New Testament Survey

Module 3: Lecture 2 of John; Book of Acts © Rosebank Bible College Looking back

n In the first NT lecture we had a glimpse of the historical, political and geographical background of the NT n We also looked at the story of as described in the first three in our canon, commonly referred to as the Synoptic Gospels In this lecture n We take a look at the Fourth Gospel, the ; we’ll briefly make a comparison between the Synoptic Gospels and John before studying John’s approach n We will then turn to the Book of Acts, which tells the story of the spreading of the Gospel message and the Church after the Reading n Johnston, P (ed) 2006:197-213 n Harris, RL (ed) 2001:359-374 n Look for related topics in dictionaries (or on the Internet), eg John, Fourth Gospel, Acts, Early Church, Peter, Paul, Timothy, Pentecost, Jerusalem, etc The Gospel of John

The Gospel of love Writing of John’s Gospel n Although the author is never identified by name, the early church tradition accepted that John, the and apostle of Jesus, was the author of this book (see 21:24) n Despite the fact that the connection is never explicitly made, many scholars believe that John was “the beloved disciple” (13:23; 21:7) n This Gospel was probably the last of the four to have been written (between 70 and 90AD), reflecting further developments related to the Person and Work of Jesus Fragment of John manuscrtipt dating 125 AD: ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/2008/05/ Oldest manuscript evidence

“This small fragment of St John's Gospel, measuring less than nine centimetres high, is one of the collection of Greek papyri in the John Rylands Library, Manchester. On one side it contains parts of verses 31-33, on the other side parts of verses 37-38 of the eighteenth chapter of John's Gospel… The importance of this fragment is quite out of proportion to its size, since it may with some confidence be dated in the first half of the second century A.D., and thus ranks as the earliest known fragment of the in any language.” http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/specialcollections/collections/stjohnfragment/ Purpose and approach of John n John clearly stated that his purpose in writing is “that you may believe that Jesus is the , the Son of , and by believing you may have life in his name.” (20:30-31) n Many believe that John wrote later than the Synoptic authors, and represents a further “development” of faith in Jesus Christ n A number of scholars see this Gospel as some sort of “statement of faith” by a so- called “Johannine community”, but there is no convincing proof of such a community Image: www.earlychristianwritings.com/john.html John and the Synoptic Gospels n Although John’s basic storyline is the same as the Synoptics, there are significant differences in his approach: ¨ John follows a different “flow” or description of events, such as Jesus’ different visits to Jerusalem ¨ John’s story takes on a more theological reflection, eg he includes more references to Jesus’ identity ¨ He describes different “signs” (his unique word for miracles) to the ones found in Mt, Mk & Lk ¨ John highlights Jesus’ encounters with “the Jews” and their opposition to Jesus in more detail ¨ John contains no parables, but other sayings (similes) ¨ His vocabulary is smaller (1000 words compared to 2000

Beginningin Lk),of Gospel but of he John gives in Codex deeper Sinaiticus: meaning www.umass.edu/.../gallery/tischendorf.html to words used Why the differences? n John’s purpose was obviously different to that of the authors of the Synoptic Gospels n His work represents a more developed reflection on the Person of Jesus, going further than merely relating what Jesus had done to describe the divine character of Christ n He wrote to show how Jesus confronted “the Jews” (leaders of the Jewish people) n Clement of Alexandria (about 200AD) said that John wrote a “spiritual” gospel, a good reflection of John’s approach! Basic outline of John’s Gospel n The content of the Gospel of John can be summarized by highlighting the major sections in the book: n 1:1-18 - Prologue: The Word of God n 1:19-12:50 - Public n 13:1-17:26 - Private ministry of Jesus n 18:1-20:31 - Passion and resurrection n 21:1-25 - Postscript: Final appeal John’s “signs” n Out of all the miracles that Jesus performed, John selected 7 and called them “signs” to demonstrate Jesus’ divinity and power n The signs are often used in John’s approach to introduce Jesus’ teachings, ie a major teaching session followed a “sign” n For John these signs clearly indicated that Jesus was the expected ; they show his power and might to do what only God is able to do John’s signs and their significance n Water changed into wine (2:1-11): Jesus revealed his power and the disciples believed in him n Official’s son healed (4:43-54): Jesus gives life to all n Invalid (lame) man healed (5:1-15): Jesus “works” like the Father and there is life in the Son n Five thousand fed (6:1-15): Jesus is the Bread of Life that came from heaven n Jesus walked on water (6:16-24): Jesus has power over nature n Blind man healed (9:1-41): Jesus demonstrates and symbolises the opening of the eyes of faith n Lazarus raised from dead (11:1-44): Jesus reveals his love, power and life-giving ability Message of the Gospel of John n John selectively used information about Jesus (such as the signs and sayings) to confirm who Jesus is: ¨ Word of God: God’s final revelation ¨ Son of Man: Saviour of mankind ¨ Messiah: the expected One, fulfilling God’s promise and OT prophecies ¨ : the incarnation of God ¨ God himself: the titles and claims of Jesus confirm that he is God n John wrote to prove that Jesus is God; his aim was to lead his readers to faith in Jesus Characteristics of John n The debates with the “Jews” n Personal contact between Jesus and individuals who met with him, eg Philip (1:43f), Nicodemus (3), Samaritan woman (4), Pilate (18:28ff), Thomas (20:24f) and Peter (21:15ff) n “Tongue-in-cheek” comments, such as the use of irony throughout the whole book n God is love and loves the world (3:16) n Upper room discourse (13-16) n Emphasis on the Holy Spirit (14:15ff; 16:12ff) n Jesus’ “high priestly” prayer in Chp 17 The “I am” statements n In the “I am” sayings we find Jesus’ self-claim of divinity, such as: ¨ I am the Bread of Life (6:35) / Living Bread (6:51) ¨ I am the Light of the world (8:12; 9:5) ¨ I am from above/not of this world (8:23) ¨ I am the Door/Gate (10:7,9) ¨ I am the (10:11) ¨ I am the Resurrection and the Life (11:25) ¨ I am the Way, the Truth and the Life (14:6) ¨ I am the (15:1) n With these statements Jesus equated himself with God (compare 8:58 with Ex 3:14) Image: www.erasofelegance.com/.../gospel/gospel.html Key titles of Jesus in John 1 n In just one chapter of John we find the following titles of Jesus (there are others in the rest of the book): ¨ Word (1:1-2; 14) ¨ Light (1:9) ¨ The One and Only (1:14; 18) ¨ Lamb of God (1:29; 36) ¨ Baptizer with the Holy Spirit (1:33) ¨ Son of God (1:34; 49) ¨ Rabbi/Teacher (1:38) ¨ Messiah/Christ (1:41) ¨ King of Israel (1:49) ¨ Son of Man (1:51) Reading from the Gospel of John

