themselves gentiles” • Only shepherds receive the visitation • The content of the visitation is peace Teaching of Jesus - 00
In Matthew the theme of the birth is the coming of the Magi • Herodotus claims they were a Median clan which became a priestly class under the Persians • They are clearly pagans, for they refer to "the King of the Jews" • Point = pagans come from a distance to worship the baby Jesus • They come from the east Teaching of Jesus - 00
The Star • The presence of the star is often traced history-of-religions motifs • Num 24:17 • Stories of astronomical phenomena in connection with the birth of pagan greats • Jewish new Moses theme • The nature of the star • The star is seen "at its rising" and then it apparently is not seen again until after the Magi leave Jerusalem • The nature of the star is unknown Teaching of Jesus - 00
Responses to the birth: Matthew • In Matthew the Jews respond with unbelief • Herod is troubled (Cf. 14:26) • The whole Sanhedrin is gathered • The quotation cited is from neither the MT or the LXX • In Matthew the response of the gentiles is worship • The meaning of the gifts • The giving of gifts = allegiance and submission • Were the gifts symbolic? Teaching of Jesus - 00
The Flight into Egypt • Dream motif (Cf. 1:20; 2:12, 13, 22 and Cf. 2:19) • The flight itself does not use supernatural means • The verb anachoresin is used of Moses' flight in Exod 2:15 = new Exodus motif • Massacre of the Innocents • Reminds one of Egypt in Exod 1-2 • Only 20 or 30 children would have been involved • Jer 31:15 + Gen 35:19 Teaching of Jesus - 00
The Return to Israel • Further use of the dream motif • Joseph withdraws from a place of unbelief to a place of safety with the gentiles (Galilee of the gentiles) • The scripture citation does not exist in the OT Teaching of Jesus - 00