Midterm Flashcards
What is the importance of NT knowledge?
Historical context, deeper understanding, introduction to key issues, interpretation, and apologetic issue.
Solemn rite of authority
A rabbi would “lean” on his disciple, placing his hands on the disciple’s head. Through this, a rabbi communicated his personality and status to the disciple.
Jesus’ teaching style
Jesus over-exaggerated and used puns, similes, metaphors, and proverbs in his teaching.
Parables
Jesus told parables in a poetic form that made them poignant to hear and easy to retain.
Four themes in Jesus’ teaching
- The kingdom of God- Jews believed this would be a political kingdom. Every person had to decide if they wanted to belong to the kingdom. Seen as an eschatological coming.
- Discipleship of the kingdom- Jesus called his followers to himself rather than tradition, and his followers were from the margins of society.
- Ethics of the kingdom- Jesus wanted his followers to be changed and called them to love God and others. Jesus taught strongly against hypocrisy.
- The cross and the kingdom- Jesus predicts his death and calls his disciples to take up their crosses. Jesus teaches about the Holy Spirit and the new covenant at Passover.
Christology
The study of Christ and who he was.
Jesus’ titles
- Messiah: “the anointed one”
- Son of God: used for Israel’s king and celestial beings and was associated with the coming messiah.
- Son of Man: Jesus’ favorite self-designation. Had specialized use for celestial figures. 69x in synoptics, 13x in John.
How are the synoptics different than typical ancient biographies?
They are kerygmatic (strong focus on discourses) and selective (a lot of time devoted to Passion Week).
“According to aspect”
a lot of people see the synoptics as contradictory, but they are complementary.
The synoptic problem
Scholars debate which gospel came first- matthew of mark. Most scholars hold the 2-source theory of Markan Priority, which says that matthew and luke used mark and Q as sources.
Matthew Provenance
Church fathers recognize Matthew as the author.
Written in Judea to a Jewish audience in Hebrew style.
Matthew Purpose
To show that Jesus fulfills OT
Matthew Structure
7 sections from Jesus’ birth to death. Middle 5 sections follow pattern of narrative and major discourse and parallels the five-fold Pentateuch.
Matthew’s unique features
Typography with Moses
Shows how Jesus redeems failed mission (“be set apart”) of OT Israel.
Hard on religious leaders- shows their religion was inadequate.
Only gospel that mentions the church- ecclesia
Salvation of gentiles
Mark Provenance
Written by John Mark and received apostolic authority from Peter.
Written from Rome
Based on Peter’s teaching
Mark Purpose
Showing that Jesus is the Son of God
Mark Structure
Son of God inclusio
Jesus’ public ministry (Ministry of Jesus in Galilee)
Jesus’ private ministry to disciples (Suffering of Jesus in Jerusalem)
Mark’s unique features
Glory and Suffering shown as a pattern in discipleship
Ending of Mark is controversial
Luke Provenance
luke was a physician, gentile, and authored Luke-Acts. He was connected with Paul, who gave him apostolic authority.
Gentile audience
Location unknown
sponsored or encouraged by Theophilus.
Luke Purpose
Certainty and strengthening faith
Luke structure
9:51 is the turning point: Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem.
A lot of stories unique to Luke are from 9:51 to the end
Parallels Acts
Outline on p. 199
Luke’s unique features
Luke did research addresses recipient Jesus heads toward Jerusalem resolutely with glory in mind Holy Spirit Salvation for all Prayer
John provenance
self-designation: the disciple Jesus loved, son of zebedee, brother of james, possibly Jesus’ cousin.
Jewish audience
Written from Ephesus
John purpose
Prove Jesus as the Messiah/Christ
John structure
Book of signs (public ministry) and book of glory (private ministry)
Topical arrangement: revelatory miracles (1-12), farewell discourse (private ministry with disciples) (13-17), and passion account (18-21).
John’s unique features
Unique vocabulary
deity of Jesus
John 1:1-18 (prologue) is one of four Christological texts
Signs of Jesus
The Divine Origin of the NT
- Inspiration (The Bible is God’s word via man’s writing)
- Inerrancy (Some copies have errors, but the originals are inspired. We can still see authors original intent)
- Authority (The Bible is the final say of how we live our lives)
Erroneous views of inspiration
Dictation theory (God told them exactly what to write) Motivated by inspiration (God motivated composition but not the words themselves)
Verbal Plenary
Scripture is fully inspired and as God intended it to be.
The Human Origins of the NT
- Circumstance (Event)
- Composition
- Canonization
- Copying
- Translation (Conversion)
Circumstance
Something had to happen before it was written about.
Composition
there was a period of oral translation before scripture was written down. Some authors used sources and many used a scribe, which could vary the style of the author, depending on the freedom given to the scribe.
