What follows is largely a precis of ‘A Fresh Look at the Gospel of John’, in Transforming Ministry (Central Readers’ Council) by Paul Burnham. This itself is based on his book ‘The Eagle Returns: A Fresh Look at the Gospel of John‘.
There is a significant gap between the academic study of the Gospel of John and its use by most Christians.
It is important that we can believe that the Gospel records real events.…
It’s often said that the Gospels are anonymous.
It’s true that none of them has the name of its author embedded in its text.
But, as Martin Hengel has argued, the present titles were unanimously attached by the middle of the 2nd century. It is highly likely that for this to happen the church would have know for quite some time who wrote which Gospel. Otherwise, multiple names would have circulated (as was the case with Hebrews).…
Mark is believed by many to have based his account on the testimony of Peter. However, much modern critical scholarship maintains that the internal evidence ‘hardly suggests, far less supports’ the traditional attribution. (Telford, A Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation). This is unduly sceptical, to say the least.
The usual starting point is Papias (c.AD 60-130), who cites the ‘elder’ John:
14:51 A young man was following him, wearing only a linen cloth. They tried to arrest him, 14:52 but he ran off naked, leaving his linen cloth behind.
Who was this young man? Mark Strauss lists thirteen(!) possibilities. Here are some of the contenders:
(a) Mark himself. This is the traditional view. Cole inclines to this view, as do Lange, Hendriksen and others. This would then be Mark’s way of saying, “I was there,” without mentioning himself by name. …
This question is addressed by John Nelson, who begins by noting several factors that might suggest some distance between what Jesus actually said and what is recorded in the Gospels:
It is known as ‘The Gospel According to John’, and the ‘John’ in question is traditionally considered to have been the apostle, one of the Twelve.
But doubts have been raised about this, even by such relatively conservative scholars as Richard Bauckham.
An argument in favour of the traditional authorship was developed by B.F. Westcott. William Hendriksen (New Testament Commentary) presents his own version of that argument:
According to the information furnished by the Gospel itself the author was:
(1) A Jew
a.…
Mk 6:8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—6:9 and to put on sandals but not to wear two tunics.
Mt 10:9f ‘”Do not take gold, silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for the journey, or an extra tunic, or sandals or staff, for the worker deserves his provisions.”‘
Lk 9:3 ‘He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, and do not take an extra tunic.”‘…
Writing in the Evangelical Times, Peter J. Williams uses the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) to demonstrate just how skilful a story-teller Jesus was.
1. Use of words
We can readily visualise each person’s situation and daily movements:
‘At his gate’ – conjures up the image of the rich man’s large and enclosed house. He would have to pass Lazarus every time he approached or left his home. Yet he would ignore him.…
The most celebrated critical commentary on the birth narratives is that of Raymond Brown – The Birth of the Messiah.
In discussing the birth narratives as history, Brown cites two sets of problems:
1. The problem of corroborating witnesses
Regarding the main body of the Gospel narratives, there is no shortage of witnesses whose reminiscences could be harvested. And there was a tradition that had been passed down from this first witnesses. See Acts 1:22; 1 Cor 15:3 etc.…
Matthew 2:13 After [the magi] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to look for the child to kill him.” 2:14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and went to Egypt. 2:15 He stayed there until Herod died.…
