NT Exam 1 Flashcards
What is the background context of Mathew (date, audience, purpose)?
author anonymous, no clear audience but maybe for Jews, late 50s-early 60s A.D., Wrote to show Jesus is the fulfillment of OT’s expectation.
What is the background context of Mark (date, audience, purpose)?
author Anonymous, no clear audience but early churches taught that it was written to the Roman churches, mid to late 50s A.D., wrote to show that Jesus is the model disciple who exhibits faithfulness and suffering
What is the background context of Luke (date, audience, purpose)?
author anonymous technically but contributed to Luke, It was specifically written to Theophilus who was a patron that financially supported the work but it was also for broad readership, possibly early 60s A.D., his purpose was to write an orderly account of Jesus
What is the background context of John (date, audience, purpose)?
author Technically anonymous but strong evidence that John is the author, no specific audience, Circa 95 A.D., Written so that people may believe that Jesus is the Christ, Son of God and we can have life through His name.
What are the 6 acts of the Bible?
Act 1: God establishes His kingdom
Act 2: Rebellion in the kingdom: Humans rebel
Act 3: The King chooses Israel: Redemption Initiated
Act 4: Coming of the King
Act 5: Spreading the news of the King
Act 6: Return of the King
What are the 4 prophetic expectations at the end of the OT?
Torah (instruction)
“Turf”
Throne
Temple
What are the 5 “Promised Individuals” of the OT; also be able to identify which Gospel writer identifies Jesus as “the prophet like Moses,” “the suffering servant,” “the Son of Man,” and “the ruler from the line of David?
- A “serpent crusher” from the line of Eve
- A prophet like Moses (Matthew)
- A suffering servant who will be crushed for the sin of the people (Mark)
- A “son of man” who will establish an eternal Kingdom (John)
- A ruler from Judah from the line of David to be born in Bethlehem (Luke)
What are the parts of the OT canon?
OT canon: Torah, Nevi’im (the prophets), and Ketuvim (the writings)
What are the parts of the NT canon?
NT canon: the Gospels, Paul’s letter collection (plus Hebrews), Acts plus the general epistles
What is the “WSM” method, and the “Narrative Method”?
- The WSM method is “whatever strikes me”
- The “Narrative method” is a form of literary analysis that focuses on conflict, resolution, setting, and characters.
What are the characteristics of Mark?
- Uses the word “immediately” (42 times) points to the action-oriented nature of the testimony; Mark does not emphasize Jesus’ teaching
- Regularly alternates narratives of Jesus’ authority over nature, with narratives of his authority over cosmic powers, with narratives of his authority over disease
- Mark’s Gospel begins by citing the OT to introduce John the Baptist and Jesus (no birth narrative)
- Scholars recognize that the ending of Mark is a later addition (16:9-20)
- Mark emphasized that Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem was in order to die; this, he characterizes true discipleship in the (upcoming) cross
What are the characteristics of Luke?
- Intertwines birth pronouncements, pregnancies, and births of both John the Baptist and Jesus
- Luke’s genealogy of Jesus, while different from matthew’s presents Jesus as from the line of David through David’s son Nathan and ends with Adam
- Ends with unique post-resurrection accounts and Jesus’ ascension into Heaven
- The only Gospel to have a child narrative of Jesus; the purpose of this narrative is to show the wisdom of Jesus at an early age (note “bookends”)
What are the characteristics of John?
- John’s prologue goes beyond Jesus’ initial ministry (compare to Mark), and beyond his genealogy (compare to Matthew and Luke) to discuss Jesus as the incarnate Word of God
- Contains several binary opposites: dark and light; flesh and spirit; believer and unbeliever; above and below; eternal life and regular life
- Portrays Jesus’ ministry taking place over 2 ½ to 3 years based on the three Passover accounts
- Besides a prologue and an epilogue, the Gospel of John contains two sections: John 1:19-12:50 is often called the “Book of Signs”, and John 13:1-20:31 is often called the “Book of Glory”
What is meant by the Kingdom of God being “already ”and“ not-yet”?
- The Kingdom of God has broken into the present age and is a present reality, yet it is not fully here and is still future
How does the narrative plotline of God’s plan to recreate his Kingdom of Blessing develop (move forward) in the Gospels?
- Jesus consistently fulfills the function of Israel perfectly by trusting and being loyal to the Father, creates a new people with a worldwide ministry
- Jesus demonstrates that He is the perfect Human (perfect adam)
- Jesus invades the kingdom of rebellion started by fallen divine beings
- Where Jesus is so is the kingdom of God (Kingdom of God point-person)
What is Matthew doing in his Gospel writing? How does he accomplish his agenda?
- Mathew is persuading that Jesus is the fulfillment of the old testament expectation. He does this by using the old testament and then says this fulfilled the Old testament.
What is Mark doing in his Gospel writing? How does he accomplish his agenda?
- Mark is trying to portray Jesus as the model disciple who exhibits faithfulness. He does this by taking emphasis off of Jesus’ teaching and putting it on how Jesus characterizes true discipleship in the cross. He also alludes to Isaiah’s suffering servant songs.
