Final Exam Flashcards
The first century can be conveniently broken into thirds.
4 BCE - 30 CE –> ____?
30 CE - 64 CE –> ____?
64 CE - 100 CE –> ____?
4 BCE - 30 CE –> Jesus Life
30 CE - 64 CE –> Apostles Preaching
64 CE - 100 CE –> Gospels Writing
How long was Jesus’ ministry?
3 years
Most gospels focus on these ___ days of Jesus’ life. They are:
3 days
Jesus’ crucifixion
Who are the Synoptic Gospels? Who is not part of the Synoptic Gospels?
Synoptic Gospels = Mark, Matthew, Luke
The gospel according to John is not a synoptic gospel
How did John’s view on Jesus differ from the view of the Synoptic Gospels?
John seen Jesus as a divine being that did human things, while the Synoptic Gospels seen Jesus as human who did divine things
Note that BOTH John and the Synoptic Gospels speak of Jesus as both divine and human
3 main themes in Mark:
- Kingdom of God in Jesus’ teaching (miracles)
- Christology/Identity of Christ (son of man)
- Discipleship (minor characters)
What did Mark’s gospel center around?
Jesus’ death/crucifixion
How did Jesus teach about the Kingdom of God?
Parables –> narratives with deeper meanings that show how the kingdom works
Miracles –> enacted parables Jesus performed to get people to want to follow him
Describe the kingdom of God
- God is the authority we must follow and entrust
- Both Gentiles and Jews are accepted by God
- There is no suffering, pain, or death in the kingdom of God
- Love and peace prevails
- Eternal life (acc. to John)
Describe the identity of Christ (how disciples saw Jesus)
- Savior; “Jesus” = “salvation”
- “Christ” = “the anointed one”
- The Messiah
- Son of God
- King
- Wisdom teacher
- Identity revealed at his death when he is crucified and risen from the dead
What are the characteristics of discipleship?
- Obedience (follow Jesus’ way)
- Faith (faith = trust and belief)
“Gospel” means
Good news
Term refers to both the document and the news
“Synoptic” means
Together seeing
This does NOT mean “seeing the same thing”
The gospel of Matthew comprised of which sources according to the synoptic source hypothesis?
Matthew = Mark + Q + M
The gospel of Luke comprised of which sources according to the synoptic source hypothesis?
Luke = Mark + Q + L
Who is Q in the synoptic source hypothesis?
Q was another source that connected works that were found in Matthew and Luke but not found in Mark
How does Mark relate in the synoptic source hypothesis?
Mark was the inventor of the gospel
The gospel of Mark was the base/foundation to the other synoptic gospels (Matthew and Luke)
What is the synoptic source hypothesis?
A hypothesis that believes the Synoptic Gospels are connected in some way. The hypothesis believed both Matthew and Luke read Mark and Q based on the similarities in all three gospels.
Note: Matthew does not read M and Luke does not read L. M and L are just parts found in Mark and Luke, respectively, that were found neither in Mark nor Q (aka found in either Matthew or Luke and not both, aka it was unique to their own gospel)
How did each apostle see Jesus as?
Matthew –> Jesus = teacher
Mark –> Jesus = suffering servant
Luke –> Jesus = healer, savior
John –> Jesus = divine sage, mystical sage
What are some key aspects in Matthew’s gospel?
- Jesus = teacher
- Relates Jesus’ life back to OT days, uses quotes from OT
- Strong jewish element
- Emphasizes community and stability left by Peter
- Key words in Matthew: “Fulfill”
What are some key aspects in Luke-Acts?
- Jesus = healer, savior (sozo –> heal, save)
- Luke was not an eye-witness, but instead was a 2nd generation historian who knew what Jesus’ teachings were about
- Luke was a master storyteller
- Key words in Luke: “Fulfillment,” “today”
Luke-Acts can be divided into three sections. List the three and give a brief description of each.
Time of prophecy = a time of anticipation, of what is to come (beg. of Luke)
Time of fulfillment = a time of Jesus’ ministry where everything Jesus does is a revelation of God’s work (end of Luke)
Time of proclamation = a description of events happening now (ie. after Jesus’ crucifixion), fulfillment occurs but true salvation comes at the end of time (entire Acts)
When is Jesus revealed as “the King of the Jews”?
At his crucifixion
What’s the paradox that pertains to who Jesus is?
Jesus is both king and child (ie. King of the Jews and Child/Son of God)
What are the four important aspects in Acts of the Apostles?
- Apostles teaching –> teach things Jesus taught, did, and said
- Fellowship –> communion, brother/sister language
- Breaking bread –> Eucharist, examples of Jesus having meal with sinners or feeding 500 people
- Prayers –> included Jewish prayers and prayers taught by Jesus, of Jesus, and to Jesus
Two parts of Acts chapter 2 were:
- Holy Spirit –> Pentecost = a celebration of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples after Jesus’ ascension (ruach = Hebrew meaning for spirit, wind, breath, air)
- Creation of the church –> no longer were the disciples the only one following Jesus’ teachings, but thousands of people began to believe and follow
What were the four views on Gentiles becoming a Jew in order to become a Christian? What were their responses?
