| Course Objectives |
Projects | Textbooks | Schedule
| Grades | Class Policies |
Essential Reading
OBJECTIVES:
To study in depth Jesus' Later Galilean Ministry including the feeding of
the 5,000, Peter’s Great Confession and the Transfiguration. We will examine
three major Sermons: Kingdom Parables (Mt 13), Bread of Life (Jn 6), Sending
the Apostles (Mt 10). To gain insight into the four gospels by
analyzing them chronologically and harmonizing parallel accounts. To
know Jesus and to deepen our trust in Him--to grow in love, faith and
obedience to the Master. To become familiar with some of the critical
aspects of current gospel studies and be able to dialogue about these issues
in both written and oral form.
PROJECTS:
Harmonies (15 points): You will turn in a harmony for each section that
is in bold on the daily schedule. Follow the following format. (A) Each
gospel will be recorded word for word in its own column but positioned
so that parallel words and phrases are matched across the columns. Color
coding to show important similarities or differences is encouraged. (B)
Each section will be followed by two paragraphs: (i) Make note of
distinctive words or phrases that one writer uses that
the others do not. If these are important editorial changes or
theological emphases for that author explain why they are important or
how they affect the understanding of the passage? (ii) How does this
pericope fit into its own context in each gospel? What
comes before it and what comes after it? And does this arrangement of
the material affect the understanding of this text? Several sample
harmonies can be found at:
http://markmoore.org/classes/loc/harmony.html. A collection of them is
kept on reserve at the Seth Wilson Library .
Memory (20 Points):
There are
three passages assigned to be memorized verbatim: John 6:25-70; Matthew
16:13-28; and John 10:1-18. These will be written out in class on the day
they are assigned and graded by the student. Count off 1 point for every
word left out, for every extra word included and every time words are
transposed. Count off 2 points for every verse or phrase that is misplaced.
Final Exam (15 points): As an alternative to the final
exam a student may choose to write out John 6:25-7:25; 8:12-59; and 10:1-18
from memory. Paper (15 points): Each student will write an
exegetical term paper over one of the passages listed in the schedule. Think
in terms of 8-12 pages with 15 cited references. Do not use end notes. A
Term paper guide is available in the bookstore or
online here. Book Report (5 points): Each student will
read Ben Witherington’s What Have They Done with Jesus? There
will be a brief quiz over this work on 10/14, bring a Grade-Master
sheet..
TEXTBOOKS:
Moore, M. The Chronological Life of Christ, (2 Vols).
Joplin, MO: College Press, 1996.
Thomas, R. & Gundry, S. The NIV
Harmony of the Gospels. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988.
Ben Witherington, What Have They Done with Jesus? (New York: HarperOne,
2006).
SCHEDULE:
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Date
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Topic
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Assignment
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Date
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Topic
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Assignment
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8/19
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Intro
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10/14
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Sec. 81
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Book Rep. Quiz
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8/20
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Sec. 55
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10/15
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TEST #2
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8/21
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Sec. 56
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10/16
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Sec. 82
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8/22
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Sec. 57
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10/17
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Sec. 83-84
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8/26
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Sec. 58
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10/21
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Sec. 85
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8/27
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Sec. 59-60
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10/22
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Sec. 86
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8/28
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Sec. 61
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10/23
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Sec. 87
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8/29
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Sec. 62-63
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10/24
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Mem:
Mt 16:13-28
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9/2
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Sec. 64 a-b
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10/28
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Sec. 88-89
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9/3
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Sec. 64 c-f
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10/29
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Sec. 90
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9/4
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Sec. 64 g-k
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10/30
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Demons
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9/5
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Sec. 65
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10/31
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Sec. 91
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9/9
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Sec. 66
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11/4
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Sec. 92
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TermPaper Due
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9/10
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Sec. 67
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11/5
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Sec. 94-95
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9/11
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Sec. 68-69
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11/6
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Sec. 96a
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9/12
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Sec. 70 a-b |
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11/7
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Sec. 96b
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9/16
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Sec. 70 b-c
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11/11
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Sec. 97
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9/17
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Sec. 71
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11/12
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Sec. 98
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9/18
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TEST #1
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11/13
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Sec. 99
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9/19
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Sec. 72 |
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11/14
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Sec. 99
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9/23
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Sec. 73-75
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11/18
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Sec. 100
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9/24
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Sec. 76a
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11/19
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Sec. 100
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9/25
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Sec. 76b |
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11/20
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Sec. 101
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Mem:
Jn 10:1-18
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9/26
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Eternal Security |
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11/21
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National Missionary Convention
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9/30
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Sec. 77
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11/25
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THANKSGIVING BREAK
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10/1
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Sec. 77
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11/26
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THANKSGIVING BREAK
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10/2
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Mem: Jn 6:25-70
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11/27
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THANKSGIVING BREAK
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10/3
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TPTalk (optional)
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11/28
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THANKSGIVING BREAK
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10/7
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Sec. 78
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12/2
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Sec. 93
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10/8
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Sec. 79
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12/3
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Sec. 102
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10/9
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Sec. 80
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12/4
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Sec. 103
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10/10
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No Class |
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12/5
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TEST #3
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GRADES:
Book Report 5%; Harmonies 15%;
Memory 20%; Paper 15 %;
Tests 30 %; Final 15 %
CLASS POLICIES:
Tests and quizzes. Should the unfortunate circumstance arise that one would
actually miss a test or quiz, such a one will have exactly one week to make
it up in The Testing Center (L-2) after paying the $5 service fee in the
business office. Late work. Not acceptable. If you will be absent on
the day of a harmony you must turn it in early. Absences. You are
expected to be responsible Christian adults. Should this not be the case,
please grow up. Student/Teacher relationship. You are prized as
Christian brothers and sisters. Your contribution both in class and in the
kingdom will be respected. It is my sincere desire that the teaching which
takes place in the classroom will only be the beginning of your learning
Jesus from me. Grading Memory Work – Every word you leave out, add in,
transpose, or misplace will by minus one point. Every phrase you misplace or
transpose will be minus two points. Cheating will result in a zero on
the assignment in question and a mandatory meeting with the dean of students
to determine further discipline which may include failure in the class or
dismissal from the college. Cheating includes but is not limited to (1)
using material from another student for tests, memory, or term papers, (2)
not properly citing sources in papers and assignments so as to make it look
original, (3) using cheat sheets – written or electronic – for tests or
quizzes.
