Gary M. Burge - The New Testament in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic

F or over fifteen years I had the privilege of serving on the teaching roster at the midweek service of a large church in Chicago. The common denominator of those who came was simple: intentionality. They were earnest about their faith and wanted tools to grow. And they were sincere. Over the years, we taught through the Psalms, Daniel, Colossians, the Farewell of Jesus, James, and the Gospel of Mark. One season we even summarized the main themes of theology. And every week they came back wanting more.

If I had a dream for those wonderful peopleand for my many students over the yearsit would be that something more was added to their learning. We often explore individual passages of Scripture without seeing the whole. The individual passage is inspiring and easy to grasp while explaining the whole is far more difficult. It takes patience. It is far easier to work through a short story in Marks Gospel each week than it is to understand the grand sweep of his Gospels message. The latter requires synthesizing and a comparison of one passage against another. There are thousands of Christians who could do this very thing if only they had the right tools to guide them. We are taught individual passages of the Bible or limited themes from theology, but no one is weaving together the whole tapestry.

The aim of this small book is to weave this larger tapestry. And if we do it well, then the parts of the story we love to study will suddenly take on newer meaning. Without the larger tapestry, we really cannot see the scope of what Jesus is doing in the New Testament. We gain glimpses of his activity (a miracle, a confrontation) or his teaching (a parable, a conversation), but without the larger picture, these things lose their significance. In fact, I would suggest that we reduce the importance of Jesus when we study each of his stories in isolation. He becomes someone who provides episodes of inspiration without the colossal impact that his story requires.

This is what we need for the New Testament. Another way to think about it is that we need an aerial view of the landscape. We study the valleys in detail, but were not sure how they are connected to the whole. Only a view from thirty thousand feet will enable us to see it properly. A good map will do this as well. We refer to the Sea of Galilee regularly, but Ive stood at its edge with students and adults and realized that they had never understood where it was or what it was until that moment. They had no mental map of the terrain. But they did have a good recollection of episodes that took place on this famous sea. (In fact, since we refer to it as a sea they first have to get used to the idea that it is a lake.) When we see something in its broader context, the part takes on a new meaning from the whole.

Consider this quote: Once, in the middle of Jesus public ministry, Peter is asked by Jesus to identify him. Peter responds, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Then Jesus says, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven (Matthew 16:16-17).

I am convinced it is difficult if not impossible for the average person to make sense of these two verses. Even though they are well known, they are filled with assumptions that most first-century Christian readers would have understoodassumptions that are lost on us. For many today Peters announcement simply means that Jesus is Gods spectacular gift to us. Jesus is a messenger from God, a courier of good news. All of this is true, but there is far more assumed in these words than we think. This is what we need to probe.

At root is this: What is the profound announcement that the Gospels are making regarding Jesus? Do they think that Jesus is making a personal impact on those who encounter him, or do they see him as having an impact on the course of Israels history? Or is it both? Perhaps they even see him as having an effect not just on Israel but on the world itself, a shifting on the eras, a new chapter in human history, an unexpected intervention by God in human history.

We are used to film sequels. Imagine a film or television series that is now in its fifth year (think Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, or Downton Abbey). Imagine starting at the third season and trying to understand whats going on. It might be possible, but I doubt it. In Battlestar Galactica wed never know that advanced robots called Cylons had rebelled against their makers (humans), destroyed the earth, and set out to defeat humans around the galaxy who are secretly living in twelve colonies. Now weve joined the story many years later aboard one rusty, old (and very cool) starship called Galactica, led by Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos). This ship survived the Cylon attack because Adama is a Luddite who uses old-world technology (no network!) and the Cylons dont know how to infiltrate his command and defense systems. Adama even uses an old wired telephone in his office! And the Cylons are after him!

If the paragraph I just wrote sounds confusing, it has served its purpose. Imagine joining this story without its backstory. Nothing would make sense. Whats a Cylon? Who is Adama? What are the Twelve Colonies? What century is this? And why do all these crew members seem homeless? Episode three just doesnt tell us.

This is the fundamental problem we face in the books of the New Testament. They dont provide the backstory, and without it, many of their themes simply escape us. We believe that Jesus fulfills prophecy. But we dont fully know the prophetic expectation that was held closely during his time.

Our assignment, then, is to tell the backstory. It is an old story reaching back into the Old Testament but shaped particularly by the events two hundred years before Jesus. We will try to map the terrain and use as our guide seven sentences (representing themes) that are essential if we are to understand the New Testament. And while we will be forced to leave out a lot, still, we can map the major contours of thought, the big ideas, so that the shorter stories begin to make sense.