The Interpretive Journey New Testament

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The Interpretive JourneyNew Testament
Unit 4

1. Letters
2. Gospels
3. Acts
4. Revelation

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NT Letters

• Introduction
• As in the ancient world, letters play an
  important role in our lives today

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New Testament Letters Pauline General Romans Hebr
ews 1, 2 Corinthians James Galatians 1, 2
Peter Ephesians 1, 2, 3 John Philippians Jude Colo
ssians 1, 2 Thessalonians 1, 2 Timothy Titus
Philemon
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• Characteristics of NT letters
• Comparable to other ancient letters

Pauls letters are quite long by ancient
standards, averaging 2,495 words. (R.
Richards) Why did Paul need the extra space?
NT includes more informal, personal letters
(like Philemon) as well as more formal letters
(like Romans)
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• Authoritative substitutes for the author's
  personal presence
• Substitute for personal presence
• Authoritative substitute
• (Christs representatives)
• Situational written to address specific
  situations or problems in the churches
• To clarify an issue (Thessalonians)
• To address a doctrinal problem (Colossians)
• To confront the ethical behavior of readers
  (James)

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• Implications of the occasional nature of letters
• Never meant to be read as exhaustive dictionaries
  of doctrine
• Be careful not to conclude too much from any one
  letter
• Galatians freedom
• 1 Corinthians obedience

• Reconstruction the original situation that called
  for the letter in the first place

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• Carefully written and delivered
• The actual job of writing down a letter was
  normally assigned to a trained scribe or
  secretary (amanuensis).
• I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet
  you in the Lord. (Rom. 1622)
• Customary for the author to add a final greeting
  in his own handwriting
• I Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
  (1 Cor. 1621)
• Cosenders played a significant role
• Paul, Silas and Timothy, (1 Thess. 11)
• Delivery depended on trusted letter carriers
• Tychichus will tell you all the news about me.
  (Col. 47)

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• Intended for the Christian community
• Meant to be read aloud again and again to the
  church

• Meant to be exchanged with other churches

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Epistles Key Questions

• What form do epistles generally follow? How
  closely does this epistle (the one I am studying
  or reading) follow that form?
• What is the occasion of the writing of the
  epistle?
• What is the historical context of this epistle?
• What is the literary context of this epistle?
• Then, go on the interpretive journey with each
  epistle.

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• Form of NT letters
• Standard form of a contemporary letter

Standard form of a NT letter

1. Greeting and Salutation
2. Icebreaker (often thanksgiving)
3. Body of the letter (largest section focusing on
   the specific situation)
4. Paraenesis/Exhortation
5. Closing/Farewell

1. Date
2. Name Address
3. Greeting
4. Body of the letter
5. Closing signature

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Epistolary form
Part Function
Greeting / Salutation To identify the sender and greet the recipients
Icebreaker / Thanksgiving To form /or strengthen bonds and get the readers attention
Body To state and develop the main points of the epistle
Paraenesis / Exhortation To give final moral directions to the readers
Closing / Farewell To wish well and say goodbye

• .

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Lets Try This Out 1 Corinthians
Part Beginning Ending Point
Greeting / Salutation
Icebreaker / Thanksgiving
Body
Paraenesis / Exhortation
Closing / Farewell
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Lets Try This Again 2 Corinthians
Part Beginning Ending Point
Greeting / Salutation
Icebreaker / Thanksgiving
Body
Paraenesis / Exhortation
Closing / Farewell
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Sniff Out the Occasion

• What specific situation brought about the need to
  write?
• We will not succeed in understanding the epistle
  if we
• Fail to realize the occasional nature of all
  epistles in general
• Fail to look hard for the occasion of the epistle
  we are reading
• Task theology is the product of each epistle

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What was the occasion of

• Philemon?
• Paul has come upon an escaped servant, Onesimus,
  of a believer named Philemon (vs. 10)
• 2 John?
• Many deceivers have gone out into the world (vs.
  7)
• Jude?
• Godless men have secretly slipped in among the
  believers (vs. 4)
• 2 Thessalonians?
• Someone had told them that the day of the Lord
  had already come (21-2)

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Why is knowing the occasion of an epistle so
important?

