Dr. Hamilton Raps on Messiah in the OT

A while back, I posted a quotation from The Tie, by Dr. Jim Hamilton on understanding all of Scripture in light of Christ. In that article, he reminded us that the more we read Scripture, the more we will see that the Old Testament was written to produce faith within a believing remnant that they might set their hope in the Messiah, whom (Jesus and) the apostles identify as Jesus. Furthermore, Jesus used the same method of interpretation as the Old Testament writers, the apostles learned from him, and taught the church, now filled with the Spirit, to do the same as they read Scripture.

Recently, as a rather helpful pedagogical tool, Dr. Hamilton rapped (i.e. “he delivered this rap”) on the Messiah in the Old Testament. I doubly encourage you to read this rap he wrote: Messiah in the Old Testament in Seven Minutes. It’s theologically rich, hermeneutically sound, and generates hope for the faithful.

For a related post that includes links to three journal articles Dr. Hamilton wrote on seeing Christ in the Old Testament, articles that I point out quite often for people to read, see the following: How Much Christ in the Old Testament.

Seven Pillories of Wisdom

Critical scholarship of the Bible over the last few centuries has built itself quite a castle for interpretation, whose objective foundation has been set by the best of human reason, and whose walls’ stones have been well hewn by scientific analysis and reconstructed with historical precision, and whose inner rooms serve as safe-havens for those running from the dogmatic sword of a distant king’s servants. From the outside looking in, this towering fortress looks intimidating and inpenetrable. However, having peered through the portcullises to see the insides of this castle, David R. Hall has found its fortifications wanting. Indeed, from the inside looking out, it is nothing but painted cardboard.

This illustration may be too simplistic in communicating all that Hall presents in The Seven Pillories of Wisdom (1990), but it does justice in portraying how he dismantles the loose thinking of much critical scholarship in the past century and a half (both ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’). With seven chapters of sharply perceptive argumentation, clear illustrations from an assortment of literature (fiction and non-fiction), coupeled together with honest humor, Hall critiques the seemingly ’settled’ results of much modern criticism that has pilloried wisdom in understanding the New Testament. Nevertheless, in each section Hall moves well beyond mere criticism of the critics. Based on his breadth of knowledge in New Testament studies, he shares needed warnings for the naïve acceptance of the latest fads, addresses the proper place of presuppositions in research, and cultivates prudent judgment for the future of biblical interpretation.

His seven pillories of wisdom could be summarized briefly as follows. A quote succeeds each.

1. The Argument from Up-to-dateness: Do not assume that because an argument is modern it should be preferred to the ancient: “…our ignorance always exceeds our knowledge, and the latest opinion on any subject is just as limited, and just as likely to be wrong, as any that have preceded it” (18-19).
2. The Argument from Probable Certainty: Do not treat matters that are uncertain as if they were certain on the grounds of their probability: “Motive hunting is like hang gliding: it lifts us from the firm ground into the pure air of academic speculation; where we land depends on how the wind is blowing” (35).
3. The Argument from Primitive Culture: Do not assume that those who lived in the New Testament times were primitive in the sense that they could not understand the world properly: “We need to realize that the apostles were people who thought and reasoned much as we do today. Moreover, they were priveleged to witness some of the most exciting events the world has ever known–the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the explosion into life of the early church. If we can be delivered from our feeling of cultural superiority and our fond belief that, compared to us, the early Christians were primitive, we can become free to sit at their feet, and to learn from them things that we in the twentieth century desperately need.” 
4. The Argument from Silence: Do not look for all the things you think the author should have included, note which ones did not appear in his work, and then deduce conclusions from these omissions: “…since we never know the reason why [something has been left out], and often have no solid grounds even for guessing it, it is better to follow the simple rule, ‘Respect with your own silence the silence of others’” (64).
5. The Argument from Creative Background: Do not assume that in order to understand an author’s thought, you have to study the background from which that author came: “Jesus and the apostles were not related to their background as a chicken is related to an egg. They were the creative agents of a creative God. The New Testament is not a mechanical response to external influences; it is the record of people inspired by God to see new things, and to see old things in a new way” (82).
6. The Argument from Consistency: Do not assume that an author must always use the same style of writing, or the preacher always the same style of proclamation: “These [New Testament] authors used words as a composer uses a musical instrument, taking advantage of its full range, and where necessary making creative use of discord” (86).
7. The Argument from Specialization: Do not bank on the so-called ’specialist’; use some common sense: “When scholars lay down what early Christians were capable of doing, they are really stating what they themselves are capable of believing. …Those who declare which of these events are possible and which are impossible tend to reflect the ‘internal limits of human belief’ in theological circles in the twentieth century rather than inside knowledge of what happened in the first century” (118-19).

Hall closes rather cleverly in his appendix parody, where he, having employed a form critical appraisal of Rudolf Bultmann’s works in their own Sitz im Leben, concludes they must be “masterpieces of twentieth-century comedy” (126).

Though written eighteen years ago, Hall’s contribution speaks wisdom for today, and I presume that his thoughtful assessment of trends in modern criticism and urgent plea for careful scholarship in biblical interpretation will remain a helpful resource for many years to come. With others who have spoken well of this book (e.g. I. H. Marshall, John I Durham, B. Paul Wolfe), I highly recommend it for students of both Testaments.