- Ultra-conservative - Yes - Gentiles needs to have complete observance of the Torah, men must be circumcised
- Moderate conservative - No - Observance of Torah and circumcision not required, but Gentiles need to follow kosher laws
- Liberal - No - No circumcision nor kosher laws need to be followed, instead, baptism determines faith for God
- Radical - No - The religion of Judaism is completely insignificant and irrelevant, instead, Christianity replaces Judaism
In Act 15, Christianity becomes this type of religion for the first time.
Ethnocentric religion
Peter the Disciple and James the blood brother of Jesus had this type of view on Gentiles being Jewish to believe in God.
Moderate conservative view
According to Luke-Acts, Paul the Apostle had this view on Gentiles being Jewish.
According to Raymond E. Brown, Paul had this view instead.
Luke-Acts –> Moderate conservative view
Raymond E. Brown –> Liberal view
The Gospel according to John had this type of view on Gentiles being Jewish.
Radical
Describe Paul the Apostle’s preaching style.
- Focused on faith
- Believed the Law is negative, it’s only meant to show us how bad of a person we are; laws only condemn us whenever we break it
- Believed that telling us what to do will naturally lead people to want to go against it and do the opposite
- Crucifixion and resurrection was the MOST FOCUS in Paul
- LOVE = Paul’s major teaching to the Christian community
- Key word: righteousness
Paul was influenced by these groups of people and their respective aspects:
Greek -- Language -- Culture Roman -- Infrastructure -- Administration (Organization) -- Law (Pax Romana) Jewish -- God the Creator -- Righteousness under law -- Humanity in God's image -- Sin, covenant, scriptures -- The Messiah (most imptnt)
What were the five images and image fields Paul used?
- Justification > Law Court
- Adoption > Family
- Reconciliation > Politics
- Redemption > Economics
- New Creation > Apocalyptic
What were the 3 works of John?
- The Gospel according to John
- 3 letters
- The Book of Revelation
The Gospel according to John can be broken down into four categories, which were:
- Prologue (1:1-18)
- Book of Signs (ch. 1 -12)
- Book of Glory (ch. 13-20)
- Epilogue (ch. 21)
Who was the main apostle in John’s gospel?
Peter
Peter is viewed as an authoritative figure in the Gospel acc. to John
This character appears in John’s gospel:
The “Beloved Disciple” –> an unknown and mysterious character in the Gospel
The Book of Signs (ch. 1-12) was about:
- Jesus’ public ministry and his seven signs (starting with turning water into wine)
Over a 3-year period
The Book of Glory (ch. 13-20) was about:
- Jesus’ interaction with his disciples –> Jesus gets ready for crucifixion and teaches disciples
- Resurrection and crucifixion –> In John, Jesus accepts his crucifixion, unlike in the synoptics where Jesus suffers
Over 3-day period
What was the greatest lesson Jesus taught his disciples?
LOVE (hesed) –> all the commandments come down to love
Which phrase was an important part of John’s gospel? How many times does this phrase appear in the gospel?
“I am…”
7 times
What is a sign? Why does John use signs? How many signs are there? Which was the first sign?
A sign is something that points to something else that is meant to prompt the seeker to go beyond the physical and into the spiritual to find the deeper meaning
John uses signs because he does not like using the word “miracle.” The use of signs revealed Jesus’ glory and lead the disciples to believe in him
There are 7 signs and the first sign was the changing of the water into wine
The Epilogue (ch. 21) was about:
- Eternal life = sharing of the life of God is forever
- God is living and God’s infinity is endless joy
- John’s perspective on Jesus’ resurrection was that Jesus (the Word) comes down to save us (the flesh) –> Remember the platonic thinking diagram
The Prologue (ch. 1) was about:
- The Word = a divine being
- “The Word was God” –> Jews hesitant to accept this because it present a duality of God (Eventually it becomes a trinisty with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit)
What were the four major titles of Jesus?
- Son of God
- Son of Man
- Lord
- Messiah/Christ
What is the meaning of Son of God in reference to Jesus?
- Righteous one
- Davidic king
- Reference to Jesus’ unique relationship to God (Jesus addresses God as father)
- Way of saying the risen Jesus functions as God and is also divine in himself
Note: Son of God, Messiah, King of Israel, and Son of David overlap
What is the meaning of Son of Man in reference to Jesus?
- God’s chosen agent of salvation
- Reference to Jesus in his earthly life and ministry
- Connection to the interpretation of Jesus as the “Suffering Servant” (view by Mark)
What is the meaning of Lord in reference to Jesus?
- Simple title of respect
- Reference to Jesus’ authority, power, divinity
What is the meaning of Messiah/Christ in reference to Jesus?
- Signifies anointed one sent by God to bring new era of salvation
- Title that absorbs all other titles that capture all faith interpretations of Jesus
Note: Son of God, Messiah, King of Israel, and Son of David overlap
