Exploring the Bible Unit 5

Theophilus

the otherwise unknown man to whom the Gospel of Luke and Book of Acts are addressed. he may have been a roman official who became a christian.

Gethesemane

the site of a garden of orchard on the Mount of Olives where Jesus took his disciples after the Last Supper, the place where he was arrested.

Beloved Disciple

the unnamed disciple whom Jesus loved, whom the author of John's Gospel depicts as enjoying a more intimate relationship with Jesus the Peter of any other follower. although tradition identities this disciple with the apostle John, scholars can not verify the assumption.

Christology

theological disciple that deals with the nature of Jesus Christ, particularly his divinity, relation to the divine father, and role in human redemption.

Transfiguration

title given to an event in Jesus' life during which he was mysteriously transformed into a being of light. alone on an unidentified mountaintop with his 3 disciples- Peter, James and John, jesus, is seen conversing with the figures of Moses and Elijah representing divine revelations, the Torah and the Prophets. referring to Jesus as his "beloved son" a heavenly voice implicitly confirms Peter's recognition that Jesus is God's chosen one, the Messiah.

Gospel

translates to the greek word euangelion, meaning good news. designed to proclaim the good news about Jesus, the canonical Gospels tell the story of Jesus' ministry, death and resurrection.

Gospel of Matthew

Jesus is born, Herod tries to slaughter him, god prevents it. story with magi parallels story of Abraham. link to Hebrew bible fulfillment of Jewish prophecy, Jesus as teacher of law, second moses. there are 5 major teaching courses inauguration of a new covenant, envisioned by Jeremiah

Zechariah

Jewish priest, married to Elizabeth, had a long childless marriage but was blessed with John the Baptist in old age. a vision foretelling the birth rendered him temporarily paralyzed, but recovered his speech in time to name the child and to utter a prayer of thanksgiving the Benedict's. he was stoned to death for denouncing Judah's idolatry

Last Supper

Last Supper is the final meal that, in the Gospel accounts, Jesus shared with his Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper is commemorated by Christians especially on Maundy Thursday. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "Holy Communion" or "The Lord's Supper". The First Epistle to the Corinthians contains the earliest known mention of the Last Supper. The four canonical Gospels all state that the Last Supper took place towards the end of the week, after Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and that Jesus and his Apostles shared a meal shortly before Jesus was crucified at the end of that week. Paul first calls the christian "love Fest" of communion by this name 1st corinthians where he describes the ceremony of the Eucharist.

Mary (mother of Jesus)

Mary , also known by various titles, styles and honorifics, was a 1st-century Galilean Jewish woman of Nazareth and the mother of Jesus, according to the New Testament. The gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament describe Mary as a virgin and Christians believe that she conceived her son while a virgin by the Holy Spirit. This took place when she was already betrothed to Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. She married Joseph and accompanied him to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. The Gospel of Luke begins its account of Mary's life with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced her divine selection to be the mother of Jesus. According to canonical gospel accounts, Mary was present at the crucifixion and is depicted as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. According to the Catholic and Orthodox teaching, at the end of her earthly life her body was assumed directly into Heaven; this is known in the West as the Assumption.

Prodigal Son

Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the Lost Son, Running Father, Loving Father, or Lovesick Father) is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in Luke 15:11-32. Jesus shares it with his disciples, the Pharisees and others. In the story, a father has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance before the father dies, and the father agrees. The younger son, after wasting his fortune (the word "prodigal" means "wastefully extravagant"), goes hungry during a famine, and becomes so destitute he longs to eat the same food given to hogs, unclean animals in Jewish culture. He then returns home with the intention of repenting and begging his father to be made one of his hired servants, expecting his relationship with his father is likely severed. Regardless, the father finds him on the road and immediately welcomes him back as his son and holds a feast to celebrate his return, which includes killing a fattened calf usually reserved for special occasions. The older son refuses to participate, stating that in all the time he has worked for the father, he never disobeyed him; yet, he did not even receive a goat to celebrate with his friends. The father reminds the older son that the son has always been with him and everything the father has belongs to the older son (his inheritance). But, they should still celebrate the return of the younger son because he was lost and is now found. It is the third and final part of a cycle on redemption, following the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Lost Coin. In Western Catholic tradition, this parable is usually read on the fourth Sunday of Lent

Realized eschatology

a belief that events usually associated with the eschaton (World end) are even now realized or fulfilled by Jesus' spiritual presence among believers.

