The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (2 page)

ABBREVIATIONS OF WORKS OF THE CHURCH FATHERS

Abbreviations of other works (e.g., apocryphal, pseudepigraphical, Mishnaic, Talmudic, classical Greek and Roman writings, etc.) conform to
The SBL Handbook of Style
.

F
OR BELIEVERS WHO look to Scripture as the authority for their faith and practice, the NT, with its 27 books, presents both a wonderful, God-given treasure trove of spiritual insights and a formidable challenge for faithful, accurate interpretation. To be sure, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16–17), but to be so equipped the student of Scripture must follow Paul's exhortation to “[b]e diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15).

This diligence required for a correct understanding of God's “word of truth” involves a thorough acquaintance with the historical, literary, and theological aspects of the various NT writings. Somewhat ironically, the methodical study of these factors traces its modern origins back to the Enlightenment. We say “ironically” because the Enlightenment was also characterized by an antisupernatural bias and a critical—if not skeptical—spirit, with its emphasis on studying the Bible like any other book.
¹
Clearly, for anyone who believes that Scripture is
more
than just a piece of human literature, such an approach is unacceptable because it denies that Scripture is the product of divine inspiration.
²
But while Scripture ought not be reduced to a
mere
piece of human writing, we can gain much by paying careful attention to the historical, literary, and theological dimensions of the biblical writings and, in our case particularly, the NT.

TITLE AND CONTENT OVERVIEW

Title

For this reason we present you, the serious student of the NT, with
The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown
. The title attempts to capture the essence of NT theology: (1)
the cradle
—that is, Jesus' virgin birth and incarnation, which are narrated at the outset of the NT canon (Matt 1:18–25); (2)
the cross
, narrated in the Gospel passion narratives and explained in the NT epistolary literature; and (3)
the crown
, that is, the triumphant return of Christ and our eternal reign with him. Within this framework we advocate a holistic reading of the NT, and of the entire body of Scripture, along the lines of a salvation-historical framework that traces the story of God's progressive revelation and provision of redemption in the promised Messiah and Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Nature of Scripture

The first part of this book attempts to set the stage for the ensuing study by a discussion of the most critical foundational issues for NT interpretation: (1) the nature and scope of Scripture (chap. 1); and (2) the political and religious background of the NT (chap. 2). It is vital for all students of Scripture to have a proper understanding of the
doctrine
of Scripture, so chapter 1 discusses the formation of the NT canon, its inspiration and inerrancy, the preservation and transmission of the Bible over the centuries, and issues pertaining to the translation of Scripture.

Unfortunately, this kind of doctrinal instruction is increasingly neglected in many publications on the topic in our day.
³
But we judge it absolutely vital because only by understanding Scripture as divine revelation, in keeping with its own claims, will we be able to pursue our study all the way to its intended goal: the application of the “word of truth” to our personal lives and our relationships with others.
⁴
God has revealed himself in his inspired, inerrant word, and because the Bible is the Word of God written, it is therefore inerrant, trustworthy, authoritative, and requires obedience and personal application.
⁵
James says it well:

…humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror; for he looks at himself, goes away, and right away forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the
perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts—this person will be blessed in what he does (1:21–25).

Indeed, the purpose of Scripture is “training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16–17).

In this regard, it is our desire that this book be more than a dry, academic compilation of various dates and facts. To be sure, the study of Scripture requires diligence—in other words, work!—but what ought to motivate our efforts is the payoff at the end of our research: a better understanding of the history, literature, and theology of the NT writings for the purpose of cultivating, in the power of the Holy Spirit, a deeper spiritual life in ourselves, our families, and our churches. This, in turn, will result in a more authentic and authoritative proclamation of the biblical message so that God's kingdom may be advanced in this world and so others may be subjected to his reign in their lives.

The Background of the New Testament

As we approach our study of the NT, we need to acquaint ourselves with the political and religious background of the NT (the contents of chap. 2). This is an ingredient not always found in standard NT introductions, an omission that when teaching NT survey courses in the past has sent us scrambling for other resources to prepare our students adequately for entering the world of the NT. In this chapter we cover the end of OT history (the exiles of Israel and Judah, the last prophets); the period between the Testaments (the Greeks, the Maccabees, and the Romans); and the political environment of Jesus' ministry (the Jewish sects, the Herodian dynasty, etc.). We also provide a survey of Second Temple literature and discuss relevant theological and philosophical issues.

