Jesus for the 21st Century: The Unified Gospel

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A major part of John is in the form of self-revelatory discourses by Jesus. Some would assign these to a distinct source, but they may rather be the work of the author. The Paraclete is promised to come to the disciples, and it is necessary that Jesus go away in order that the Paraclete may come to the church. In John, Christ is depicted as belonging to a higher world, and his kingship is not of this world.

The Christology in John is heightened: This type of discourse is a concentration in terms and titles of the way in which the Messiah openly reveals his identity by a striking phenomenon: These sayings are self-revelatory pronouncements: Such theophanic expressions are heightened in other sayings: John 14 is a farewell speech, one of a series, before the Passion. In testament form, it is the bidding of farewell by one who is dying and giving comfort to those he loves. In John, however, the eons ages overlap. The coming of the Spirit, the Paraclete, however, is still to come, so, even in this most eschatological Gospel, there is a building up, a crescendo , of glorification.

After the finding of the empty tomb, there is a Resurrection appearance to the disciples.

Form and content of John

In an appended chapter, 21, there is a touching story of the Apostle Peter, who, having denied his Lord thrice, is three times asked by Jesus if he loves him. Peter affirms his knowledge that Jesus knows what love is in his heart and is given the care of the church and a prediction that he himself will be persecuted and crucified.

The numerous differences between the Synoptics and John can be summed up thus: This Johannine theology and piety has great similarities to the views that Paul criticizes in I Cor. The contrast between Paul and John is even more striking if one accepts the most plausible theory that John as we have it includes passages added later by which the realized eschatology has been corrected so as to fit better into the more futuristic eschatology that was stressed in defense against the Gnostics.

The Johannine chronology also differs from the Synoptic. John starts the public ministry with the casting out of the money changers: The public ministry in John occupies two or three years, but the Synoptics telescope it into one. The difference in the chronologies of the Passion between John and the Synoptics may be because of the use of a solar calendar in John and a lunar calendar in the Synoptics.

Nevertheless, the actual dating is of less importance than the fact that John places the Crucifixion at the time of the Passover sacrifice to emphasize Jesus as the Paschal lamb.

There is no celebration of the Last Supper in John, but the feeding of the multitude in chapter 6 gives the opportunity for a eucharistic discourse. Because Jesus is regarded as the Christ from the very beginning of John, there is no baptism story— John the Baptist bears witness to Jesus as the Lamb of God—no temptation, and no demon exorcisms.

Satan is vanquished in the presence of Christ. Each of the four Gospels presents a different facet of the picture, a different theology. Although in all the Gospels there is warning about persecution and the danger of discipleship, each has the retrospective comfort of having knowledge of the risen Lord who will send the Spirit.

In John, however, there is a triumphant, glorious confidence: As indicated by both its introduction and its theological plan see The Gospel According to Luke , Acts is the second of a two-volume work compiled by the author of Luke. Both volumes are dedicated to Theophilus presumably an imperial official , and its contents are divided into periods.

In the Gospel, Luke describes first the end of the old dispensation and then the earthly life of Jesus. Near the end of the Gospel, the stage is set for the next period: This Jewish festival of the revelation of the Law on Mt.

Sinai becomes the day when the Spirit is poured out. For Acts this event marks the beginning of a new era Acts 2: Although the title, Acts of the Apostles, suggests that the aim of Acts is to give an account of the deeds of the Apostles, the title actually was a later addition to the work about the end of the 2nd century. Acts depicts the shift from Jewish Christianity to Gentile Christianity as relatively smooth and portrays the Roman government as regarding the Christian doctrine as harmless.

Probably written shortly after Luke c. Luke edited his history as a series of accounts, and thus Acts is not history in the sense of accurate chronology or of continuity of events but in the ancient sense of rhetoric with an apologetic aim. The author weaves strands of varying traditions and sources into patterns loosely clustered around a nucleus of past events viewed from the vantage point of later development. The structuring of the material by time and geography may account for the unique way in which both the Ascension of Christ to heaven 40 days after the Resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost 50 days after the Resurrection became fixed and dated events.

The redactor editor of Acts composed speeches with primary primitive material within them; about one-fifth of Acts is composed in this way. This manner of using speeches was part of the style and purpose of the work and was not unlike that of other ancient historians such as Josephus, Plutarch, and Tacitus. These do not, however, necessarily point to Luke as a companion of Paul —as has been commonly assumed—but are rather a stylistic device, such as that noted particularly in itinerary accounts in other ancient historical works e. That an actual companion of Paul writing about his mission journeys could be in so much disagreement with Paul whose theology is evidenced in his letters about fundamental issues such as the Law, his apostleship, and his relationship to the Jerusalem church is hardly conceivable.

There are some Semitisms, especially when stressing Jewish backgrounds; thus, Paul is called Saul in accounts of his conversion experience on Damascus road. The outline of Acts can be roughly divided into two parts: The earlier sections deal with the Jerusalem church under Peter and the gradual spread of the gospel beyond Jewish limits in chapters 10—11, for example, Peter is led by the Spirit to baptize the Roman centurion, Cornelius.

References to Peter are abruptly ended in chapter 12; James, the brother of the Lord, has become the head of the Jerusalem church, and Philip, a Greek-speaking missionary, is commanded by the Spirit to baptize an Ethiopian eunuch. After that, Paul is imprisoned and sent to Rome where Acts leaves him witnessing openly and unhindered in the capital of the Empire. After the Council of Jerusalem c.

After Peter healed a lame man, he made a speech, in chapter 3, in which Jesus is proclaimed as the one appointed but who is now in heaven and who will come as the Christ at the Parousia Second Coming.

Uniqueness of John

The titles used for Jesus show both a preservation of primitive tradition and theology and a clear differentiation made by the writer between Jesus in his earthly life in Luke and reflection on him in Acts. Christ Messiah is consciously used as the title of Jesus; the title Son of man, used frequently in Luke, is used only once in Acts, at the death of the martyr Stephen, when he is granted a vision of the Lord in glory.

The more primitive Christologies and titles show not only a flexibility of traditions but also the functional nature of New Testament Christology. Acts presents a picture of Paul that differs from his own description of himself in many of his letters, both factually and theologically.

In Acts, Paul, on his way to Damascus to persecute the church, is dramatically stopped by a visionary experience of Jesus and is later instructed. In his letters, however, Paul stated that he was called by direct revelation of the risen Lord and given a vocation for which he had been born recalling the call of an Old Testament prophet, such as Jeremiah and was instructed by no man. In Acts, Paul is presented as having received from the Jerusalem apostolic council the authority for his mission to the Gentiles as well as their decision—the so-called apostolic decree According to this decree, Gentile converts to Christianity were to abstain from pollutions of idols pagan cults , unchastity, from what is strangled, and from blood referring to the Jewish cultic food laws as showing continuity with the old Israel.

Circumcision, however, was not required, an important concession on the part of the Jewish Christians. When Paul entered a new city, he went first to the synagogue. If his message of the gospel was rejected, he turned to the Gentiles. Roman authorities are depicted as treating Paul and other Christians in a just manner.

In the Judaic religion of Jesus' day Second Temple Judaism , the Pharisees and the Sadducees were the two significant and opposing power groups. The 21st century has witnessed an increase in scholarly interest in the integrated use of archaeology as an additional research component in arriving at a better understanding of the historical Jesus by illuminating the socio-economic and political background of his age.

Jonathan Reed states that chief contribution of archaeology to the study of the historical Jesus is the reconstruction of his social world. David Gowler states that an interdisciplinary scholarly study of archeology, textual analysis and historical context can shed light on Jesus and his teachings. Despite the frequent references to Capernaum in the New Testament, little is said about it there.

Per the Bible, Jesus grew up in Galilee and much of his ministry took place there. Dunn states that there is "substantial consensus" that Jesus gave his teachings in Aramaic.

Biblical literature - The fourth Gospel: The Gospel According to John | www.farmersmarketmusic.com

Despite the lack of direct biblical or historical references , various theories about the race of Jesus have been advanced and debated. Tekton has been traditionally translated into English as "carpenter", but is a rather general word from the same root that gives us "technical" and "technology" that could cover makers of objects in various materials, including builders.