Son of Man

a hebrew bible, phrase used to denote a human being including plural usage. appears often in the Book of Ezekiel where it is commonly used to indicate the prophet himself. in the gospels, the phrase is always spoken by Jesus and in most cases applied himself. outside the gospels, it is used only once although the author of revelation echoes. used in Mark

Nicodemus

a leading Pharisee and member if the Sanhedrin who discussed spiritual rebirth with Jesus visited him by night and defended him against other pharisees and with Joseph of Arimathea helped him entomb his body.

Elizabeth

a levite, wife of the priest Zechariah and mother of John the Baptist

Bethlehem

a village of about 5 miles south of Jerusalem, birthplace of David and the place where Samuel secretly anointed him King of Israel. it was to be the Messiahs birthplace, an idea that influenced the Gospel writers' accounts of Jesus' nativity.

Q

abbreviation for Quelle, the German term for "source", a hypothetical document that many scholars believe contained a collection of Jesus' saying (logia) theory of its existence was formed to explain material common to both Matthew and Luke but absent from Mark's Gospel. assumed that Matthew and Luke drew on a single source, 50-70 CE

Pentecost

also known as the feast of weeks, the feast of Harvest and the day of the first fruits, pentecost is a one day celebration held 55 days after Passover as the juncture of May and June. also the occasion of the outpouring of Holy Spirit on early Christians assembled in Jerusalem regard as he spiritual baptism of the church.

Gospel of Luke

christmas story. historical events connected to census. Jesus as an innocent servant. judas present thought he meal at the last supper greco roman audience elevated greek style, savior of the whole world. rejected by the jews turns to the Gentiles interest in female characters and outcasts, emphasis of social justice, service present reality of the kingdom

Gnosticism

complex movement in early Christianity which taught that salvation was gained through special knowledge revealed though a spiritual savior and was the property of an elite few who had initiated into its mysteries. gnosticism became a major heresy in the primitive church.

Parables

from the Greek parable, a short fiction compares something familiar to an unexpected spiritual value. using a commonplace object or event to illustrate a spiritual principle was Jesus' typical method of teaching Synoptic Gospels. famous hebrew bible parables include- Nathan's, Isaiah's, Jotham's, Jehoash's and Ezekiel's last 2 are allegories.

Eucharist

from the greek word gratitude or thanksgiving, eucharist is a name for the christian ceremony of consecrated bread and wine that Jesus initiated at the Last supper.

Kerygma

greek term meaning proclamation, refers to the act of publicly preaching the Christian message.

Logos

greek term meaning word and reason, used by greek philosophers to denote a rational principle that creates and informs the universe. amplified by Philo Judeaus of Alexandria, Egypt, to present a mediator btw god and his material creation. the most famous expression in the 4th gospel to denote pressman Jesus, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

Satan

in the Hebrew Bible , the satan appears as a prosecutor in the heavenly court among the sons of God and only later as a tempter. even though the Hebrew bible says virtually nothing about Satan's origin, they contain legendary material about his fall from heaven and the establishment of the hierarchy of demons and devils. by the new testament, he believed to head a kingdom of evil and to seek the corruption of all people, including the Messiah. Satan is also the evil one, the devil and the primordial serpent who tempted Eve.

Galilee

means the circle of gentiles, name given to the northern Palestine lying west of the Jordan. the region where Jesus grew up, Galilee was then under Roman control but administered by the tetrarch Herod Antipas

Paul

most influential apostle and missionary of the church and author of 7 to 9 NT letters. converted to christianity after persecuting early christians undertook at least 3 international missionary tours, presenting defenses of the new faith before jewish and gentle authorities. his emphasis on the insufficiency of the mosaic law for salvation and superiority of faith to law. martyred in rome.

Peter

most prominent of Jesus' disciples "the rock" called by Jesus to be a fisher of men. first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah peter denied him 3 times. became a leader of of the jerusalem church and miracle workers. peter was to be the rock on which Jesus' church was built. martyred under Nero.

Gabriel

on elf the 7 archangels whose duty it was to convey the Diety's messages explained daniels visions to him and in the new testament announced the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. the name amy mean person of God or god has shown himself mighty.

Judas

one of the 12 apostles, betrayed Jesus to the priests and romans for 30 pieces of silver, later returned the blood money and died. gospel writes little understood Judas' motives, attributing to simple greed or to the influence of Satan.

Thomas

one of the twelve apostles seldom maintained in the Synoptics but relatively prominent in the 4th Gospel, where he is called Didymus. unable to believe other disciples report of Jesus' resurrection, Thomas is suddenly confronted with the risen Jesus and pronounces the strongest confession of faith in gospel.

Gospel of Thomas

only known complete non canonical Gospel, is a collection of Jesus' sayings, with no narrative content.

Holy Spirit

presence of God active in human life. the hebrew bible speaks of the spirit of God as the force that created the universe and that inspires humans to prophesy and carries out divine will. In post- new testament times, the holy spirit was declared to be the 3rd person in the trinity.

Evangelists

refers to the writer of an euangelion. from greek evangelion, good news. in the greek- speaking world of the new testament times, euangelion commonly was used to denote public proclamation by or about the roman empire. the emperors military victories, welfare policies or official elevation to the status of a god were typical ex of good news.

Baptism

religious ceremony associated with John the Baptist and performed on converts in the infant Christian community. may have derived from ritual cleansings with water practiced by Essenes. in christianity, it is the ceremony of initiation into the church, performed either by total immersion of water of water on the head.

Synoptic problem

scholarly term for the question of relationship- nature of literary independence- of the 1st 3 gospels- Matthew, Mark and Luke. most scholars believe Matthew and Luke are expanded editions of Mark

John the Baptist

son of Zachariah, a priest. preached the imminence of judgement and baptized converts in the Jordan river as a symbol of their repentance from sin. gospel writers viewed him as am Elijah figure and forerunner of the Messiah who baptized Jesus but also recognized by him superiority. imprisoned by Herod Antipas, inquired whether Jesus were the expected one who is to come. Jesus' answer was equivocal but he praised John's work as a fulfilling prophesy. Herod has John beheaded. some of Johns disciples later became Christians

Sanhedrin

supreme judicial council of the Jews from the 3rd century BCE until Roamns destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE, its deliberations were led by the high priest. Jesus was tried before the SAnhedren and condemned on charges of blasphemy. Stephen was stoned as a result of the verdict. Peter, John and other disciples were hailed before the court and Paul was charged with violating the Mosaic Torah.

Passion

term commonly used to denote Jesus' suffering and death

Pericope

term used in form criticism to describe a literary unit that forms a complete entity in itself and is attached to its context by later editorial commentary. many of Jesus' pronouncements probably circulated independently as periscopes before they were incorporated into written Gospel narratives.

Synoptic gospels

the 1st gospels, so named bc they share a large quantity of material in common, allowing their texts to be viewed together "with one eye"

Incarnation

the Christian doctrine asserting that the prehuman Son of God became flesh, the man of Jesus of Nazareth to reveal the divine will to humanity- a doctrine based largely on the Logos hymn that opens the 4th gospel.

Docetism

the belief, commonly associated with Gnostic Christianity, that Jesus was a pure spirit and only appeared to be physically human, from the Greek verb meaning "to seem"

Lazarus

the brother of Mary and Martha, a resident of Bethany whom Jesus restored to life also the beggar in Jesus' parable of rewards and punishments in the afterlife

Mary Magdalene

woman from Mandala, from whom Jesus cast out 7 demons and who became his follower, common tradition asserts she had been a prostitute whom Jesus had rescued from her former life. she was present at the crucifixion and visited Jesus' tomb early Sunday morning and was the first to see Jesus rise, although the male disciples failed to believe her.