Martin Luther’s Biblical Commentary: New Testament

Author(s):  
Erik H. Herrmann

Martin Luther’s exposition of the Bible was not only fundamental to his academic vocation, it also stood at the very center of his reforming work. Through his interpretation of the New Testament, Luther came to new understanding of the gospel, expressed most directly in the apostle Paul’s teaching on justification. Considering the historical complexities of Luther’s own recollections on the matter, it is quite clear that he regarded his time immersed in the writings of Paul as the turning point for his theology and his approach to the entire Scriptures (cf. LW 34:336f). Furthermore, Luther’s interpretation of the New Testament was imbued with such force that it would influence the entire subsequent history of exegesis: colleagues, students, rivals, and opponents all had to reckon with it. However, as a professor, Luther’s exegetical lectures and commentaries were more often concerned with the Old Testament. Most of Luther’s New Testament interpretation is found in his preaching, which, following the lectionary, usually considered a text from one of the Gospels or Epistles. His reforms of worship in Wittenberg also called for weekly serial preaching on Matthew and John for the instruction of the people. From these texts, we have some of the richest sustained reflections on the Gospels in the 16th century. Not only was the substance of his interpretation influential, Luther’s contribution to exegetical method and the hermeneutical problem also opened new possibilities for biblical interpretation that would resonate with both Christian piety and critical, early modern scholarship.

1948 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
R. Stuart Louden

We can trace a revival of theology in the Reformed Churches in the last quarter of a century. The new theological interest merits being called a revival of theology, for there has been a fresh and more thorough attention given to certain realities, either ignored or treated with scant notice for a considerable time previously.First among such realities now receiving more of the attention which their relevance and authority deserve, is the Bible, the record of the Word of God. There is an invigorating and convincing quality about theology which is Biblical throughout, being based on the witness of the Scriptures as a whole. The valuable results of careful Biblical scholarship had had an adverse effect on theology in so far as theologians had completely separated the Old Testament from the New in their treatment of Biblical doctrine, or in expanding Christian doctrine, had spoken of the theological teaching of the Synoptic Gospels, the Pauline Epistles, the Johannine writings, and so on, as if there were no such thing as one common New Testament witness. It is being seen anew that the Holy Scriptures contain a complete history of God's saving action. The presence of the complete Bible open at the heart of the Church, recalls each succeeding Christian generation to that one history of God's saving action, to which the Church is the living witness. The New Testament is one, for its Lord is one, and Christian theology must stand four-square on the foundation of its whole teaching.


Author(s):  
Ольга Николаевна Афиногенова

Основная цель статьи - проследить историю отождествления Ангела Господня с архангелом Михаилом и выявить основной этап формирования культа архистратига. Методом сопоставления текста Священного Писания, апокрифов и византийских агиографических текстов выявляется чёткая картина влияния апокрифической традиции на византийский культ архангела Михаила. В Ветхом Завете Михаил упомянут по имени всего три раза - в Книге пророка Даниила; в Новом Завете - только однажды в Откровении ап. Иоанна Богослова. Вместе с тем в Священном Писании есть многочисленные упоминания безымянного Ангела Господня. Ориген впервые отождествил князя Михаила из Книги пророка Даниила с архангелом Михаилом, что было воспринято поледующей традицией. В апокрифах, однако, почитание Михаила не всегда наделено теми аспектами, которые будут фигурировать в более позднее время. Возможно, то, что почитание Михаила вобрало в себя функции других архангелов, связано с популярной агиографической традицией, посвящённой архистратигу. Первый текст этой традиции, ставший широко распространённым в Византии, - «Чудо в Хонах» (VIII в.). Но наиболее исчерпывающе традиция почитания архангела отражена в «Повести» Пантолеона Диакона (IX в.). Текст демонстрирует окончательное закрепление отождествления безымянного Ангела Господня из Ветхого и Нового Заветов с Михаилом, а также приводит наиболее полное изложение аспектов почитания архангела в Византии. The main purpose of the paper is to trace the history of the identification of the Angel of the Lord with the Archangel Michael and to identify the main stage in the formation of the cult of the Archangel. By comparing the text of Holy Scripture, apocrypha and Byzantine hagiographic texts, a clear picture of the influence of the apocryphal tradition on the Byzantine cult of Michael the Archangel is revealed. In the Old Testament, Michael is mentioned by name only three times - in the book of Prophet Daniel; in the New Testament - only twice in the Revelation of John the Divine and in Epistle of Jude. However, in the Bible there are numerous references to the nameless Angel of the Lord. For the first time Origen identified Prince Michael from the book of the Prophet Daniel with the archangel Michael, which was accepted by the following tradition. In the apocrypha, however, the worship of Michael is not always endowed with those aspects that will appear later. Perhaps the fact that the worship of Michael has absorbed the functions of other archangels relates to the popular hagiographic tradition devoted to the archestrategos. The first text of this tradition, which became widespread in Byzantium, was the “Miracle in the Chonae” (8th century). But the most exhaustively tradition of worship the archangel is reflected in consolidation of the identification of the nameless Angel of the Lord from the Old and New Testaments with Michael and provides the most complete exposition of the aspects of veneration of the archangel in Byzantium.


