SAINT JOSEPH COLLEGE

THEOLOGY DEPARTMENT
Maasin City, Southern Leyte

MODULE 2
(THEO 1b –
New Testament)
1st Semester, AY 2020- 2021

Prepared by:
REV. FR. ALFREDO BRIONES JR. SDV
REV. FR. AR-JAY BAYRON SDV
SIR CARLITO B. BATO
Instructors
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MODULE 2

Topic Outline

Lesson 1: Organizations and Development of the New Testament

- Stages/ Realities of the New Testament.

- Divisions of the books of the New Testament
Lesson 2: The meaning of the word Gospel

Lesson 3: Stages of the Gospel Formation.

Lesson 4: The synoptic Gospels: Authors, Themes, Year written, Audience, Concept of Jesus

Lesson 1: Organizations and Development of the New Testament

I. OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson, you must be able:

 To know how the New Testament was organized and developed.

 To understand that the formation of the New Testament books took on a gradual and
a very long process before they were organized and developed.

II. INTRODUCTION

Engage/Explore

 Activity: The students will be asked about different steps or methods in writing a book.

Explain/Elaborate

A. Stages/Realities of the New Testament

As there were stages in the development of the old Testament, the same is true with the
new Testament. For instance, the Gospel was first historically lived, then preached orally, and
finally written and edited. The opening verses of the Gospel of Luke prove to these stages in the
Gospel formation.
“Many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events which have fulfilled in our
midst, precisely as those events were handed down to us by the original eyewitnesses and
ministers of the word. I too have carefully traced the whole sequence of events from the
beginning, and have to set it in writing for you, Theophilus, so that your Excellency may see how
reliable the instruction was that you received.” ( Lk. 1: 1-4 )

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Thus, during the time of Jesus and the apostles, the Bible was still in the making. Their
Bible then was composed only of our present Old Testament books, but whose list was far from
being complete and definitive.
The formation of the NT canon was also a slow process and the cannon which took shape
was the creation of the Church. As stated by the middle of the 5 th century (7th to some scholars)
the whole Christian Church was more or less in agreement in accepting the 27 NT books as we
have them now. But it was still in the 16th century at the council of Trent (1546 A.D.) that totally
settled all doubts or reservations on the canonicity of all the New Testament books.

B. Divisions of the Books of the New Testament.

I. The four Gospels (The three synoptic and the Gospel of John)

1. MARK (A.D. 60-70) presents Jesus to persecuted Christians as a suffering Messiah; his
followers must be prepared to suffer.

2. MATTHEW (80-90) presents Jesus to a Jewish Christian audience as the fulfillment of the
prophecy about the Messiah in the Old Testament

3. LUKE (80-90) presents Jesus as a universal Messiah, a savior of both Jews and Gentiles
including marginalized groups: the poor, women, Samaritans, sinners and other outcasts.

4 JOHN ( 90-100 ) presents Jesus as the incarnate Word of God form his heavenly existence to
his descent into the world, then to his public ministry that led to his passion, death, resurrection,
and glorious ascent to the Father.

II. The Acts of the Apostles

1. ACTS (80-90) narrates the spread of the Gospel and growth of the early church after Pentecost
through the preaching of Peter, Paul, and other disciples, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

III. Pauline Letters

1. 1 THESSALONIANS (A.D. 50-51) - commends the Thessalonians for their general conduct,
but also exhorts them to build up one another in faith, to work diligently, and to prepare for
Jesus’ second coming.

2. 2THESSALONIANS (51-52 or 80-100) – instruction on Jesus’ second coming since it caused

disturbance and neglect of work; exhortation to work hard, imitating Paul’s own example.

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3. GALATIANS (c. 54-55) – an angry letter wherein Paul defends his right to teach the Gospel;
and he corrects the error of false teachers who taught that Gentiles must become Jew first before
becoming Christians.

4. 1 CORINTHIANS (c. 56) – addresses church problems: community factions and various
ethical issues like sexual immorality and lawsuits. There are two classic chapters: on love (13)
and on resurrection (15)

5. 2 CORINTHIANS (c. 57) – deals principally with three topics: 1) crisis between Paul and
Corinthians and its resolution, 2) Collection for the Church in Jerusalem, 3) Paul’s defense of his
ministry.

