MODULE 2

Topic Outline
Lesson 1: Organizations and Development of the New
Testament
- Stages/ Realities of the New Testament.
- Divisions of the books of the New Testament
-

Lesson 2: The meaning of the word Gospel

Lesson 3: Stages of the Gospel Formation.
Lesson 4: The synoptic Gospels: Authors, Themes, Year
written, Audience, Concept of Jesus
 Lesson 1:
Organizations and Development of the New Testament

I. OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, you must be able:
 To know how the New Testament was organized and developed.
 To understand that the formation of the New Testament books took on
a gradual and a very long process before they were organized and
developed.
As there were stages in the development of the Old
Testament, the same is true with the New Testament. For
instance,
a. ) the Gospel was first historically lived,
b.) then preached orally
c.) finally written and edited.
The opening verses of the Gospel of Luke prove to these stages in the
Gospel formation.

“Many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the

events which have fulfilled in our midst, precisely as those
events were handed down to us by the original eyewitnesses and
ministers of the word. I too have carefully traced the whole
sequence of events from the beginning, and have to set it in
writing for you, Theophilus, so that your Excellency may see
how reliable the instruction was that you received.” ( Lk. 1: 1-4 )
Thus, during the time of Jesus and the apostles, the Bible was still in
the making. Their Bible then was composed only of our present Old
Testament books, but whose list was far from being complete and
definitive.
The formation of the NT canon was also a slow process and the
cannon which took shape was the creation of the Church. As stated by
the middle of the 5th century (7th to some scholars) the whole Christian
Church was more or less in agreement in accepting the 27 NT books as
we have them now. But it was still in the 16th century at the Council of
Trent (1546 A.D.) that totally settled all doubts or reservations on the
canonicity of all the New Testament books.
B. Divisions of the Books of the New Testament.
I. The Four Gospels
(The three synoptic and the Gospel of John)

1. MARK (A.D. 60-70) presents Jesus to persecuted Christians as a

Suffering Messiah; his followers must be prepared to suffer.
 2. MATTHEW (80-90)- presents Jesus to a Jewish
Christian audience as the fulfillment of the prophecy about the
Messiah in the Old Testament.
 3. LUKE (80-90) presents Jesus as a Universal Messiah,
a Savior of both Jews and Gentiles including marginalized groups:
the poor, women, Samaritans, sinners and other outcasts.
4 JOHN ( 90-100 ) presents Jesus as the Incarnate Word of God form his
heavenly existence to his descent into the world, then to his public ministry that
led to his passion, death, resurrection, and glorious ascent to the Father.
 The ACTS of the Apostles (80-90) narrates the spread of the Gospel
and growth of the early church after Pentecost through the preaching of Peter,
Paul, and other disciples, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
III. Pauline Letters

