The Christian Scriptures

Structure  The Christian Bible contains the:  Old Testament – Hebrew, written before Jesus. These books include the Pentateuch (Torah), history, writings (e.g. Psalms) and prophecies  New Testament – Greek, written after (and about) Jesus. Includes Gospels, history, epistles.

How the Bible was written  Much of the Bible went through 2 stages:  Oral tradition  Written tradition  In the years after the Resurrection, stories of Jesus remained oral tradition until at least year 60 AD  The 4 gospels, while similar, offer us different perspectives of Jesus

The Evangelists – summarizing activity  Matthew was one of first twelve disciples of Jesus and therefore an eye witness; he records more of Jesus’ teaching than other writers, for example the entire Sermon on the Mount. Find where this is written in Matthew and write the chapters in your note. Matthew wrote his gospel for Christians of a Jewish background (compared Jesus to Moses, e.g. Matt 5 and lists Jesus’ ancestors in Matt 1)

 Mark was Peter’s son, who wrote down what Peter said about who Jesus was, what he did, where he went and what happened; Mark’s gospel is therefore Peter’s account, an eye-witness account, written down by Mark. Mark wrote his gospel for Christians in Rome who were being mistreated. Mark probably wrote his gospel first.  Luke was a doctor and a co-worker with Paul. Because some false stories about Jesus were circulating, he decided to interview local eye- witnesses and people who had followed Jesus closely. Luke put together all the interviews into a single account, recording detail not mentioned elsewhere. For example, the conception and birth of Jesus, as you might expect from a doctor. Luke wrote for Christians of a Gentile background

 John was one of the first twelve disciples of Jesus and therefore an eye-witness. John brings out the spiritual significance as well as recording the practical aspects of Jesus’ works and words. John lived to be older than any of the other writers. It is therefore likely that he was familiar with their accounts and wanted to supplement theirs with additional teaching and miracles by Jesus. John wrote his gospel last. He wrote for all Christians.

Weather Report  In your small group, prepare your weather report.  Independently, during the presentations, complete the critique. 1. Which style of weather report did you feel was most accurate? Why? 2. Which style of weather report did you feel was the least accurate? Why? 3. Which style of weather report did you enjoy the most, as a member of the audience? Why? 4. What do you think this assignment has to do with interpreting the Bible?

Ways of Interpreting Scripture  Read the handout and highlight key points.  Remember that the Roman Catholic view of exegesis (interpreting scripture) is a contextual one.