6. ROMANS (c. 58) – a theological letter with two main sections: 1) doctrinal part – Greeks
dependence on Knowledge and Jews’ dependence on law would not save ,but faith in Jesus
Christ. 2) Christian living- to live according to the Gospel.

7. PHILIPPIANS (c. A.D. 55) – Paul thanks the Philippians for their gift and calls on them to
rejoice even if difficulties and trials abound. He offers Jesus as the model to follow in his
humility and obedience, accepting even death.

8. PHILEMON ( c. 61-63) – a handwritten letter of Paul instructing Philemon to take back his
newly converted runaway slave, as a fellow believer rather than as a slave.

9. COLOSSIANS (c. 54-56 or 80-90) – the church at Colossae was suffering from heretical
teachings. Paul , starting with a hymn on the primacy of Christ, warns and exhorts about
Christian life and how families should conduct themselves.

10. EPHESSIANS (c. 61-63 or 80-100) – Many scholars think that this is a circular letter sent to
a number of churches in Asia Minor. It presents the Church as the mystery of God’s plan of
salvation, the household of God, the bride of Christ, the body of Christ with Christ as its head. It
stresses unity in diversity and ethical rules for Church conduct.

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11. 1 TIMOTHY (c. 63-65 or 90-110) – Paul gives instruction on organization and
administration to young Timothy who was given charge of the church of Ephesus, also warnings
against false doctrine, and exhortations to guard the true faith.

12. 2 TIMOTHY (c. 63-67 or early 2nd century) – Instructions to protect the faith , to continue
following Paul’s example and teaching, and to emphasize the value of Scriptures for training in
righteousness.

13. TITUS (c. 63-67 or early 2nd century) – instructions to Titus on choosing assistant bishops
for his church at Crete and on holding to sound doctrine. The letter also affirms respect to lawful
authorities and warns against deceptive teachings.

14. HEBREWS (c. 65-90) – The author is unknown. Scholars say that it is more of a sermon or
a theological treatise than a letter. It is known for its persuasive arguments. and powerful
presentation of the high priesthood of Jesus. Jesus is presented as one who offers sacrifice to
God and is himself the sacrifice.

IV. Cristian Letters

1. JAMES (c. 70 or 90-100) – develops the theme of faith in relation to good works and the
need for the rich to care for the poor. It has also practical advice on controlling one’s tongue, on
wisdom, patience, pride and other ethical issues.

2. 1PETER (c.70-90) – encourages Christians in the face of suffering and persecution to be

faithful to their baptismal promises and Christian obligations, by pointing to Jesus as their
example.

3. 2 PETER (c. 100-25) – cautions Christian against the dangers of false teachings and strongly
exhorts them to be faithful in the practice of Christian virtue, while awaiting the second coming
of Jesus Christ.

4. 1 JOHN (c. 100) – combats the heresy that denies Jesus’ humanity which means rejecting
Jesus’ incarnation, death, and resurrection. It stresses that God’s true revelation is found in Jesus
Christ. To know God is to follow Jesus’ example and to love one another.

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5. 2 JOHN (c. 100) – addresses symbolically the Church and its members as “CHOSEN LADY”
and her children. It repeats the theme of love from the first letter and warns them not to be
deceived by Antichrist who teach that Jesus has not come in the flesh.

6. 3 JOHN (c. 100) – A letter of thanks to a certain “Gauis” for accommodating itinerant
missionaries, and an exhortation not to imitate the church leader who refused hospitality to the
missionaries.

7. JUDE (c. 80 or 100-10) – caution Christians of God’s punishments of those who had been
saved but did not keep their faith as witnessed by OT figures. It exhorts Christians to beware of
false teachings and not to waiver in the face of challenges.

V. The book of Revelation

1. REVELATION/ APOCALYPSE (C. 90-96) – Composed as a resistance literature during the

crisis of Christian persecution, this book portrays the ultimate victory of God’s kingdom over
evil. It is filled with symbols and apocalyptic imagery. The message is one hope, consolation,
and challenge for all who believe.

Lesson 2: The MEANING of the WORD GOSPEL

I. OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, you must be able:

 To know the meaning of the word Gospel.

