Faith and Knowledge

◩ NATURE OF THE Gospels

- The Gospels are stories about Jesus and sayings of Jesus

- Two difficulties about the Gospels
-- no direct writing by Jesus himself; come through others
-- There are four gospels that differ in perspective

- We do not have the very words of Jesus, even in the sections (Sermon on the Mount) where Jesus' sayings are recorded

- Four gospels rather than one, two, or three begs the question, why? Or how?


 
◩ Contexts of the Gospels

- Different Levels of Historical Contexts
-- Historical context of Jesus in general and in particular
-- Historical context of the gospel writers
-- think vertically...

- Literary Context
-- Understanding Pericopes
-- Compare parallels to notice distinctives
-- Think horizontally...
 
◩ Message of Gospels
- Message of the Whole Gospel
-- Why the stories were selected....
-- How the stories were arranged...
-- How the stories were adapted...

- The Kingdom of God in the ministry of Jesus
-- The mission of Jesus
-- eschatological emphasis-already-not yet