In this turbulent time, I ask myself

The year 2020 is going away. But COVID-19 continues, and the New Year 2021 is unlikely new. The unprecedented global pandemic has put us in the most precarious situations in our lives. Its dreadful effect is ineffable, immeasurable, and rampant in every corner of our world. Our life is in crisis, and we are likely to face more pandemics in the future unless we change our culture and politics. In this turbulent time, I ask myself: Is my scholarship or teaching helpful in addressing the perpetual problems of human arrogance, selfishness, and ecological demise?

Why are there differences in the Gospels? Are they historically reliable?

First of all, the gospels we have in the New Testament are not eyewitness accounts. They are all anonymous and we don't know who wrote them. The title of the gospel was added in the second century CE to make distinctions among the different gospels. We believe that they were written down at least 40-60 years after Jesus died. All of them were written in Greek. This is odd given the fact that Jesus and his disciples spoke Aramaic. Jesus's disciples were Galileans and illiterate; therefore, they could not write in Greek. Until the gospels were written down by Greek-speaking persons, a variety of oral traditions about Jesus had been circulating in different regions beyond Palestine, including Greek-speaking regions.

So depending on who wrote or in which community the Evangelist worked, the content of the gospel changed. Therefore, changes in the gospels are expected. Sometimes, the Evangelists (Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John) tell the same story about Jesus differently. For example, Jesus's water baptism in the synoptic gospels is told differently yet similarly. Jesus's crucifixion between Mark and Matthew is told very differently. In Mark, Jesus worries about his death, being shocked and agitated by his impending death; he cries at the last minute: Eli Eli lama Sabachthani, which means, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" This portrait of Jesus reflects Markan theology about the suffering of Jesus. But in Luke, he is so calm and adamant about his death because he knew how he was going to die as a prophet. He prays for those who kill him, saying "Father, forgive them because they don't know what they do." He dies as a great hero of the prophet, who says: "Into your hands, I commit my spirit." Many events or things in the gospels are told differently though the degree is different. Again, this is because the Evangelists edited the inherited sources and registered their theological voices/interpretations that reflect their communities.

But there are also irreconcilable accounts between the Gospels. In this case, one account may be right or both of them may be incorrect. Otherwise, not both of them can be correct.
1) Where is Jesus's hometown? (Nazareth in Luke; Bethlehem in Matthew);
2) Which chronology of Jesus is correct? (In Matthew: Jesus's parents flee to Egypt from Bethlehem because of Herod's threat; In Luke, they return to Nazareth after Jesus's birth in Bethlehem);
3) Where do Jesus's disciples have to gather after the resurrection? (In Mark/Matthew: Galilee; but in Luke, they should stay in Jerusalem);
4) When does Jesus die? In John, he was crucified on the day of preparation for Passover (Thursday); in Mark, he was crucified after the Passover meal was eaten, which is the last supper (Friday).
5) There are also a lot of differences in Jesus's resurrection account.

Then, are the gospels historically reliable? If you study the historical Jesus, you should treat the gospels carefully. Some materials will be helpful, while others are not so. There are some criteria by which we can tell which texts may preserve the closeness of Jesus. This is the area of study we call the historical Jesus.

From the religious perspective, we need to study each gospel on its own, trying to understand the Evangelist's community and theological agenda. For example, we may think of four different images of Jesuses in the four gospels. The Markan Jesus "came not to be served, but to serve and give his life" (Mk 10:45). The Matthean Jesus came not to destroy the law and prophets but to fulfill (Matt 5:17). The Lukan Jesus came to seek out and save the lost (Lk 19:10). The Johannine Jesus was born as a king to testify to the truth of God (Jn 18:37).

The bottom line is there is an unbridgeable gap between the gospels and the historical Jesus. Nevertheless, there are some clues by which we may understand him better than otherwise. Essentially, our job is to seek meaning both in Jesus's time and in the later gospel communities' time.

Among my works, the following books deal with the above issues: (1) Resurrecting Jesus: The Renewal of New Testament Theology; (2) Messiah in Weakness: A Portrait of Jesus from the Perspective of the Dispossessed.

De(re)constructing New Testament Theology

In the gospels, Jesus's death is not for the forgiveness of sins. In Mark, forgiveness is possible through water baptism and repentance. Jesus was put to death by Rome because he challenged the status quo. His radical teaching of the kingdom of God, which embraces the most marginalized, brought him to death. He came to serve, not to be served (Mk 10:45). In Luke, Jesus's death is prophetic death, seeking out and saving the lost. In Matthew, Jesus's death is the result of his radical teaching of the law and his fearless proclamation of the kingdom of God. In John, Jesus's death is the result of his truth-speaking and living. CONTINUE TO READ 

A Canaanite Woman's Faith (Matt 15:21-28)

In the usual interpretation of Matt 15:21-28, Jesus is said to test the Canaanite woman. In doing so, readers often explain away the difficult sayings of Jesus and protect Jesus from blame. The only thing they see is the woman's submissive faith. But the idea of testing is invalid because earlier, in 10:5, he told his disciples not to go among the Gentiles. Namely, his mission does not include the Gentiles. So when Jesus meets the Canaanite woman, he is not interested in her.  

