From Jesus to the Gospels September 16 From the Temple to the Upper Room September 23 The Kerygma of...

From Jesus to the GospelsSeptember 16

From the Temple to the Upper Room

September 23

The Kerygma of the Early Church: Sermons in Acts

September 30

The Kerygma According to Paul: 1 Corinthians 15

October 7

The Teaching of Jesus: Embedded into the Letters

October 14:

What Are the Gospels?

October 21

Choosing to Follow Christ into the New Covenant Community

From Jesus to the Gospels Basic Questions of Series

How did we get from Jesus to the four Gospels?

It is a very different journey from what you might think.

What are the Gospels? When were they written? What was the purpose of writing them? How do they fit into the establishing process? And when?

The Quest of the Historical JesusThe Quest

The Quest for the Historical Jesus, by Albert Schweitzer (1911). So this is a 100-year quest or conversation.

The New Quest (of the 1950s and 1960s)

Jesus was a prophet (or a poor peasant). Over time, the Church propagated the resurrection myth.

The 3rd Quest (1980s and 1990s; N. T. Wright’s work)

Jesus Seminar, lost gospels, Da Vinci code, etc.

The Quest of the Historical Jesus

The 3rd Quest (1980s and 1990s)

N. T. Wright’s work


The 3rd Quest (1980s and 1990s)

The Graeco-Roman biography conversation

The Quest of the Historical JesusHow important is this quest?

The whole discipleship movement has to be radically rethought, if these conclusions are accurate.

The orality/literacy debate is distorted, if these matters are misunderstood. This shapes the whole curricular approach to oral converts in the massive, Global South church-planting movements.

It has huge implications for setting out curricular processes in establishing churches and believers.

The Quest of the Historical Jesus False dichotomies are everywhere,

adding to the confusion:

• Jesus vs. Paul

• Following Jesus vs. joining a church

• Story/experience vs. theology/cerebral

• Eastern (story) vs. Western (analytical)

• Modern (academic) vs. postmodern (spiritual)


In short, almost all contemporary discipleship material

• misuses the Gospels

• misinterprets the Gospels

at almost every turn.

Let’s put the Gospels in context.

Gospels in Context

Three Stages of Gospel Formation:

1. The public ministry and activity of Jesus of Nazareth (the first third of the 1st century AD).

2. The (Apostolic) preaching about Jesus (the second third of the 1st century AD).

3. The written Gospels (approximately the last third of the 1st century AD).

An Introduction to the New Testament by Raymond Brown

Gospels in Context

First Century Reality

Kerygma (the Gospel proclamation)

Eyewitness notebooks (+ oral)

Theological reflection

Gospels with full understanding of Kerygma

Church emerges from Judaism solidified

Jesus and the Eyewitnesses by Richard Bauckham

From Jesus to the Gospels

Week 1 Questions

Who exactly was Jesus?

What did He come to do? What was His core mission?

Who did the disciples think He was? . . . before and right after his crucifixion?

Jesus and His Mission

1. Saved from the coming judgment on the Jewish leaders, the Temple and Jewish system, and the faithless generation.

2. He was creating a new community built around Him rather than Judaism—that is Christianity (the Church).

He was the Messiah, the coming Jewish deliverer who was prophesied in the OT, who would deliver Israel and bring in the

kingdom of God.

The Unfolding Kerygma (Gospel)

1. Forgiveness of sins—show receptiveness and readiness to follow Jesus into the New Community.

2. Repent and believe and you will be saved—from the judgment coming to this generation.

3. Gospel (“news of victory”)—the time has arrived for God to fulfill OT promises to Israel, for the Messiah to arrive, and for God to set up His kingdom.

4. Sermon on the Mount—preparation for choosing to follow Jesus into the New Community, cracking open their “Judaism worldview.”

5. Rich young ruler challenge—what is necessary to let go and follow Jesus into the New Community.

The Jerusalem Churches

How did the Jerusalem churches understand Him? . . . and His work? (after His resurrection and ascension?)

What did they not yet understand?

Week 2 Questions


Look at several key sermons:

Acts 2:14–42 Peter


Acts 4:5–13 Peter

Acts 5:27–32 Peter and the Apostles


Peter’s Five Sermons

Essence of Message

• Every nation acceptable• You know the message

Jesus Christ—Lord of all Beginning with baptism of John Went about doing good Death and resurrection Appearances Judge of living and dead Everyone who believes receives forgiveness


How did the Jerusalem churches understand Him? . . . and His work? (after his resurrection and ascension?)

What did they not yet understand?

Jerusalem ChurchesWhat did they understand?

