Exploring the New Testament: A Guide to the Gospels & Acts

by Wenham, David; Walton, Steve

• ISBN13: 9780830825554
• ISBN10: 083082555X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-07-01
• Publisher: Intervarsity Pr

Table of Contents

How to use this book	vii
A. SETTING THE SCENE
The historical context of Jesus and the New Testament	3	(22)
From the Persian period to the Jewish war	3	(1)
Sources of information	3	(3)
Old and New Testaments	3	(1)
Jewish sources	3	(2)
Greek and Roman historians	5	(1)
Before the Romans	6	(7)
The Greeks	7	(1)
The Maccabees versus the Seleucid empire	7	(3)
The Hasmonean dynasty	10	(3)
The Romans	13	(8)
The Herod family	13	(5)
Pontius Pilate	18	(1)
After Pilate	19	(2)
Jesus' context	21	(2)
Essay topics	23	(1)
Further reading	23	(2)
Judaism in first-century Palestine	25	(22)
Five key marks of second temple Judaism	25	(12)
One true God	25	(3)
God has chosen Israel	28	(1)
God has provided a way to live	29	(5)
God has given the people a land, focused in the temple	34	(2)
Hope for the future	36	(1)
Parties and groups within first-century Judaism	37	(7)
Pharisees	39	(1)
Sadducees	40	(2)
Essenes	42	(1)
The `fourth philosophy': the revolutionaries	42	(1)
Common Judaism	43	(1)
Further reading	44	(3)
B. APPROACHING THE GOSPELS
What are the Gospels?	47	(10)
What does `gospel' mean?	48	(1)
The Gospels as like other ancient literature	49	(2)
The Gospels as unlike other ancient literature	51	(1)
Truth in both views?	52	(1)
Why were the Gospels written	52	(2)
Why these Gospels?	54	(1)
Some issues for today	55	(1)
Essay topics	55	(1)
Further reading	55	(2)
Where did the Gospels come from?	57	(24)
Luke 1:1-4	57	(1)
Using a Gospels synopsis	58	(1)
Source criticism	58	(12)
Form criticism	70	(4)
Redaction criticism	74	(5)
And now?	79	(1)
Essay topics	80	(1)
Further reading	80	(1)
Understanding the Gospels today	81	(46)
Tools for interpreting the Gospels	81	(13)
Narrative criticism	84	(4)
Social-scientific approaches	88	(1)
Rhetorical criticism	89	(1)
Reader-response approaches	90	(1)
`Ideological' approaches	91	(1)
Structuralism	92	(1)
Post-structuralism and deconstruction	93	(1)
An approach to exegesis of the Gospels	94	(5)
The process of study	94	(3)
Pull the ideas together	97	(1)
Presentation	98	(1)
Essay topics	99	(1)
Further reading	99	(1)
Methods of interpretation: parables, miracles, apocalyptic	100	(10)
The parables of Jesus	100	(4)
The miracles of Jesus	104	(4)
Apocalyptic imagery	108	(2)
Essay topics	110	(1)
Further reading	111	(1)
The historicity of the Gospels	111	(9)
A subjective issue	111	(2)
What sort of documents?	113	(1)
What sources of information did they have?	113	(1)
Doubts about the historicity of the contents	114	(2)
Arguments for historicity from the contents	116	(4)
Essay topics	120	(1)
Further reading	120	(1)
Using the Gospels today	120	(7)
What are we to make of four different Gospels?	120	(2)
What about teaching and using the Gospels today?	122	(1)
An example: how to `preach' Jesus and the Gospels	122	(5)
C. UNDERSTANDING JESUS
The quest for the historical Jesus	127	(16)
Individuals and movements	127	(6)
Rationalism and Hermann Samuel Reimarus	127	(1)
H. G. Paulus and miracles	128	(1)
David Strauss and myth	128	(1)
The liberal lives of Jesus	129	(1)
A. Schweitzer and the eschatological Jesus	129	(1)
Rudolf Bultmann, myth and existentialism	130	(1)
The new quest	131	(1)
The Jesus Seminar	131	(1)
The third quest	132	(1)
Other modern views of Jesus	132	(1)
Issues	133	(7)
Presuppositions and subjectivity	133	(1)
Miracles	133	(1)
Sources	134	(1)
The religious context	134	(1)
Criteria and method	135	(5)
History matters	140	(1)
Essay topics	140	(1)
Further reading	140	(3)
The life of Jesus in the light of history	143	(12)
Birth and beginnings	143	(2)
John the Baptist	145	(2)
Galilee	147	(2)
The road to Jerusalem	149	(1)
Last days in Jerusalem	150	(3)
Essay topics	153	(1)
Further reading	153	(2)
The teaching and aims of Jesus	155	(36)
Why did Jesus die?	155	(5)
Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem	156	(1)
Jesus' demonstration in the temple	156	(2)
