New Testament Test #1

why the Old and New Testaments need each other

shed light on each other; Old sets up categories necessary to know New (covenant, sin, Messiah) and New clarifies the shadows Old

meaning of the genealogy in Matthew 1

Jesus is the son of David, the culmination of those promises

summary of the Old Testament

God’s search for a faithful covenant partner

meaning of canon

a catalogue of books that tell us what to believe and how to behave (will likely be multiple-answer question)

recognizing vs. determining the canon

determining is creating the canon, taking a human document and making it divine - NO. But recognizing what is already divine!

implications of the canon

authority, unity, and diversity

genre of the gospels

bioi; history and theology

meaning of the gospels being history and theology

explains that Jesus died (history) and the significance of that (theology)

meaning of Matthew 19 and the rich young man

shows the law doesn’t save, but exposes the heart

how we interpret the gospels

trace the plot (analysis questions on plot structure) and providing an explanation for all the pieces

meaning of the prodigal son

focus on older brother as a rebuke of the hardened heart of the Pharisees

authorship of the gospels

technically anonymous, but we do know who wrote them

literary distinctive of Mattew

discourse (Sermon on the Mount, Olivet, etc.)

main theme of Matthew

Jesus is the Messiah, the son of David, who creates a people for Himself marked by true righteousness

nature of fulfillment in Matthew and the virgin birth

typological things in O.T.; narrative trajectories that have the Old looking forward in a particular direction

purpose of the Sermon on the Mount

to answer what true righteousness is

nature of true righteousness from Sermon on Mount

wholeness

problem of the Pharisees

hypocrites; cared more about looking righteous than about actually acting righteous

how Jesus fulfills the law

offering a new heart and teaching us what true righteousness looks like, but it doesn’t get rid of the Old Testament

events of the Olivet Discourse

destruction of the temple in 70 AD and the second coming

arguments for complex reading of Olivet Discourse

context (the questions they ask), temporal markers, and nature of apocalyptic language

nature of apocalyptic language

used in Old Testament to talk of political demise, so likely applies the same way here

the source of Mark’s Gospel

written by Mark but from Peter

literary features of Mark’s Gospel

Markan sandwiches (splits stories in two, adds one in middle; stories are to be read together) and literary real estate (pay attention to how much literary space is devoted to it)

main theme of Mark

Jesus is the Son of God, who gave His life as a ransom for many

how Mark communicates Jesus’ divinity

uses Old Testament prophecy of voice preparing the way; John the Baptist is preparing the way for Jesus

meaning of miracle in Mark 8

parallels disciples' journey of spiritual blindness into sight

how Mark communicates the theological purpose of Christ’s death

Lord’s Supper with blood of the covenant, veil in temple is torn, gives life as ransom for many and predicts his death 3 times; Jesus wasn’t here to solve an Earthly problem, but a spiritual one

authorship of Luke

Marcion, heretic outside church, even names him as the author. Internally, Acts uses first person plural for one of Paul’s companions and the sophistication of the Greek points to Luke, who was a doctor

literary features of Luke

parables and trip to Jerusalem

main theme of Luke

Jesus is the Savior of all people; rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, male and female, etc.

sub themes of Luke

Jesus and the Holy Spirit (temptation narrative), focus on disenfranchised, and connection with O.T.

purpose of parables

if you know you know, if you don’t you won’t; obscure the truth to those who don’t know it yet and clarify or make truths more potent for those that do know them

principles of parables

they’re stories, they speak to the context, they’re theology and not history, and have one main point

point of the rich man and lazarus

sufficiency of Scripture; the love of money that marks the Pharisees is indicative of a heart that won’t believe God regardless of what He does

literary features of John

different from synoptics, seven signs, prologue, high priestly prayer, long pieces of discourse (similar to Matthew)

main theme of John

Jesus is the divine Son incarnate and we must believe who He is to be saved

meaning of the Son of God

Jesus is God, but not the Father

purpose of John’s use of the Word

goes back to Old Testament, reinforcing Jesus as the agent of creation who reveals the Father; subverts the contemporary worldviews that saw the Word as an abstract idea of reason; LOOK INTO PHILO FOR THIS

nature of belief

condition for salvation; it comes from the Spirit, is preserved by God, and it must persevere

parts of plot structure

intro, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution