Four Gospels, One Jesus - Biography, faith and worship
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Biography, faith and worship
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Biography, faith and worship This book has attempted a symbolic reading of the narratives of the gospels as biographies of Jesus. Biography is a form of story, and human beings find their identity through stories, which brings a community dimension to interpretation. There is an …
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Trouble Ahead
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Trouble Ahead
by BRF - Dick France
A DEMONSTRATION in the TEMPLE Mark has carefully interwoven two themes here, as the scene shifts repeatedly between the temple and a fig tree on the Bethany road, thus: Verse 11, temple; verses 12–14, fig tree; verses 15–19, temple; verses 20–25, fig tree; verse 27, temple (which…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Veil Is Drawn Aside
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Veil Is Drawn Aside
by BRF - Dick France
The VEIL is DRAWN ASIDE There is a further possible meaning of Jesus’ puzzling saying in verse 1 about seeing that the kingdom of God has come with power. For ‘some’ (only three) of those who heard it would indeed have a more immediate vision of power and glory, a foretaste of wh…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Ultimate Realities
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Ultimate Realities
by BRF - Dick France
ULTIMATE REALITIES Gaining and losing Verses 35–37 are hard to translate, since the same Greek word, here translated by ‘life’ (but sometimes also by ‘soul’), means both the fact of being physically alive and not dead and also the real self which is far more than physical life an…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Secret is Unveiled
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Secret is Unveiled
by BRF - Dick France
The SECRET is UNVEILED ‘Are you the Messiah?’ The high priest’s question is not so much a change of subject as it may seem. To claim, as Jesus is alleged to have claimed, the right to replace the temple was, in effect, to claim to be the Messiah, since the Messiah was expected to…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Living under the shadow of his wings
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Living under the shadow of his wings
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Living under the shadow of his wings Like most animals, the eagle rushes into conflict when protecting its young, yet the same instinct causes it to exhibit tender care. Moses’ final song compares God’s concern for Israel to an eagle ‘hovering over its young . . . bearing them al…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Literary approaches to the texts
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Literary approaches to the texts
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Literary approaches to the texts Narrative and readers If the authors of the four gospels are not just preachers and theologians, but also skilled literary artists, then we must use the tools developed in the study of literature throughout our culture. Such literary approaches in…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Mountains
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Mountains
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Mountains For some strange reason, human beings connect mountains with God. In many ancient religions, worship took place on the ‘high places’. Even today, we talk of ‘mountain-top experiences’, despite having left behind the notion that mountains are closer to God’s supposed dwe…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The lion and his pride
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The lion and his pride
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The lion and his pride The role of the disciples A lion must have his pride – and a rabbi, his disciples. However, are Jesus’ disciples his ‘pride and joy’? On the one hand, they are the people Jesus calls to share his roamings and his battles; on the other hand, their attention …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The hour of glory
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The hour of glory
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The hour of glory The Passion, John 18—19 The sight of an eagle climbing up into the sky is glorious. So, too, for John, the death of Jesus sets him free of the earth to return to his Father on high; the hour of his Passion is also the hour of glory. This is the supreme irony. As…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The identity of Jesus
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The identity of Jesus
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The identity of Jesus As well as showing how Jesus fulfils the law and prophets, Matthew also comments that ‘something greater than the temple is here’ (Matt. 12.6). Jesus’ identity runs through the opening chapters as the fulfilment of the Jewish hopes – a new Abraham to bless t…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The four living creatures
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The four living creatures
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The four living creatures The allocation of the symbols to the gospels What are the four portraits of Jesus, and how can we get away from the mixed-up amalgam? A traditional visual aid has been to use the four living creatures found in Ezekiel’s vision of God (Ezek. 1.10). In the…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Lion's Appearance
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Lion's Appearance
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The lion’s appearance Symbolism and meaning The opening of any ancient biography usually tried to say something about who the subject was and where he came from. Often the first words included the subject’s name, and, perhaps, a brief comment about his family, ancestry or home to…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The four symbols as visual teaching aids
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The four symbols as visual teaching aids
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The four symbols as visual teaching aids Reasons and explanations Clearly, the allocation of the symbols resulted from applying Ezekiel to one’s customary order of the gospels – and the explanations followed on later, some of which are rather strained. The reasons given are all d…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The human face
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The human face
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The Teacher of Israel – Matthew’s Jesus ‘The human face Symbolism and meaning Our detailed consideration of Mark has demonstrated the person-centred reading of the gospels as biographies. About 90 per cent of Mark (around 600 verses) is repeated in Matthew, slightly abbreviated i…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The way of an eagle in the sky