Other scholars have argued that tekton could equally mean a highly skilled craftsman in wood or the more prestigious metal, perhaps running a workshop with several employees, and noted sources recording the shortage of skilled artisans at the time. Debate exists about the existence of Nazareth at the time of Joseph and Jesus, as it was not mentioned in any contemporary source. Reed states that the analysis of the landscape and other evidence suggest that in that Jesus and Joseph's lifetime Nazareth was "oriented towards" the nearby city. Geoffrey Bromiley states that as a "religion of the book" Judaism emphasized reading and study, and people would read to themselves in a loud voice, rather than silently, a practice encouraged Erubin 54a by the Rabbis.

The Diversity of Early Christianity

Dunn states that Second Temple Judaism placed a great deal of emphasis on the study of Torah , and the "writing prophets" of Judaism assumed that sections of the public could read. Horsley , on the other hand, states that the Josephus reference to learn "grammata" may not necessarily refer to reading and may be about an oral tradition.

There are a number of passages from the Gospels which state or imply that Jesus could read. Evans states that it should not be assumed that Jesus was a peasant, and that his extended travels may indicate some measure of financial means.

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Meier further concludes that the literacy of Jesus probably extended to the ability to read and comment on sophisticated theological and literary works. Since the 18th century, scholars have taken part in three separate "quests" for the historical Jesus, attempting to reconstruct various portraits of his life using historical methods. At each stage of development, scholars suggested specific forms and methodologies of analysis and specific criteria to be used to determine historical validity.

A number of scholars have criticized Historical Jesus research for religious bias and lack of methodological soundness, and some have argued that modern biblical scholarship is insufficiently critical and sometimes amounts to covert apologetics. John Meier , a Catholic priest and a professor of theology at University of Notre Dame , has stated " Wright and Luke Timothy Johnson argue that the image of Jesus presented in the gospels is largely accurate, and that dissenting scholars are simply too cautious about what we can claim to know about the ancient period.

Scholars involved in the third quest for the historical Jesus have constructed a variety of portraits and profiles for Jesus. Despite the significant differences among scholars on what constitutes a suitable portrait for Jesus, the mainstream views supported by a number of scholars may be grouped together based on certain distinct, primary themes. The subsections below present the main portraits that are supported by multiple mainstream scholars.

The apocalyptic prophet view primarily emphasizes Jesus preparing his fellow Jews for the End times. Sanders and Maurice Casey place Jesus within the context of Jewish eschatological tradition. The charismatic healer portrait positions Jesus as a pious and holy man in the view of Geza Vermes , whose profile draws on the Talmudic representations of Jewish figures such as Hanina ben Dosa and Honi the Circle Drawer and presents Jesus as a Hasid.

Borg sees this as a well-defined religious personality type, whose actions often involve healing. In the Cynic philosopher profile, Jesus is presented as a Cynic , a traveling sage and philosopher preaching a cynical and radical message of change to abolish the existing hierarchical structure of the society of his time. The Jewish Messiah portrait of N. Wright places Jesus within the Jewish context of "exile and return", a notion he uses to build on his view of the 1st-century concept of hope.

The prophet of social change portrait positions Jesus primarily as someone who challenged the traditional social structures of his time. Horsely goes further and presents Jesus as a more radical reformer who initiated a grassroots movement. Brandon Jesus was a political revolutionary who challenged the existing socio-political structures of his time. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Not to be confused with Depiction of Jesus. Life in art Depiction Jesuism. Aramaic of Jesus and Race and appearance of Jesus.

Quest for the historical Jesus and Historicity of Jesus. Mental health of Jesus. Mitchell and Frances M. How do we decide what comes from Jesus? Ordinarily the criteria can not hope to do more. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that any more. Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence.

Some people believe it did, some believe it didn't.

But if you do believe it, it is not as a historian" Ehrman, B. An Introduction and Survey by Craig L. The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus. Retrieved 9 January We wield our criteria to get what we want. Meier 26 May Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Law and Love. Retrieved 27 August Plurality and the Quest for Unity in Contemporary Christology ed. New methodologies and perceptions: An introduction to the historical Jesus. Westminster John Knox Press. Harper Collins, , p. Or if he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity.

Neither God Nor Man.

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