History, Literature, and Theology

Once this foundation has been laid, we analyze each NT book using the same pattern, which is called a “hermeneutical triad” in Köstenberger and Patterson's
Invitation to Biblical Interpretation
:
⁶
(1)
history
(including a book's authorship, date, provenance, destination, etc.); (2)
literature
(genre, literary plan, outline, unit-by-unit discussion); and (3)
theology
(theological themes, contribution to the canon). In keeping with the three major divisions of the NT canon, the material in the body of this book is then organized into the following three parts:

• Part Two: Jesus and the Gospels
  , which features a chapter on Jesus and the relationship among the four Gospels as well as introductions to each of the four Gospels.
  
• Part Three: The Early Church and Paul
  , which includes chapters on the book of Acts; the ministry and message of the apostle Paul; and the 13 canonical letters of Paul in likely chronological order of writing: Galatians; 1–2 Thessalonians; 1–2 Corinthians; Romans; the Prison Epistles; and the Pastoral Epistles.
  
• Part Four: The General Epistles and Revelation
  , which are discussed in canonical order (except that Jude is kept with the Petrine letters because of the letter's close relationship with 2 Peter): Hebrews; James; 1–2 Peter; Jude; 1–3 John; and Revelation.
  

The book ends with a chapter on unity and diversity in the NT, concluding the volume as it began: with an emphasis on a holistic reading of Scripture.

RATIONALE AND DISTINCTIVES

Rationale

It is our belief, borne out of years of teaching on both the undergraduate and the graduate levels, that the pattern of organizing the material described above best reflects the organic growth of the NT material. It allows the classroom teacher (1) to cover the foundational material, that is, the doctrine of Scripture, the NT background, and Jesus and the Gospels; and (2) to use the template provided by the book of Acts as the basis for a study of the ministry and writings of the apostle Paul and the other NT witnesses.

While the NT is a collection of writings—a body of literature—to be appreciated in the sequence in which it is given, it also reflects a historical plan. It moves from God's promise of a Messiah as described in the OT, to the coming of that Messiah as depicted in the Gospels, to the growth of the early church as narrated in the book of Acts and the NT letters, and to the consummation of human history at the return of Christ as anticipated in Revelation.
⁷

To give but one example, it will be helpful for the student to understand that Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians several years prior to his Letter to the Romans so that the “Judaizing controversy” surrounding circumcision (discussed in Galatians) can be seen to provide the backdrop to the later, more general formulation of the gospel in the book of Romans. It will also be helpful to relate both Galatians and Romans to events in the book of Acts and to other events in early Christian history and in the ministry of Paul.

Distinctives

With this in mind, we have aimed to produce a volume with the following distinctives.

1. User-friendly.
   We have written with the teacher and the student in mind. This book is scholarly yet accessible; it is useful as a text for one- or two-semester NT survey classes. You can cover all the material in one semester or go over the introduction and Jesus and the Gospels in semester 1 and the early church, then Paul and the rest of the NT in semester 2. User-friendly features include listings of Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Knowledge at the beginning
   ⁸
   and Study Questions and Resources for Further Study at the end of every chapter. An extensive glossary is found in the back of the volume.
   
2. Comprehensive.
   This book covers the entire NT canon, background, Jesus, the Gospels, the early church and Paul's writings in order of composition, the General Epistles and Revelation, and the unity and diversity of the NT. Studying Paul's letters in the order in which they were written helps integrate them with the historical framework of Acts.
   
3. Conservative.
   All three writers of this book affirm that all 27 books in the NT were written by the persons to whom they are ascribed (the four Gospels, the letters). We have included a strong defense of the apostolic authorship of Matthew and John and a rebuttal of the alleged pseudonymity of Paul's and Peter's letters, especially the Pastorals and 2 Peter.
   
4. Balanced.
   We have attempted to follow sound hermeneutical procedure, modeling the study of each NT book in its historical, literary, and theological context. Hence, this volume is more (though not less) than just a NT introduction dealing with the introductory issues of authorship, date, provenance, destination, and so on.
   
5. Up-to-date.
   This volume includes comprehensive scholarly interaction with both older and more recent scholarship, with a primary focus on English-language sources. Where appropriate we draw on recent advances in the literary study of Scripture, following a narrative or discourse analysis approach in tracing the contents of various NT books.
   
6. Spiritually nurturing and application oriented.
   The style of writing consistently seeks to nurture the student's spirituality and encourages application of what is learned rather than an arid presentation of facts to be mastered merely on a cognitive level. This is reflected especially in the unit-by-unit discussions, the theological themes sections, and the Something to Think About sidebars (a unique ingredient for NT introductions).