What was the original language of the NT?
Greek
What was the first writing material?
Papyrus. Parchment became popular in the 4th century.
Canonization
The process by which books are recognized as scripture.
Eusebius’ criteria for canonization
- Apostolic authority
- Widespread usage
- Conformity to “rule of faith”
Internal Evidence
The authority that non-gospel writers give to Jesus’ words.
External Evidence
The early church fathers recognized the books as scripture. 20/27 were accepted as inspired by the end of the second century. Eusebius’ categories (recognized, disputed, spurious, heretical)
Eusebius’ categories for external evidence of canonization
- Recognized: books widely accepted as Scripture
- Disputed: books disputed by some (James, Jude, Peter;some seen as pseudipigraphal)
- Spurious: books disputed by everybody; authenticity in question (apocryphal)
- Heretical: books that were clearly unorthodox
Pseudipigraphal books
Books written after the time of the author it was attributed to. For a time, some debated if James, Jude, and Peter’s letters were this way.
Copying
Professional scribes didn’t copy Bible until Constantine legalized Christianity in 4thC. Up to this point, everyday people copied them, so there were minor errors.
Scribes used parchment and codex.
Types of Scribal Errors
- Accidental errors (errors of vision, hearing, and fatigue/mental)
- Intentional changes (corrected perceived error from previous scribe to closer match author’s original meaning & harmonization- matching parallel passages)
Are the NT manuscripts reliable?
We have over 6,000 Greek manuscripts (copies). and the type of writing & material used help to date copies. Versions resulted from circulation of copies.
We know they are reliable because the church fathers used them.
Textual criticism
Manuscript Types
Broad groupings by geographical region:
- Alexandrian (codex sinaiticus)
- Byzantine (Textus receptus- KJV)
- Caesarean
- Western
Textual criticism
scholars compared NT manuscripts to determine differences and where they occurred. The number of manuscripts with similarities create credibility. Time period of NT writing is tight.
Families
the family tree/flow chart of manuscript copies. Helps determine where errors started.
Translation
The KJV came from the textus receptus while modern translations come from all 4 text types. Eclectic (Greek NT) gives 3 groupings: a. confident manuscript is right b. not super sure c. could have missed stuff
Maccabean Revolt
167-164 BC. Resulted from Jewish resistance to Hellenism.
Roman Rule
63 BC & beyond (1453?) Pompey drove the Hasmoneans out.
Rulers from Persia to Rome
Persia, Alexander the Great, Ptolemies, Selucids, Maccabees, and Rome.
Ptolemies
Allowed Jews to keep their own culture
Selucids
Drove Ptolemies out. Forced Hellenism in Palestine. Antiochus Epiphanes outlawed Jewish practices and desecrated the temple.
Maccabees
Rededicated temple (64 BC). Used guerilla war against Selucids. Jews had independence until Dimetreas II.
Cultural and Religious background of First-Century Judaism
Judaism was a significant minority. Most people lived off of agriculture, trades, or fishing. The Temple was extremely important (destroyed by Babylonians in 586 BC and rebuilt in 20 BC by Herod the Great). The synagogue was an important place of worship that did not go away after Jewish exile ended- they decentralized Jewish ID by bringing worship into villages.
Important groups during first century
Pharisees, sadducees, essenes, zealots, scribes, Herodians, and samaritans
Samaritans
Resented by Jews because they “revised” the Hebrew scriptures to promote their own place in history and build a rival temple on Mount Gerizim.
Herodians
Probably political patrons living in major cities of Galilee and Judea. Compromised with Rome and only saw the benefits of Jewish life in a Roman province. Would have been costly for these people to follow Jesus. Questioned him about taxes.
What is the difference between the synoptics and John?
The synoptics share a lot of material while John is more separate.
Synoptics show Jesus going from Galilee to Jerusalem and John shows him going back and forth.
Acts Provenance
Written by Luke, who is connected to Paul. Luke did research, and this account is sponsored by Theophilus. Written with Luke as one, long narrative.
Acts structure
Divided into geographical regions (Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth- Paul’s missionary journeys). Acts 1:8 is key verse for the whole book. The geographical divisions contribute to the big idea and major themes of the book.
Acts key themes
The summary statements, the expansion of the church through the power of the HS (the holy spirit and the unity of Jews and Gentiles)
Acts interpretive issues
Circumcision and following old covenant/law of Moses
3 references to the holy spirit
receiving, empowering/emboldening, and description of a faithful follower.
Gray areas
- evangelism
2. unity of the church
normative (descriptive)
Acts shows principles for the church to adopt today
prescriptive
Acts shows exactly how church should function today