• Clues to authorial intent
• Experiential immediacy
• Demonstrates the pragmatic value of Christian
  faith
• Limits the interpretation options

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Historical context

• Reconstruct the setting
• External resources may be very helpful for this
• A commentary devoted to the one epistle you are
  reading
• Bible atlas/historical geography atlas

Literary context

• READ THINK paragraphs
• Note where one paragraph ends and the next begins
  
• What (if anything) links the two?
• Ask, Whats the point of this paragraph?
• Ask, Why did the writer use this word (or
  phrase) and not a similar word?

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• How to interpret a NT letter
• Step 1 Grasp the text in their town
• Read the letter from beginning to end, the way
  letters are meant to be read. This will give you
  a sense of the big picture.
• Reconstruct the historical-cultural context of
  the biblical writer and his audience.
• Identify the literary context of your particular
  passage.
• Determine the meaning of the text for the
  biblical audience (observe, observe, observe!)

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• Step 2 Measure the width of the river
• For NT letters the river is usually not very
  wide, but there are exceptions.
• Step 3 Cross the principlizing bridge
• Look for the broader theological message
  reflected in the text. To find theological
  principles in letters ask yourself the following
  questions
• Does the author state a principle?
• Do you see a principle in the surrounding
  context?
• Do you see a reason behind a particular command
  or instruction?

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• Does your theological principle satisfy the
  following criteria
• It should be reflected in the biblical text
• It should be timeless and not tied to a specific
  situation
• It should not be culturally bound
• It should be consistent with the teaching of the
  rest of Scripture
• It should be both relevant to both the biblical
  audience and the contemporary audience
• Step 4 Grasp the text in our town

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Dealing with problem passages

• What do you know for certain?
• What meanings are possible but not certain?
• What difference does each of the possible
  meanings make to the main points of the epistle?
  
• Can I afford to suspend judgment about this
  passage?
• The things you can be certain about in an epistle
  will often lead to logical answers to the problem
  passages.
• Remember the occasion of the epistle.

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Literary genres within the NT epistles

• Proverbs
• 1 Cor. 1533
• Formulas
• Jas. 113-15, 41
• Creeds Hymns
• Phil. 26-11, 1 Ti. 316, Col. 115-20

• Vice lists
• Gal. 519-21, Rom. 129-31
• Virtue lists
• Gal. 522-23, 2 Peter 15-7
• Imperative clusters
• 1 Thes. 516-22, Col. 318-46

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Literary devices within the NT epistles

• Metaphor
• 1 Corinthians 1553
• Simile
• 1 Corinthians 926
• Rhetorical questions
• Romans 1015
• Paradox
• 1 Corinthians 1542-44
• Question-and-exclamation
• 1 Corinthians 1535-36

• Apostrophe
• 1 Corinthians 1554-55
• Repetition
• 1 Corinthians 1543-44
• Balance
• 1 Corinthians 159-11
• Antithesis
• 1 Corinthians 1521-22
• Parallelism
• 1 Corinthians 1553

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2 Basic Rules Of Hermeneutics

1. A texts application cannot contradict what it
   meant to its author or to his original audience
2. Whenever we share comparable specifics with the
   NT setting, Gods word to us has the same
   application as Gods word to them

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The Problem of Extended Application

• A texts meaning may not always be applied to a
  context which is not specified by that text
• Corroboration is needed

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The Problem of Particulars that are not Comparable

• Determine how the answers to 1st Century issues
  apply to contemporary issues
• find the principle
• compare morally relevant particulars
• resist the urge to over-apply

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The Problem of Cultural Relativity

• Gods eternal Word has been given to us in
  historical particularity
• Distinguish between the core and the periphery
• Distinguish between what is inherently moral and
  what is not inherently moral
• Distinguish between issues where the NT has a
  uniform, consistent position, and issues where
  the NT reflects differing positions