 To integrate into your life the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and consequently become a living
Gospel in your Christian community.

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II. INTRODUCTION

Engage/ Explore

 Activity: Try to recollect some of your experiences wherein you received good news from your
parents or from your relatives. What was your first reaction and what did you do after hearing
them?

Explain/Elaborate

The meaning of the word “Gospel”

.The meaning of the word “GOSPEL” has also undergone a development. First, it means “good news” for
the reason that Jesus Christ himself has announced that God has finally started his task of redemption as
promised through the prophets. Mark 1:15 proves this announcement; It stated that, “This is the time of
fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel”.

In this context we say that there is only one Gospel, that is, the spoken message of Jesus about the
“kingdom of God” or reign of God and its blessings, and the proper response to it, that is ,
REPENTANCE and FAITH.

Originally then the term “gospel” corresponds to a spoken word. In the course of time it acquired another
meaning. It means now the four written accounts of Jesus’ message by the four evangelists. These are the
gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And this is the second meaning of the word
“Gospel”.

Through the four evangelists, the “gospel” takes on an additional meaning. It becomes now the story of
Jesus’ ministry. Before it was Jesus who announced the good news; with their written accounts, the
person of Jesus himself became the good news.

The developmental stages of the written gospels before the circulation of the first written Gospel, i.e. the
gospel according of Mark, were a period of around thirty to forty years. That was between the conclusion
of Jesus’ ministry and the circulation of the first written Gospel.

In summary, the first meaning of the word “gospel” is “good news”, an announcement that the reign of
God is at hand and the suitable response to it is repentance and faith. As the time went by, it acquired
another meaning. Now it became the four written accounts of Jesus’ ministry by the four evangelists:
Mark, Matthew, Luke and John.

Lesson 3: STAGES of GOSPEL FORMATION

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[Link]:

At the end of the lesson you must be able to:

 To understand how the gospel was formulated.

 To appreciate and to praise the sacred authors who , through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
collected, edited and compiled the genuine words and works of our lord Jesus Christ.

II. INTRODUCTION

Engage/Explore

 Activity: If you are a carpenter what the different stages are or methods that you need to
undertake in order to finish your work as planned, may it be making furniture or building a
house?

Explain/Elaborate

First Stage – Jesus of Nazareth ( c. 7 BC – A.D. 30 )

This is the first stage of Gospel formation. It consists of the actual life of Jesus Christ himself and
his teaching. Jesus was not a fictitious legendary creation, but rather he was a real person like us who
have birthdays and birthplaces. Like us he also experienced different human conditions like fatigue,
hunger, anger, loneliness and disappointments. There are non-biblical sources of information, though
limited, show that Jesus of Nazareth did really exist. One example is the writing of the reputable non-
Christian Roman historian TACITUS about the burning of Rome IN A.D. 64. It states that:

“Nothing could dispel the belief that the fire had taken place by order, i.e. , of Nero. Therefore,
to scotch the rumor, Nero substituted as culprits… a class of men, loath for their vices, whom the crowd
styled Christians, Christus, the founder of the name, had undergone the death penalty in the reign of
Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate.” (The Annals of Tacitus c. 117 AD)

Scholars approximate that Jesus was born between 7 and 4 B.C. (cf. Chap. 5, p. 123) began his
ministry around A.D. 28, and died in the year 30. Being a Jew he spoke Aramaic, observed Jewish
customs and traditions, and held the contemporary worldview of his time, for example, that the world is
flat and floating on water. Being a carpenter’s son, he was also a carpenter by profession. In short he was
a Jew of his time.

The word “Christ” is from the Greek word Christus meaning “the anointed one”. The attachment
of the title “Christ” to Jesus’ given name came about because Christians believed him to be “the anointed
one.” It is not a family name.

As a teacher Jesus taught with authority in synagogues, in open fields, and on lake shores. What
did he teach? He taught about God’s kingdom as a present reality using parables, and he supported his
teachings with miracles, healings and exorcisms. So he gained many followers in addition to his twelve
apostles. How come he was arrested and executed? He met mounting opposition from the religious

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leaders especially when he drove out the sellers and money changers in the temple. He had time to escape
but did not. At the last supper he told his apostles that his death would be “for the forgiveness of sins”. At
his trial he was accused of blasphemy “ because not content with breaking the Sabbath, he spoke of God
as his own father and so made himself God’s equal. When he was crucified, his apostles were not only
disappointed terribly, but also confused and afraid. But behold he resurrected and appeared to them! He
continued to instruct them; he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, its prophecies on his death
and resurrection. After 40 days before returning to the Father, he commissioned them saying: “Go into the
whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

An unknown poet described this first stage in these words:

He never wrote a book...

He never owned a home…
He never went to College…
He never travelled two hundred miles from the place where he was born…
While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him.
His friends ran away…
He was nailed to a cross…
When he was dead, he was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave...
Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and he is still the centerpiece of the human race.”

2nd Stage- Preaching of the Apostles (Oral Tradition)

This second stage of Gospel formation started on Pentecost day, right after the descent of the
Holy Spirit on the apostles and disciples. Peter delivered a speech about Jesus to the big crowd gathered
for the festival. That very day they baptized “some three thousand” who believed the good news. These
people formed the first Christian community; many were Jews from the diaspora. So when they returned
to their homelands, they prepared the ground for later apostolic mission. And we might wonder what
Peter preached so convincingly the first time he addressed the public. Definitely he did not communicate
everything what Jesus said and did.

(Read: Acts 2:14-41)

First of all, Peter assured the public that they were not drunk but filled with the Holy Spirit as
Prophesied by the prophet Joel. Then he focused on Jesus’ death and resurrection which pointed out to his
real identity as the long awaited messiah. This proclamation is called kerygma. Other example of
kerygmatic proclamations:

Acts 10:34-43 and 1 Cor 15:3-5

These proclamations could be summarized in the following:

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“1. God’s promises to his people in the Old Testament are now fulfilled.

2. The long-expected Messiah, born of David’s lineage, has come.

3. He is Jesus of Nazareth who

- went about doing good and performing mighty works by God’s power.

- was crucified in fulfillment of God’s purpose.

- was raised by God from the dead and exalted to his right hand.

4. He will come again in glory for judgment.

5. Therefore, let all who hear this message repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins”

Hence what was proclaimed first was paschal mystery – Jesus’ passion, death, resurrection and
ascension. Only after Baptism were the new Christians given further instructions (catechesis).Only then
was the basic outline of the mystery and life of Jesus fleshed out bit by bit by stories about him. Important
factors contributed to this development of oral tradition:

1. The converts’ desire for more information about Jesus.

2. The Eucharistic celebration,
3. The day to day problems of the early Christians.

New converts were naturally hungry for more information about Jesus. So the apostles had to
relate the details of his passion-death-resurrection and his many miracles. For deeper instruction, the
parables and sayings of Jesus were recalled to them. Gradually these individual stories and sayings were
collected. The sermon on the mount ( Mt. 5-7 ) is a collection of Jesus’ sayings on how his followers
should live.

Celebrating the Eucharist, the apostles had to recall certain key events closely linked to the
supper’s meaning like the multiplication of the bread, and Last Supper ( Jesus’ words of institution of the
Eucharist), the breaking of the bread at the Emmaus, the passion of Jesus, and the Lord’s prayer. We can
presume that there would be slight variations in the liturgical celebration in different communities. For
example the wordings of the Lord’s Prayer would differ from community to community since
even ,today; we note the difference when we read it in the Gospels of Matthew. (6:9-13) and Luke (11:2-
4) But we can be assured that the spirit behind Jesus’ words and actions was communicated in all the
assemblies.

The daily problems like criticism for showing concern for outcasts, ignoring certain Sabbath
practices, question of paying taxes to Rome – the early Christians met to discuss them and recall what
Jesus did and taught concerning sinners, the Sabbath, and taxes.

These recollections gave rise to handing down orally separate sayings or independent accounts
about Jesus (periscopes). For practical needs of preaching, these independent sayings were compiled and
written down according to topics (partial compilations)

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With the apostles were other disciples like Stephen and Philip. Then came Barnabas and Paul
who were assigned to preach to the Gentiles. The preaching of Jesus’ good news was not confined to
Palestine. With burning urgency the apostles and disciples brought the good news to foreign lands like
Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. The reason for urgency was partly the belief that Jesus’ second coming
would soon take place.

