The Gospel of Luke--Discussion II

For our next class (Thursday), please read Chapter 13-24 of the Gospel of Luke. Look at the list of passages "special" to Luke, i.e., passages that occur in Luke's gospel only (Section VI of the outline I passed out in class). Choose one or two of these passages and speculate on why Luke chose to include this material while Matthew did not. If others have commented on this passage before you, say whether you agree with their suggestions or not.

If you do not have the outline I passed out, see the online version here.

The Gospel of Luke--Discussion 1

The Gospel of Luke has been called "the most beautiful book ever written," and it is, for many people, their favorite gospel.

For Tuesday's class, please read through my study questions on the Gospel of Luke (also attached to the syllabus for the sake of those who prefer hard copy).  Then read through the first twelve chapters of Luke's Gospel. 
For the blog entry here, please do *both* of the following:

1.  Pick out a verse or passage that you think particularly well shows why people find this gospel attractive and explain your choice of this particular passage.

2.  Choose one of the study guide questions and suggest an answer.

Please come to class ready to discuss in class the verse/passage you chose and to suggest an answer to at least one of the study guide questions.

Matthew Chapters 14-28

Right now, we are one full class behind the syllabus.  Rather than going on to the Gospel of Luke, we will spend Thursday finishing up the discussion of Matthew.

Please read the remaining chapters of the Gospel of Matthew (Ch. 15-28). Pay special attention to Chapters 21-23, chapters that particularly well show Jesus' challenge to the religion of the scribes and Pharisees. Choose a verse or summarize a passage that seems particularly important to you and explain why you choose this verse.  How does this verse/passage ties to the theme that Matthew is a "gospel for those who think they don't need the gospel"?   

Matthew's Use of Scripture

Because we spent so much time on the first chapter of Matthew's gospel, we are already falling behind the syllabus schedule.  Our Tuesday class will be mostly discussion of Matthew 1-14, concentrating particularly on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).  Please review briefly these chapters before class.

I will start Tuesday's class with an explanation Matthew's reference to the "Nazarene" prophecy that no one could seem to find last time.  We'll then move on to more discussion of Matthew's use of scripture.

Remember that, when Matthew quotes a brief passage from the Old Testament, he wants to call into his readers' minds a much broader context, sometimes the preceding 5-30 verses or, sometimes the subsequent 5-30 verses.

Please look at a couple of the Matthew Old Testament references (the list below will give you a start), then look at the Old Testament context.below.  Comment on that context: what ideas does Matthew want to bring to his readers' attention?  In what ways are these ideas particularly important in Matthew's attempt to reach a Jewish audience?

• Matthew 2:17 citation of Jeremiah 31:15
• Matthew 1:23 citation of Isaiah 7:14
• Matthew 2: 6 citation of Micah 5:2
• Matt. 2:15 citation of Hosea 11:1
• Matt. 27:43 ref. to Psalm 22:8
• Matthew 4:4 citation of Deut. 8:3
• Matthew 3:17 hint of Psalm 2:7
• Matthew 4:16 reference to Isaiah 42:7

The Gospel of Matthew--Chapters 1-14

Please read Chapters 1-14 of the Gospel of Matthew. Concentrate especially on Chapters 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount. Please pick a key verse from the assigned chapters and do one of the following:

1. Explain why you think this verse the key to understanding what the selection is about.

2. Explain why you think this verse is the best/most memorable in the assigned reading.

3. Explain why you think this verse is the most difficult/hard to understand in the assigned chapters.

4.  Reply to any other student comment on this post.   

Welcome!

Welcome to Early Church Keyline Blog--the Official Blog of History 424, Early Church History. 

To get started, here's a test of the History 424 blog system. If you don't already have one, you might want to set up a Google/Blogger account. If you use a Google profile, it's easier for me to reply to your posts, something I occasionally do.  You also might want to make yourself a follower to this blog.

When you have created your blogger account and your profile, click the "comments" link below, and answer one (1) of the following questions:

1. Would you rather make comments on a blog, or write a term paper?
2. Which figure or book from the New Testament interests you the most, and why?
3. Why do you think the study of Early Church history is important--or not so important?

After you have done your own blog post, please reply to at least one other student's post.