NT Genre Studies 1: Gospels and Acts

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Download PDF (5 pages)  Week 8,NT Genre Studies – Gospels and Acts
Module 8:  NT Genre Studies 1: Gospels and Acts

I. Having raced through the Old Testament, it is now time to delve into the rich world of New Testament genres.

II. Gospels

A. Preliminary Remarks

1. Definition

a. “theological biographies”

b. “a narrative account concerning the public life and teaching of a significant person that is composed of discreet [sic] traditional units placed in the context of Scriptures…Materially, the genre consists of the message that God was at work in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection effecting his promises found in scriptures.”

2. These books comprise the majority of the New Testament.

3. Historical background is moderately important when dealing with Gospel.

4. The “already” and the “not yet.” One key to understanding Jesus’ ministry is the idea of inaugurated eschatology. The idea is illustrated below:

In Jewish thought there were only two ages; the present and the age to come. However, when Jesus brought the kingdom, he did not consummate the old age, but inaugurated the new one. Thus there are certain elements of the kingdom that are already present, and some that still await consummation. This is crucial in understanding the kingdom of God, which is the central theme of Jesus’ teaching ministry.

B. Specific Rules

1. Reading Horizontally and Vertically.

a. Horizontally – comparing various issues between the gospels (e.g. how each gospel treats the feeding of the 5,000).
b. Vertically – How a theme is developed in one gospel.
c. Vertical reading takes precedence over horizontal reading.

2. Literary Forms

a. Pronouncement Stories – a short self-contained narrative that functions primarily to introduce a key climactic saying (or pronouncement of Jesus).
b. Parables – Stories that call forth a response on the part of the reader.

i. They are in some sense allegorical.
ii. However the allegories fall into categories, which must be better understood. The following diagram illustrates this:

SEE GRAPH    

II. Acts

A. Preliminary Remarks

1. Definition

a. “theological history”
b. “narrative literature…written to enrich Christians in our purpose and identity as the people of God.”

2. Background information, is, like it was in the gospels, moderately important.

3. It is an accurate account of what happened in the early church, and yet is strikingly theological, revealing the Spirit’s work in empowering individuals for ministry.

B. Specific Rules

1. Remember that Acts represents a very unique period in the history of the church, and it is also a narrative. Thus, we must not consider every event in the book normative, and we must not make everything out to be prescription.

2. What is normative is what the book intends to teach. Thus, while Acts might say many interesting things about church leadership, the baptism of the Spirit, and the nature of the early Christian community, these are not normative unless the narrative intends to teach them.

Return to Study Guide: How to Study the Bible, by Jeffrey Bruce and Brian D. Asbill