Outside Palestine it was necessary to use the Greek language as medium of preaching. So while the
preachers spoke, translation was done on the Spot. Furthermore, to make the preaching relevant to a
pagan audience, the Gospel accounts were adapted.

As a whole the apostles and disciples passed on orally their memories of Jesus mainly through
these activities:

 preaching the good news (kerygma) to unbelievers, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles;
 catechetical instruction for the newly baptized and answering their questions about Jesus;
 Celebrating the risen Lord in the liturgy especially the Eucharist.

As the time went by, the early Christians felt the need to write down what they preached, especially when
the eyewitnesses of Jesus began to die one after the other.

3rd stage- Writing and editing (began c. A.D. 60s)

(Scholars are not in agreement as to the date of the Gospel’s composition. ) When it became clear
that Jesus’ second coming would not happen soon and that the need for a definite and systematic
instruction to increasing new members was extremely felt, the third stage began – the writing –editing
stage. to begin with, the evangelists had a wealth of materials before them, handed down for some
decades from different Christian communities. Some were oral traditions and others were partial
compilations. Some were large units and others were fragmentary.

The evangelists arranged their materials and adapted them according to the manner they wanted
to portray Jesus to their audience, not necessarily with factual accuracy regarding exact quotations, social
setting, and historical chronology. As stated above the primary motive in writing was not to keep
historical events on record, but to interpret their religious significance. Through all this, we believe they
were guided by God through what we call the gift of inspiration. The first evangelist to collect, edit and
record the oral traditions about Jesus was mark. That was approximately in the mid 60’s A.D. In the next
decades Matthew, Luke and John followed [Link] the New Testament canon though, Matthew’s gospel
comes first because the early Church used it more often than the three other Gospels. Majority of the
scholars, however, think that mark wrote the earliest Gospel.

Examples of editorial work done by evangelists are the following:

A. The use of time phrase in connecting independent units of periscopes.

For example in Luke 5:7, the time phrase being used is “ one day”. The question we need to ask
is what day of the week? In this case, one should not take the meaning of it literally, as this time phrase is
employed by the author for the purpose of connecting their stories together. As carpenters use nails to
connect pieces of wood, so also the evangelists employ literary device to connect their stories.

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B. Putting together independent units to develop a theme.

One example is found in the Gospel of Mark. He puts together different stories in order to
underscore his theme. Like in Mark 10: 1-12- the question of divorce then in verses 13-16- Jesus blesses
the children, in verses 17-22- the rich young man and in verses 23-27- the danger of riches. Does the
above sequence mean that after Jesus’ talk on marital fidelity mothers brought their children to him?
After which a rich young man arrived and went off disappointed? So Jesus warns his disciples on the
danger of riches? (Solicit an answer)

Scholars tell us that these are independent units put together by the evangelist to develop his
theme. In this section Mark is developing on the cost of discipleship. The above sequence is a literary
device; it is not to be taken literally as the actual historical sequence of events.

To sum up, the formation of the Gospel has three stages:

1st – What Jesus said and done

2nd – What the apostles recalled and preached

3rd – What the evangelist recorded.

As a whole the words and deeds of Jesus in Stage 1 had been filtered through the Easter-faith and
reflection in stage 2 and through the selection and editorial process in stage three. But all things
considered , scholars tell us that the Gospels tell us a true portrait of Jesus. Most of all, we are assured
that the Holy Spirit helped the apostles understand Jesus’ teachings, guided the early church in living
faithfully the apostolic tradition, and assisted the evangelist in their work. The evangelist gathered their
materials from the church and wrote as representatives of the Church. When the first Gospel came out, the
Church had been in existence for a generation, and had spread over a wide geographical area, and Paul
had already written most of his letters. The Gospels then are not the product of the four evangelists alone,
but also that of the Church’s preaching.

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Lesson 4: The Synoptic Gospels

[Link]:

At the end of the lesson you must be able to:

 To understand why these Gospels are called synoptic.