Interestingly, the Matthean Jesus is markedly different from the Lukan Jesus, who preaches God's preferential option for the Gentiles (see Luke 4:16-30).  

The Matthean Jesus reflects Matthew's community that struggles to open the doors for the Gentiles. However, at the end of the story of a Canaanite woman, Jesus finally acknowledges her faith, which needs explaining.  

When it comes to the Canaanite woman's faith, her faith is more than submissive faith. She has faith that God would bless her and her daughter through Jesus, the Son of David. Jesus ignores her, initially. Disciples ask him to send her away. He calls her dog and rejects her request for her daughter because his mission is for Jews. But she is persistent; her faith says she also deserves God's blessing. 

Her faith is not about enduring derogatory sayings of Jesus but about her relentless hope that God would bless her daughter. Because of her faith as such, Jesus changes his mind. In the end, explicitly or implicitly, seriously or humorously, she challenges Jesus's narrow-minded mission. Does he experience transformation after encountering this Canaanite woman?

Eventually, the risen Lord commissions the male disciples to all nations (Matt 28:16-20). Here, women disciples do not appear. That is Matthew's limitation. 

  

Matt 25:31-46?

One of my colleagues sent me a message: “Dr. Kim: Greetings. Do you have any exegetical wisdom on Matthew 25:31-46? Let me know ASAP sir. Blessings and thanks.” Then I responded in seconds: “This is part of the so-called Jesus’ eschatological sermon in which this passage plays an important role that for Matthew’s community caring for the marginalized is key to God’s kingdom now and it will affect them in the future. This story can be read together with Luke’s parable, Rich Man and Lazarus. Hope this helps."

Ethical Mandate of the Bible: Shuv and Metanonia

[Courtesy of FreeBibleImages.org]

While different people understand the Bible differently, I find its root message in these two verbs: "return (shuv) and change (metanoia)." The former is about the Hebrew Bible whose overarching theme is turning back to God although various authors mean it differently. First, it is turning back to the grace of God. That is to remember God's call of Abraham, who is nobody out of nowhere. The beginning of the good news is God's grace to which Abraham responded wholeheartedly. We cannot save ourselves because we are born weak and live in a hopeless world. As our life depends on the sun, our nefesh needs the breath of life and the wind of hope coming from God. Second, we must return to Abraham's faith, which is not a mental agreement to the word of God but trust in him. Abraham decided to live a different life with hopes in God for his future and walked the path of faith until he died. Third, we must turn to the way of God, which is the way of justice and righteousness (Amos 5:24; Mic 6:8).

The latter ("change") is about the New Testament. Especially, Jesus emphasizes the change of a mind and heart for the rule/reign of God (Mark 1:15). Even if the new time has come, it would be futile without metanoia ("change"). Paul also talks about the importance of change that imitates Christ. In Rom 12:2, he says: "Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect." In Galatians 6:2, Paul asks the Galatians to "fulfill the law of Christ."

Our task is not merely to recognize the importance of change or return but to fully explore it in our lives and live it out holistically. We must ask critical questions about transformation: What is the good life? How can we achieve it? How can we make our society livable in justice? Individually, what perspectives on change do we need?

We need to conduct quality research on transformation through biblical, and theological studies and disseminate transformation insights through publications. We also must provide a diversity of transformation-driven programs in relation to course teaching, special lectures, leading seminars, series lectures, and other events with a consultation. The Institute can also provide necessary consulting about the various programs to various groups and institutions.

For example, topics include the following:

• The essence of Paul's theology or gospel: based on a threefold gospel
• Jesus's parables: overview and in-depth study
• A Transformative Reading of the Bible
• What is biblical interpretation? Theory, process, and criteria
• Preaching the New Testament
• Rereading logos theology in John's Gospel
• Rereading Romans from the perspective of Paul's gospel
• Rereading Galatians from the perspective of Paul's gospel
• Historical Jesus and doing theology today
• A study of biblical characters from the perspective of transformation
• Exploring themes of human transformation through the critical study of and engagement with the Bible, CBHT fosters various aspects of holistic human transformation based on self-knowledge, self-criticism, and human solidarity. The Center seeks:
• Enhancing the importance of human transformation both in the academic and public arena
• Providing avenues of interdisciplinary studies regarding the Bible and human transformation; exploring the intersection between the Bible and human transformation
• Providing adequate information and scholarship about human transformation and the Bible through courses, in-class or online, publications, and various activities of the center
• Providing public forums, seminars, lectures, and summer school
• Providing high-quality human transformation education material to academia, the church, and the public (book, journal, and other forms of print and online material)
• Holding a major conference on the issue of human transformation and the Bible
• Raising awareness of diversity and solidarity in public discourse; exploring collaboration with other organizations that work for the well-being of humanity within theological education and across the board· Providing experiential learning opportunities through the center; for example, arranging a travel seminar to foreign countries