0 Answer Key Four Portraits, One Jesus Workbook Note: The example responses given in this answer key are intended to be representative of the kinds of answers that are correct for a given question. The answers are intended to be a guide so that teachers, students, and independent learners can verify whether their responses are on the right track. Not all answers are complete or comprehensive. 1 Part One Introduction to the Four Gospels Chapter 1 What Are the Gospels? Assignment 1.1 Overview Questions for Chapter 1 and Addendum 1. Identify the unique portrait of each of the Gospels, as suggested in the textbook. Matthew: The Gospel of the the Messiah . Mark: The Gospel of the Suffering Son of God . Luke: The Gospel of the Savior for all people . John: The Gospel of the Divine Son who reveals the Father . 2. What are the Synoptic Gospels? What are the main differences between the Synoptics and the Gospel of John? The Synoptics are Matthew, Mark, and Luke Features of the Synoptics Features of John 1. Emphasize the Galilean setting of the 1. Considerable movement between first part of Jesus’ ministry Galilee and Judea 2. Little information given to determine 2. Mentions at least three different the length of Jesus’ ministry; material Passover feasts (2:13; 6:4; 13:1), and so could fit into a single year a ministry of 2 ½ to 3 ½ years 3. Jesus teaches mostly in parables, 3. Relates long speeches by Jesus, short sayings, and epigrams dialogues with his opponents, and interviews with individuals 4. Teaching focuses on the kingdom of God; healings and exorcisms 4. Teaching focuses on Jesus himself demonstrate the power of the kingdom and the Son’s revelation of the Father. and the dawn of eschatological Signs or miracles reveal Jesus’ identity salvation and glorify the Father; no exorcisms 3. Describe the gospel genre in terms of the three characteristics. What do each of these mean? 2 History They have a history of composition; they are set in a specific historical context; they are meant to convey accurate historical information Narrative They have varying plots, characters and settings Theology They are theological documents written to instruct and encourage believers and to convince unbelievers of the truth of their message. 4. Why were the Gospels written? What suggestions have been made concerning why the authors wrote? Each had a particular portrait of Jesus; they emphasize certain theological themes and address specific concerns within the church 1. Historical: The need for a faithful and authoritative record of the words and deeds of Jesus 2. Catechetical: The need to instruct converts in the Christian faith 3. Liturgical: The need for worship material in the church 4. Exhortatory: To encourage and assure believers in their faith 5. Theological: The need to settle internal disputes 6. Apologetic: The need to respond to external attacks on the church 7. Evangelistic: The need to call people to faith in Jesus 5. To whom were the Gospels written? What does the text say concerning whether the Gospels were written to believers or unbelievers? To a specific or a general audience? They were written primarily to believers. Only Luke addresses his to a specific person, but certainly expected others to read it. Matthew seems to have had the Jewish Christian community in mind and Mark possibly wrote in the context of the suffering church in Rome. The writers were probably a part of local communities, but also wrote with the greater church in mind. 6. Why do we have four Gospels instead of one? Why are there only four in the New Testament? The early church recognized that each of the four writers presented unique perspectives. These unique perspectives would be lost if they were combined. The early church only saw divine inspiration in these four. 7. What does it mean to read the Gospels “vertically”? What are the benefits of doing 3 this? To read vertically is to read each Gospel from beginning to end. The benefit is to be able to follow the progress of each narrative from introduction, to conflict, to climax, to resolution. 8. What does it mean to read the Gospels “horizontally”? What are the benefits of doing this? To read horizontally is to compare the Gospels to each other. The benefit is that this allows the reader to identify each writer’s unique themes and theology. 9. When is a harmonistic approach to the Gospels legitimate? When is it not? A harmonistic reading risks distorting each Gospel’s narrative and theological themes by reading one Gospel’s ideas into another. It may be useful to harmonize asking historical questions—what actually happened and how to explain apparent contradictions. Addendum Questions 1. What are some things we learn in the writings of the apostle Paul about the historical Jesus? Jesus was descended from David (Rom 1:3); he lived under the law (Gal 4:4); he had a brother named James (Gal 1:19) lived in relative poverty (2 Cor 8:9), chose twelve special disciples (1 Cor 15:5), taught on such issues as marriage and divorce (1 Cor 7:10), instituted the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23ff.), was crucified, buried, and rose again the third day (1 Cor 15:4). He addressed God with the Aramaic term Abba (“Father”; Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15). 2. What do we learn about Jesus in the writings of Flavius Josephus? He describes Jesus as a wise teacher who did extraordinary deeds. He acknowledges that he was executed under Pontius Pilate and that his followers claimed he rose from the dead. Josephus also recounts that the high priest Ananus was deposed for orchestrating the execution of Jesus’ half brother, James. 3. How helpful are the Apocryphal Gospels in providing reliable information about the historical Jesus? They are mostly unhelpful and are recognized for the most part as late, legendary, and dependent on the four canonical Gospels. They provide us with little help in understanding Jesus. 4 Chapter 2 Exploring the Origin and Nature of the Gospels: Historical-Critical Methods of Gospel Research Assignment 2.1 Overview Questions for Chapter 2 1. Summarize the four stages of composition that led to the production of the Gospels and identify the method that was developed to analyze each stage. STAGE METHODOLOGY FOR STUDY a. Stage 1: Historical events a. Historical Jesus research b. Stage 2: Oral tradition b. Form criticism c. Stage 3: Written sources c. Source criticism d. Stage 4: Gospels d. Redaction criticism Underline the sentence in Luke 1:1–4 below corresponding to each stage and mark that sentence as either “stage 1”, “stage 2”, “stage 3” or “stage 4”. Luke 1:1–4 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among stage 3 stage 1 us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses stage 2 and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most stage 4 excellent Theophilus so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. 5 2. What is the Synoptic Problem? The question of how the Synoptics are related to each other. Did they borrow from each other? Which was written first and which used the others as sources? 3. What is source criticism? What are its goals? A type of historical criticism that seeks to identify the written sources behind each Gospel and the relationship of the Gospels to one another. The goal is to identify the written sources for the Gospels; to determine their relationship to one another, including the order in which they were written and how they borrowed from each other. 4. What is the most widely held solution to the synoptic problem? a. What is Markan Priority? This view is that Mark is the oldest Gospel and that Matthew and Luke composed their Gospels by adding to the framework of Mark. b. What is the two-source theory? Matthew and Luke borrowed from Mark and an unknown document or documents referred to as Q (from Quelle = “source”). c. What is the four-source theory? Matthew and Luke independently used Mark, Q (material common to Matthew and Luke) as well as M (material unique to Matthew) and L (material unique to Luke). 5. Draw a chart showing the relationship between Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Q according to (a) Markan Priority, (b) the Two-Source Theory, and (c) the Four-Source Theory. Markan Priority Two-Source Theory Four-Source Theory MARK MARK Q M MARK Q L MATTHEW LUKE MATTHEW LUKE MATTHEW LUKE 6 6. What is “Q”? (What is it at its most basic? What additional claims about “Q” have been made? Q, also called the Synoptic Sayings Source, refers to the material common to Matthew and Luke but not present in Mark. Q could be: (1) a figment of scholarly imagination (If Luke used Matthew or vice versa there is no reason to posit a Q document.) (2) a variety of sources written and oral rather than a single document; (3) a single written source; (4) a single written source, containing the core teachings of a distinct community within Christianity 7. What is form criticism? What are its goals? What are its main strengths and weaknesses? Definition A type of historical criticism that studies the oral or spoken traditions behind the written gospel sources. Goals To classify forms (mini-genres); to determine the church context in which that form originated and was used; to trace the history of its development and transmission in the church.