 To praise and thank God for his continuous saving action that has been started from the time of
the Israelites up to now through the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

II. INTRODUCTION

Engage /Explore

 Activity: Read Matthew 9:2-8; Mark 2:3-12; Luke 5: 18-26

Guide Questions:

1. What do the similarities and differences in the Gospels mentioned above?

_________________________________________________________________________________
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2. As a young lady/man, would you like to be different from the others or similar to what the others
have in all aspects of your life? Explain.

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_______________________________________________________________________________

Explain/Elaborate

Of the four canonical books that record the “good news” brought by Jesus Christ, the first three
are so alike that they can , in many passages, be placed side by side and viewed as it were at a glance: for
this reason they are called ‘synoptic’ ( at once glance).

Tradition dating from the second century assigns them respectively to St. Matthew, St. Mark and
St. Luke. According to the same ecclesiastical tradition Matthew, the tax collector, himself one of the
Apostles (Mt.9:9; 10:3, was the first to write; he wrote his gospel in Palestine for Christians converted
from Judaism. His work composed in Hebrew idioms, which probably means in Aramaic, was then
translated into Greek. John Mark, a disciple from Jerusalem (Ac 12:12) who assisted Paul in his apostolic
work (Ac. 12:25; 13:5, 13; Phm 24; 2Tm 4:11) and Barnabas his cousin ( Ac 15;37, 39; Col 4:14) and,
Peter (1P 5:13), whose interpreter he was, put Peter’s preaching down in writing at Rome. Another
disciple, Luke, a medical man (Col 4:14) and unlike Matthew and Mark, of gentile origin (Col 4:10-14),
born at Antioch according to some authorities, accompanied Paul on the latter’s second (Ac 16; 10 seq.)
and third (Ac 20:5 seq.) missionary journeys and was with him during his two Roman captivities. (Ac

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27:1seq. ; 2Tm 4:11). For this reason his Gospel, the third to be written, could claim the authority of Paul.
Luke also composed a second work – the ‘Acts of the Apostles’. The original language of the second and
third Gospels is Greek.

The Gospel according to Mark

Scholars agreed that the Gospel according to Mark was written in between circa 60-70 A.D. This
Gospel was addressed to the persecuted Christians in Rome or Galilee, mostly of gentile origin , attracted
to Jesus’ power but found difficulty in accepting a suffering Messiah and suffering discipleship. This
gospel portrayed Jesus as the suffering Messiah and powerful son of God destined to die on the cross.
The key passages that point out Jesus as the suffering messiah and disciple as suffering disciple is Mark
8:27-34 “Who do people say I am?” “You are the messiah” “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny
himself, take up his cross and follow me.” Mark 10:45 “ For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve.

The plan Mark follows is the least complex of the synoptics. The preaching of John the Baptist
plus the baptism and temptation of Jesus make up his prelude (1:1-13); next comes a period of ministry
which, according to occasional hints, took place in Galilee (1:14 – 7:23), then a journey by Jesus and his
apostles to the district of Tyre and Sidon, the Decapolis, the neighborhood of Caesaria Philippi and back
to Galilee (7:24 – 9:50); then the transfiguration ( 9:2-8) and the final journey through Peraea and Jericho
to Jerusalem where the passion and resurrection take place (10:1-16:8). Apart from individual sequences
of fact, this broad outline itself is possibly artificial since it is likely, and to judge by the fourth Gospel
fairly certain, that Jesus visited Jerusalem several times before the last Passover of his life. All the same
this broad outline does trace for us an important development which is both factually and theologically
significant.