1. They understood that Jesus was resurrected, was sitting at the right hand of God, and would come back and judge the living and the dead.

2. They understood that they were part of a new community, formed by Jesus, and that the Spirit of God would instruct and lead them.

3. They understood that everyone who believed in Jesus would receive forgiveness of sins and be accepted into this community (baptism).

Jerusalem Churches

What did they not understand?

At least two things:1. They did not understand the Church

yet. They thought that this New Community of Jesus was to be contained inside Judaism, like sort of the heart of God fulfilling all of His kingdom promises to Israel.

2. They did not understand yet that Jesus would not come back for a long time.

What Is This Kerygma Thing?

The Kerygma is the Gospel Proclamation. It is their explanation of who Jesus was, what He came to do, and the testimony of His resurrection.

It was a challenge to those hearing the proclamation—to repent and believe for forgiveness of sins and for entrance into the New Community.

What Was the Apostles’ Teaching?

It was the exposition of The Law, The Prophets, and The Writings (the OT Scriptures), in light of the Kerygma.

Luke 24:7 “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” …32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”

They were working back through the Old Testament—every part of it, all three sections, and discovering its true meaning as related to Christ. Passages were making sense that had been veiled by Judaism.

Kerygma 15 Years Later

Paul preached the same Kerygma—proclaimed the same gospel and told the same Jesus story. But now it was fuller—more of it and its implications were revealed and understood by Paul, and increasingly by the Apostles and the New Community, now known as the Church.

Embryonic form—Jesus’ preaching (proclamation)

Adolescent form—Jerusalem church / Peter’s Sermons

Reaching maturity—Paul’s letters

Eyes to See, Ears to Hear

Jesus’ preachi

ng

Peter’s Sermo

ns

Paul’s Letters

Kerygma in Paul’s Letters

Jesus’ death and resurrection

New creation, dawning of a new day, life in this new world

Already anticipated in the lives of those who have been grasped by the word of the Gospel

Will be completed at the return of the Messiah

At that time:

1. The dead will be raised. 2. The living will be transformed.

So that all His peoplewill be rescued from ultimate corruption.

will share in the glory He already enjoys.

N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, p. 219

Kerygma 15 Years Later

One of the key descriptions by Paul of the Kerygma (the proclamation) is found in 1 Corinthians 15.

As we begin working with it, we see that the resurrection becomes the clear focus. This will become central in all of Paul’s writings.

1 Corinthians 15:1–11

1 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.


3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.


7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.


“Good news that Paul proclaimed” (Kerygma)

• I received it.• I handed it on to you.

What did he receive?• The gospel story (Kerygma).• It was witnessed to by Peter, by the 12, by 500.• The same story of Peter’s sermons 15 years ago.

Handed down


Kerygma Paul received

Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures.He was buried, and raised from the dead according to the Scriptures.He appeared to many witnesses.

Why does Paul emphasize the many witnesses? That will become clear as he unfolds this chapter.

1 Corinthians 15:12–1912 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Fuller Understanding of the Kerygma

Embedded in the Kerygma story is the promise to make those who follow Him, into this New Community, to be part of His kingdom and all the promises of the entire Old Testament.

Clearly then, those who have died will be resurrected when Christ returns. There can be no other conclusion.

Our hope is not only for this life, but for the life to come.


20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:20–2824 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.


Paul now sets out an order.He separates the eschatological event of the resurrection:

Christ firstthen those who belong to Him at His coming.

Then when the Messiah comes, God will subject all creation to Him and put everything under His authority, so that God may be in everything (not like it will be in this phase of the kingdom).

1 Corinthians 15:29–3429 Otherwise, what will those people do who receive baptism on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30 And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour? 31 I die every day! That is as certain, brothers and sisters, as my boasting of you—a boast that I make in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 34 Come to a sober and right mind, and sin no more; for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.


If there is no future resurrection for the dead, then the heart goes out of our faith.

Why not just live for today then?

No, the resurrection is true. It is the heart of our faith.

1 Corinthians 15:35–4935 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.

1 Corinthians 15:34–4942 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.


We will be raised with a new body.

It will be a body like Christ’s (“we also bear the image of the man of heaven”).

What was true of Christ after His resurrection, as seen at His appearances and by Paul, will be what ours is like—imperishable, enormously valuable, very powerful!

1 Corinthians 15:50–58What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:


54 “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:50–58What does it mean to inherit the kingdom of God?

It means to become part of the kingdom as it will be set up when the Messiah returns. The age that has been inaugurated with the first resurrection (Christ) will reach its fullness (all promises) in the future. For that we need new, powerful, indestructible, enormously valuable bodies.

What about until then?Be steadfast, immovable, excelling in the work of the Lord.