ESSENTIAL READING IN
THE LIFE OF CHRIST
Aland, K. Synopsis of the Four Gospels UBS, 1972. (A harmony of the
Gospels with Greek and English on facing pages.)
Brown, R. E.
The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narrative. Garden
City, NY: Doubleday, 1977. (A massive and valuable scholarly work from a
liberal Catholic perspective.)
---. The Death of the
Messiah: From Gethsemane to the Grave: A Commentary on the Passion Narrative
in the Four Gospels. New York: Doubleday, 1994. (A massive and valuable
scholarly work from a liberal Catholic perspective.)
Bruce, F.
F. The Hard Sayings of Jesus. Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP, 1983. (He
gives great clarity with brief comments to the more difficult sayings of
Jesus.)
Bultmann, R. History of the Synoptic Tradition,
Tr. John Marsh. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1963. (This is the classic
form-critical analysis of the gospel texts. Brilliant compilation and
categorization of source material from a very liberal perspective.
Conclusions are overdrawn).
Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and
Times of Jesus the Messiah. Mclean, VI: Macdonald, 1883. (Old classic on
the harmony of Jesus’ life from a converted Jew. An immense amount of dated,
but still somewhat valuable information from Jewish literature pertaining to
the gospels).
Evans, Craig & Porter, Stanley (Eds.).
Dictionary of New Testament Backgrounds. Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP, 2000.
(This is an invaluable collection of encyclopedic essays on cultural and
historical backgrounds, essential for understanding the first century world
of Jesus).
Ferguson, E. Backgrounds of Early Christianity.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987. (This is not primarily a work on the
Gospels but provides an immense wealth of historical information on the 1st
century era.)
Ford, David & Mike Higton (Eds.). Jesus.
Oxford: Oxford, 2002. (This is a reader on Jesus, with historic quotations
under a variety of topics from throughout church history. Magnificent
reading).
Foster, R. C. Studies in the Life of Christ.
Joplin, MO: College Press, 1995. (This is a commentary on the harmony of the
Life of Christ. Done primarily in the 40's, it wrestles with the liberalism
of its day, particularly source, form and redaction criticism. An invaluable
resource).
Green Joel B.; McKnight, Scot; and Marshall, I. H.
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press,
1992. (This is a gold mine of conservative scholarship on a wide variety of
issues from the Gospels).
Linnemann, Eta. Is There a
Synoptic Problem? Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992. (As a former disciple of
Bultmann, this German scholar argues persuasively with page after page of
primary data, that there is no literary evidence of significant textual
borrowing among the synoptics).
Manning, Brennan. The
Signature of Jesus. Portland, OR: Multnomah, 1992. (This devotional work
from a Catholic perspective analyzes the core value of Jesus — abandonment
through cross-bearing and what that looks like in Christians today.)
Moore, Mark. The Chronological Life of Christ (2 Vols). Joplin, MO:
College Press, 1996. (A contemporary commentary on the Harmony of Jesus’
life from one really swell fellow!).
Neyrey, Jerome H. The
Social World of Luke-Acts: Models for Interpretation. Peabody, Mass:
Hendrickson Publishers, 1991. (This is not a commentary but an analysis of
the social structures of the Mediterranean culture of Jesus’ day. This is a
very helpful guide to issues such as shame-honor and patron-client, locating
Jesus’ teaching in his broader culture.)
Sanders, E. P.
Jesus and Judaism. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985. (While he minimizes the
tension between Jesus and the Pharisees, Sanders correctly locates Jesus and
his aims within his own Jewish milieu).
Shepard, J. W. The
Christ of the Gospels. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1939. (A dated but
classic work on the Harmony of Jesus’ Life).
Strobel, Lee.
A Case for Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998. (A user friendly
guide to an apologetic of Jesus).
Thomas & Gundry. A
Harmony of the Gospels. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1978. (A workable
harmony in English with helpful articles in the back on critical issues.
Comes in NASB and NIV).
Wenham, J. Easter Enigma. Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker, 1984. (He shows reasonable explanations to the critics’
accusation that the resurrection accounts are irreconcilable).
Wilkins, M. & Moreland, J. Jesus Under Fire. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1995. (A scholarly response to the Jesus Seminar).
Witherington, Ben. The Many Faces of the Christ: The Christologies of the
New Testament and Beyond. New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1998. (He
traces the development of Christology through the gospels and the rest of
the N.T.)
Wright, N.T. Jesus and the Victory of God.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996. (A careful argument for the political aims
of Jesus, located within his Jewish. For a brief popular version, see The
Original Jesus, also Eerdmans, 1996).
---. The Original
Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996. (A popular presentation of
Wrights view of Jesus as a political Messiah).
---. The
Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003. (A massive
and critically important analysis of the resurrection of Jesus.)
Yancey, Philip. The Jesus I Never Knew. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
1995. (From an evangelical perspective, Yancey tries to paint a portrait of
Jesus that he would agree with and say, “Yes, that truly is who I am.”)
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