1. 1 THESSALONIANS (A.D. 50-51) - commends the Thessalonians for

their general conduct, but also exhorts them to build up one another
in faith, to work diligently, and to prepare for Jesus’ second coming.
2. 2 THESSALONIANS (51-52 or 80-100) – instruction on Jesus’ second
coming since it caused disturbance and neglect of work; exhortation
to work hard, imitating Paul’s own example.
3. GALATIANS (c. 54-55) – an angry letter wherein Paul defends his
right to teach the Gospel; and he corrects the error of false teachers
who taught that Gentiles must become Jew first before becoming
Christians.
4. 1 CORINTHIANS (c. 56) – addresses church problems: community
factions and various ethical issues like sexual immorality and
lawsuits. There are two classic chapters: on love (13) and on
resurrection (15)
5. 2 CORINTHIANS (c. 57) – deals principally with three topics: 1) crisis
between Paul and Corinthians and its resolution, 2) Collection for
the Church in Jerusalem, 3) Paul’s defense of his ministry.
6. ROMANS (c. 58) – a theological letter with two main sections: 1)
doctrinal part – Greeks dependence on Knowledge and Jews’
dependence on law would not save ,but faith in Jesus Christ. 2)
Christian living- to live according to the Gospel.
7. PHILIPPIANS (c. A.D. 55) – Paul thanks the Philippians for their
gift and calls on them to rejoice even if difficulties and trials
abound. He offers Jesus as the model to follow in his humility
and obedience, accepting even death.
8. PHILEMON ( c. 61-63) – a handwritten letter of Paul instructing
Philemon to take back his newly converted runaway slave, as a
fellow believer rather than as a slave.
9. COLOSSIANS (c. 54-56 or 80-90) – the church at Colossae was
suffering from heretical teachings. Paul , starting with a hymn
on the primacy of Christ, warns and exhorts about Christian
life and how families should conduct themselves
10. EPHESSIANS (c. 61-63 or 80-100) – Many scholars think that this is a
circular letter sent to a number of churches in Asia Minor. It presents
the Church as the mystery of God’s plan of salvation, the household of
God, the bride of Christ, the body of Christ with Christ as its head. It
stresses unity in diversity and ethical rules for Church conduct.
11. 1 TIMOTHY (c. 63-65 or 90-110) – Paul gives instruction on organization
and administration to young Timothy who was given charge of the
church of Ephesus, also warnings against false doctrine, and exhortations to
guard the true faith.
12. 2 TIMOTHY (c. 63-67 or early 2nd century) – Instructions to protect the
faith , to continue following Paul’s example and teaching, and to
emphasize the value of Scriptures for training in righteousness.
13. TITUS (c. 63-67 or early 2nd century) – instructions to Titus on
choosing assistant bishops for his church at Crete and
on holding to sound doctrine. The letter also affirms respect to
lawful authorities and warns against deceptive teachings.

14. HEBREWS (c. 65-90) – The author is unknown. Scholars say that it is
more of a sermon or a theological treatise than a letter. It is
known for its persuasive arguments. and powerful
presentation of the high priesthood of Jesus. Jesus is
presented as one who offers sacrifice to God and is himself the
sacrifice.
IV. Cristian Letters

1. JAMES (c. 70 or 90-100) – develops the theme of faith in relation to

good works and the need for the rich to care for the poor. It has also
practical advice on controlling one’s tongue, on wisdom, patience,
pride and other ethical issues.
2. 1PETER (c.70-90) – encourages Christians in the face of suffering and
persecution to be faithful to their baptismal promises and Christian
obligations, by pointing to Jesus as their example.
3. 2 PETER (c. 100-25) – cautions Christian against the dangers of false
teachings and strongly exhorts them to be faithful in the practice of
Christian virtue, while awaiting the second coming of Jesus Christ.
4. 1 JOHN (c. 100) – combats the heresy that denies Jesus’ humanity which means
rejecting Jesus’ incarnation, death, and resurrection. It stresses that God’s
true revelation is found in Jesus Christ. To know God is to follow Jesus’
example and to love one another
5. 2 JOHN (c. 100) – addresses symbolically the Church and its members as “CHOSEN
LADY” and her children. It repeats the theme of love from the first letter and
warns them not to be deceived by Antichrist who teach that Jesus has not
come in the flesh.
6. 3 JOHN (c. 100) – A letter of thanks to a certain “Gauis” for accommodating itinerant
missionaries, and an exhortation not to imitate the church leader who refused
hospitality to the missionaries.
7. JUDE (c. 80 or 100-10) – caution Christians of God’s punishments of those who had
been saved but did not keep their faith as witnessed by OT figures. It exhorts
Christians to beware of false teachings and not to waiver in the face of challenges.
V. The book of Revelation

1. REVELATION/ APOCALYPSE (C. 90-96) – Composed as a resistance

literature during the crisis of Christian persecution, this book
portrays the ultimate victory of God’s kingdom
over evil. It is filled with symbols and apocalyptic imagery.
The message is one hope, consolation, and challenge
for all who believe.
 Lesson 2
The MEANING of the WORD GOSPEL

I. OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, you must be able:
 To know the meaning of the word Gospel.
 To integrate into your life the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and
consequently become a living Gospel in your Christian community.
The meaning of the word “Gospel”
The meaning of the word “GOSPEL” has also undergone a
development. First, it means “good news” for the reason that Jesus Christ
himself has announced that God has finally started his task of redemption as
promised through the prophets. Mark 1:15 proves this announcement; It
stated that, “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the Gospel”.
In this context we say that there is only one Gospel, that is, the spoken
message of Jesus about the “kingdom of God” or reign of God and its
blessings, and the proper response to it, that is, REPENTANCE and FAITH.
Originally then the term “gospel” corresponds to a spoken word.
In the course of time it acquired another meaning. It means now
the four written accounts of Jesus’ message by the four
evangelists. These are the gospels according to Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John. And this is the second meaning of the word
“Gospel”.
Through the four evangelists, the “gospel” takes on an additional
meaning. It becomes now the story of Jesus’ ministry. Before it was
Jesus who announced the good news; with their written accounts,
the person of Jesus himself became the good news.
 The developmental stages of the written gospels before the
circulation of the first written Gospel, i.e. the gospel according of Mark,
were a period of around thirty to forty years. That was between the
conclusion of Jesus’ ministry and the circulation of the first written
Gospel.
In summary, the first meaning of the word “gospel” is “good
news”, an announcement that the reign of God is at hand and the
suitable response to it is repentance and faith. As the time went by, it
acquired another meaning. Now it became the four written accounts of
Jesus’ ministry by the four evangelists: Mark, Matthew, Luke and John.
 Lesson 3
STAGES of GOSPEL FORMATION

I.OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson you must be able to:

To understand how the gospel was formulated.
To appreciate and to praise the sacred authors who , through the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, collected, edited and compiled the genuine
words and works of our lord Jesus Christ.
First Stage – Jesus of Nazareth ( c. 7 BC – A.D. 30 )
This is the first stage of Gospel formation. It consists of the actual life of
Jesus Christ himself and his teaching. Jesus was not a fictitious legendary
creation, but rather he was a real person like us who have birthdays and
birthplaces.
Like us he also experienced different human conditions like fatigue,
hunger, anger, loneliness and disappointments. There are non-biblical sources of
information, though limited, show that Jesus of Nazareth did really exist.
One example is the writing of the reputable non-Christian Roman historian
TACITUS about the burning of Rome IN A.D. 64. It states that:
“Nothing could dispel the belief that the fire had taken place by order, i.e. , of
Nero. Therefore, to scotch the rumor, Nero substituted as culprits… a class of
men, loath for their vices, whom the crowd styled Christians, Christus, the
founder of the name, had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius,
by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate.” (The Annals of Tacitus c. 117 AD)
Scholars approximate that Jesus was born between 7 and 4 B.C. (cf.
Chap. 5, p. 123) began his ministry around A.D. 28, and died in the year 30.
Being a Jew he spoke Aramaic, observed Jewish customs and traditions, and
held the contemporary worldview of his time, for example, that the world is
flat and floating on water. Being a carpenter’s son, he was also a carpenter by
profession. In short he was a Jew of his time.
 The word “Christ” is from the Greek word Christus meaning
“the anointed one”. The attachment of the title “Christ” to Jesus’
given name came about because Christians believed him to be “the
anointed one.” It is not a family name.
As a teacher Jesus taught with authority in synagogues, in
open fields, and on lake shores. What did he teach? He taught about
God’s kingdom as a present reality using parables, and he supported
his teachings with miracles, healings and exorcisms. So he gained
many followers in addition to his twelve apostles.
 How come he was arrested and executed? He met mounting opposition
from the religious leaders especially when he drove out the sellers and money
changers in the temple.
He had time to escape but did not. At the last supper he told his apostles
that his death would be “for the forgiveness of sins”.
At his trial he was accused of blasphemy “ because not content with
breaking the Sabbath, he spoke of God as his own father and so made himself
God’s equal.
When he was crucified, his apostles were not only disappointed terribly,
but also confused and afraid. But behold he resurrected and appeared to them!
He continued to instruct them; he opened their minds to understand the
scriptures, its prophecies on his death and resurrection.
After 40 days before returning to the Father, he commissioned them
saying: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
An unknown poet described this first stage in these words:
He never wrote a book...
He never owned a home…
He never went to College…

