A Biblical Vision, Part II: Mastering the New Testament Witness to Christ

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A B i b l i ca l Vi s i on, Par t I I : Mas ter i ng the New Tes tament Wi tnes s to Chr i s t

b. Notice the dynamism of the documents.

(1) The context of Jesus’ words and deeds during his time

(2) The apostolic interpretation of the meaning of these events in terms of God’s salvific purpose

(3) The sitz im leben of the churches who received the Gospels

(4) The purpose of the individual authors in writing their specific accounts

C. Implications in studying the Gospels for their witness to Jesus Christ

Toward a Valid Gospels Hermeneutic Careful attention to the facts will allow us to understand the meaning of the events so we in turn can discover the truths of those happenings and apply them to our lives and situations .

1. The Gospels should be understood as the individual tellings of the one and unequaled story of the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth.

2. As such, we must be careful to relate to the New Testament not merely as books of knowledge, but fuel for devotion, discipleship, worship, and mission.

3. The individual Gospels have a unique relationship to one another.

a. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the “Synoptic” Gospels/tradition = “seen together.” They are so named because they contain different versions of the same incident and thus can be set up in parallel fashion for the sake of study and comparison.

b. Outline, content, and wording are similar but not precisely the same.