Calvin’s 3 Phases for Biblical Interpretation

For Calvin, biblical interpretation must pass through three phases if it is to be done properly and so result in the edification of the church: (1) exegesis (i.e. understanding what the text means), (2) dogmatics (i.e. the framework in which exegesis is to be interpreted), and (3) preaching (i.e. the application of the exegesis and dogma). Gerald Bray provides some helpful disharmonizations which I have put into equations here that help us to see what happens when one of these phases is missing.

• Exegesis + Dogmatics – Preaching = Dry, academic lessons with no application for the people of God
• Exegesis + Preaching – Dogmatics = Subjective, contentless, & inconsiderate of the whole of Scripture
• Dogmatics + Preaching – Exegesis = Propaganda

Observations taken from Gerald Bray, Biblical Interpretation: Past & Present (Downers Grove: IVP, 1996), 203-204.

Seven Reasons Why Outlines are Helpful

Recently, I added another section to the “Theology & Exegesis” page. It consists of links to outlines I have drawn up of several books of the Bible (more will be added later). I hope you will be able to make use of them, and that they will aid in your understanding of Scripture. The outlines attempt to give the main idea of the author’s argument and/or purpose in writing each section and then analyzes how these sections relate to and make up the whole of his work. Here are seven practical reasons why creating such outlines are helpful for Bible study.

1. Outlines force readers to articulate brief, helpful summary statements for each passage/section of the biblical book, and then prepares him/her to articulate those summaries to others in biblical discussions or evangelism opportunities. In short, they help the Christian to tell others what the Bible teaches and where it does so.
2. Outlines help very detail-oriented, atomistic readers to see better the larger picture in the biblical narrative or argument, and thus grasp the main purpose(s) of a book. For example, each cycle in the book of Judges (Israel Rebels; Enemies Attack; Israel Cries; God Responds Mercifully; Land has Rest), when read together, paints a larger picture of now-Canaanized Israel’s need for a covenant-keeping king.
3. Outlines aid in Scripture memory because they enable one to memorize the main point of complete sections of the Bible as well as how the individual memory verses fit into the larger picture. John 3:16, for instance, will thus include an understanding of the work of the Spirit, the Son’s mission, and the wrath of God that abides on all who reject 3:16’s message about them.
4. Outlines act as quick reference guides (that have been memorized by the way) when searching for a verse or section of Scripture that might encourage a discouraged brother/sister, or address a difficult situation with another person, or answer an unbeliever’s question, “What does the Bible say about…?”.
5. Outlines serve preachers and teachers by helping them map out how many sermons they should expect to preach after choosing to work through a certain book. The structure of the biblical book, then, shapes the sermon series and helps to prepare him to speak and the people to listen.
6. Outlines, when developing them, force people to read the entire narrative, psalm, letter, etc. multiple times, in their parts and as a whole; and rereading the text (esp. in large blocks) is never a bad thing.
7. Outlines look really neat and organized, and both of these are very cool

ESV Study Bible

I normally do not recommend many study Bibles to people since there is a tendency to be always relying on the study notes and commentary instead of reading (and rereading) the biblical text. However, when used properly as a tool for further study, they can be very helpful. After reading over the new website for the forthcoming ESV Study Bible, I believe this study Bible will be one of the best contributions to the church in helping believers to mature in their knowledge of Christ. They have done a superb job in selecting some of the most significant evangelical scholars and pastors to contribute and edit this study Bible. I am looking forward to purchasing one myself this October. Take some time to peruse their website, and note the helpful commentary, theological articles, maps, charts, diagrams, and much more.

Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: A Brief

Yes, this blog has been fairly lifeless lately with hardly any new posts. This, of course, is because the Fall semester has started off with quite a rush of work and assignments. Reading about 4-500 pages a week, learning and translating German, researching for papers, working two jobs, and preparing for a Sunday School lesson will cause a blog to become quickly not a top priority. I did just finish Richard Bauckham’s book entitled, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony. I would highly recommend reading this book if you are interested in learning about the nature of the Four Gospels. He writes well, explains the situation at hand in New Testament scholarship, and presents his case very clearly. Scholars and pastors both would benefit from reading this book. Though I do not agree with everything he argues for, I commend his overall approach to you. I have provided you with a brief (not a book review) on his significant contribution below.

Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006. 508 pp.

The post-Enlightenment embrace of the historical critical method triggered decades of NT scholarship that presupposed the Gospels portray the historical Jesus inaccurately, since the Jesus of the Christian faith as represented by the four Gospel traditions, cloaks him in the theological agendas attributed to anonymous communities separated from the eyewitness accounts by an extensive period of time. Consequently, scholars still find the Gospel writers’ theological message about Jesus antithetical to their historical preservation of him. In his Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, Richard Bauckham finds these assumptions misguided. He argues that the Gospels represent trustworthy historiography based on the authoritative testimony of real eyewitnesses that remained the primary sources for each Gospel writer’s account. Long periods of time filled with the succession of oral traditions did not delay the Gospels’ composition. Instead, their final form is “much closer to the form in which the eyewitnesses” testified, hence, Bauckham’s subtitle: the Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony (6). Accepted and studied on this appropriate and more natural basis, the Gospels not only provide reliable history concerning Jesus, but also grant theological access to the meaning of his life and mission.