He never travelled two hundred miles from the place where he was born…
While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned
against him. His friends ran away…
He was
nailed to a cross…
When he was dead, he was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave...
Nineteen wide centuries have
come and gone and he is still the centerpiece of the human race.”
2nd Stage- Preaching of the Apostles (Oral Tradition)

This second stage of Gospel formation started on Pentecost day, right

after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and disciples. Peter
delivered a speech about Jesus to the big crowd gathered for the festival. That
very day they baptized “some three thousand” who believed the good news.
These people formed the first Christian community; many were Jews
from the diaspora. So when they returned to their homelands, they prepared
the ground for later apostolic mission. And we might wonder what Peter
preached so convincingly the first time he addressed the public. Definitely he
did not communicate everything what Jesus said and did.
 These proclamations could be summarized in the following:

1. God’s promises to his people in the Old Testament are now fulfilled.
2. The long-expected Messiah, born of David’s lineage, has come.
3. He is Jesus of Nazareth who
- went about doing good and performing
mighty works by God’s power.
- was crucified in fulfillment of God’s purpose.
- was raised by God from the dead and exalted to his right hand.
4. He will come again in glory for judgment.
5. Therefore, let all who hear this message repent
and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins”
 Hence what was proclaimed first was paschal mystery – Jesus’ passion,
death, resurrection and ascension. Only after Baptism were the new Christians
given further instructions (catechesis).Only then was the basic outline of the
mystery and life of Jesus fleshed out bit by bit by stories about him. Important
factors contributed to this development of oral tradition:

1. The converts’ desire for more information about Jesus.

2. The Eucharistic
celebration,
3. The day to day problems of the early Christians.
 New converts were naturally hungry for more information
about Jesus.
-So the apostles had to relate the details of his passion-death-
resurrection and his many miracles. For deeper instruction, the
parables and sayings of Jesus were recalled to them. Gradually
these individual stories and sayings were collected. The sermon on
the mount ( Mt. 5-7 ) is a collection of Jesus’ sayings on how his
followers should live.
 Celebrating the Eucharist, the apostles had to recall certain key
events closely linked to the supper’s meaning like the multiplication
of the bread, and Last Supper ( Jesus’ words of institution of the
Eucharist), the breaking of the bread at the Emmaus, the passion of
Jesus, and the Lord’s prayer.
We can presume that there would be slight variations in the
liturgical celebration in different communities. For example the
wordings of the Lord’s Prayer would differ from community to
community since even ,today; we note the difference when we read it
in the Gospels of Matthew. (6:9-13) and Luke (11:2-4) But we can be
assured that the spirit behind Jesus’ words and actions was
communicated in all the assemblies.
 The daily problems like criticism for showing concern for
outcasts, ignoring certain Sabbath practices, question of paying
taxes to Rome – the early Christians met to discuss them and recall
what Jesus did and taught concerning sinners, the Sabbath, and
taxes.
These recollections gave rise to handing down orally separate
sayings or independent accounts about Jesus (periscopes). For
practical needs of preaching, these independent sayings were
compiled and written down according to topics (partial
compilations)
 With the apostles were other disciples like Stephen and Philip.
Then came Barnabas and Paul who were assigned to preach to the
Gentiles. The preaching of Jesus’ good news was not confined to
Palestine. With burning urgency the apostles and disciples brought the
good news to foreign lands like Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. The
reason for urgency was partly the belief that Jesus’ second coming would
soon take place.
Outside Palestine it was necessary to use the Greek language as
medium of preaching. So while the preachers spoke, translation was done
on the Spot. Furthermore, to make the preaching relevant to a pagan
audience, the Gospel accounts were adapted.
As a whole the apostles and disciples passed on orally their memories of
Jesus mainly through these activities:
 preaching the good news (kerygma) to unbelievers, first to the Jews
and then to the Gentiles;
 catechetical instruction for the newly baptized and answering their
questions about Jesus;
 Celebrating the risen Lord in the liturgy especially the Eucharist.
As the time went by, the early Christians felt the need to write down what
they preached, especially when the eyewitnesses of Jesus began to die
one after the other.
3rd stage- Writing and Editing (began c. A.D. 60s)
(Scholars are not in agreement as to the date of the Gospel’s
composition. ) When it became clear that Jesus’ second coming would not
happen soon and that the need for a definite and systematic instruction to
increasing new members was extremely felt, the third stage began – the
writing –editing stage.
To begin with, the evangelists had a wealth of materials before them,
handed down for some decades from different Christian communities.
Some were oral traditions and others were partial compilations. Some were
large units and others were fragmentary.
 The evangelists arranged their materials and adapted them according to
the manner they wanted to portray Jesus to their audience, not necessarily
with factual accuracy regarding exact quotations, social setting, and historical
chronology.
As stated above the primary motive in writing was not to keep
historical events on record, but to interpret their religious significance.
Through all this, we believe they were guided by God through what we call
the gift of inspiration.
The first evangelist to collect, edit and record the oral traditions about
Jesus was Mark. That was approximately in the mid 60’s A.D.
In the next decades Matthew, Luke and John followed suit.in the New
Testament canon though, Matthew’s gospel comes first because the early
Church used it more often than the three other Gospels. Majority of the
scholars, however, think that Mark wrote the earliest Gospel
Examples of editorial work done by evangelists are the following:

A. The use of time phrase in connecting independent units of

periscopes.
For example in Luke 5:7, the time phrase being used is “one day”.
The question we need to ask is what day of the week? In this case, one
should not take the meaning of it literally, as this time phrase is
employed by the author for the purpose of connecting their stories
together.
As carpenters use nails to connect pieces of wood, so also the
evangelists employ literary device to connect their stories.
B. Putting together independent units to develop a theme.
One example is found in the Gospel of Mark. He puts together different
stories in order to underscore his theme. Like in Mark 10: 1-12- the question
of divorce then in verses 13-16- Jesus blesses the children, in verses 17-22-
the rich young man and in verses 23-27- the danger of riches. Does the above
sequence mean that after Jesus’ talk on marital fidelity mothers brought their
children to him? After which a rich young man arrived and went off
disappointed? So Jesus warns his disciples on the danger of riches? (Solicit an
answer)
 Scholars tell us that these are independent units put together
by the evangelist to develop his theme. In this section Mark is
developing on the cost of discipleship. The above sequence is a
literary device; it is not to be taken literally as the actual historical
sequence of events.
To sum up, the formation of the Gospel has three stages:
1st – What Jesus said and done
2nd – What the apostles recalled and preached
3rd – What the evangelist recorded.
As a whole the words and deeds of Jesus in Stage 1 had been filtered through
the Easter-faith and reflection in stage 2 and through the selection and editorial
process in stage 3.
But all things considered , scholars tell us that the Gospels tell us a true
portrait of Jesus. Most of all, we are assured that the Holy Spirit helped the
apostles understand Jesus’ teachings, guided the early church in living
faithfully the apostolic tradition, and assisted the evangelist in their work.
The evangelist gathered their materials from the church and wrote as
representatives of the Church. When the first Gospel came out, the Church had
been in existence for a generation, and had spread over a wide geographical
area, and Paul had already written most of his letters. The Gospels then are not
the product of the four evangelists alone, but also that of the Church’s
preaching.
 Lesson
The Synoptic Gospels
I.OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson you must be able to:

