1. Images of Jesus: Explain Borg’s “four strokes” that characterize his portrait of the historical Jesus (pp. 29-30; 31-36; 48-58; 80-85). How are these images different or similar to what is found in the Gospel sources we have read? Make reference to two of the following: the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Matthew.
Guide line: Four “positive strokes,” according to Borg
Gospel of John, 3
Gospel of Thomas
2. Jesus and Judaism. In what way was Jesus critical of his own religious tradition, ancient Judaism? Was he simply a reformer, or was his position more radical? Did Jesus advocate rejecting the Jewish law (Torah); if not, how did he think it should be followed? Choose one of the three positions for “Jesus and the Torah” presented in the lecture 4.1 on Jesus, Purity, and the Torah, and defend it with additional evidence from the ancient gospels we have read.
Guide Line:
Torah: First five books of Hebrew Bible, traditionally ascribed to Moses
-ancient judaism:
•Strict monotheism, abstract divinity with no natural symbol (ex. Shema, Deut. 6:4)
•Israel as the chosen people of G*d with a covenant relationship
•Repentance and redemption.
-Three Positions in the Canonical Gos
1.Mark 7: 18-19: “Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart, but the stomach, and then goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
• Rejection of Jewish Torah. But not in the words of Jesus, but in the words of “Mark.”
2. Sayings common to Matthew and Luke
•Respect for both the spirit and the letter of the Torah. These are sayings of Jesus.
(Matt 23:23/Luke 11:42): But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. …
•(Matt 5:18/Luke 16:17): But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a letter in the law to be dropped…
•Respect for both the spirit and the letter of the Torah. These are sayings of Jesus.
3. Matthew
• 5:17, 19, 20: Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets…. Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven … . For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. …
• Radical observance of the Torah.These are sayings of Jesus.