ST MICHAEL’S 27 JULY 2008 UNDERSTANDING THE NEW TESTAMENT Robert

2 Peter 3: 14 – 18 John 20: 24 – 31

1.UNDERSTANDING ITS DIVERSITY
2.UNDSTANDING ITS LANGUAGE & MESSAGE
3.READ, MARK, LEARN & INWARDLY DIGEST

UNDERSTANDING ITS DIVERSITY

The New Testament is not one block of Holy Scripture in the way it appears in copies of the Bible. 4 Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, 21 Letters, and (at the end) the vivid but (to 21st century eyes strange) Book of Revelation. So not the sort of book you buy in a shop and read from beginning to end in a logical sequence. It is a collection, written over many years by many different authors, from different stand-points, with different purposes in mind. Don’t start at the beginning and attempt to read through to the end!

FOUR GOSPELS. These tell the story of the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus. They are called Gospels because the word means “Good News” and they represent the basic message of the Christian faith. The Christian Faith centres not on a body of doctrine or code of conduct, but on one Person – Jesus – and without these accounts, Christianity would not exist because we would not know his story. They all claim (explicitly or indirectly) to be or at least represent eye-witness accounts of Jesus’ ministry and the manner of his death and resurrection.

They are unsigned and it is tradition that has assigned authors to them. Mark written first. It is the shortest and perhaps most dynamic and vivid. It is more about actions than words. Matthew and Luke clearly had Mark’s account in front of them when they wrote, and often quote him verbatim or with small variations. They have their own standpoint because they are addressed to different readers – essentially Matthew to Jewish readers, and Luke to Greek and other Gentile readers. Both seem to have in front of them another source in addition to Mark – a collection of the sayings or teachings of Jesus, from which they choose selections of his words and teaching.

John stands apart. He does not refer to Mark as his source. The Greek style is markedly different and more philosophical. Much more space is given to recounting just a few incidents and miracles, with interpretation and – towards the end – a long account of what Jesus said to his disciples at and after the Last Supper. Over the centuries people seem to have always been drawn to John’s account, perhaps because it quotes Jesus’ words in such detail and length. But you read the other three if you want the overall synopsis of his life and ministry.

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. This is written by the same author as the third Gospel, Luke, and continues the story of how the Christian Church was formed at the Day of Pentecost, and how it broke away (under the leadership of St Paul) from its original Jewish base, and (as we would say now) ‘went global’ and began to become the worldwide community of faith that (for example) we now see represented by bishops from all over the world at the Lambeth Conference. It is a great story and an exciting read.

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21 LETTERS. These are mostly written by Paul (at different times, from different places, and for different reasons), but some are by other authors whom it is hard to identify by name in most cases. Probably all of Paul’s letters will have been written some time before the Gospels. The Gospel story of the life of Jesus, and the stories of what he said and did would have been passed on orally through sermons and teaching in groups for a generation, and it was when the first eye-witnesses began either to die naturally or through martyrdom, that they realised that it was essential that orderly accounts be written down.

They are written to ‘Churches’ in different places, and (being a well taught congregation) we all know that a ‘Church’ is the people, not the building. In those days there were no church buildings. Sometimes he writes with encouragement, sometimes with criticism, always with advice which is well worth reading.

Because he was writing to address such specific circumstances and often (as we say) ‘on the hoof’ dictating at speed, the sentence construction can become difficult, and the thoughts they contain (Peter tells us) sometimes hard to understand. But they contain the godly wisdom that underlines so much Christian teaching down the ages. But try to understand the context into which they were written, and the problems he was addressing – and read them as letters – not as polished doctrinal theses.

REVELATION is (as they say) a ‘one off’ (using very different Greek from eg: John’s Gospel and the 3 letters which carry the name ‘John’, so certainly not written by the same person as wrote the 4th Gospel or the three letters under John’s name). But actually belonging to a category of prophecy which was common at the time and well accepted in the Jewish world. It draws on the Book of Daniel but great guidance is needed before dipping in too far, as it has been used to underpin endless cults and false prophecies down the centuries, and is impossible to be taken literally.

So –take time and care to understand the way the New Testament is made up, its variety, its types of writing, its diversity, and it will add immensely both to your enjoyment of an amazing collection of literature and to your understanding. Who would think, for example, that we could read personal letters written two thousand years ago? It is very exciting.

UNDERSTANDING ITS LANGUAGE AND MESSAGE

Some people read the New Testament because they enjoy the beauty of its language which is often poetic in character and beautifully constructed as language. Those people will always like what we call the ‘Authorised Version’ which was a new translation from the original Greek into English, commanded by King James 1st after the death of Queen Elizabeth, and printed in 1611.

What most people don’t know is that the language was consciously old-fashioned even in 1611. The language was intended to impart a rather ancient solemnity to the text and would have been a little difficult for ordinary people to understand

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even then. Bear in mind that Shakespeare was still very much alive in 1611 and was still writing plays. It is fascinating to imagine how different the Authorised Version would be if Shakespeare had been asked to do the work. His language was entirely different – very lively, vivid and including many new words in common speech and indeed it seems many he more or less invented. It would have brought the text to life is a quite different way – perhaps rather like the very modern new translations that are published especially for young people today.

But, however beautiful the cadences of the Authorised Version, what we are concerned with today is UNDERSTANDING the New Testament and its message, and for that we really do need a modern translation. Here in St Michael’s we use the New international Version (NIV) which is a good, conservative version for most of us to use. More modern translations include the Good News Bible, and the New English Bible which was produced in the 1970s and was intended to replace the Authorised Version, but has never really caught on. There are many others – shop around, and find one that you find easy to understand. If we are to live the Christian life today, we need to know what the New Testament actually says and means.

READ, MARK, LEARN & INWARDLY DIGEST

Who remembers the Prayer Book Collect for Bible Sunday (2nd in Advent in those days)? A little exercise in memory – if I stop in the middle who can tell me what comes next...?

‘Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning; grant that we may in such wise hear them – read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ.’

In order to understand the New Testament, and live by it, we need not only to understand how it came to be written, and understand the language, we need more – read, mark, learn and inwardly digest.

So (if by chance you don’t already do this), obtain a good modern translation which you find easy to understand. Get hold of some good notes or commentaries to help you. Make time as a priority for regular prayerful reading of short passages, followed by reflection and prayer.

Then comes the further step. Mark and Learn (yes, often by heart is really helpful) and inwardly digest – which means allowing the meaning to seep deep into your system and your daily life, so that you not only read the scriptures, but live by them. There lies the makings of a Christian life!

DISCUSSION. Discuss which versions of the Bible you find most helpful; whether you use Bible Reading notes or commentaries and, if so, which ones you find helpful; and what it means in practice to ‘inwardly digest’ Holy Scripture.