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The Problem of Cultural Relativity (continued)

• Gods eternal Word has been given to us in
  historical particularity
• Distinguish between principle and specific
  application
• Consider the options available to the NT writer
  in his culture
• Be alerted to possible differences between 1st
  and 21st century cultures
• Practice Christian charity in resolving disputes

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The Problem of Task Theology

• Epistles give theology as a response to a task
  being worked on
• Our understanding of the full occasion is
  limited, so dont presume more than is probable
• Your question may not be the one being answered
  by the epistle
• Dont proof-text!

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• In Conclusion,
• the New Testament epistles
• Provide a window into the struggles and victories
  of the early church
• Serve as authoritative substitutes for church
  leaders who could not always minister in person
• Are written to address specific situations and
  meet the practical needs of believers
• Are meant to be read from beginning to end, the
  same way you would read a personal letter today
• Use the Interpretive Journey to help you hear God
  speak to you through NT letters.

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NT Gospels

• Introduction
• Gospel g good news
• Four Gospels g four different versions of the
  
  one story of Jesus

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• Gospels in the NT

• Two main concerns
• What are the Gospels? (literary genre)
• How should we read the Gospels?

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• What are the Gospels?
• Stories
• Stories of Jesus drawn from the personal
  experience of his followers, especially his
  apostles
• But different from modern biographies
• Do not cover the whole life of Jesus
• Often arrange events and sayings topically rather
  than chronologically
• Give a lot of attention to the last week of
  Jesus life
• Do not include a detailed psychological analysis
  of Jesus

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• Gospels are ancient biographies rather than
  modern biographies
• Not obsessed with strict chronological sequencing
• Variation in wording
• Variation in order of events
• Christ-centered or Christological biography
• Two purposes of the Gospel writers

1. To tell individual stories of Jesus 2.
Through the individual stories of Jesus, to say
something important to their readers
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• How should we read the Gospels?
• Our method of reading the Gospels must match the
  means God used to inspire them.
• Here we turn the two purposes of the Gospel
  writers into two interpretive questions

• What is the main message of this particular
  story?
• 2. What is the Gospel writer trying to say to
  his readers by the way he connects the smaller
  stories?

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Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3
What is this episode telling us about Jesus? What is this episode telling us about Jesus? What is this episode telling us about Jesus?
Episodes 1, 2, and 3 Episodes 1, 2, and 3 Episodes 1, 2, and 3
What is the Gospel writer trying to communicate to his readers by the way he connects these stories together? What is the Gospel writer trying to communicate to his readers by the way he connects these stories together? What is the Gospel writer trying to communicate to his readers by the way he connects these stories together?
Luke 1025-27 Luke 1038-42 Luke 111-13
Love should transcend all human barriers. Doing good things for God can sometimes cause us to miss God. Jesus teaches us how to communicate with God through prayer.
Luke 1025-37 38-42 111-13 Luke 1025-37 38-42 111-13 Luke 1025-37 38-42 111-13
Common theme of relationships. Followers of Jesus need to relate rightly to their neighbors (service), to their Lord (devotion), and to their Father (prayer). Common theme of relationships. Followers of Jesus need to relate rightly to their neighbors (service), to their Lord (devotion), and to their Father (prayer). Common theme of relationships. Followers of Jesus need to relate rightly to their neighbors (service), to their Lord (devotion), and to their Father (prayer).
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• Question 1 How do we read individual stories?
• Ask the standard story questions
• Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
• Look for interpretive clues from the author
  himself.
• Take note of anything that is repeated in the
  story.
• Pay careful attention to direct discourse.
• Question 2 How do we read a series of stories?

Look for Connections

• Common themes or patterns
• Logical connections (e.g., cause and effect)
• How stories are joined to together (transitions,
  conjunctions)
• Role of key characters

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• Special literary forms in the Gospels?

