The Words and Works of Jesus

BIB1123

The Words and Works of Jesus

Kevin G. Smith

A 12-credit course requiring
an average of 120 hours of study

It is illegal and a violation of Christian ethics to reproduce all or any part of this copyrighted material in any form without prior written permission from the South African Theological Seminary.

Unit 2: Jesus’ Birth and Childhood

Course Introduction

Welcome to the course BIB1123 Words and Works of Jesus. This is a 12-credit course requiring an average of 120 hours study. This course fits into the group of courses dealing with Biblical Studies. Biblical Studies is the branch of theology that studies the Bible itself. If you complete a four-year BTh at the South African Theological Seminary, you will have taken courses covering the entire scope of the Old and New Testaments.

1. Course contents

Course Introduction 1

Unit 1: One Life, Four Accounts 7

Unit 2: Jesus’ Birth and Childhood 18

Unit 3: Jesus’ Preparation for Ministry 29

Unit 4: Jesus’ Begins His Public Ministry 40

Unit 5: Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry 54

Unit 6: Jesus Teaches Kingdom Principles 70

Unit 7: Jesus Reveals His Power in Galilee 90

Unit 8: Jesus Receives a Mixed Response 104

Unit 9: Jesus Concludes His Galilean Ministry 118

Unit 10: Jesus Announces His Mission 133

Unit 11: Jesus Ministers at the Feast of Tabernacles 148

Unit 12: Jesus Commences His Judean Ministry 166

Unit 13: Jesus Continues His Judean Ministry 177

Unit 14: Jesus Completes His Judean Ministry 187

Unit 15: The Triumphal Entry and the Day of Controversy 197

Unit 16: The Last Supper and Jesus’ Farewell Discourse 214

Unit 17: Jesus’ Arrest, Trial, and Crucifixion 226

Unit 18: Jesus Resurrection and the Great Commission 242

Appendix A: Map of Palestine 253

Works Cited 254

Assignments 256

2. Course outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

· Reconstruct the life of Christ, harmonising the four gospel accounts and placing events in approximate chronological order.

· Demonstrate good general knowledge of the content of the four gospels.

· Correctly interpret specific teachings and events in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

· Explain the differences between similar passages in different gospels.

3. Course materials

The only study materials you need to complete this course are this study guide and the Bible. You do not need to purchase any textbooks or do any additional research. You can complete all the assignments using the study guide and the Scriptures.

4. Communications

If you need to contact the Seminary for assistance, these are our contact details:

Postal address: South African Theological Seminary

P.O. Box 258

Rivonia

2128

South Africa

Telephone: +27 11 234-4440

Fax: +27 11 234-4445

Email:

5. Submission of assignments

You must submit and pass all the assignments in order to pass the course. Furthermore, you must submit each assignment by the stipulated date. Late submissions will not be graded. If you do not pass an assignment at the first attempt, you will be allowed one additional week in which to resubmit it (from the time you receive the assessor’s feedback).

There are two ways you can submit your assignments: online using MySats or in print by post. You cannot email your assignment to the seminary. Please read the instructions which apply to you closely.

5.1. Submit on MySats

The preferred way to submit your assignment is online, using the MySats (login on www.satsonline.org/satsecampus) platform. When you login on MySats, you will be able to view the due date for each assignment and you will be able to submit your assignments. The great advantage of submitting online is that you will receive your feedback much faster than if you post hard copies.

Each assignment (except for multiple-choice assignments) must be set out as follows:

· Assignments must be typewritten.

· All pages are to be one-and-a-half line spacing, Arial size 12 font.

· Lay out the cover page according to the example in Figure 2, page 94 of Academic Writing and Theological Research.

· All page numbers are to appear at the foot of each page.

Every assignment you complete must include references to your sources (except for multiple-choice assignments). Guidelines for designing, referencing (citations and bibliography), and formatting your paper are laid out in the book Academic Writing and Theological Research by KG Smith (2008), which every SATS student is required to use.

You will notice that most of the assignments are assigned a certain length measured in words. As a guide, one typed page, laid out in size 12 font with 1.5 spacing, is equivalent to approximately 300 words.

5.2. Submit by post

If you are unable to submit your assignments online at MySats, you may post them to the seminary as hard copy submissions. You should complete all the assignments and send them to the seminary as a single submission (do not send each assignment separately). Your submission must reach the seminary by:

· 30 April if you enrolled for the February to April intake

· 30 October if you enrolled for the August to October intake

Late submissions will not be graded. If you submit late, you will fail the course, so to receive credit for it you will need to register for it again (and pay again).

Your portfolio must be set out as follows:

· Number each assignment clearly and correctly.

· Assignments must be typewritten.

· All pages are to be one-and-a-half line spacing, Arial size 12 font.

· Lay out the cover page according to the example in Figure 2, page 94 of Academic Writing and Theological Research.

· All page numbers are to appear at the foot of each page.

· Attach all the pages of the Assignment Pack to your submission. These include the subject marking form, assignment cover sheet, assignment declaration form, feedback questionnaire, and time log. If you take printed courses, the Assessment Pack is included with your course materials. If you download your courses, you can download the Assignment Pack from www.satsonline.org/satsecampus.

6. Assignment assessment criteria

Each of your responses to the assignment you complete will be assessed in terms of the following:

6.1. Bible

· Is the perspective sound and comprehensive?

· Is there adequate evidence of Biblical referencing?

· Is the interpretation of the text in accordance with sound exegetical principles?

· Is the major contents based on Biblical evidence?

6.2. Content

· Is the reading material appropriate and adequate?

· Does it identify the central issues?