Author(s):  
Mogens Müller

In the lecture The Septuagint and Biblical Theology. Some Observations the author tries to evalue the meaning of the Septuagint in the context of Biblical theology. The Old Testament cannot be understood per se, isolated from the people or congregations for which it was Holy Scripture. It only survived in its reception, ie. in an interpretation. This process can be detected already in the OT, but also and distinctly in the literature which has been termed "rewritten Bible". It is in this connection that the relevance of the Septuagint for Biblical theology must be s een, because it consists not merely of a translation, but also of an interpretation. And in the context of biblical theology Scripture is not what may be reconstructed as an Ur-text,  but the text actually included in the  New Testament. It was precisely the New Testament reception of the Septuagint that made it a valid expression of the OT, namely as the Bible of hte Greek-speaking part of Judaism in a period where even Palestinian Judaism was heavily influenced by Hellenism.


1927 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-104
Author(s):  
Maurice Goguel

The general public in France is singularly uninformed on questions of religion. Persons in other respects very well educated are frequently lacking in the most elementary notions of the doctrines and history of Christianity. Men who would be ashamed if they were caught taking Virgil for a Greek poet or Demosthenes for a Roman orator, unblushingly display an astonishing ignorance about the books of the Bible, and will suppose, for example, that the New Testament was written in Hebrew, or in Syriac, or even in Arabic, and the Old Testament in Latin. On the part of the small group of scholars who occupy themselves with the history of Christianity, efforts have been made to combat this ignorance and to awaken some interest in questions which the university programs systematically ignore. Plans have been sketched, but difficulties of every kind have prevented putting them into effect. Some steps have been taken, but as yet only too few; some books of an untechnical character, capable of being understood by anyone of moderate education, have been published, but so far they have not succeeded in shaking the general indifference.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Agustin Soewitomo Putri

The period between the Old Testament and the New Testament is often referred to as the intertestamental period which is approximately 400 years apart, during which time no prophet appears to be the successor of God's voice. Ended by the prophet Malachi and the book of Chronicles the Bible does not give any record. This certainly raises so many questions as to what happened in that dark age, whether God really did not do anything among God's people, especially the Israelites, while at that time the Israelites had repeatedly experienced good colonization from Persian, Greek or Roman. By using descriptive methods and historical analysis, this discussion will provide an insight into God's faithfulness to His covenant to the people, and how the concept of salvation has not changed even though in the 400 years that God did not speak to His people. Understanding the consistency of the concept of salvation is a gift in intertestamental times will open a new understanding of the power of God in keeping the covenants and His Word.AbstractMasa antara Perjanjian Lama dengan Perjanjian Baru seringkali disebut dengan masa intertesta-men yang berjarak lebih kurang 400 tahun, di mana sepanjang masa tersebut tidak ada nabi yang muncul menjadi penerus suara dari Tuhan. Diakhiri oleh Nabi Maleakhi dan kitab Tawarikh maka Alkitab tidak memberikan catatan apa pun. Hal tersebut tentu memunculkan begitu banyak pertanyaan dengan apa yang terjadi dalam masa kegelapan tersebut, apakah memang Allah betul-betul tidak berbuat sesuatu apapun di tengah-tengah umat Tuhan, khususnya bangsa Israel, sementara pada masa tersebut bangsa Israel berkali-kali mengalami penjajahan baik dari Persia, Yunani ataupun Romawi. Dengan menggunakan metode deskriptif dan analisis historis, pemba-hasan ini akan memberikan pandangan tentang kesetiaan Allah dengan perjanjianNya kepada umat, serta bagaimana konsep keselamatan itu tidak mengalami pergeseran sekalipun dalam keadaan 400 tahun Tuhan tidak berbicara kepada umatNya. Memahami konsistensi konsep keselamatan adalah anugerah dalam masa intertestamental akan membukakan pemahaman baru tentang kekuatan Allah dalam memelihara perjanjian dan FirmanNya.


