Title: Contributions to Early Christianity
1Contributions to Early Christianity
2- Greek Contributions
- 1. Greek Culture
- 2. Greek Language
- 3. Greek Philosophy and Education
3- Jewish Contributions
- 1. Concept of Monotheism
- 2. The Jewish synagogue
- 3. The Dispersion
- 4. Scripture
- 5. Essenes
4- Roman Contributions
- 1. Law and order
- 2. Cosmopolitan character
- 3. Roman roads and transportation
- 4. Roman qualities of character
- 5. Roman Religion
5A History of Jesus the Christ
6 A Life of Jesus I. Birth Ancestry Luke goes
back to Adam in attempt to connect Jesus to all
of humanity Matthew goes back to the Davidic
line They do not agree!
7II. Baptism Real history begins with the
baptism Thou Art My Son--beginning of ministry
and messianic consciousness Some say the Spirit
of God came upon Jesus at this time
8III. The Temptation Experience What kind of
ministry will Jesus have? 1. A person of
authority--messianic acts 2. He overcame disease
and the demonic 3. Authority to deal with
sinners 4. Authority to redefine the law 5.
Entering the Kingdom
96. Coming of the Kingdom a. Realized
Eschatology--C. H. Dodd--the kingdom is already
here--the church b. Consistent Eschatology--the
kingdom is coming in the future--Schweitzer
10 IV. The Parables of the Kingdom 1. Seed and
soil (Mt. 1318)--way Jesus words are preached
and accepted 2. Growing seed (Mark
426-29)--Gods kingdom will come without help of
humanity 3. Mustard seed (Mt. 11324-53 Mark
43-30)--begins small and becomes large
11V. The Journey to Jerusalem John has 2
journeys-Synoptics only one--it occurs in final
week of Jesus ministry Luke 951--shows his
determination to go to Jerusalem--this passage
prepares for the climatic event of the cross
12VI. Triumphal Entrance Using Zechariah 99 he
seems to consciously fulfills a prophecy of the
Messiah entering Jerusalem of a king
13VIII. The Last Supper Two ways of
understanding 1. A solemn act--patterned after
Jewish Passover celebration instituted as a
memorial celebration of Jesus impending death 2.
A joyous celebration of fellowship, with focus
on the eschatological fulfillment climaxing in
the Kingdom of God
14VII. The Temple incident This incident begins
his problems in Jerusalem--intentionally setting
himself up against the authorities he
prophesized that the temple will be destroyed
15IX. Chronology of Holy Week Synoptics indicate
that the Last Supper took place on Thursday
evening--should have been 24 hours before the
Sabbath. John places it on the Day of
Preparation, one day before--none of the
essential elements of Passover seems to be
there--bitter herbs and recital of passover
stories
16Titles of Christ
17Jesus the Prophet
18- Threefold Ministry of ChristProphet-Priest-King
- First found in Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
- Assume recognition with Calvin
- Today terms are used to refer to the earthly and
heavenly mission of Jesus
19- B. Jesus as Prophet is due to Deut 1815-19,
which reads I will raise up for them the people
of Israel a prophet like you from among their
brethren, and I will put my words in his mouth,
and he will speak to them all that I command him. - 1. The prophet was to be a second Moses
- 2. Jesus seems to fulfill this role as he
redefines the law for the new covenant - 3. Some see the prophet as the suffering
servant of Isaiah - 4. Some see the prophet as an incarnation of
the prophet Elijah or Enoch - 5. Samaritans believed it referred to the
reincarnation of Moses
20- C. Some see the prophet as John the Baptist
- D. Some contemporaries of Jesus saw him as a
prophet - 1. Jesus as a prophet among many, Luke
7finds reference to a great prophet has come - 2. The eschatological prophetElijah coming
to life (Mark 615) - E. Acclamation of crowd on Psalm Sunday may be
interpreted as This is Jesus, the Prophet, From
Nazareth of Galilee (Matt. 2111) -
21 - Concept of Jesus as prophet disappeared with the
disappearance of Jewish Christianity - We can say that Jesus was a prophet in that he
fulfilled the role model of a prophet
22Suffering Servant
23- A. Jesus never uses the term, although he
refers to the concept in his teaching - B. The term is one of the oldest titles used by
the first century Christians to define the person
of Jesus - C. Title is uniquely Jewish
- D. We find it in Isaiah, chs. 42, 49, 50, and
52-53 - E. Some Jews believed term referred to a person
already deadHezekiah others see the nation of
Israel itself -
24- F. In later Judaism a connection was made
between suffering servant and messiah - 1. Used as my servant five times in Ezekiel
- 2. Used in some spurious works of the
later period - But concept of the suffering servant had not
yet been transferred to the glorious and
triumphant Messiah. - Thus, when Jesus uses the term to refer to
himself it is a unique interpretation
25- I. Writers of Gospels utilized the concept in
relationship to the vicarious suffering and death
of Jesus - J. John seems to referring to it when he used
the words lamb of Godan Aramaic equivalent of
the term - K. Book of Acts makes reference to the servant
of Yahweh - L. Paul uses the motif in two instances, 1 Cor.
