Written account of our love story with God
Bible
Composed of two major parts: OT and NT
Bible
Means covenant
open-ended contract of love between God and Human beings
Testament
Gives witness to God’s saving love in human history
Old Testament
46 books classified into 3 categories: Torah, The Prophets, The Writings
Old Testament
central focus is the covenant theme of God’s love for the Jewish people
Old Testament
written to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ
Old Testament
God’s word recorded by humans
Bible
Fulfills the Old Testament
New Testament
narrates and proclaims Jesus’ birth, teaching, passion, death, and resurrection
New Testament
focuses on God’s commitment to His people, which Jesus sealed by his sacrifice on the cross
New Testament
written in Koine (Common) Greek
New Testament
approx. dates range from the AD 50’s to the early 2nd century
New Testament
27 books, categorized into 4 books
New Testament
4 books of New Testament
Gospel, Acts of the Apostles, Letters, Revelation
Books of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John
Gospel
Principal witnesses to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ
Gospel
Gospel
A.D. 60-70
Acts of the Apostles
A.D. 80-100
Examples include missionary journeys of Paul, Council of Jerusalem, Preaching of Peter and the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles
describes the early spread of the Good News and formation of the early Church
Acts of the Apostles
written by the author of Luke’s Gospel
Acts of the Apostles
Letters
A.D. 57-100
How many Letters are present in the Bible?
21
also called Epistles
Letters
Form of the Letters
Greetings
Body of the Letter
Conclusion
identifies the sender and recipient
Greetings
brief personal remark and farewell
Conclusion
2 groups of Letters
Pauline Letters
Catholic Epistles
attributed to St. Paul
Pauline Letters
How many Pauline Letters are present in the Bible?
14
Examples of Pauline Letters
Romans Colossians Titus Ephesians Hebrews Corinthians Galatians Philippians Philemon etc.
Letters written for the general public
“universal”
Catholic Epistles
Examples of Catholic Epistles
James
1 and 2 Peter
1,2, and 3 John
Jude
Revelation
A.D. 95-96
Revelation
also called Apocalypse
means “revealed” or “unveiled”
apocalyptic
visionary account of the decisive struggle of Christ and his followers against Satan and his forces
Revelation
also written by the author of John’s Gospel
Revelation
compromise the heart of the scripture
Gospel
four versions of the same story
Gospel
“announcement of the good news”
evangelion
Human Figure (Genealogy of Jesus)
Gospel according to Matthew
Unknown, probably a Jewish Christian of Palestinian origin
Gospel according to Matthew
A.D. 70-85
Gospel according to Matthew
Syria (Antioch)
Gospel according to Matthew
Unknown, but linked by tradition to John Mark- probably a friend or disciple of Peter
Gospel according to Mark
A.D. 62-70
Gospel according to Mark
Desert Lion- John the Baptist, the voice of one “crying out in the desert”
Gospel according to Mark
Probably Rome
Gospel according to Mark
Greece
Gospel according to Luke
Ox (Zechariah offering a sacrifice in the Temple)
Gospel according to Luke
A.D. 70-85
Gospel according to Luke
A Greek convert (Gentile) and companion of Paul
Gospel according to Luke
Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke
Synoptic Gospels
Gospels that have a similar vision
Synoptic
means “together seen” in Latin
Synoptic
Why is the Gospel of John different from the other three Gospels?
It is not part of the Synoptic Gospels
Longer and written in a more poetic tone
A.D. 90-110
Gospel according to John
Unknown, possibly John the Apostle or his disciple
Gospel according to John
Ephesus (Asia Minor)
Gospel according to John
Eagle (starts with a hymn to Jesus who uniquely looks on the face of God)
Gospel according to John
M
Sources unique to Matthew
Sources unique to Luke
L
Sources unique to Luke and Matthew
Q or Quelle
German word meaning “source”- Collection of Jesus’ sayings
Q or Quelle
Mark is a source unique to ——— and —-
Matthew, Luke
Sources unique to Mark
Oral Tradition
first written Gospel
Mark
True or False: Gospels were written 50 years after the events they described happened.
False - 30
True or False: Process of composition and formation of the Gospels took 40 to 60 years
False - 40 to 70
Process in forming the Gospels
Jesus’ life in Palestine
Oral Tradition
The Written Gospels
period after resurrection and Pentecost
Oral Tradition
proclaimed the Good News of Jesus by word of mouth
Oral Tradition
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of our salvation
Jesus’ life in Palestine
During his public ministry of about 3 years, Jesus preached with unique authority
Jesus’ life in Palestine
He performed miracles.
Jesus’ life in Palestine
3 Forms of Oral Tradition
Kerygma
Didache
Litourgia
celebration of the Holy Eucharist and sharing of Jesus’ teachings
Litourgia
Preaching to unbelievers
Kerygma
refers to catechetical instructions for the newly baptized on how to live a Christ-filled life
Didache
Why were the Gospels not written immediately after Jesus’ death and resurrection?
The semitic people referred “living” word to the written word
Proclamation about Jesus was confined to Palestine and its neighboring countries
Early Christian expected that Jesus will come within their lifetime
Eventually, why did the early Christians decide to write down the Good News?
Apostles and original witnesses were dying or being martyred
Good News was being preached to places outside Jerusalem
Christian community became diverse
To avoid erroneous Christian teaching
They realized that Jesus’ second coming would not happen within their lifetime
Fill in the blanks: The —— drew their materials from the preaching of the apostles and earliest disciple of Jesus Christ
Gospel
Fill in the blanks: The ———– organized the materials according to their own particular sources and purpose
Evangelists
Holy Spirit’s divine activity of superintending the authors, editors, and compilers of the Bible
Biblical Inspiration
True or False: The divine teachings written down in the Gospel are true and without any error.
True
Why are there four different accounts of His life?
The 4 Gospels give us a clearer and more complete picture of who Jesus is.
Each evangelist portray Jesus from different perspectives.
Portrait: “Suffering Messiah”
Audience: Suffering Christians
Consolations of the suffering Christians and teach the true way of following Jesus, follow him unto the cross
Gospel according to Mark
Messianic Secret
Gospel according to Mark
Portrait: “Messiah and King”
Audience: Jewish Christians
Underscores Christ Jewish Heritage.
Gospel according to Matthew
Portrait: “Savior of the World”
Audience: Gentile community
Jesus is the savior not just of chosen few but of all people especially the considerable Jewish outcast society
Shows the significant role of women (esp. Mary) in Jesus’ ministry
Gospel according to Luke
Portrait: “Jesus is the Son of God, the Word of God made man”
Audience: Christians of all background
Jesus is not depicted as beaten, tormented victim but as a glorified king, calm and fully in charge of His destiny
Gospel according to John
What is the challenge of the Gospel?
Meet the Risen Christ
Read the Gospel with Faith
Share the Good News with Others