n 1:1-18 - Prologue, the Word of God n 6:25-59 - Jesus the Bread of Life n 10:1-21 - The Good Shepherd n 11:1-44 - Raising of Lazarus n 13:1-17 - Washing the disciples’ feet n 17:6-26 - Jesus prays for his disciples n 21:15-25 - Peter’s commission / Epilogue

Imgage: mattdabbs.wordpress.com/.../wordle-of-john1118/ The Life and Ministry of Jesus

Overview and message of the four Gospels ’ life n Many attempts have been made to describe the life of Jesus in chronological order; this is sometimes referred to as a “harmony of the Gospels” and detailed copies are available in books and on the internet (eg go to www.LifeofChrist.com and click on “Gospel Harmony”) n The fact that the Gospel authors do not provide us with detailed chronological information makes this a very difficult task, while there is danger that we may read parts of the story out of context or miss the original intention of the Gospel author n However, it is possible to describe the highlights of Jesus’ life and ministry in broad strokes, taking the information from all four Gospels Outline of Jesus’ life and ministry

1. Birth and childhood 2. Beginning of his public ministry (; baptism; temptation; move to Galilee) 3. Ministry in Galilee (miracles; teachings) 4. Ministry in Judea/Jerusalem (more miracles and teachings; confrontations with Jewish authorities) 5. Close of ministry (last week in Jerusalem; arrest and trial; death and resurrection; ascension) Ministry of Jesus Christ n Jesus focused his ministry on earth by doing the following: ¨ Teaching about the Kingdom of God ¨ Performing miracles to demonstrate the Kingdom of God ¨ Training the Apostles to continue the work he began ¨ Fulfilling God’s requirements for atonement (dying and rising from the dead) The Book of Acts

