"In one stroke, Jesus erases titles (Matt. 23:8-10). Tagging each other with titles has no place in the upside-down kingdom where everyone stands on equal ground" (226).
"Titles are foreignto the body of Christ. Terms like Doctor and Reverend perpetuate status differences unbefitting the spirit of Christ." Titles pay tribute to position, degree and status rather than to personhood. Members of flat kingdoms call each other, as the sign of highest personal respect, by our first names" (239, emphasis mine)
"We call each other by our first name, for we have one Master and one Lord, Jesus Christ" (256).
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Orientation to class and the three types of church visits:
Your "Who is Jesus?" answers:
Become familiar with the "Three Worlds" concept/model, which we will use throughout the course. Here
below is how one student summarized the worlds, based on reading a
textbook by Hauer and Young (not a textbook assigned for this class, but
one your teacher will draw insights from) Literary World--The literary world of the Bible is simply the text itself, apart from anything outside the text. We mean the world (or, better, worlds) created by the text;the
words on the page, by the stories, songs, letters and the myriad other
types of literature that make up the Bible. All good literature (and
the Bible is, among other things, good literature) creates in readers'
minds magnificent, mysterious, and often moving worlds that take on a
reality of their own, whether or not they represent anything real
outside the pages .
Historical World--The historical world of the Bible isthe world "behind the text" or
"outside the text". It is the context in which the Bible came to be
written, translated, and interpreted over time, until the present. In
studying the historical world of the Bible, we look for evidence outside
the text that helps us answer questions such as, who wrote this text,
when was it written, to whom was it written, and why was it written. We
also probe the text itself for evidence that links it to historical
times, places, situations, and persons (Hauer and Young 2)..
Contemporary World--The contemporary world is the "world in front of the text"or
the "world of the reader." In one sense, there are as many
contemporary worlds of the Bible as there are readers, for each of us
brings our own particular concerns and questions to the text. They
inevitably shape our reading experience. We are all interested in
answering the questions of whether the Bible in general, or particular
texts, have any relevance to our personal lives (Hauer and Young ch3). -Originally at www.stolaf.job -- Here is a brief
outline that relates specifically to Matthew:
·Literary
World
oWorld
within the text (the text itself)
(Who
is Jesus in the text of Matthew?)
oLiterary
structure, genre, literary conventions (metaphor, characterization, etc.), pericope
in context of the book / NT / Bible
·Historical
World
oWorld
behind the text
(Who
is Jesus in the context of 1st century Palestine?)
oWho,
when, where, why the text was written
oPeople,
places; social, political, economic & religious context
·Contemporary
World
oWorld
in front of the text (unique to each reader & generation: original and
contemporary audiences)
(How
might this (Matthew’s) Jesus be perceived by the first hearers of the gospel &
how might this Jesus act today?)
othe literary & historical world analysis point to contemporary
application.
In Fee & Stuart, the “three worlds”
flesh out this way: (p. 27-33)
·Hermeneutics
= contemporary world (the authors don’t
use this word in its traditional definition)
Recognize
that, for Christians who view the Bible as their scripture, the Holy Spirit is
central to correct understanding and interpretation of the text, and that the 3
worlds approach doesn’t really address this. Both Kraybill and Fee & Stuart
address the “three worlds” without calling it this. Kraybill contains a great deal of historical
world information. Fee & Stuart focuses
more so (but not exclusively) on the literary world.
Guiding Question for the course: "Who is Jesus?" . Read Matthew 16:13-20
The question “Who is Jesus?” is a guiding question
for this course. It comes out of Matthew’s
gospel.
Read Matt
16:13-14.
Note that the responses are varied. Discuss with the class what the responses
tell us about the way Jesus was being perceived. What kind of figure is John
the Baptist? Elijah? Jeremiah? Jesus pushes the question a bit closer to home. Read Matt 16:15.This is an important question, the personal
question, “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks his disciples for their
response, their testimony/confession. The people had given a variety of
answers, as people today give a variety. Think of various portrayals of Jesus in
books, movies, art, etc. These are all attempts at answering the question, “Who
is Jesus?”
Read Matt
16:15-16.
Jesus confronts the disciples with the more direct question, “Who do you say that I am?” Told in this way,
this story confronts us with the same direct question. Peter answers but doesn’t fully understand
the implications of what he is saying. These words (“You are the Christ/Messiah”)
don’t quite mean what Peter has grown up thinking they mean. (Jesus will soon
have to reorient Peter, 16:21-23) Jesus
the Christ/Messiah will go the way of the cross, and Peter has difficulty
grasping this. This is part of the difficulty with answering the question of
who Jesus is. If we claim to follow him, then our lives must be shaped by the
answer we give to this question. We must live in light of who we confess Jesus
to be. Who Jesus is directly shapes who
we are as his followers/disciples.
Note that during this course we will explore the
question, “Who is Jesus?” by using the Three Worlds Model (explained above). Note the focus on exploring the 3 worlds of
Matthew’s gospel and the portrayal of Jesus found there. This class seeks to
understand how the gospel of Matthew answers the question “Who is Jesus?” and the significance of this
portrayal of Jesus for us today.
The two questions and reading the geneaology in Matthew 1 for
"Who is Jesus?" :"One unafraid of outcasts in his family tree."
== We went over all of the case studies: tentatively pick one now (see syllabus)
I took this class. Like my typewriter?
The two questions of the class are: the
"Who is Jesus (in Matthew?"
and
"What is Church?" Watch this lighthearted video with a serious point. Note you will have to interpret the "text" of the video using "Three Worlds" skills: Who made this? Is this for real? What genre is this? Note: Sometimes it is important to decide what/who Jesus is NOT, in addition to who Jesus IS.
Here are the individual episodes we watched.
Jesus Video 1: Jesus doesn't have time for Peter
"Titles are foreignto the body of Christ. Terms like Doctor and Reverend perpetuate status differences unbefitting the spirit of Christ." Titles pay tribute to position, degree and status rather than to personhood. Members of flat kingdoms call each other, as the sign of highest personal respect, by our first names" (239, emphasis mine)
Guiding Question for the course: "Who is Jesus?" . Read Matthew 16:13-20
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