The final steps	158	(1)
Jesus' perspective	158	(2)
Jesus and the kingdom of God	160	(1)
God's reign in the OT and Judaism	160	(1)
Jesus and the kingdom	161	(1)
God's reign in Jesus' ministry	161	(2)
God's coming reign	163	(3)
The character of the kingdom	166	(3)
Welcome for `sinners'	166	(2)
The kingdom of the Father	168	(1)
The response required	168	(1)
Jesus' ethics and his view of the torah	169	(5)
Jesus' teaching about the torah	169	(2)
Jesus' criticism of the torah	171	(1)
Was Jesus consistent?	172	(2)
Who did Jesus think he was?	174	(11)
Jesus as Israel	174	(2)
Jesus, his disciples and the renewed Israel	176	(1)
Jesus' reshaping of Israel	177	(1)
The aims of Jesus	178	(1)
Jesus as Messiah	179	(2)
Jesus as the Son of God	181	(2)
Jesus as the Son of Man	183	(1)
Summing up: Jesus and the purposes of Yahweh	184	(1)
Some issues for today	185	(1)
Essay topics	186	(1)
Further reading	186	(5)
D. GETTING INTO THE FOUR GOSPELS
Mark	191	(18)
Structure	191	(1)
A walk through Mark	191	(11)
Some key themes	202	(2)
Christology	202	(1)
Discipleship	203	(1)
Background and purpose	204	(1)
Authorship and date	205	(1)
Some issues for today	206	(1)
Essay topics	206	(1)
Further reading	207	(2)
Matthew	209	(18)
A look into the Gospel	209	(2)
How the Gospel is structured	211	(2)
Style	213	(1)
Theological themes	214	(6)
Jesus fulfils the OT story	214	(1)
Jesus fulfils the law and brings the higher righteousness	215	(1)
Practical obedience and judgement	216	(1)
Jesus brings good news to the world: Jesus, Gentiles and the church	217	(2)
The church	219	(1)
Kingdom and Christology	219	(1)
Sources of Matthew's Gospel	220	(2)
The two source theory	220	(2)
Background and purpose	222	(1)
Authorship and date	223	(1)
Some issues for today	224	(1)
Essay topics	225	(1)
Further reading	225	(2)
Luke	227	(16)
Luke-Acts: a two-volume work	227	(1)
Structure	227	(1)
Journeying with Jesus in Luke's Gospel	228	(7)
Some key themes	235	(3)
Salvation	235	(1)
Salvation for all	236	(1)
The Holy Spirit	237	(1)
Prayer and praise	237	(1)
Luke's sources	238	(1)
Luke's readers, purpose and authorship	239	(1)
Some issues for today	239	(1)
Essay topics	240	(1)
Further reading	240	(3)
John	243	(24)
A walk through the Gospel	243	(1)
Style	244	(1)
Theological themes	245	(10)
Jesus as Jewish Messiah	245	(1)
Jesus as divine Son	246	(1)
Reasons for believing: signs and witnesses	247	(1)
Is Jesus human in John?	248	(1)
The death of Jesus: how does it work?	249	(2)
Eternal life	251	(2)
The Holy Spirit	253	(1)
Future hope?	254	(1)
Believing	254	(1)
The sources of the Gospel	255	(2)
Dislocations in the text	255	(1)
A signs source	256	(1)
Theological variation	256	(1)
The synoptic Gospels	256	(1)
The background and purpose of John's Gospel	257	(5)
Possible explanations of the differences	257	(5)
Authorship and date of the Gospel	262	(1)
In favour of the traditional identification	262	(1)
Against the traditional identification	262	(1)
Some issues for today	263	(1)
Essay topics	264	(1)
Further reading	264	(3)
E. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
Acts	267	(34)
Acts as Luke's volume two	267	(1)
What kind of book is Acts?	268	(2)
Style and presentation	270	(1)
Parallelism	270	(1)
Prophecy and fulfilment	270	(1)
Structure	271	(1)
A reading of Acts	271	(14)
Setting the scene	271	(1)
Mission in Jerusalem	272	(1)
Three big men	273	(1)
The gospel spreads in Syria-Palestine	274	(1)
Paul begins to travel; The Jerusalem meeting	275	(1)
Paul's second and third journeys	276	(5)
To Jerusalem and then Rome	281	(4)
Acts and history	285	(5)
Titles and geography	285	(1)
Time and dates	285	(1)
A chronological outline of Acts	286	(1)
Acts and Galatians	287	(1)
Speeches	288	(2)
Acts and theology: some major themes	290	(4)
God	290	(1)
Jesus	291	(1)
The Holy Spirit	292	(1)
Mission and the church	293	(1)
Luke's readers and purpose	294	(1)
Readers	294	(1)
Why did Luke write?	295	(1)
Authorship and date	295	(2)
Who is Luke?	295	(2)
When did Luke write?	297	(1)
Reading Acts today	297	(1)
Some issues for today	298	(1)
Essay topics	299	(1)
Further reading	299	(2)
Glossary	301