153 and Romans 512 where Jesus is fulfilling
the task of the servant of God
26The Messiah
27- A. Best identified title for Jesus
- B. A transliteration of Hebrew Mashach, which
simply means to anoint - C. Term refers specifically to the king of
Israel, the Anointed One of Yahweh - 1. Term is used 39 times in Hebrew Scriptures
and designates the kings of Judah and Israel - 2. Messianic is connected with David 2 Sam.
712 God promises that Davids kingdom would last
forever
28- D. Since Davids kingdom was not forever in
this life, the Jews developed an eschatological
interpretation to the term - E. Biblical passages referring to the messiah
- 1. Gen. 491-12 Until he comes
- 2. Num. 2415-19promise of a war-like king
- 3. Num. 2410-17the Immanuel prophecy,
impending birth of Messiah - 4. Isa. 710-17messianic expectation is
fully developed -
29- 5. Isa. 119metaphor of the Messianic shoot
from Davidspirit of Yahweh will abide in his as
a permanent force - 6. Micah 52-5aorigin and birth of the
Messiah - 7. Jeremiah 235-6righteous branch, a wise
and just king, appointed by Yahweh he provides
for the welfare and safety of Israel -
30- 8. Ezekiel 3423-24 2722, 24-25promise that
Yahweh will bring back a united people to
Palestine and appoint the shepherd David over
themreign does not extend beyond Israel
31- 9. Haggai 221Yahweh would bring about a great
revolution in the immediate futurea son of David
would be the messianic ruler in the last days. - 10. Zech. 69-14prophet, acting symbolically,
was crowned as the coming Messiah for Zerubbabel - a. Branch had become a messianic name of
honor - b. High priest Joshua was to receive the
crown as a sign that the messiah would come in
the future
32- 11. Intertestament Period
- a. Concept of a coming eschatatological and
military Messiah comes largely from the period
between Malachi and the Gospel - b. Came to play an important role in the
deliverance of Israel - c. Some tried to use formulas to calculate
the time frame which would bring the Messiah
33 d. Messiah would come when the wickedness
of the world has reached its peak e. When
Messiah comes there will be woeswar,
pestilence, famine f. He will destroy the
hostile power then in force and will establish
Zion as his glorious kingdom
34- G. Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
celebrates the raising of a new priesthis star
would rise in heaven like that of a king, he will
bring peace on earth, knowledge will come to the
Gentiles and sin will come to an end -
35- 12. Contemporary with Jesus
- a. Elijah would come
- b. Birth-pangs usher in a new age
- c. Complete disintegration where normal
standards will become disorder - d. A time of judgment
- e. Ingathering of the dispersion
-
36- 13. Jesus neither rejects nor accepts the
title - 14. Mark 941 where word is used as a title,
not a proper noun - 15. Mark 1235 where Jesus does not accept
the title, but is asking what type of person the
Messiah would be - 16. Final usage was before the high priest
where he accepted the title, but qualified the
idea through the use of the term Son of Man
37Savior
38- A. Perhaps no title is more familiar today,
but does not seem to have the same type of
prominence in the NT - B. Never used by Jesus
- C. Mentioned once in Luke 211 and once in
John 442 - D. Even in Pauline epistles it is used
sparingly Phil 320 and Eph 523 - E. Great change in the Pastoral and Catholic
Epistles10 times2 Tim 110, Titus 14, Titus
36, 2 Peter 1l, 11, 220, 32, 18 and in 1 John
414 - F. In these epistles God is referred to as
savior 7 times
39- In the Hebrew Scriptures, no other savior is
mentioned besides Yahweh (Isa 4311 4521 Hosea
1314 - When Messiah is mentioned, he is not savior but
one who serves as Gods agent of salvation - The Intertestamental period emphases a savior
- Concept of individual salvation developed along
with concept of resurrection
40- K. In Enoch, Apocalypse of Baruch, and the
