by Richard Barcellos | May 10, 2011 | Biblical Theology, Book Reviews, Books, Hermeneutics, New Testament, Old Testament, Practical Theology
Tom Wells’ book on the Sabbath: Chapter Three (I)
Let me make a few necessary comments on the genre and interpretation of the Gospels. The Gospels contain narrative accounts of various aspects of Christ’s earthly ministry. He taught in a very distinct redemptive-historical context and the Gospel authors each had theological purposes for choosing what they narrated and what they commented upon. We must remind ourselves that OT and NT narratives do just that – they narrate, they tell us what happened, though with theological purpose.[1] We must grant that some of the teachings of Christ in the Gospels are perpetually binding and not to be left on the shelf of narrated history. I say some because Christ commanded things to individuals that are not meant to be perpetually binding on others (cf. Matt. 26:36, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”). But to demand a distinct type of teaching in order to justify ethics (what Wells did in the previous post) and then claim that the Gospel passages don’t contain that type of teaching is simply a wrong-headed, constricting hermeneutical procedure. What if there are other grounds for considering Christ’s teachings on the Sabbath as applicable to Christians? A much better approach would be to read the Gospels looking for teaching related to prior and subsequent revelation and then to determine ethical perpetuity based on how Christ’s teaching is related to its broader, canonical-ethical/redemptive-historical context. The Gospels are full of allusions to and echoes of previous revelation. And the Gospels set the stage for further revelation which will explain both the redemptive acts and words of Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:26; 16:13-15). We must never interpret the Gospels as an end in themselves. Two passages in the Gospels are especially instructive in light of this – Matt. 12:1-14 and Mk. 2:27-28. These texts both reach back in redemptive history, alluding to and echoing previous revelation, and set the stage for further revelation. We will look at each passage briefly in the next post.
[1] This is not to suggest that OT narratives and the Gospels are one and the same genre on every level. Whether the Gospels are seen as theological biographies, covenantal treaty documents, or a complex of different genres the presence of narrative is still true.
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
by Richard Barcellos | May 6, 2011 | Hermeneutics, Historical Theology
Introduction: Gerald Bray opens his discussion of Medieval interpretation as follows:
The medieval period of biblical interpretation is one of the most complex and difficult of all, and it has not received the attention it deserves from theologians or biblical scholars. Most of the work in this field has been done by medievalists, who cannot escape the all-pervasive role which the Bible played during those centuries. But medievalists have their own agenda, and it is not always possible for a theologian to gain ready access to their work. There is also the fact that centuries of training have made Protestant scholars particularly wary of the medieval period, which they have been inclined to think of as an age of darkness. As most modern biblical scholars have been Protestants, this prejudice has contributed to the relative neglect of medieval exegesis.[1]
Not only do Bray’s statements seem to reflect reality, they are peculiarly true of me. I have been trained to think of the Middle Ages as the dark era of Christian interpretation and, thus, unhelpful and unnecessary for anything good. Certainly the rise of Islam during the eighth century had its ill effects upon Western culture at large and Christian interpretive methods in particular. The old Mediterranean culture broke up and neither Greek nor Latin were universal languages. During the Middle Ages Western Christians maintained Latin while those in the East did not. Some time in the ninth century Charlemagne (Holy Roman Emperor, crowned as such by Pope Leo III) “sponsored a revival of learning, which officially recognized that the ancient world had disappeared. Latin now had to be learned as a foreign tongue, even in Italy…”[2] This and other factors, such as illiteracy and a distinctly monolithic, “Christian” culture made the common Christian entirely dependant upon professional scholars who taught the clergy and, especially, the papacy (“Church”) as the final word on interpreting the Bible.
The Middle Ages should not be viewed as a single-minded, monolithic era culturally, philosophically, or theologically. There were phases of development occurring at different places and at different times.[3] Due to this reality, various men contributed various things at different times which ended up creating the Late Middle Ages, which is what most view as the Middle Ages come to maturity and against which the Renaissance and Reformation protested.
[1] Bray, Biblical Interpretation, 129.
[2] Bray, Biblical Interpretation, 129.
[3] Cf. Bray’s four phases of periodization in Bray, Biblical Interpretation, 131-33.
