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
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The way of an eagle in the sky
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
‘The way of an eagle in the sky’ Following John’s story, style and structure The ‘way of an eagle in the sky’ may be hard to understand (Prov. 30.19) but many readers have felt similarly as they have sought to follow the twists and turns, heights and depths of this most subtle ev…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The ox plods a long, slow journey
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The ox plods a long, slow journey
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The ox plods a long, slow journey Luke’s style and structure Unlike Mark’s disorderly rushing about, Luke writes an ‘orderly account’ (1.4). His preface has a calm, literary self-confidence, and this continues into the main narrative. While Mark introduces everything ‘and immedia…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Teacher's suffering
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Teacher's suffering
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The Teacher’s suffering The Passion, Matthew 26—27 Matthew includes nearly every verse of Mark’s Passion in the same order, except little details about the young man (Mk. 4.51–52), and Simon of Cyrene’s sons (Mk. 15.21b). Only about 26 verses are unique to Matthew (26.1–2, 25, 52…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The ox, the herd, and the drivers
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The ox, the herd, and the drivers
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The ox, the herd, and the drivers Luke’s characterization The gospels’ stories involve three main protagonists – Jesus himself, his disciples and the religious leaders of his day, with three storylines developing en route to their shared climax at the death and resurrection. So l…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The sacrificial, saving victim
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The sacrificial, saving victim
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The sacrificial, saving victim The Passion, Luke 22—23 In Luke’s Passion narrative, Jesus becomes passive, like Mark’s lion being tied up and muzzled, or Matthew’s Teacher refusing to call up legions of angels. Here the reason is divine necessity: ‘it is necessary’ (dei) appears …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Teacher's vindication
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Teacher's vindication
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The Teacher’s vindication The Resurrection, Matthew 28 This atmosphere of supernatural intervention openly visible to all continues into Matthew’s resurrection account, as does his desire to tie up the loose ends and explain the difficulties. While Mark ends with a characteristic…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Powerful Ox
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Powerful Ox
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The powerful ox Symbolism and meaning After the human face of God in Matthew’s Teacher of Israel and the bounding lion of Mark, the next symbol for Jesus might seem odd: to us, the ox seems somewhat slow and stupid – and, indeed, some commentators have been known to call Luke, wi…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Those who are burdened with heavy loads
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Those who are burdened with heavy loads
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Those who are burdened with heavy loads The ministry of the ox The keynote for Luke’s portrait of Jesus is set in his initial visit to the synagogue at Nazareth (4.16–30). Luke’s story is three times longer than the equivalent accounts which occur much later in Mark and Matthew (…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What kind of animal is this creature?
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What kind of animal is this creature?
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
What kind of animal is this creature? Identity and interlude, Mark 8—10 So, everybody misunderstands Jesus during the first half of this gospel – his family (3.21–35), the crowds (4.10–12), the Gerasenes (5.17), his own home town (6.1–6), the religious leaders (7.6; 8.11–12) and …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Where is he who is born King of the Jews?