Assumption of Moses we see the scene of an
expected salvation which is laid beyond this
world of time and history in a transcendent
futuresalvation has become completely otherwordly
41- L. A look at the word savior
- 1. In the Septuagint soter is sometimes
applied to humanity - 2. Many of the judges are called saviors
(Judges 39, 15 and Neh. 927) - 3. Word soteria-salvation---has a long
history in Judaismcan mean peace, preservation
in safety, help and assistance only later would
come to mean rescue from sin
42- M. NT emphasizes that Jesus fulfills the
concept of salvationemphasizes Gods role in
history - 1. Luke writes that Jesus came to seek and to
save the lost, Luke 1910 - 2. This salvation is offered to sinners
not part of rabbinic Judaism
43Son of Man
44- A. One of the most popular titles Jesus used,
yet is one of most confusing and complex in the
NT - B. It has a background in Jewish apocalyptic
literature and the motif is found in many of the
near-eastern religons - C. Phrase son of man is translated from the
Aramaic Bar Nasha and Greek uio tou anthropou - D. First time we see it in apocalyptic
literature is in Daniel 713the person accepts
the office of rule conferred to him by the
Ancient of Days at a heavenly enthronement
sceneemphasis is that from then on the Kingdom
of God and his ruler will dominate in place of
the demonic worldwide kingdoms
45- The term may be influenced by a a half-divine
Urmensch (primal man) - Title is used frequently in Ezekiel when it
occurs more than 90 timesconsensus is that he is
referring to humanity and those attributes of
humanity, contrasted with the strength and might
of God - In IV Ezra 13 has a figure like a man
- 1. It depicts a continuous series of actions
brought to an end prior to the reign of the
messiah -
46 2. The section tells of 2 different
destructionsfirst against the cosmic power
and second against human foes 3. Son of Man
here has sovereignty, power and honorinherent
in him from the beginning and not bestowed on
him by God 4. Events take place on a
miraculously modified earth
47- H. In the Similtudes of I Enoch is a more
detailed account of that man - 1. Book predicts the coming of an Elect or
Chosen One in whose days righteousness shall
prevail and in whose the righteous and elect
will remain forever - 2. At the resurrection he chooses the
righteous and holy and sits on the throne of
God - 3. Book tends to identify the Son of Man with
the Elect One
48- 4. The Son of Man will remove kings from
their thrones - 5. Mighty will suffer travail pangs when
they see that Son of Man sitting on the throne
of His gloryclose parallel to Mt. 2531 - 6. All judgment is given to the Son of Man
49- I. Philo attempted to correlate the Jewish Son
of Man with a belief in the Hellenistic
heavenly or primal man - 1. He saw 2 Adams being creatdGen 127 27
- 2. The idea Heavenly Man disappeared after
Gen. 27 - 3. God created the second Adam who became the
transgressor of Gods commands
50- Term is used 82 in the NT, all but one in the
Gospels and all but one it is used by Jesus to
refer to Himself - What Jesus meant by the term is open to different
interpretations - One theory suggests when he uses Son of Man he is
referring to his human nature when he uses Son
of God he is referring to his divine nature - One scholar thinks Jesus used the term to have
him representing the representative man
51- N. Another believes Jesus used the title with
the background of Ezekiel and Psalm 8 - 1. Ezekiel speaks of the frailty and
humiliation of humanity - 2. Psalm I speaks to the divinity of humanity
52Son of God
53- A. This title was central to the thought of the
early church, Mark 11The beginning of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of - God
- B. The Ethiopian in Acts confesses that I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God - C. Gospel of John write If a man acknowledges
that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him