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
by Richard Barcellos | May 5, 2011 | Biblical Theology, Book Reviews, Books, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Hermeneutics, New Testament, Old Testament, Practical Theology
Chapter 3: Gospel Texts on Sabbath-Keeping
In chapter 3, Wells combs the Gospels for teaching related to the Sabbath. He makes this assertion: “There is not one syllable of positive teaching by the Lord Jesus peculiar to the Sabbath in any Gospel passage” (42).[1] What he means by “positive teaching” is “teaching that tells Christians or Jews what they must do, or not do on any Sabbath” (42). What he means by “peculiar to the Sabbath” is “teaching that is true for the Sabbath that is not also true for every other day of the year” (42). In Wells’ thinking, this would mean that if the Gospels do not contain teaching that either commands or forbids specific activities on the Sabbath or commands or forbids things that apply on any other day, then it was never Jesus’ intention “to command anyone to keep a Sabbath” (47). Do you feel the pressure of these twin pillars? If there is no “positive teaching…peculiar to the Sabbath,” Jesus was not commanding Sabbath observance. I find these constricting hermeneutical hedges both interesting and wrong-headed. It is as if Wells sets up for us in advance what kind of teaching on the Sabbath must be present in order to justify any kind of Sabbath observance for Christians or Jews from the lips of our Lord. Wells knows, as does any casual reader of the Gospels, that the Sabbath command was something already in place at the time of Christ’s earthly ministry. Jesus simply assumes its validity. Wells also knows, as does any casual reader of the Gospels, that Christ sought to correct the faulty understanding and practice of some first century Jews concerning the Sabbath. The Sabbath was already an ancient institution, predating Jesus and his contemporaries but had been abused. Requiring Jesus to present us with “positive teaching…peculiar to the Sabbath” seems to exclude any other type of teaching that might lead us to the conclusion that the Sabbath transcends the old covenant and has ethical tentacles that reach into the new covenant.
Let’s assume Wells’ position for a minute. Jesus’ teaching was not for the purpose of identifying what Christians or Jews can or can’t do on the Sabbath or Lord’s Day (45). Jesus’ teaching on the Sabbath did not command or forbid anything either commanded or forbidden on any other day. Does that prove that there is no Sabbath or Lord’s Day for the Christian to obey? Assuming the validity of Wells’ equation, all it would prove is what it asserts – nothing more and nothing less. Again, Jesus was correcting the faulty teaching of his day on the Sabbath that added to and took from the word of God – commanding and forbidding things God did not. Jesus advocated a return to Sabbath-keeping as it had been revealed by God. Also, Jesus did say, “So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:12). This sure seems like “positive teaching” to me.
[1] Italics are Wells’.
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
by Richard Barcellos | May 4, 2011 | Biblical Theology, Eschatology, Hermeneutics, New Testament, Soteriology
Ephesians 1:7-10
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight, 9 making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, to sum up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth, in Him
Paul’s words in Eph. 1:7-10 come in an immediate context of praise to the Father (1:3). The Father is to be praised due to comprehensive redemption in the Son (1:7-12). The Son’s redemptive work affects everything. According to wider canonical teaching, the Son functions as the last Adam, the one who is head of all things and sums up all things. It was the Father’s good pleasure to assign this glorious task to his beloved Son. The resurrection marked a distinct exaltation of the incarnate Mediator. He “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness” (Rom. 1:4). The Holy Spirit ushered Jesus Christ our Lord into the age to come as its first citizen. Our exalted Lord sends his Spirit to souls to resurrect them from the dead to enjoy union with him in death, burial, and resurrection/exaltation. Indeed, believers are even said to be seated with him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). All things are being summed up by Christ. Our Lord Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Lord of the saved and Lord of the lost. He is Lord of the devil and Lord of demons. He is Lord of the old creation and Lord of the new creation. All things that have been made have been made by him, through him, and for him. And all things that are being remade are so by him, through him, and for him. Indeed, all things that are, are for him. The Father is getting glory for himself through what he does through his beloved Son. For these things, and many more, we must praise the Father for comprehensive redemption in the Son!
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
by Richard Barcellos | Apr 29, 2011 | Biblical Theology, Current Events, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, New Testament, Old Testament, Soteriology
The eschatological terminus is the summing up of all things (Eph. 1:10). History is going somewhere and Christ is no passive by-stander. Not only is he active in the souls of believers, but in him all things hold their current form/state of existence (Col. 1:17) and any changes are ultimately connected to his sovereign rule over all things. He is driving the massive ship we call the universe, aiming it to end up harboring in his special presence on the last day. On that day he will both be marveled at and dreaded. On that day he will speak and souls will be infused back into bodies which will be transformed to be able to exist in their eternal abodes – some to honor and some to dishonor. That final day will witness something greater than “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). The old creation was ushered in in such a way as to be mutable; it was susceptible to change and did change due to sin. But in that day, when the new heavens and the new earth come, only righteousness will dwell there. Not only will there be no more tears, no more death, no more sin, and no more effects of sin, there will be no possibility of anything but righteousness, peace, joy, and unbroken eternal life and communion with God and fellowship with saints and angels. This, surely, was plan A from the beginning – God will get all the glory through the work of new creation brought in by the skull-crushing Seed of the woman who entered into his glory by the power of the Holy Spirit at his resurrection and will usher his seed (and the heavens and earth themselves) into the same glory when he comes again. The present era is heading to the consummation due to the fact that the Father has given to the Son all things to sum up (Eph. 1:10).
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