The 1 Corinthians 15 Kerygma

Based on the Kerygma of the Jerusalem churches:

Jesus is Messiah, baptism of John, doing good, death and resurrection, appearance, judge of living and dead, forgiveness of sins.

Resurrection anchored, as to its significance and implications:

• resurrection of those who have died• imperishable bodies• a lifestyle of dying daily• can experience resurrection life now

Clues on Following Jesus

Final Message: Following Jesus into the New Covenant Community.

Dying daily. Paul in 15:31 “I die every day!”

Here the Kerygma permeates daily life!

What does Paul mean that he dies daily?

Let’s quickly peruse the Corinthian correspondence.


8 We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.


Clues on Following Jesus 7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. 11 For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.

2 Corinthians 4:7-15


16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.



28 And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.


This is exactly what he was talking about in 1 Corinthians 15:31–32, and in other references.

Clues on Following Jesus 19 I have been crucified with Christ; 20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galations 2:19-20

20 It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23 I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Philippians 1:20-24

Kerygma in Paul’s Letters He retained the basic Kerygma he

received.

Paul basically unpacked the resurrection

elements of the Kerygma.

1. Reaffirmed the bodily resurrection of the Messiah.

2. Taught the bodily resurrection of those who belong to the Messiah when He returns.

3. Applied resurrection language to living in this age, before His return (between resurrections).

Kerygma in Paul’s Letters

Jesus’ death and resurrection

New creation, dawning of a new day, life in this new world

Already anticipated in the lives of those who have been grasped by the word of the Gospel

Will be completed at the return of the Messiah

At that time:

1. The dead will be raised. 2. The living will be transformed.

So that all His peoplewill be rescued from ultimate corruption.

will share in the glory He already enjoys.

N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, p. 219

Resurrection in Paul’s Letters Rich, varied, but fully integrated—saw three

moments:• Bodily resurrection of Messiah• Future bodily resurrection of followers• Powerful metaphor for living between

1. Development of conviction that he would not see His return before he died.

2. Resurrection understanding rooted in Judaism3. Worldview questions

• Who are we? In the Messiah.• Where are we? In the kingdom, in travail,

waiting return of Messiah.• What is the solution? Long term—new world.

Short term—gospel to world.• What time is it? Between 2 resurrections,

between the victories.4. Resurrection, as prophets envisioned, had simply

not happened. N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of

God, pp. 271–276

Tremendous Apologetic

Culture—not idea at all of a future bodily resurrection after a person dies.

Jewish religion has 20+ positions.

Yet instantaneously, the whole Church was one-minded on the resurrection.

And it came front and center to the faith.

What, other than the actual resurrection, could produce that? (Note also—power of eyewitness account in history!)

Power of Eyewitnesses

Base of Paul’s argument that Kerygma story is real.

The most powerful historical testimony we have is the power of eyewitnesses. Many and varied eye witnesses.

(Graeco-Roman biography)

Powerful Arguments Emerging

As we understand the Kerygma (the Gospel as proclaimed by Jesus and then the Apostles), we begin to understand the whole Scripture.

We develop an ability to explain the Gospel with authority (convincingly) to any audience, knowing it is true. . . Even to a postmodern, skeptical

audience. Arguments that also lead followers of Jesus into our churches.

From Jesus to the GospelsSeptember 16

From the Temple to the Upper Room

September 23

The Kerygma of the Early Church: Sermons in Acts

September 30

The Kerygma According to Paul: 1 Corinthians 15

October 7

The Teaching of Jesus: Embedded into the Letters

October 14:

What Are the Gospels?

October 21

Choosing to Follow Christ into the New Covenant Community

Resurrection in Paul’s Letters Resurrection in Paul1. Rich, varied, but fully integrated—saw three moments:

• Bodily resurrection of Messiah• Future bodily resurrection of followers• Powerful metaphor for living between

2. Development of conviction that he would not see His return before he died.

3. Resurrection understanding rooted in Judaism, but 7 new developments:

• Age to come began at Jesus’ resurrection.• There would be a big gap—he would not be alive.• Resurrection—a concrete referent (Is 53).• Light like stars—Christian witness.• Fresh position—flesh and body.• Final judgment—no condemnation (accomplishment of

Messiah).• Centrality of resurrection (volume and frequency).

4. Worldview questions• Who are we? In the Messiah.• Where are we? In the kingdom, in travail, waiting return

of Messiah.• What is the solution? Long term—new world. Short term

—gospel to world.• What time is it? Between 2 resurrections, between the

victories.5. Resurrection, as prophets envisioned, had simply not happened.

N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, pp. 271–276

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