• a truth is overstated
  for effect
• If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it
  out and throw it away. It is better for you to
  lose one part of your body than for your whole
  body to be thrown into hell.
  Matthew 529

Exaggeration
implicit or
implicit comparison You are the salt of the
earth. Matthew 513 You are like whitewashed
tombs Matthew 2327
Metaphor Simile
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• contrast between what
  is expected and what actually happens
• And I'll say to myself, You have
  plenty of good things laid up for many years.
  Take life easy eat, drink and be merry. But
  God said to him, You fool! This very night your
  life will be demanded from you.
  Luke 1219-20

Narrative Irony
questions
designed to make a point rather than retrieve
an answer Who of you by worrying can add a
single hour to his life? Matthew 627
Rhetorical Questions
40

• two or more lines of
  text that are intended to be read together
• Synonymous lines say basically the same thing
• Contrastive second line contrasts with the
  first line
• Developmental second line advances thought of
  first
• What kind of parallelism is the verse below?
• Ask and it will be given to you seek and
  you will find knock and the door will be
  opened to you. Matthew 77

Parallelism
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• a story with two
  levels of meaning, where certain details in the
  story stand for other things
• A story where every detail stands for something
  else?
• A story with only one point?
• A story with one main point for each main
  character

Parables
Rebellious son Sinners may confess their sins and turn to God in repentance
Forgiving father God offers forgiveness for undeserving people
Resentful brother Those who claim to be Gods people should not be resentful when God extends his grace to the undeserving.
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• Conclusion
• Gospels g good news of Jesus Christ
• Four versions of the one story of Jesus
• Christological biography
• Two interpretive questions
• What is the main message of each story?
• What is the Gospel writer trying to say to his
  readers (and to us) by the way he connects the
  smaller stories?

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NT Acts

• Introduction
• Four versions of the life and ministry of Jesus,
  one story of the birth and growth of the early
  church
• Title?
• The continuing acts of Jesus by his Spirit
  through the apostles and other early Christian
  leaders
• Acts for short
• Acts presents unique interpretive challenges
• Normative the church in every age should
  imitate the early church
• Descriptive early church valuable and
  inspiring, but not necessarily
  binding on us

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• Acts a sequel to Luke
• Luke produced a single work in two parts
  Luke-Acts.
• Luke intended to link these two books together
• Compare Luke 11-4 with Acts 11-2
• Thematic and structural parallels between the two
  books
• Definite overlap between the ending of Luke and
  the beginning of Acts
• What Jesus began to do during his earthly
  ministry he now continues to do through his
  Spirit-empowered followers.

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• What kind of book is Acts?
• Acts is a story that focuses on key church
  leaders.
• Acts is theological history.
• As a historian Luke composes a reliable record of
  what happened in the move of the gospel from
  Jerusalem to Rome.
• As a theologian, Luke tells the story for the
  purpose of advancing the Christian faith.
• Both historian and theologian?

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• Luke shapes his story for theological purposes.
  How do we find theology in a story?
• Ask the standard story questions
• Pay attention to clues and instructions from the
  author
• Look carefully at direct discourse
• Single most helpful guideline g look for
  repeated themes and patterns.

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• Why did Luke write Acts?
• Many have undertaken to draw up an account of
  the things that have been fulfilled among us,
  just as they were handed down to us by those who
  from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of
  the word. Therefore, since I myself have
  carefully investigated everything from the
  beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an
  orderly account for you, most excellent
  Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of
  the things you have been taught.
  Luke 11-4
• Acts as a comprehensive discipleship manual?

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• Luke shows believers that what God promised in
  the OT and fulfilled in Jesus, he now continues
  to work out through his church.

• Lukes purposes/themes
• Holy Spirit
• Gods sovereignty
• Church
• Prayer
• Suffering
• Gentiles
• Witness

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• How is Acts organized?
• Acts 18 holds the key to understanding how
  Luke organizes his story of the triumphant
  expansion of the gospel from Jerusalem (heart of
  Israel) to Rome (heart of the empire).

