Download the slides from here. I suggest Marvin ang assigned to setup laptop and slides (and clicker?).
Outline
- [Norman] Intro (5 mins)
- [Norman] Historical context (10 mins)
- 3 mins - discuss and give example
- 5 mins - exercise (student participation)
- 2 mins - collect student answers and discuss correct answer
- = 10 mins
- [Tom] Literary context (10 mins, same breakdown as Historical context)
- [Marvin] Content (10 mins, same breakdown as Historical context)
- [Marvin] Wrap up, next sunday: How we apply here and now
IMPORTANT for class participation:
- At the start of class, pair up visitors/new members with students who have been in the class longer
- Insist that they work individually at first on the activities (no discussion!), and only after 1 minute can they share their work. This is to ensure everyone is involved.
- Instead of giving the answers away, try to draw out the answers from the students.
- Don't reject wrong answers by saying, "Wrong answer." That will just deter students from participating further. Instead, say, "Ok, any other suggestions?"
Slide: Why is studying the Bible challenging
(review what happened last Sunday)
Remind students of eternal relevance (means something for us) vs historical particularity (meant something specific for the original hearers)
Slide: In order to understand what the Bible means to us here and now, we need to understand what the Bible meant to its original readers there and then.
First question we should ask: What did this mean to the original readers?
Big question to answer in this lesson: how do we find out what this meant to the original readers?
Answer: we should ask the right questions of the text
It simply makes a difference in understanding to know the personal background of Amos, Hosea, or Isaiah, or that Haggai prophesied after the exile, or to know the messianic expectations of Israel when John the Baptist and Jesus appeared on the scene, or to understand the differences between the cities of Corinth and Philippi and how these affected the churches in each. One’s reading of Jesus’ parables is greatly enhanced by knowing something about the customs of Jesus’ day. Surely it makes a difference in understanding to know that the “penny” (KJV), or denarius, offered to the workers in Matthew 20:1–16 was the equivalent of a full day’s wage. Even matters of topography are important. One who was raised in the American West—or East for that matter—must be careful not to think of “the mountains that surround Jerusalem” (Ps. 125:2) in terms of his or her own experience of mountains!
How do you find out the historical context? Bible dictionaries: apps like Olive Tree Bible Study have an option to highlight a word and "look up" the meaning. Study Bibles usually have introductions to books and their historical contexts.
Slide: Luke 7:40-43
Instruct to the students: take a minute and read through the text to find out the significance of Jesus story
Background: Simon, a member of the religious elite, has invited Jesus to his house for a meal. While they are eating, Mary, a local prostitute, comes to wash Jesus' feet. Simon is offended by this, and Jesus tells this story to him in response.
Question to the students: What historical or cultural detail of this story is relevant to us?
Answer: the currency! Pence = denarius = 1 day's wage.
Question: If we converted the debts owed in today's currency, how many pesos are owed by each debtor?
Activity: Compute the debts owed in today's currency (@P300 per day minimum wage)
Reflect: How did you react to this story the first time you read it? How does your reaction change after computing what the amounts mean in today's terms?
The more important question of historical context, however, has to do with the occasion and purpose of each biblical book and/or its various parts. Here one wants to have an idea of what was going on in Israel or the church that called forth such a document, or what the situation of the author was that caused him to write.
What was the occasion that caused the author to write the book or letter or psalm? This insight will show us the significance of individual passages.
How do you find out the purpose? Again: Study Bibles usually have introductions to books and the purpose for their being written.
Slide: Romans 13:1-7
What's the purpose of this passage?
First you need to ask: What was the purpose of Romans? Paul was addressing Christians in Rome: a mix of Jews and Gentiles. Recall that during this time the Roman Emperor ruled over an expansive territory, including Israel. Jews in Rome were part of the Diaspora (OFWs or immigrants).
In the early part of Romans, Paul argued that for Christians, the Jewish laws did not apply: The real purpose of the laws was to show where we fall short. Having made that argument, Paul then reminds them that it is the Christian's responsibility to stil respect the laws of the country they live in. This is the purpose of Romans 13:1-7: to remind Christians that being free from the Law doesn't give us permission to go breaking the laws of the land.
This is what most people mean when they talk about reading something in its context. Indeed this is the crucial task in exegesis, and fortunately it is something one can do well without necessarily having to consult the “experts.” Essentially, literary context means that words only have meaning in sentences, and for the most part biblical sentences only have meaning in relation to preceding and succeeding sentences.
The most important contextual question you will ever ask, and it must be asked over and over of every sentence and every paragraph is, “What’s the point?” We must try to trace the author’s train of thought. What is the author saying and why does he or she say it right here? Having made that point, what is he or she saying next, and why?
How do you determine the literary context? Never read verses in isolation of its surrounding text! Always read the text that comes before and after.
Most King James Bibles divide the text into chapters and verses. This arrangement obscures which sentences go together in a single paragraph (which thoughts go together), and which paragraphs go together in a single section. Suggest to use apps where you can display the text as paragraphs instead of individual verses, and show labels of sections which group together paragraphs.
Slide: Matthew 6:33
Question to the students: If we read this verse in isolation (out of context), what are possible misinterpretations of the verse?
Answer: misinterpret "all these things" to mean anything you could want
Activity: Read the previous verses to determine what "all these things" refer to
Slide: 1 Corinthians 3:11-15
This verse is a bit trickier.
Possible misinterpretation: God will judge the quality or sincerity of our good works as individual Christians, and reward those who did high quality work
Activity: Read the previous verses to determine what "build upon this foundation" refers to
Correct interpretation: if you look at the previous verses, Paul is actually referring to the work of ministers (Peter vs Paul vs Apollos).(Background: the Corinthian church were forming factions as to who was their preferred church leader.)
So "build upon this foundation" does not refer to good works of any individual believer, but the work of leading a church ("building" a church up). This passage talks about how church leaders will be held accountable to God.
The second major category of questions one asks of any text has to do with the author’s actual content. “Content” has to do with the meanings of words, the grammatical relationships in sentences, and the choice of the original text where the manuscripts have variant readings. It also includes a number of the items mentioned above under “historical context,” for example, the meaning of denarius, or a Sabbath day’s journey, or “high places,” etc.
How do we determine what these words mean? Bible dictionaries, concordance, commentaries.
Slide: Romans 13:14
Activity: Highlight the words or phrases in this passage which have meanings that are not immediately obvious
- put ye on
- make not provision
- flesh
- fulfil the lusts
What do these phrases mean?
- put ye on: wear like a garment, this is what people around you see
- make not provision: do not give in, do not make allowance for
- flesh: our sinful nature or desires; not necessarily physical needs, like hunger or thirst (see preceding verses)
- fulfil the lusts: satisfy the desires
Slide: James 1:2-3
Activity: Highlight the words or phrases in this passage which have meanings that are not immediately obvious
- count it all joy
- divers
- temptations
- trying of your faith
- worketh
- patience
What do these phrases mean?
- count it all joy: rejoice, consider it a great joy
- divers: diverse (not scuba divers), various
- temptations: trials, difficulty
- trying of your faith: testing of your faith
- worketh: produces
- patience: endurance
Takeaway: don't give up on a passage when it's meaning is not immediately clear. List the words or phrases that don't make sense and look it up in a Bible dictionary, concordance, or commentary.
Slide: Exegesis: There and Then
When a passage does not make immediate sense, use this as a checklist to understand what it meant to it's original hearers.
[Review each point]
Next week: Hermenuetics: Here and Now
Knowing what it meant to the original hears, how do we determine what the application is for us?
Thank you for covering for me! So sorry to miss this. Wish I could witness this happen. Will be praying! -JJ