Introduction to the New Testament

&The Birth of Jesus

Intergenerational SeminarySession #6

Christian Bible (New Testament)

• Written in Greek– With a few Aramaic (commonly

spoken Hebrew) expressions•“Eloi, eloi, lema sabachthani?” (Matt.

27:46)

• Many of the writers would have known the Hebrew Bible only in Greek translation– Matthew quotes virgin prophecy

from Isaiah’s Greek translation

12th century Paul’s name manuscript up close

New Covenant/Testament

•Promised by Jeremiah (31:31-33)•Referred to by Jesus at the Last

Supper (“new covenant in my blood”)

•Remember: When the New Testament talks about “Scripture,” it’s referring to the Old Testament

How did the NT come about?

• Took a while– Early Christians were very “eschatological” – First form was letters (fit with eschatology):

Pauline (50’s)• I Thess, Gal, Philemon, Phil, I/II Corin, Romans

– By the mid-60s the first generation had mostly died, so letters took on a more enduring tone (Deutero-Pauline)• II Thess: don’t focus too much on the Second Coming• Colossians/Ephesians: talks about “the Church”• I/II Timothy, Titus discuss bishops, priests, & deacons

How did the NT come about?

• Also the “Catholic/General Epistles” (directed to the worldwide church)– I/II Peter– James– Jude– I/II/III John

How did the NT come about?

• The Gospels– Q (German quelle, source”; ~50 CE): 200

verses of Jesus’ teachings (no longer existent)

– Mark (~70 CE): his readers were not Palestinian Jews of Jesus’ lifetime, but Gentiles who were unfamiliar with Jewish customs• Emphasis on suffering and the Cross may reflect

Mark’s personal experience

– Matthew/Luke (~20 years later): used “Q”– Fourth Gospel (~90-100 CE)

How did the NT come about?

•Other books–Acts

•By the same author as Luke •One narrative, moving the story of Christianity beyond Jerusalem to Samaria and beyond

–Hebrews–Revelation

Why those books in the NT?

• Apostolic origin– Gospels attributed to apostles (Matthew, John)

or “apostolic men” (Mark, Luke)– Letters supposedly written by Paul, Peter,

James• Debates

– Revelation almost didn’t make it in when Dionysius (250 CE) proved John didn’t write it

– Hebrews only made it in when it was determined to have been written by Paul

• Not always sufficient– Gospel of Peter rejected based on its theology

Evolving NT canon• Pauline letters

– 100 CE: 10 letters (not Pastorals or Hebrews)

– 200 CE: 13 letters (not Hebrews)– 300 CE: 14 letters

• Gospels– Likely each early community only knew of

one of the gospels• No record before 150 CE of more than one gospel

being read in any specific church

• By late 4th century there was widespread acceptance of the 27 books

Jesus and the Gospels

Homeland of Jesus

Jewish Setting• “Second Temple Period”

– Recall:•Jerusalem fell to Babylonians in 586 BCE•Return from Exile in 539 BCE – Temple rebuilt•Jerusalem eventually sacked by Romans in 70

CE

– Characteristics•“Exile” was still going on

– Enslaved by Greeks and then Romans– Punishment for Israel’s sin– Deliverance still to come: return of YHWH to Zion

The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke)

• Synoptic: a summary of the life of Jesus• Gospel

– From Greek evangelion, “good news”• “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ” (Mark

1:1)• Doesn’t imply knowledge of other gospels

– Refers not to a book but a message • Often relating to victory in battle

• There probably were other gospels– Galatians 1:8-9 – “a gospel contrary to what

we have preached to you”

Gospel Formation

• Three stages– Public ministry of Jesus (first third of 1st

century)– Apostolic preaching about Jesus (second third)

– oral traditions– Codification of oral traditions (final third)

• Recall– The earliest gospel (Mark) was written 40 years

after Jesus’ death– The others were closer to 60 years after His

death

One-Source Theory

“Marcan Priority”

• Where things come from– Mark alone: Mark– Matthew & Luke

following Mark: Mark

– Matthew & Luke, but not Mark: Q

– Matthew or Luke alone: individual accounts/sources

Mark

Matthew

Q

Luke

“Jesus Christ”

• “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name– Greek christos = Hebrew mashiah

(messiah, “anointed one”)– The term “Jesus Christ” makes a claim (i.e.,

that Jesus of Nazareth was the messiah)• Like “Mahatma” Gandhi for Mohandas Gandhi

– We’ll typically use “Jesus” to refer to the historical person from Nazareth, and “Christ” to refer to the second person of the Trinity• Borg: “pre-Easter Jesus” vs. “post-Easter Jesus”

Biblical Interpretation

Pericopes and Textual Criticism

• A pericope (pur-i´-kō-pē) is a passage in a gospel, best studied alongside parallel passages in other gospels

• When comparing two texts, the older one is more likely to be– Shorter

• Later scribes tended to add details, not edit them out

– More difficult• Later scribes tended to smooth out

problems, not create them

“What is truth?” – John 18:38

• Literal truth– “It’s raining outside.”