The story of the Early Church; bridge between the Gospels and Epistles Writing of Acts n Acts is commonly taken as the second of two volumes written by Luke: the first relates the story of Jesus on earth (Acts 1:1-2, “my former book”, ie the Gospel of Lk), while the second (Acts) continues the story of Jesus, now working in and through his Church n Compare Lk 1:1-4 with Acts 1:1-3 to see the link between the two books n Acts would have been written shortly after Lk, not much later than 65AD Purpose and design of Acts n The Book of Acts is a carefully constructed description of the spreading of the Gospel in the years following Jesus’ ascension n Acts 1:8 is a key passage, stating Lk’s goal and approach, as seen in the outline: ¨ Receive power (Holy Spirit): 2:1-13 ¨ Jerusalem: 2:14 – 8:1a ¨ Judea: 8:1b-4 ¨ Samaria: 8:5-25 ¨ Ends of earth: 8:26 – 28:31 (28:31 is a key verse) Image: http://www.mayslandingbaptist.com/Images/book-of-acts.jpg Key events in Acts n 1:4-11 - Ascension of Jesus n 2:1-13 - Outpouring of the Holy Spirit n 2:36-47 - The first Christian Church n 9:1-22 - Conversion of Paul; the story turns n 10:1–11:18 - Peter visits Cornelius, a gentile n 11:19-30 & 13:1-4 - The emphasis (weight) shifts to Antioch in Syria n 15:1-35 - Jerusalem Council: final breakthrough n 13:4–20:38 - Paul’s missionary journeys n 21:1–28:16 - Paul’s arrest, imprisonment and journey to Rome n 28:17-31 - Postscript Image: http://impact.nbseminary.com/wp-content/uploads/acts-1-8-diagram.jpg Key leaders in Acts n The following people play key roles in the Book of Acts: n Peter (see 2:14–5:42; 10:1–12:25) n Peter and John (3:1–4:2-31) n James the Apostle, slain by King Herod Agrippa I about 44 AD (Acts 12:1,2 – see also Mk 10:39) n James, the brother of Jesus (compare Acts 15:13 with Gal 2:9) n Paul, the Apostle (dominates from Chp 13) Other key characters in Acts n The Seven “deacons” (6:1-7) n Stephen (6:5) ¨ Witnessing and preaching (6:8-10) ¨ Martyred (6:11–7:60 ) n Philip (6:5) ¨ In Samaria (8:4ff) ¨ On the Gaza road with the Ethiopian (8:26ff) n Barnabas (4:36-37) ¨ Leader in Antioch (11:22ff) ¨ Companion of Paul (13:1-7) n Timothy (16:1-5) http://commons.orthodoxwiki.org/images/8/8e/Barnabas.jpg The world of the NT Church n Roman Empire: the Early Church operated in a world dominated by the Romans n Relative peace: apart from the uprising in itself there was no major war in the world of the Roman Empire during the First Century AD n Jewish dispersion (diaspora): the spread of Jewish people in the known world made it easy for the early Christians to find common ground The Gentile world n Most people in the ancient world worshipped some form of god or idol, meaning that spirituality was nothing new to them; this reality created an openness to listen to the proclamation of the Gospel n Evil abounded in the world – there is much evidence of unethical and promiscuous behaviour and other atrocities committed; Christians had a battle to remain pure n There was opposition to the Gospel: Christians were persecuted by both Jews and Gentiles because of their emphasis on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/roman.htmlthe uniqueness of Jesus Christ Paul and his missionary journeys Missionary journeys n The second part of the Book of Acts revolves around the Apostle Paul and his travels to the regions north of Palestine n Luke recounts three such journeys, the first with Barnabas (Acts 13:1ff) and the other two primarily at his own initiative n The third missionary journey ends with Paul in Jerusalem, captured by the Jews and put in prison by the Roman authorities Travelling in the NT times n “The Roman roads were essential for the growth of their empire, by enabling them to move armies. A proverb says that "all roads lead to Rome". Roman roads were designed that way to hinder provinces organising resistance against the Empire. At its peak, the Roman road system spanned 53,000 miles and contained about 372 links. The Romans, for military, commercial and political reasons, became adept at constructing roads, which they called viae (plural of singular via).” n http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_roads Image: http://www.ralphmag.org/CX/roman-roads420x487.gif Summary dates in Paul’s ministry n 35 – First visit to Jerusalem (as Christian) n 47 – First missionary journey n 49 – Jerusalem Council n 49-52 – Second missionary journey n 51-52 – Visit to Corinth n 52-57 – Third missionary journey n 57-64 – Arrest in Jerusalem; imprisonment in Caesarea; travel to Rome n 64-66 – Possible further travels; execution Paul’s missionary journeys Themes in Acts n The Holy Spirit is God’s presence and sign of the new era or age n The book contains the acts of God (rather than the ) n God’s plan and purposes are revealed n Nothing can stop the spreading of the Gospel n Jewish-Gentile relationships are critical n The emphasis shifted from the capital of the Jews (Jerusalem) to that of the world (Rome), indicating God’s plan for the world Required reading in Acts n 1:4-11 - Ascension of Jesus n 2:1-13 - The Holy Spirit comes n 2:36-47 - The first Christian Church n 9:1-22 - Conversion of Paul; the story turns! n 10:1ff - Peter’s visit to (gentile) Cornelius n 11:19-30 & 13:1-4 - Emphasis shifts to Antioch in Syria n 28:17-31 - Postscript Image: theactsofpaul.blogspot.com/ Further study n This brings us to the end of the Gospels and the Book of Acts n The overall story of Jesus and his Church will be continued and “coloured in” as we look at the Epistles and Revelation n If you are interested in a further study of the history of the church, it’s worth getting some resources describing the history of the Church Fathers, Middle Ages, Reformation and Modern Church History Next time…

n The following will receive our attention: ¨ The life and history of the Apostle Paul ¨ Letter-writing in the First Century ¨ New Testament churches as reflected in the letters ¨ Starting our journey into the background and message of the letters of Paul to the churches Enjoy your week!