· Is there evidence of adequate research on topic?

· Does it analyse and assess source material critically?

· Is the logical argument clear and simple?

· Is their appropriate and sufficient interaction with other scholarly works?

6.3. Ministry application

· Does it demonstrate a link between theory and practice?

· Does it demonstrate an application of ministry issues to context?

· Does it show reflection and appropriateness to spiritual life and service?

6.4. Organisation, style, and format

· Is it properly formatted (e.g.,title page, headings, numbering, margins, font, line spacing)?

· Is it well organised (e.g.,length, balance of parts, introduction, conclusion, bridging between sections)?

· Does it include proper citations and bibliography (e.g.,correct style, accuracy)?

· Is there effectiveness of expression and communication (e.g.,style, language, clarity)?

· Is it well attended editorially (e.g., spelling and grammar)?

6.5. Accuracy

· Does the learner comply with the marker’s memorandum in accuracy and correctness of information?

· Were the questions answered correctly?

7. Examination

There is an examination for this course. It is a one-hour, multiple-choice exam. The exam will cover ALL the course material. The questions in the self-tests are designed to help you prepare for the exam, so be sure to pay particular attention to them when you study. The pass mark for the exam is 60 percent; a distinction is 80 percent. The exam dates and times for 2010 are as follows:

30 April 2010 / 9-10 a.m. / for February to April registrations
29 October 2010 / 9-10 a.m. / for August to October registrations

Writing online. You may write the exam online if you wish. The examination will be available on the MySats page 9-10 a.m. South African time on the exam date. If you write it online, you will receive your feedback and your result immediately. You must arrange for your appointed invigilator to be present while you write, and he or she must submit a confirmation to the seminary that you wrote in his or her presence under the stipulated examination conditions.

Writing offline. If you are unable to write online, you may write offline. Contact at least one week before the exam date to arrange for the examination to be sent to your invigilator. You will write it under strict examination conditions, in the presence of your invigilator from 9-10 a.m. Your invigilator will post the question paper, your answer sheet, and his or her declaration that you wrote the exam under the stipulated conditions to the seminary. It may take up to four weeks from the time the seminary receives the mailed exam to complete the grading.

8. Passing criteria

Your final grade for the course will be calculated as follows:

· 80 percent the sum of the assignments

· 20 percent the examination

Your result for the course will be classified as distinction, pass, or resubmit as follows:

· 80-100 percent: Distinction

· 60-79 percent: Pass

· 0-59 percent: Resubmit

The maximum grade you may score for a resubmission is 60 percent. You will be allowed to resubmit an assignment twice (that is, a total of three attempts). If you do not pass after the third attempt, you will fail the assignment.

9. Course evaluation

It is important for the Seminary to know whether you enjoyed the course as well as how long you took to complete it. Therefore, keep a time log indicating exactly how much time you spent on the course, and complete the feedback questionnaire after you have done the course. Include your time log and the completed feedback questionnaire with your portfolio.

Unit 2: Jesus’ Birth and Childhood

Unit 1: One Life, Four Accounts

Outcomes
· Argue convincingly that it is possible to harmonise the four gospels to present a unified reconstruction of the life of Christ.
· Discuss the date and duration of Jesus’ ministry.

1. Why a course on ‘the words and works of Jesus’?

Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith (1Cor. 3:11). He is also the focal point of the whole Bible. As Christians, surely the one thing we should want to know most is what Jesus said and did. We should be a people obsessed with the words and works of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Yet, surprisingly, most Christians are woefully ignorant of the content of the Scriptures, even the Scriptures that record tells us about Jesus’ life and teaching.

This purpose of this course is to remove this ignorance. We want our students to know what Jesus said and did. Our motto at the South African Theological Seminary is Bible-based, Christ-centred, Spirit-led. This motto sums up our philosophy of ministry. We believe Christian life and ministry should be radically centred around the Lord Jesus Christ. You should be able to speak freely and confidently about what Jesus said and did. How can you keep pointing people to Jesus if you don’t know what the gospels tell us about His words and works? We believe a working knowledge of what Jesus said and did is crucial if you are to live and minister from a Biblical worldview. The gospels hold the central place in the Bible. They tell us what Jesus said and did. To understand why He said and did it, we turn to the Old Testament. To see how the early church explained and applied His teaching, we examine the rest of the New Testament (see Figure 1: Christocentric interpretation).

The Biblical materials that record the words and works of the Lord Jesus Christ are the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (the only exceptions are Jesus’ letters to the seven churches in Revelation 23 and His saying reported in Acts 20:35). There are two main ways to study the gospels. The first looks at each gospel on its own, examining its major themes and teachings. This is a valuable method of study, but it is not the method we are using in this course. The second approach focuses on the life of Christ, looking at all four gospels together to see what they teach about Jesus. We shall use this method. By the end, you will not have as clear a sense of what each gospel teaches on its own, but you will have a good grasp of the words and works of Jesus Christ.

2. Is it possible to reconstruct Jesus’ life?

Reconstructing an orderly, harmonious account of the life of Jesus Christ from the four gospels is difficult. Since none of the gospels sought to provide a complete, chronological record of the life of Christ, we run into difficulties when we try to use them to create such an account. In spite of the difficulties involved, I believe it is both possible and valuable to reconstruct the life of Christ from the four gospels. The reconstruction will not be perfect, but it will give a good idea of the sequence of events in Jesus’ life.

2.1. What is a harmony of the gospels?

In literature, Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines the word ‘harmonise’ as follows:

a. an interweaving of different accounts into a single narrative

b. a systematic arrangement of parallel literary passages for the purpose of showing agreement or harmony