Wright in his book “Knowing Jesus through the Old Testaments” introduces the Jesus Christ from the two sides of his personality, representing him both as a human being and as a Jew. Wright has chosen to analyze the Old Testament for out of his own conviction it should help the reader to better understand the Jesus through the understanding of the Old Testament. The case is the possible information known to the Christians about the life of Jesus might differ from the knowledge that can be obtained through the careful reading and analysis of the Old Testament, which Wright has experienced personally (Wright 8). Wright seeks to provide the historical context to the reader, which is conducted through the review of the Gospels from the Old Testament
with a particular focus on Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew’s Gospel provides the insight into the issue of genealogy tracing the historical connections between Abraham and David and between the dynasty of David in the exile and the Jesus Christ. Matthew starts his Gospel with the Covenant with Abraham and traces the fulfillment of the promises of God. The history described by Matthew might be considered the response of the Lord to the society that was ruled not by justice and grace but by violence and corruption as might be concluded from Genesis 1-11. Due to the belief in the power of the threats and promises of the Lord, the Jewish people were given a chance to survive the horrors of their exile. Having become increasingly devoted to the sacred Law, the Israelites were given the hope for the coming of their Messiah. Wright, therefore, considers Jesus birth to be the response of the God to the promises given not only to the chosen Jewish nation, but to the humanity in general. Wright provides a deep insight into the genealogy commenting on the lineage of Christ. The commentary also touches the issues of covenant and inheritance serving the purpose of helping the reader understand the historical context of Jesus life, describing the period and the climate before the First Advent, the world, in which Jesus would be born. The first chapters of the book devote much space to the explanation of the events preceding the exile and the restoration of the royal dynasty of David (Wright 12-20). Wright supposes that the Old Testament embodies the promise and describes God as the merciful purpose filled with the desire of diving salvation to the humanity. The promise is graceful and universal that sheds the blessing of the Lord on the entire humanity. The promise, therefore, goes beyond the external factors. Interpreting the Gospel of Matthew Wright proclaim Jesus to be connected with the line of Abraham, considering Jesus his “singular seed.” Wright is convinced and seeks to demonstrate it through his book that neither Jesus can be fully understood without the understanding of the Old Testament, nor can the Old Testament understood without the connection with Jesus. Thus, in the third chapter, he supposes that the Old Testament namely the analogies and figures that appeared there contributed to the formation of Jesus identity and the vision on him as on the Son of God.
N.T. Wright: During my first semester at Northwestern College, I was assigned the book, “The Challenge of Jesus” by N.T. Wright for one of my Biblical Studies courses. This book and every other book Tom Wright has written has dramatically impacted my Christian faith. Dr. Wright has not only defended the basic tenants of the Christian faith, but also has shown how an academically-minded pastor ought to love and care for his or her congregants. N.T. Wright was previously the Bishop of Durham and pastored some of the poorest in the United Kingdom. His pastoral ministry has helped shape his understanding of God’s kingdom-vision which he is diagramming within his magnum opus “Christian Origins and the Question of God”. This series has instructed myself and countless other pastors to be for God’s kingdom as we eagerly await Christ’s return. Additionally, I have had the privilege of meeting with N.T. Wright one-on-one on numerous occasions to discuss faith, the Church, and his research. I firmly believe Tom Wright is the greatest New Testament scholar of our generation and he is the primary reason why I feel called into ministry.
Carson, D. A. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
The life of Jesus is one that is often discussed and debated among scholars and authors since the time Jesus walked this earth. Gerd Theissen’ s work, Shadow of the Galilean, takes the unique perspective of a grain merchant who has been enlisted by Pilate to find out information on various religious sects and report back to him. After Andreas, the grain merchant’s, first report he is given the task of finding out more about this Jesus who is gaining quite a following. Pilate and the Romans want to know if he is a threat to them. This book follows Andreas as he goes on a journey to find out more about Jesus from various sources for his report to the Romans.
This paper is written to discuss the many different ideas that have been discussed over the first half of Theology 104. This class went over many topics which gave me a much better understanding of Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible. I will be addressing two topics of which I feel are very important to Christianity. First, I will be focusing on the question did Jesus claim to be God? This is one of the biggest challenges of the Bibles that come up quite often. Secondly, I will focus on character development.
...yne A. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Edition . New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. 1645-1722. Print.
Morgan, G. Campbell. Studies in the Four Gospels. 3rd ed. Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1931.
N.T Wright (2008) stated that “When we read the scriptures as Christians, we read it precisely as people of the new covenant and of the new creation” (p.281). In this statement, the author reveals a paradigm of scriptural interpretation that exists for him as a Christian, theologian, and profession and Bishop. When one surveys the entirety of modern Christendom, one finds a variety of methods and perspectives on biblical interpretation, and indeed on the how one defines the meaning in the parables of Jesus. Capon (2002) and Snodgrass (2008) offer differing perspectives on how one should approach the scriptures and how the true sense of meaning should be extracted. This paper will serve as a brief examination of the methodologies presented by these two authors. Let us begin, with an
Stanton, Graham. Gospel Truth?: New Light on Jesus and the Gospels. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1995. Paperback.
The above will necessarily govern a contemporary reading of this gospel but it will also indicate in what way we can be pulled into the "war of myths" of which Myers speaks. The purpose of the gospel as a result of this and other readings is then discussed not so much to set this purpose in concrete but to indicate that each gospel is a living breathing thing that each reader puts their own life into and thereby draws on the life of Jesus.
The book consists of three parts. The first part has five chapters of which focuses on explaining what the key questions are and why we find them difficult to answer. The second part has nine chapters explaining in detail what N.T. Wright considers Jesus’ public career and the approach he had in first century Palestine. The third part of the book, the last chapter, challenges readers to wrestle with the questions of Jesus’ life and ministry.
Lane, William. The Gospel According to Mark: The English Text With Introduction, Exposition, and Notes (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974.
O’Day, Gail R. (1995). “The Gospel of John.” 491-865. In The New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes. Vol. 9. Nashville: Abingdon Press.
Carson, D, & Moo, D. (2005) An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Answering these questions is the purpose of this essay. I begin by arguing that the Bible cannot be adequately understood independent of its historical context. I concede later that historical context alone however is insufficient, for the Bible is a living-breathing document as relevant to us today as it was the day it was scribed. I conclude we need both testimonies of God at work to fully appreciate how the Bible speaks to us.
There is not one universal Bible, just as there is not one universal Christian church. There is actually a separate canon for each major division of the church such as, Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox, however each has the same New Testament of 27 books. The New Testament canon is the compilation of four books called gospels, one book that is the foundation of the early church, twenty-one letters, and one book of prophecy. This paper focuses on some of the contributing factors to creating this compilation. These twenty seven books were not the only testimonies written in the first century about the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, however their importance anchored their inclusion into the New Testament canon.