four pictures of jesus the gospels. 1. “gospel” = early christian preaching 2. “gospel” =...
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Four pictures of Jesus
The GospelsThe Gospels
1. “gospel” = early Christian preaching 2. “gospel” = written life of Jesus Written like ancient biography
• Portrays “the essential character of the person”
• Encourages emulation of the person• Has little concern for chronology
Includes multiple genres Influenced by Jewish literature “Fictive” (story-like) style of narration Overtly evangelistic (“that you may
believe”)
Genre: What Is a Gospel?Genre: What Is a Gospel?
Parables (box 4.3)• Figurative stories that convey spiritual truth
Miracle stories (box 4.4)• Demonstrations of exceptional “power” or
“signs” Pronouncement stories (box 4.5)
• Anecdote that preserves “the memory of something Jesus said”
Individual sayings (box 4.6) Passion and resurrection narratives
Types of Material in GospelsTypes of Material in Gospels
Synoptic = “seeing together”• Matthew, Luke, and Mark appear to be
seeing Jesus together—from a similar view• Overlapping material• Parallel structures, style, perspectives, and
tone• Also each have unique material
Matthew contains 90% of material in Mark but is twice as long
This raises the question: How are these three Gospels related?
The Synoptic PuzzleThe Synoptic Puzzle
(Majority) Two-source Hypothesis• Mark written first• Matthew and Luke use Mark as a written
source• Matthew and Luke use a second
(hypothetical) source of Jesus’ sayings = Q• Matthew and Luke, independently, used their
own oral sources to complement written sources
(M and L)
The Synoptic PuzzleThe Synoptic Puzzle
(Minority) Two-Gospel Hypothesis• Matthew wrote first• Luke used Matthew• Mark later condensed Matthew and Luke
into one writing
The Synoptic PuzzleThe Synoptic Puzzle