The Gospel is not particularly concerned with elaborating the Master’s teaching, and it records
few of his sayings. The real point of its message is the manifestation of the crucified messiah. On the one
hand Jesus is the Son of God, acknowledged as such by the Father (Mk 1:11; 9:7), by evil spirits (1:24;
3:11; 5:7) and even by men (15;39); he is the messiah claiming divine rank (14;62) higher than the angels
(13:32), taking on himself the forgiveness of sin (2:10), vindicating his power and his mission by miracle
(1:31; 4:41; etc.) and by exorcism (1:27; 3:23seq.). On the other hand, the Gospel puts emphasis on his
apparent frustration at the hands of many: the mockery or refusal of the public (5:40;6:2seq.) the
antagonism of religious leaders (2:1-3:6), the lack of understanding even on his disciples’ part (4:13b) –
all the hostile activities that were to lead to the shame of the cross. It is this ‘scandal’, this refusal, that the
Gospel is intent on explaining. It does this not merely by contrasting the cross with crowning triumph of
the resurrection but also by showing that the hostility was itself an integral part of God’s mysterious plan.
It was necessary that Christ should suffer and so redeem the human race (10:45; 14:24), since this had
been foretold by the scriptures (9:12; 14:21, 49). Both for himself and for his own followers Jesus laid
down a way of humility and submission; but the Jews expecting a victorious warrior-messiah, were ill-
prepared for this answer to their hope. The reason why Jesus wanted silence about his miracles (5:43) and
his identity (7:24; 9:30) was to avoid an enthusiasm which would have been as ill-advised as it would
have been mistaken. Rather than call himself messiah, 8:29seq. he used the modest and mysterious
expression ‘Son of Man’ (2:10; compare Mt 8:20h) This cautionary measure is what is called ‘the

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messianic secret’(1:34m) and is a basic idea of Mark’s Gospel. It was not something Mark invented; it
corresponded to that underlying reality in Christ’s life of suffering which, in the light of faith finally and
fully established by the Easter event, the evangelists was able to perceive and to place before us for our
understanding.

The Gospel according to Matthew

This Gospel was written in the year 80-90 AD as agreed upon by majority of the scholars. It is
written for the Jewish community in Antioch, Syria (one of the great centers of early Christianity).
Expelled from the synagogue, they developed a self-identity as the new covenant people replacing the
old. In this Gospel Jesus is pictured as the promised messiah in the old testament who fulfilled the law
and the Prophets; the new Moses; the Son God and Emmanuel/”God with us”. As such portrayal of Jesus
is narrated in Matthew 28:16-20 “All power…has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them…And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age”.

The same light of faith and the same broad outline of Christ’s life naturally occur in Matthew as
well as in Mark, but with quite a different emphasis. To begin with the plan is not the same and is much
more elaborate. Matthew is divided into five books, each consisting of a discourse introduced and
prepared by narrative matter: these five books plus the stories of the infancy and of the passion are
combined to form a well-knit whole of seven sections. It is possible that this arrangement, which is so
clear in Matthew, goes back to the Aramaic Gospel; in any case in Greek Matthew it is unmistakable. As
we have already seen, Matthew used his sources with great freedom in order to achieve his carefully
mapped –out ensemble. The fact that this gospel also reports Christ’s teaching much more fully than
Mark’s, and stresses especially the theme of the kingdom of heaven (4:17f), makes it a dramatic account
in seven acts of the coming of the Kingdom of heaven. These acts are as follows:
1. the preparation of the kingdom in the person of the child – Messiah ch. 1-2.

2. The formal proclamation of the charter of the kingdom to the disciples and the public, i.e., the
Sermon on the Mount, ch. 5-8

3. The preaching of the kingdom by missionaries whose credentials ( the ‘signs’, which are to
confirm the word) are now hinted at by several miracles done by Jesus himself; the missionaries
receive their instructions, ch. 8 10.

4. The obstacles which the kingdom will meet, and which are part of God’s design that the
kingdom should come without show, as illustrated in the parables of the concluding instruction,
11:1 – 13:52.

5. Its embryonic existence in the group of disciples with Peter at their head ; the rules for this
church in the making are outlined in the concluding instruction on the community, 13:53-18:35.

6. The crisis, provoked by the increasing hostility of the Jewish leaders, which is to prepare the
way for the definitive coming of the kingdom and which is the subject of the concluding
eschatological instruction, ch19-25.

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7. Lastly, the coming itself, a coming effected through suffering and triumph, through the
Passion and Resurrection.

The kingdom of God (of ‘the heavens’ in Matthew) is the reassertion that the Law and prophets
are ‘fulfilled’- a phrase which means that their hopes have been not only realized but also perfected.
Matthew applies this to the person of Jesus: he appeals to Old Testament texts for his Davidic descent
(1:1-17), his virgin birth (1:23), at Bethlehem (2:6), for his stay in Egypt and his settling in Capernaum
(4:14-16) for his messianic progress into Jerusalem (21:5, 16). Matthew applies this also to the works of
Jesus: he appeals to Old Testament texts to explain Jesus ‘ cures (11:4-5); and finally he applied it to the
teaching of Jesus: this fulfils the Law (5:17) while raising it to further heights (5:21-48; 19:3-9, 16-21).
Matthew is not the only one of the three synoptists to make use of arguments from the Old Testament,
but he relies so heavily on this arguments that he has made it one of the chief characteristics of his
Gospel.

