(In-Ministry Intensive, Fall 2008, James Brooks, Professor Emeritus of New Testament

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NT501 Gospels

(In-Ministry intensive, Fall 2008, James Brooks, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Instructor)

Course Description

An introduction to and interpretation of the NIV text of the four Gospels and a survey of the life of Jesus based upon the four Gospels. The introduction will include a consideration of the literary genre, source criticism (the Synoptic Problem), form criticism, and redaction criticism.

Learning Objectives

· An understanding of what is involved in the historical-critical study of the Gospels.

· A knowledge of the content of the Gospels.

· The ability to interpret the English text of the Gospels with the assistance of commentaries and Bible dictionaries.

· The ability to apply the teaching of the Gospels to contemporary needs of individuals, churches, and society in general.

· A knowledge of what can be reconstructed of the life of Jesus.

· An ability to integrate the above items with other areas of study in the Seminary curriculum, your personal Christian devotion, and your ministry, community relationships, etc..

Textbooks

James A. Brooks, "Student's Introduction to the New Testament" and "Student's Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospels"

Atlas of the Bible Lands, new ed.

Robert H. Stein, Jesus the Messiah (Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996)

Course Requirements

1. Read the assigned portions (see below) of the "Student's Introduction" and the "Student's Commentary" before the first day of class on Oct. 27. Underline. Make notes in the margin. Section-by-section make a list of questions you want to ask and of subjects you want to discuss.

2. By doing the above be prepared to participate actively in class discussion. Every student is expected to contribute to the discussion! One half of your grade will depend upon your participation and contribution (see below).

3. Between the end of class and the end of term, read Stein's book and write a 1000-1500 word review of the book. Give full bibliographical information in the heading of the paper. Describe the book's content so that a person who has not read it will know what to expect. Evaluate the book, especially how it deals with problems in the life of Jesus. Indicate what you think are its strengths and weaknesses. Indicate some things you learned that you did not know before.

4. Between the end of class and the end of term, write a 1500-2500 word exegesis paper on a passage of your choosing from one of the Gospels. The passage should be between five and fifteen verses in length. At least three substantive commentaries should be used, and they must be listed with full bibliographical information in a bibliography. The term 'substantive' refers to serious, scholarly, critical, exegetical, or expositional commentaries as opposed to devotional, homiletical, popular, or brief commentaries—which, however, may be used in addition to the three required ones. If in doubt communicate with the instructor, but those listed on pp. 18, 24-25, 33, and 42 of the "Student's Introduction" are approved. A contemporary translation such as the NRSV, NASB, NIV, TNIV, ESV, or HCSB should be used as the basis of exegesis, and you should state in the commentary the version you use. The exegesis should do what any good commentary does: relate the passage to its context, show how it contributes to the argument or purpose of the book, explain difficulties, set forth alternative translations and interpretations and defend one, study important words, summarize the teaching of the passage, and possibly make a practical application. Go much deeper into the passage than will be possible in the brief survey in class. Show that one of the things you have learned from this course is to do exegesis on your own.

The paper should be in good quality, formal English and to the extent practical in a standard thesis form (e.g. Turabian, Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations or the instructor's "Guide for the Writing of Term Papers" (free upon request). Documentation may employ footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical references.

The instructor will attempt to grade the paper in the following manner:

English usage: 4%

Thesis form: 2%

Typing, neatness, and proofreading: 2%

Selection and use of sources: 2%

Content (the quality of the exegesis) 90%

If you do not already own or have access to three substantive commentaries on the Gospel containing your passage, collect the necessary commentary material while you are on campus. You may legally xerox one copy of small portions of books for personal use only. Be sure to get full bibliographical information for each commentary (e.g. also xerox the title and copyright pages).

5. Between the end of class and the end of term, write a 750-1500 word paper for inclusion in your Integrative Portfolio. Explore the connections between your exegesis paper (above) and one or more of the following areas.

a. Another area of the Seminary curriculum.

b. Your personal Christian devotion (spiritual formation).

c. Some aspect of your ministry (leadership, evangelism, Christian nurture, pastoral counseling, etc.).

d. Community relationships.

Dispatch hard copies of the book review, the exegesis paper, and the Integrative Portfolio paper to the instructor no later than Friday, December 5 (the last day of term), by ordinary U.S. mail. Please use his home address, i.e. 311 Sunflower Ct., Vadnais Hgts. MN 55127. (Please send hard copies and not electronic copies. The instructor does not like to read long documents on a computer screen. Furthermore he uses a Mac computer and may not be able to open and read your PC documents. Even if he can read them, the formatting will likely be disturbed.)

Grading

Class discussion 40%

Review of Stein's book 25%

Exegesis paper 25%

Integrative Portfolio paper 10%

Schedule

Pre-class (Sept. 25 to Oct. 20): read the "Student's "lntroduction" and "Student's Commentary" as indicated above and below.

Oct. 20-24: No assignment—your other intensive.

In-class (Oct. 27 to 31) as follows:

Mon. AM Introduction to the Gospels: literary genre, synoptic problem, form criticism, redaction criticism. Introduction to Mark. "Student's Introduction" (SI) 1-18.

Mon. PM Survey of Mark 1:1—8:26. "Student's Commentary" (SC) 61-79.

Tue. AM Survey of Mark 8:27—16:8. SC 79-102.

Tue. PM Introduction to Matthew. SI 19-25. Survey of selected passages in Matthew mostly not paralleled in Mark as follows: 1:1—2:23; 5:1—7:29; 10:1—11:30. SC 1-4; 8-16; 20-24.

Wed. AM Survey of selected passages in Matthew mostly not paralleled in Mark as follows: 13:1-53; 16:18-19; 18:1—19:2; 23:1—26:2; 27:16-17; 28:1-20. SC 26-30; 34-35; 37-39; 46-52; 57; 59-60.

Wed. PM Introduction to Luke. SI 27-33 (omit the material that pertains only to Acts). Survey of selected passages in Luke mostly not paralleled in Mark or Matthew as follows: 1:1—2:52; 3:23-38; 4:14-30; 9:51—13:35. SC 103-109; 110-112; 125-133.

Thur. AM Survey of selected passages in Luke mostly not paralleled in Mark or Matthew as follows: 14:1—19:28; 22:14-20, 43-44; 23:6-12, 34a; 24:13-53. SC 133-142; 148; 150; 152-153; 155-157.

Thur. PM Introduction to John. SI 35-42. Survey of John 1-5. SC 159-170.

Fri. AM Survey of John 6-14. SC 170-185.

Fri. PM Survey of John 15-21. SC 186-199.

Post-class (Nov. 1 to Dec. 5). Read Stein's book and write a review of it. Write the exegesis paper.

Contacting the Instructor. As a semi-retired faculty member, the instructor does not have an office or a telephone as such on campus (he does have a carrel in the library [F-114] and a voice mailbox [651-638-6195, which he tries to monitor once a day]). His home address is given above. His home phone is 651-486-6505, and you may call him at home anytime between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. central time zone (he teaches this term between 5:30 and 7:00 on Monday and Thursday evenings). His e-mail addresses are and . His campus mailbox is 7054.