Acts 1-6 in Jerusalem Peter
Acts 7-12 in Judea and Samaria Peter
Acts 13-28 to the ends of the earth Paul
In the very last verse of Acts, we find Paul in
a Roman prison, but the gospel of Jesus Christ
marches on without hindrance (last word in
the Greek text).
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• Grasping the message of Acts
• We read Acts in the much the same way that we
  read the Gospels
• One major interpretive challenge

Normative Descriptive
Acts is normative so that the church in every age should imitate the experiences and practices of the early church. Acts is merely descriptive of what was valuable and inspiring in the early church, but not necessarily binding on us today.
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• We suggest that we interpret Acts as both
  normative and descriptive. Difficulty is knowing
  what is normative and what is merely descriptive.
• Guidelines for discerning what is normative.
• Look for what Luke intended to communicate.
• Look for positive and negative examples in the
  characters of the story.
• Read individual episodes in light of the overall
  story.
• Look to other parts of Acts for clarification.
• Look for repeated patterns and themes.

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NT Revelation

• Introduction
• Your initial response to reading Revelation?
• revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev. 11)
• revelation unveiling or open display
• of Jesus Christ both about Jesus and from
  Jesus
• In this final chapter of the Bible, God pulls
  back the curtain to give his people a glimpse of
  his plans for human historyplans that center
  around Jesus.

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• Historical context
• Persecution of Christians is becoming more
  intense and widespread.
• 19 23, 9-10, 13 38 69
• Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81-96)

or
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• But some Christians are turning away from Christ
  and compromising with the world system.
• Revelation has a double-edged message

Comfort for those suffering persecution
Warning for the complacent and compromising
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• Literary genre?
• A letter
• Opens and closes like a NT letter (14-5 2221)
• Whole book is a letter, not just chapters 2-3
• Like other NT letters, Revelation is situational
• The central theme may be overcoming

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• A prophetic letter (13 226-7, 10, 18-19)

• Includes both prediction and proclamation with an
  emphasis on proclamation.
• Revelation is not just about the future it is
  about what God wants in the here and now.
• An unsealed or open book (2210)

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• A prophetic-apocalyptic letter

• Apocalyptic
• Literature in which God promises to intervene in
  human history to overthrow evil and establish his
  kingdom
• Intensified form of Hebrew prophecy written
  during time of crisis
• Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah in the OT
• Abundance of strange and bizarre images (picture
  language)

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• What is the purpose of Revelation?
• Readers enter the symbolic world created by the
  images of Revelation to get heavenly perspective
  on their own world.

• Revelation uses prophetic counter-images to
  answer the question Who is Lord?
• Main message God will win!

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• Interpreting Revelation
• Traditional approaches
• Preterist
• Historicist
• Futurist
• Idealist

combines strengths of each
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• Guidelines for reading Revelation
• Read Revelation with humility.
• Try to discover the message to the original
  readers.
• Dont try to detect a strict chronological map of
  future events.
• Take Revelation seriously, but dont always take
  it literally.
• Pay attention when John identifies an image.
• Look to the OT and historical-cultural context
  when interpreting images and symbols.
• Above all, focus on the main idea and dont press
  all the details.

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• How does Revelation unfold?
• Introduction (11-322)
• Vision of God and the Lamb (41-514)
• Opening of the Seven Seals (61-81)
• Sounding of the Seven Trumpets (82-1119)
• People of God vs. Powers of Evil (121-1420)
• Pouring out of the Seven Bowls (151-1621)
• Judgment of Babylon (171-195)
• Gods Ultimate Victory (196-225)
• Conclusion (226-21)

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• Conclusion
• A prophetic-apocalyptic letter
• Using powerful picture language
• To comfort the suffering and warn the
  comfortable.
• Revelation answers the question Who is Lord?
• Revelation gives us the heavenly perspective we
  need to overcome.
• God will win!