and he dwells in God
54- D. Origin of title came from ancient oriental
religions - 1. In Egypt, Babylonia, and Assyria the kings
were thought to be sons of God - 2. In the Greek world, the term represented
anyone who was believed to possess some kind of
divine powerall miracle workers were sons of god
55- E. In the Hebrew Bible, the title was used in
three ways - 1. King
- 2. Angels and Messiah
- 3. Israel
- 4. Job 16, 21, 387-Psalm 298, 826, 897
56- F. By time of Jesus it was assumed that Ps. 27
was interpreted Messianic in some quarters - G. In the Gospels the term is used quite
frequently - 1. In Q the title is used twice in the
temptation story - 2. Jesus is seen as the Son at his baptism
and transfiguration - 3. John 203Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God
57- H. Used in Mark in several ways
- 1. God proclaims Jesus as His Son
- 2. To be the Son of God is also to be the Son
of Man - 3. Son of God is used as a title for the
Messiah - 4. Son of God is the title given Jesus by
demons and pagans - 5. Term suggest the filial relationship of
Jesus who obeys God even to his death
58- I. Later epistles uses the term in a more
developed way to identify Jesus with the Father
59Lord
60- A. Many scholars believe that no title is more
richer than Lord - B. In New Testament it is generally a divine
title - C. One of the earliest titles used by early
Christians -
61- D. Title has background in the Hebrew Bible
- 1. Several words can be translated Lord
- a. Adon or adoniaused as a substitution
for the tetragrammaton the holy name of God - b. Baalsometimes used in reference to
human leaders also used for Canaanite nature
gods - c. Thus, word is not used in reference to
God
62- E. Greek word which translates adonai is kurios
(kyrios) - F. Used for God, Jesus, and even while
addressing an angelsometimes used as a term of
respect - G. Word can also mean master, owner, workmen
-
63- H. In religious world of Jesus the term has
special meaning - 1. Used in Caesar worshipused to refer to
Ptolemy, Herod the Great, Agrippa I and II,
Caligula, Claudius, Nero, and Domitian - 2. In the mystery religions it was used to
refer to Isis, Artemis of Ephesu, and the great
Mother, Cybele
64- I. One reference is found in Mark and Matthew
where it could mean simply master - J. Luke uses it 15 times
- K. John uses the title as a post-resurrection
title - L. In early church the word was used quite
frequently in combinations such as the Lord
Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, and Our Lord Jesus
Christ
65Logos
66- A. Used frequently by many church fathers
- B. In the New Testament we find only in the
Johannine literature - C. Term seemed to have begun with Heraclitus in
the 6th century BCE and used extensively by
Stoics and other Greek philosophers - 1. Used to refer to the divine principle that
penetrates, creates, and governs the cosmos - 2. Plato used it to refer to the intelligible
cosmos and the first creature of God - D. Gnostics thought that the Logos was an
intermediary being between the divine and humanity
67- E. In Judaism the term had two meanings
- 1. The latter Jewish form which conceived the
word as a personified mediator - 2. Term was used in Genesis to refer to the
word of God (debar Yahweh) - 3. In later Judaism there is a greater
emphasis on the Memra, word of Godthis word
would become a substitute for the name and
action of God - 4. Concept of the Word was united with the
concept of personified Wisdom
68- F. Philo helped bring the logos principle into
Judaismhe uses it over 1200 times - 1. The logos is the image of God and is the
bridge between God and humanity - 2. It is Gods agent of creation
-
69- G. John used the term as a means of uniting
Jesus with various concepts - 1. To the rabbis the term would represent the
agent of Gods creation - 2. To the Gnostics who denied a real
creation, he emphasized that the logos became
flesh -