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1
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2
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- Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
- Letters
- Pauline Epistles (Romans, 1& 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy,
Titus, Philemon, Hebrews)
- Catholic Epistles (1, 2, & 3 John, 1 & 2 Peter, James, Jude)
- Acts (Acts of the Apostles)
- Apocalyptic Literature (Revelation)
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3
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- Scenario: You are asked by your parish faith community to give a short
talk in which you are to address the above question. The one caveat is that you are to
answer the question by “retelling” stories that you pick from Jesus’
life.
- Given your assessment of the faith needs of the people in your parish,
what point will you want to make?
- Given this main point, what three or four stories from Jesus’ life would
you select and in what order would you put these stories so as to make
your point clear to your audience?
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4
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- 1st Century
- Mediterranean Culture
- 90% of pop. = rural; 10% = urban.
- 95% of pop. engaged in farming or extracting raw materials.
- 2-5% of pop. = literate.
- Life expectancy = 39 years; 33% of children die before age 6.
- Pop. of Jerusalem = 35,000, Capernaum = 1,500, Nazareth = 200-500.
- More than ½ of all families were broken during child-rearing years by
death of one or both parents.
- Of the 79 Roman emperors, 31 were murdered, 6 committed suicide, 4 were
deposed.
- 21st-Century
- American Culture
- 10% of pop. = rural; 90% = rural.
- 5% of pop. engaged in farming or extracting raw materials.
- 2-5% of pop. = illiterate.
- Life expectancy = 78 years; 3% of children die before age 6.
- Pop. of metro. Milwaukee = 1 million; Madison = 200,000; Wausau =
38,000.
- About ½ of all families are broken during child-rearing years by divorce
(mainly) or death.
- Of the 43 American presidents, 3 were murdered, and 1 was deposed.
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5
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- Gospel: Good News!
- Genre? A literary form unique to
the NT
- Written in Koine Greek
- A Gospel is a literary work that proclaims a faith-filled portrait of
Jesus by reproducing representative words and deeds from his life.
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6
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- Only 3-5% of the population in Jesus’ time could read, so the least
effective way to communicate the Good New would have been to write it
down!
- What, then, are the reasons that prompted the early Christian community
to start writing the story of Jesus?
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7
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8
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- Eusebius in his book Ecclesiastical History (written in the late
third/early fourth century), records this from Exposition of the Lord’s
Sayings, written by Papias [Bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor; lived
ca. 60-130 AD]:
- “Mark, having become the interpreter/translator of Peter, wrote down
accurately, though not indeed in order, whatsoever he remembered of the
things done or said by the Lord. For he neither heard nor followed
the Lord, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his
teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving an
orderly account of the Lord's sayings [logia]. Accordingly, Mark did no wrong in thus
writing some things as he remembered them, for he made it his aim to
omit nothing he had heard and to state nothing therein falsely.” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History
3.39.14-16)
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9
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- Mark was not an eyewitness, but he learned about Jesus through Peter.
- Peter, in his teaching, did not try to give an orderly account of Jesus
life, but rather selected and adapted the stories in order to address
his audience’s particular circumstances or needs.
- Mark imitated Peter’s example in that he was not trying to write a
history or biography of Jesus’ life (it is not an “orderly account”),
but rather he arranged the materials in a manner that would address his
audiences’ particular circumstances and needs – although he tried to use
all of Peter’s stories.
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10
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11
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Notes
