SUBJECT DESCRIPTION

An introduction to the historical background of the New Testament, and a study of the main features of the life and ministry of Jesus.

SUBJECT CONTENT

1. The historical, religious and political setting of the New Testament documents.
2. The Markan outline and emphases.
3. The distinctive features of the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John.
4. The kingdom of God in the proclamation of Jesus.
5. The parables and their interpretation.
6. The ethics of Jesus, including the Sermon on the Mount.
7. The miracles of Jesus and their significance.
8. Jesus’ self-understanding, and the Christology of the Evangelists.
9. The passion and resurrection narratives.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the subject, students should:

1. be able to locate the ministry of Jesus in its proper historical context, and to identify and explain the significance of those features of first century Palestinian Judaism that emerge in the text of the Gospels.

2. be able to explain the distinctive character of Mark's Gospel and to recount, in proper sequence, the people, places and events recorded in Mark's narrative.
3. be able to describe the distinctive theological features and historical setting of the other three Gospels.
4. be able to identify and summarise the fruits of modern Gospel scholarship, with reference to contemporary publications.
5. have researched in greater depth specific aspects of the life and ministry of Jesus in the light of current scholarship and presented written reports on them.
6. have reflected on and evaluated the implications of the content and method of Jesus' ministry for contemporary Christian ministry.

ASSESSMENT

Assessment for B.Min, B.Th, GDA, M.A., M.Div students:

1. Completion of Exercises for each topic. The satisfactory completion of these exercises are a pre-requisite for sitting the final exam and having your results posted.
2. Essay of 2000 words essay on a set topic (40%)
3. One two-hour written examination (60%).

TEXTBOOKS

Textbooks

Achtemeier, Green & Thompson, Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001).

This book covers almost the entire syllabus, although it will need to be supplemented by other reading.

Joel B Green, Scot McKnight, I Howard Marshall (Eds), Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, (InterVarsity Press, 1992.)

Although quite expensive, it is strongly recommended that students purchase this book if they can, as it has many excellent articles that relate to the content of this subject. It will be a book that students will find very helpful in any future studies relating to Jesus or the Gospels.

Highly Recommended

The following are highly recommended for the distance student and should be purchased if possible. This first two will cover both semesters of introductory NT study:

Barnett, P.W., Jesus and the Rise of Early Christianity (Leicester: IVP,

1999).
Ladd, G. E., A Theology of the New Testament. Revised Edition(Grand

Rapids Eerdmans, 1994).
Stein, R. H., Jesus the Messiah: A Survey of the Life of Christ (Downers

OTHER RECOMMENDED TEXTS

NB: Grentz, S., Guretzki, D., Nordling, C. F., Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove: IVP, 1999)., provides a useful glossary of terms for those beginning theological study.