Lumen et Vita ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Fitzroy

Does the Bible present a unified message from God to humanity? This paper is an attempt to undertake the task set forth by biblical scholar G. Ernest Wright, who said: “The question of the unity of the Bible’s message is one that will never be satisfactorily solved, though it is one which every generation of Christians must seek to solve.” This investigation, while framed as a “personal attempt,” looks at the biblical-theological issue of unity and diversity within the Bible to try to form some theologically synthetic answer to the above question. This investigation dialogues with the history of biblical interpretation by first looking at issues related to diversity in the New Testament (“Micro-diversity”) and then to the Bible as a whole (“Macrodiversity”) to see if we can understand a “whole Bible biblical Theology.” Finally, this paper explores some of the implications of the answers to these questions for the modern Christians.


1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-80
Author(s):  
Christian Thodberg

Grundtvig and the Old Testament - the Danish Bible or the SeptuagintBy Christian ThodbergThe article begins with an account of Grundtvig’s attitude to the Old Testament (OT). Gmndtvig does not have to presuppose the New Testament when dealing with OT, but can read it freely: it is the same God that acts in both books of the Bible, though in different ways, according to how he leads and maintains his people. The same freedom finds expression in Gmndtvig’s sermons where he moves about effortlessly in the whole of the Biblical universe.Some of these sermons are dominated by a solemn, Old Testament tone, especially those that follow a triadic stmcture: first the Old Testament prophecy is mentioned, in the middle its fulfilment in and with the coming of Christ is described, and finally follows the most important part, the fulfilment of the prophecy in the present, Grundtvig not failing to place his activity in the centre - but as a stage, naturally, in the course of the history of salvation.In Grundtvig’s hymns, too, this structure recurs, as in Blomstre som en Rosengaard, in which the triadic structure is connected with the so-called Vstructure, the right side of the »V« of the hymn describing the fulfilment of the prophecy. By means of the V-structure Thodberg shows how baptism is the focus of the hymn, and also that in his interpretation of Isaiah 35 as a prediction of baptism Grundtvig leans on the Septuagint rather than the contemporary Danish Bible translation. In the Danish Hymn Book, Blomstre som en Rosengaard is only a torso - baptism is not the essential thing here.The article mentions a number of other examples of influence from the Septuagint on Grundtvig’s hymns and sermons. Among these the hymn Hyggelig, rolig stands out since it contains a large number of phrases that refer to the Septuagint. This applies to stanza 4 in which Grundtvig shows how even the person most troubled by doubts and most deeply bereaved will have a foretaste of the Kingdom of God when approaching Heaven in his or her heart on the tone ladder of songs of praise. This is a rendering of Psalm 84 in the Septuagint. The article concludes that from the 1830s Grundtvig makes extensive use of the Septuagint when quoting from OT. The background is that Grundtvig regarded the Septuagint as more poetical than the Danish translation from 1736, and - more importantly - that in preferring the Septuagint Grundtvig follows Irenaeus by relying on the Bible of the New Testament and the Old Church.


Author(s):  
Hans J. Lundager Jensen

On the basis of examples of attitudes towards foreigners in the Old Testament, the internal tension between a tendency to eliminate the differences between Israel and foreigners and an insistence on maintaining the fundamental distance between Israel and foreigners, even in eschatological perspective, is presented. The a priori assumption of the Israelitic understanding of themselves is not a differentiation between nature and culture (between non-human and the human), but between the human in general and the specifically Israelitic. This difference cannot be transgressed without the break-down of the Israelitic system. Identity is understood here as establishing differences. But the dialectic between the Old Testament beginnings which are negated by the history of Israel, continues in the New Testament which negates the history of Israel and yet which allows the Old Testament to remain as an equal part of the canon. The practical universalism (modernism) of the Western world and the eradication of ethnic differences is thereby partly anticipated as a problematic in the Christian canon and partly given an important corrective.


MELINTAS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-39
Author(s):  
Staniselaus Eko Riyadi

Violence is a crime condemned by religions, but religions in the world are apparently involved in some kind of violence. It has been considered problematic that some scriptural texts are showing violent acts that seem to be ‘authorised’ by God, even ‘allowed’ by God, or celebrated by the people. How should we understand such problematic texts? Is there any violence authorised by God? Christianity has been dealing with the interpretation of violent acts in biblical texts from the Old Testament as well as from the New Testament. This article suggests that violence in the biblical texts must be understood within the context of defining religious identity of Israel among the other nations that have their own gods. Scriptures do not promote violence, but has recorded the historical experiences of Israel in their confrontation with other nations. Therefore, violence in the biblical texts cannot be referred to as a sort of justification for any violent acts by religions in our multireligious and multiethnic society.


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