 To understand why these Gospels are called synoptic.
 To praise and thank God for his continuous saving action that has
been started from the time of the Israelites up to now through the
sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
II. INTRODUCTION
Engage /Explore
 Activity: Read Matthew 9:2-8; Mark 2:3-12; Luke 5: 18-26

Guide Questions:
1. What do the similarities and differences in the Gospels mentioned above?
____________________________________________________________________
2. As a young lady/man, would you like to be different from the others or similar to what
the others have in all aspects of your life? Explain.
____________________________________________________________________
 Of the four canonical books that record the “good news” brought by
Jesus Christ, the first three are so alike that they can , in many passages, be
placed side by side and viewed as it were at a glance: for this reason they are
called ‘synoptic’ ( at once glance).
Tradition dating from the second century assigns them respectively to
St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. Luke. According to the same ecclesiastical
tradition Matthew, the tax collector, himself one of the Apostles (Mt.9:9; 10:3,
was the first to write; he wrote his gospel in Palestine for Christians converted
from Judaism. His work composed in Hebrew idioms, which probably means
in Aramaic, was then translated into Greek. John Mark, a disciple from
Jerusalem (Ac 12:12) who assisted Paul in his apostolic work (Ac. 12:25;
13:5, 13; Phm 24; 2Tm 4:11) and Barnabas his cousin ( Ac 15;37, 39; Col
4:14) and, Peter (1P 5:13), whose interpreter he was, put Peter’s preaching
down in writing at Rome
 Another disciple, Luke, a medical man (Col 4:14) and unlike
Matthew and Mark, of gentile origin (Col 4:10-14), born at Antioch
according to some authorities, accompanied Paul on the latter’s
second (Ac 16; 10 seq.) and third (Ac 20:5 seq.) missionary
journeys and was with him during his two Roman captivities. (Ac
27:1seq. ; 2Tm 4:11).
For this reason his Gospel, the third to be written, could claim
the authority of Paul. Luke also composed a second work – the
‘Acts of the Apostles’. The original language of the second and
third Gospels is Greek.
The Gospel according to Mark
Scholars agreed that the Gospel according to Mark was written in between circa 60-
70 A.D.
This Gospel was addressed to the persecuted Christians in Rome or Galilee, mostly
of gentile origin , attracted to Jesus’ power but found difficulty in accepting a suffering
Messiah and suffering discipleship.
This gospel portrayed Jesus as the suffering Messiah and powerful son of God
destined to die on the cross.
The key passages that point out Jesus as the suffering messiah and disciple as
suffering disciple is Mark 8:27-34 “Who do people say I am?” “You are the messiah”
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”
Mark 10:45 “ For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.
The Gospel according to Matthew
This Gospel was written in the year 80-90 AD as agreed upon by
majority of the scholars. It is written for the Jewish community in Antioch,
Syria (one of the great centers of early Christianity). Expelled from the
synagogue, they developed a self-identity as the new covenant people
replacing the old. In this Gospel Jesus is pictured as the promised messiah
in the old testament who fulfilled the law and the Prophets; the new
Moses; the Son God and Emmanuel/”God with us”. As such portrayal of
Jesus is narrated in Matthew 28:16-20 “All power…has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…And
behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age”.
 The Gospel according to Luke
This Gospel of Luke was written in the year 80-90 AD. The author
intended to write it to the Gentile Christian in Graeco-Roman cities
associated with Antioch. Their number had increased, some from the
rich. Suspected as followers of superstation disturbing the empire, they
needed assurance that Jesus, not the emperor, is humanity’s savior.
Luke in his Gospel portrays Jesus as a mighty prophet and universal
savior for Jews and Gentiles alike, for people for all walks of life
especially the poor, the underprivileged, the sinners and the outcasts.
Lk 4:16-21; 15:11-32 are key passages of Luke’s image of Jesus.
 -END OF MODULE 2-
PREPARE FOR THE MIDTERM EXAM