Four Portraits, One Jesus Workbook: Guided Reading Projects and Exercises in the Gospels

By Mark L. Strauss

This workbook accompanies Mark L. Strauss’s Four Portraits, One Jesus. Following the textbook’s structure, it offers readings from the Gospels, activities, and exercises designed to support the students’ learning experience and enhance their comprehension of what can be known from the Gospels about the central defining subject of Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth.

Four Portraits, One Jesus is a thorough yet accessible introduction to the four biblical Gospels and their subject, the life and person of Jesus. Like different artists rendering the same subject using different styles and points of view, the Gospels paint four highly distinctive portraits of the same remarkable Jesus. With clarity and insight, Mark Strauss illuminates these four books, first addressing their nature, origin, methods for study, and historical, religious, and cultural backgrounds. He then moves on to closer study of each narrative and its contribution to our understanding of Jesus, investigating things such as plot, characters, and theme. Finally, he pulls it all together with a detailed examination of what the Gospels teach about Jesus’ ministry, message, death, and resurrection, with excursions into the quest for the historical Jesus and the historical reliability of the Gospels.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Aug 4, 2015
• ISBN: 9780310522850

Mark L. Strauss

Mark L. Strauss (PhD, Aberdeen) is university professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary, where he has served since 1993. His books include Four Portraits, One Jesus; How to Read the Bible in Changing Times; The Essential Bible Companion; and commentaries on Mark and Luke. He also serves as vice chair of the Committee on Bible Translation for the New International Version translation.  

Book preview

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ZONDERVAN

Four Portraits, One Jesus Workbook

Copyright © 2015 by Mark L. Strauss

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition © July 2015: ISBN 978-0-310-52285-0

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Maps by International Mapping. Copyright © by Zondervan. Temple images on p. 49 copyright © by Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover artwork: Bridgeman Art Library, Thinkstock

Interior design: Kait Lamphere

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images/img-5-1.jpg Contents images/img-5-2.jpg

Preface

PART 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE FOUR GOSPELS

1. What Are the Gospels?

Assignment 1.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 1

Addendum Questions

2. Exploring the Origin and Nature of the Gospels: Historical-Critical Methods of Gospel Research

Assignment 2.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 2

Assignment 2.2: Synoptic Comparison Worksheet

Assignment 2.3: Redaction Criticism Project

3. Reading and Hearing the Gospel Stories: Literary-Critical Methods of Gospel Research

Assignment 3.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 3

Assignment 3.2: Categories of Narrative Analysis

Assignment 3.3: Narrative Analysis of a Gospel Text

PART 2: THE SETTING OF THE GOSPELS

4. The Historical Setting of the Gospels

Assignment 4.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 4

Assignment 4.2: The Geographical Context

5. The Religious Setting: First-Century Judaism

Assignment 5.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 5

Assignment 5.2: Groups within Judaism

6. The Social and Cultural Setting of the Gospels

Assignment 6.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 6

Assignment 6.2: First-Century Social Values

Assignment 6.3: Social Values Illustrated in Luke’s Gospel

PART 3: THE FOUR GOSPELS

7. Mark: The Gospel of the Suffering Son of God

Assignment 7.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 7

Instructions for Guided Reading Projects on Mark’s Gospel

Assignment 7.2: Guided Reading Project for Mark 1 – 8

Assignment 7.3: Guided Reading Project for Mark 8 – 16

8. Matthew: The Gospel of the Messiah

Assignment 8.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 8

Instructions for Guided Reading Projects on Matthew’s Gospel

Assignment 8.2: Guided Reading Project for Matthew 1 – 14

Assignment 8.3: Guided Reading Project for Matthew 15 – 28

9. Luke: The Gospel of the Savior for All People

Assignment 9.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 9

Instructions for Guided Reading Projects on Luke’s Gospel

Assignment 9.2: Guided Reading Project for Luke 1 – 12

Assignment 9.3: Guided Reading Project for Luke 13 – 24

10. John: The Gospel of the Son Who Reveals the Father

Assignment 10.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 10

Instructions for Guided Reading Projects on John’s Gospel

Assignment 10.2: Guided Reading Project for John 1 – 11

Assignment 10.3: Guided Reading Project for John 12 – 21

PART 4: THE HISTORICAL JESUS

11. Searching for the Real Jesus

Assignment 11.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 11

12. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels

Assignment 12.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 12

Assignment 12.2: History and Theology in the Gospels

13. The Contours and Chronology of Jesus’ Ministry

Assignment 13.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 13

14. Jesus’ Birth and Childhood

Assignment 14.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 14

15. The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry

Assignment 15.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 15

16. The Message of Jesus

Assignment 16.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 16

Assignment 16.2: Figures of Speech Used by Jesus

17. The Miracles of Jesus

Assignment 17.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 17

18. The Messianic Words and Deeds of Jesus

Assignment 18.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 18

19. The Death of Jesus

Assignment 19.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 19

Assignment 19.2: Events of Passion Week

20. The Resurrection of Jesus

Assignment 20.1: Overview Questions for Chapter 20

Assignment 20.2: The Aims of the Historical Jesus

Addendum Assignments:

Preparing to Teach or Preach a Gospel Text

Preparing to Teach the Gospels Worksheet 1

Preparing to Teach the Gospels Worksheet 2

Preparing to Teach the Gospels Worksheet 3

Preparing to Teach the Gospels Worksheet 4

Preparing to Teach the Gospels Worksheet 5

Answer Keys for Matching Assignments

Answer Key to Assignment 5.2: Groups within Judaism

Answer Key for Assignment 16.2: Figures of Speech Used by Jesus

images/img-5-1.jpg Preface images/img-5-2.jpg

Students learn best not just by seeing and hearing but also by doing. This workbook is designed to supplement the Gospels textbook Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels. It includes a variety of different kinds of exercises, all designed to provide hands-on experience for the study of the Gospels.

There are four main types of assignments:

1. For every chapter in the textbook there are overview questions designed to review the main concepts from that chapter. Answering these questions will enable students to check whether they have grasped the basic content and concepts of the chapter and also will prepare them for quizzes and/or exams.

2. For each of the four Gospels, there are guided reading projects. While it is helpful to read about the Gospels, it is even better to read the Gospels. In these assignments, students read the biblical text and are asked leading questions to guide them through the progress of the story, the narrative themes, and the theological purpose of each Gospel.

3. There are a number of assignments that enable students to see Gospel methods at work. For example, chapter 2, which deals with source, form, and redaction criticism, has an assignment where students compare the Synoptic Gospels in order to experience firsthand the literary relationship between Matthew, Mark, and Luke and to test out various solutions to the synoptic problem. Similarly, a worksheet on redaction criticism allows students to draw conclusions related to the theological purposes behind the editorial activity of the Gospel writers.

4. There are a number of worksheets in the addendum that provide a methodology for preparing to teach Gospel passages. Many students, whether they are headed into vocational Christian ministry or lay leadership in the church, will have opportunities and responsibilities to teach the