The Gospels Central Sources for Understanding Jesus.
-
Upload
myrtle-gwendoline-carpenter -
Category
Documents
-
view
216 -
download
0
Transcript of The Gospels Central Sources for Understanding Jesus.
Sources on Jesus:Gospels: Foundation of Christianity’s understanding of JesusContain the traditions of Jesus’ life, death, and
Resurrection.Set up the rest of the New Testament.Not the oldest writings in the New Testament.
How do we Read the Gospels?
The gospels are part of the faith sources of information about Jesus – What we read is revealed to us from believers.The gospels were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in a particular time and place – it was influenced by early Christian life/culture.Although the Gospels are not objective biographies of Jesus! They are testimonies of faith. The gospels’ concern is religious truth, the deeper meaning God intends to reveal to people through historical events.
Gospel means “Good news” Greek word evangelion
Gospel writers = evangelists Wrote down the good news
Evangelion The term evangelion figures in the vocabulary of the Roman emperors who understood themselves as lords, saviors, and redeemers of the world.
The messages issued by the emperor were called in Latin evangelium The idea was that what
comes from the emperor is a saving message, that it is not just a piece of news, but a change of the world for the better.
A message endowed with plenary authority, a message that is not just talk, but reality.
Evangelium, gospel, is not just informative speech, but performative speech But action – power that
enters into the world to save and transform.
Mark speaks of the “Gospel of God”
The point is that the world is saved by God not by emperors.
The Gospels
The gospels differ in terms of: author, time of writing, audience, and purpose.Each is unique, but none tells the full story. To gain a fuller
understanding of Jesus, we must consider all four gospels together.
Symbols of the Evangelists
Christian tradition has long connected the authors of the four canonical gospels with the four “living creatures” that surround God’s throne, as described in Rev 4:6 in the following pairs: Matthew=Human/Angel Mark=Lion Luke=Ox John=Eagle
15
Medieval ArtIt was common for medieval artists to depict Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John writing (or holding) their Gospel accounts of Jesus.
It was recognized that each of the Gospels provided a distinctive portrayal of Jesus Each evangelist came to
be associated with a symbolic animal thought to be appropriate to his account.
17
Therefore, artistic portrayals of the evangelists sometimes included a picture of an animal
Or actually depicted the evangelist himself as the animal
John
Portrayed as an Eagle Emphasizing Jesus’
divinity “pointing out the gift of
the Spirit hovering with His wings over the Church.
26
Review questions.1. What does the word gospel mean?
2. What is another name for the gospel writers?
3. List and describe the three stages of the development of the gospels
4. In what year was Jesus born?
5. When was the gospel of Luke written?
6. Which is the oldest gospel?
7. What was written first, the gospels or the letters of Paul?
8. Do the four gospels have the exact same information?
24
Quiz – historical sourcesWord bank: Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger,
Suetonius – you will use one of the names twice
1. A Roman historian that blames Christians for a fire that burned Rome.
2. In his work, he narrates how Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome.
3. He is a Jewish historian.
4. He is a Roman governor who wrote letters to Emperor Trajan.
5. He describes Jesus as a “wise man… a doer of wonderful works.”
Quiz – historical sourcesWord bank: Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger,
Suetonius – you will use one of the names twice
1. A Roman historian that blames Christians for a fire that burned Rome. – Tacitus
2. In his work, he narrates how Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. Suetonius
3. He is a Jewish historian. – Josephus
4. He is a Roman governor who wrote letters to Emperor Trajan. – Pliny
5. He describes Jesus as a “wise man… a doer of wonderful works.” - Josephus