Although they seem like other narratives, they are not. They are practically unique amongst literature. There's is a major hermeneutical problem: [[the kingdom of God]]. There are two issues at the heart of the Gospels. 1. They weren't written by Jesus 2. There are four of them ## Similarities with Acts and Paul's epistles Imagine we only had the Pauline epistles and not Acts. We wouldn't have a full picture of Paul's theology nor the context to which he wrote. Similarly, if we only had acts and not the Pauline epistles, we wouldn't know his beliefs in debt and only have a few speeches in acts. ## If Jesus had written a book Jesus would have probably written something like Amos not a gospel, but the gospels include elements of his life. ## Why four gospels? Each gospel was written to a different community to address the needs of that community. As such, the writers have already started the job of hermeneutics for us, unfortunately it is for different communities. ## Two historical contexts Each gospel is written in two historical contexts. The original events (and jesus' life) and the evangelists written community. ### Jesus's board historical context Jesus was a first century Jew. The groups he encountered and life he lived was that of a first century Jew. It's important to have an understanding of who groups like the Sadducces were and why they didn't believe in the resurrection etc. We need to be careful of going "too deep" here as it can get into wild speculation. (The different historical jesuses) ### The challenge of historical contexts of jesus The sayings and events of Jesus life were passed orally along with the surrounding events (periscopes). But they weren't neccaserily passed in a chronological order. So the groupings of teachings may be created to help provide structure or point to a larger meaning such as the evangelists historical contexts. ### Historical contexts of the evangelists Why did the evangelist write this gospel? What questions or needs did they need to answer? When we look at themes and trends in the gospels, we can see clues. For example, marks focus on the hidden messiahship of Jesus and discipleship as suffering. This makes sense for the context of Roman christians under persecution, keeping a record of Peter's account of Jesus. ## Literary context Again two things to note. The evangelist placed each periscope to fit a larger narrative and their original setting. So that means we must be aware of. 1. The context of each periscope (as presented) 2. The context of the whole. ### Thinking horizontally with the gospels. We have four gospels that sometimes record the same event in different ways. Thus, we can think horizontally and look between the gospels. **however**. We must be careful, we shouldn't use the other gospels to "fill in the gaps". Each evangelist had a reason for including / excluding some information. Matthew and Luke were probably written with mark as a reference, John was probably written independently (though he shows knowledge of the other gospels). We can, however, use the other gospels writers to see what they interpreted the meaning/meanings of certain sayings. Does the saying have the same meaning? What is it connected too? Get a synopsis. ### Think vertically This is about looking at the context of Jesus and the gospel writer. What was the probably original context, and why has the evangelist put it here? Does this add extra depth? ## The evangelists as authors The evangelists were more than just compilers as they purposefully arrange the materials to meet their needs. This process was both limited by the materials (they didn't make things up) and guided by the spirit, so it wasn't free. We see this in their - selectivity (John says he didn't include all things) - arrangement (where a story like the fig tree falls) - adaptation ## Interpreting Jesus teachings We need to apply the same principles as we do with Peter and Paul's teachings. There are some teachings (Roman soldiers forcing us to go a mile) that aren't relevant, but the principle behind it is. The issue of remarriage must be handled with care especially for converts from a broken marriage. Obedience is not optional, it's gratitude. We live the laws and commands out of joy for our grace. > Religion is Grace, ethics is gratitude. ## Reading narratives Narrative stories don't always have a moral to teach, they can be examples of morals in action or the effects of gods kingdom. I.e. healings aren't always moral messages but there may be something around the healing that reveals the nature of Gods kingdom. ## The importance of the Kingdom of God. The kingdom of God was a key concept for first century Jews. They were expecting the end of the current age and the start of the new age. The current age was characterized by - sin - sickness - daemon possession - evil men triump Gods kingdom is characterized by - the presence of the spirit - righteousness - healing - peace This expectation was raised with John the Baptist and Jesus' ministry. But then he was crucified. This lead to the understand that the kingdom of god had both come and was still to come. > The already and not yet. Evident in Peter's speech in Acts 3. The kingdom has already begun to come, but not been fully consummated.