In keeping with his concern with fulfillment, Matthew often represents Jesus as the new
Moses, repeating in his life the story of Moses and the lawgiver of the new covenant. But beyond this,
Jesus is somehow endowed with majesty even in his earthly life; he is recognized as God’s son (14:33;
16:16; 22:2; 27: 40,43) as well as son of David. From the first announcement of his conception he is
known as ‘God –with-us’. Another dimension of Matthew’s Gospel is that of the community, for one of
the discourse chapters (18) is devoted to behavior within the community, and Matthew stresses the
importance of Peter as the foundation- stone of the new Israel (16:18), and of disciples, consistently
toning down or omitting the rebukes to them from Jesus reported by Mark.

The Gospel according to Luke

This Gospel of Luke was written in the year 80-90 AD. The author intended to write it to the
Gentile Christian in Graeco-Roman cities associated with Antioch. Their number had increased, some
from the rich. Suspected as followers of superstation disturbing the empire, they needed assurance that
Jesus, not the emperor, is humanity’s savior. Luke in his Gospel portrays Jesus as a mighty prophet and
universal savior for Jews and Gentiles alike, for people for all walks of life especially the poor, the
underprivileged, the sinners and the outcasts. Lk 4:16-21; 15:11-32 are key passages of Luke’s image of
Jesus.

Luke’s Gospel is actually the first part of a two-volume work, whose second volume is the acts of
the Apostles. The fact that these two do not follow one another in the NT canon is incidental. They are
connected in their style and subject matter. The Gospel speaks of how Jesus spreads the good news from
Galilee to Jerusalem and the acts, how his apostles carried the good news from Jerusalem to Rome. So we
understand these two books better if we read them as a two-volume literary work of one author. Of all NT
authors, Luke produced the longest work in his two-volume contribution.

I Luke the relation of the Old Testament to the New Testament is not only of promise to
fulfillment like Matthew’s, but also of God’s continuing love for humanity through history. This love of
God is directed to the poor,, the sinners, the Samaritans, and the women. Jesus’ coming to them is the
glad tidings of great joy.

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There are two outlines of the Gospel of Luke. The first one is arranged according to geographical
basis:

Prologue Ch. 1: 1-4

I. From the temple to the close of Galilean ministry

1. The infancy narrative 1:5- 2:52
2. Preparation for public ministry 3:1-4:13
3. The Galilean ministry 4:14-9:50
II. The journey from Galilee to Jerusalem
1. Section proper to Luke 9:51-18-14
2. Section common to the synoptic 18:15-19:27
III. Last days in Jerusalem
1. Ministry in Jerusalem 19:28-21:38
2. Passion, death and burial 22 & 23
3. Resurrection and ascension 24

The second outline is arranged on a theological basis:

Prologue Ch. 1: 1-4

Introduction: Infancy narratives 1: 5-2:52

I. Jesus’ Messianic action

1. Introduction 3:1-4:13
2. Jesus’ activity in Jewish territory 4: 14-9:50
II. Jesus’ Way to the ascension
1. The journey to Jerusalem 9:51-19:27
2. Teaching in the temple 19:28-21:38
3. Passion, death, resurrection and ascension 22:1-24:53

Both outlines see Jesus’ earthly life as a steady ascent to Jerusalem: “As the time approached
when he was to be taken from this word, he firmly resolved to proceed toward Jerusalem, and sent
messengers on ahead of him” (9:51). This verse happens to be the geographical midpoint of the Gospel.
Before this, Luke has kept Jerusalem and Judea out of the picture till appointed time. Jerusalem is the
place where Jesus is crucified, where he appears after resurrection and from where he ascends. The Acts
continues the story, also from Jerusalem where the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles. And from
Jerusalem the good news is preached to the gentile world. To appreciate and understand better the Gospel
according to Luke, his second work, the Acts, need to be taken into consideration.

- End of Module Two-

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