• Metaphorical (allegorical) truth– “It’s raining cats and dogs outside.”

Fourfold Sense of Scripture (Quadriga)

• Scripture possesses four different senses– Literal– Allegorical: usually passages whose

meaning was unclear, or whose literal meaning was theologically unacceptable

– Tropological/moral: ethical guidance– Anagogical: Christian hope of future

fulfillment of divine promises

The Quadriga in Action

• “This is my body.” – Luke 22:19– Literal: The bread in Jesus’ hand = His

body– Allegorical: The bread represents Jesus’

body– Tropological/moral: We should sacrifice

ourselves for each other, just as Jesus did for us

– Anagogical: The bread represents the promise of eternal life through Jesus

Faith vs. History/Science

• Borg– Embraces a “hermeneutic of suspicion”

• Wright– “There were times when faith stood its ground

and, by looking at the challenge from all angles, was able to show that the historical evidence was as well if not better interpreted within a different framework.” (p. 17)

– Worried about a “hermeneutic of paranoia”

The Birth of Jesus

Birth of JesusMatthe

wMark

Luke

John

Annunciation to Mary X

Jesus’s lineage From Abraham

From Adam

Virgin birth Quotes Isaiah X

Immaculate Conception

Birth of Jesus X X

Adoration of baby Jesus X X

Note: Mark begins with John baptizing Jesus, and John begins with John recognizing Jesus

BALDUNG GRIEN, HansNativity

1520Pine panel

Alte Pinakothek, MunichThe Web Gallery of Art

“While they were [in Bethlehem], the time came for the baby to be born,

and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a

manger, because there was no room

for them in the inn.” Luke 2:6-7

BOTTICELLI, Sandro Mystical Nativity

1501National Gallery, London

The Web Gallery of Art

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they

will call him ‘Immanuel’ -- which means,

‘God with us.’” Matthew 1:23

Arguments for/against the Virgin Birth

For AgainstIf God is God, He could have

made this happenLate tradition (found only in Matthew

and Luke, not in Paul or Mark)

Not a Jewish expectation (would they import pagan

principles)?

Differences in genealogies (Matthew thru Solomon, Luke thru Nathan)

Plain meaning of the textDifferences in location (in Mt. Mary &

Joseph live in Bethlehem, in Luke they travel there for the census)

Historically accepted by the Church

Difference in birth visitors (in Mt. wise men follow a star; in Luke

shepherds follow an angel)

Vincent MaloThe Adoration of the

MagiOil on canvas, 324x396.5cm

Picture Gallery, VaticanPaintings in the Vatican

“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.” Matthew 2:11

Problem: Different Genealogies

• Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage to Abraham, and Luke traces it to Adam

• Responses– Borg: emphasis on symbolic meaning– Wright: different purposes

• Matthew: Jesus as fulfillment of Jewish prophecy

• Luke: Jesus as savior of the entire world

The Birth of Jesus: Matthew

• Focus: showing that Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy– Traces His lineage through Abraham and

David (father and king)– Similarities to Samson’s birth in Judges 13

(prophet)– Remembrance of the Exodus (“Jesus” is the

Greek form of “Joshua”)• Quotes Isaiah 7:14

– Hebrew ‘almah means “young girl”– Greek translation parthenos means “virgin”

Problem: Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem (and the census)?• Matthew says that Joseph and Mary lived

in Bethlehem, but Luke says that they lived in Nazareth and went to Bethlehem because of the census

• Responses– Borg: Luke needed to get them to Bethlehem

to fulfill the prophecy– Wright: Luke sets their journey to Bethlehem

in the context of the census because that was the time of the revolt of Judas the Galilean (Acts 5:37)

BAROCCI, Federico FioriRest on the Flight to

Egypt1570

Pinacoteca, VaticanThe Web Gallery of Art

“Having been warned in a

dream, [Joseph] withdrew to the

district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town

called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the

prophets: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’”

Matthew 2:22-23

Truth and Meaning

• What if the Virgin Birth were only “metaphorically” true?”– View of sex

• Would virginity be as extolled?

– View of redemption• What would it mean if the savior of the world

was born of an unwed, teenage mother?

• Is this a “trench we’re willing to die in”?

Ultimately

• If you believe that God can do anything, and that He intervenes in the affairs of the world, then– Jesus could have been born of a virgin– But was He?

• If you don’t believe that about God, then Jesus was born in the usual way

Summary of Disagreement

• Borg (liberal)– Differing accounts

mean it’s made up– Deep symbolic

meaning is a literary technique

• Wright (conservative)– Differing accounts are

par for the course in history

– Real events can have deep symbolic meaning (especially when it comes to God)

Upcoming Schedule• NEXT Wednesday, July 27, 7 PM

– The Life of Jesus • Wednesday, August 3, 7 PM

– NO SEMINARY (Book Club @ Madelaine’s)

• Wednesday, August 10, 7 PM– The Death of Jesus

• Wednesday, August 17, 7 PM– The Resurrection of Jesus

• Wednesday, August 24, 7 PM– Who is Jesus for Us Today?