SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Annotated Suggestions for Further Reading
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Annotated Suggestions for Further Reading
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Annotated Suggestions for Further Reading CHAPTER 1: FOUR GOSPELS On gospel criticism Richard A. Burridge, What are the Gospels? A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography, SNTS Monograph Series 70 (Cambridge University Press, 1992; revised second edition, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Biography, faith and worship
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Biography, faith and worship
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Biography, faith and worship This book has attempted a symbolic reading of the narratives of the gospels as biographies of Jesus. Biography is a form of story, and human beings find their identity through stories, which brings a community dimension to interpretation. There is an …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Plurality within limits
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Plurality within limits
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Plurality within limits If we return to our initial comparison with Churchill, then certainly Lady Churchill believed that there were limits with regard to portraits of her husband, although the criteria seem subjective. Graham Sutherland’s tapestry of Christ can still be seen at…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - From four gospels forward to many Jesuses
Four Gospels, One Jesus - From four gospels forward to many Jesuses
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
From four gospels forward to many Jesuses Many interpretations tend to create the subject’s portrait in the author’s own image. Irenaeus applies the four living creatures not only to the evangelists themselves, but also to their portraits of Jesus: the four symbols are ‘images of…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - From four gospels back to one Jesus
Four Gospels, One Jesus - From four gospels back to one Jesus
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
From four gospels back to one Jesus This basic unity of story outline within the plurality of portraits brings us to the second set of questions regarding the relationship of the four images to the search for the historical Jesus: what continuity is there between Jesus himself an…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - "Risen with healing in his wings"
Four Gospels, One Jesus - "Risen with healing in his wings"
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
‘Risen with healing in his wings’ The Resurrection, John 20—21 Tolkien’s eagles provide one last example. At the battle with the evil Balrog on the bridge of Khazad-dûm, Gandalf the wizard sacrifices himself for his friends and falls to his death with the foe, ‘darkness took me, …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The hour of glory
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The hour of glory
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The hour of glory The Passion, John 18—19 The sight of an eagle climbing up into the sky is glorious. So, too, for John, the death of Jesus sets him free of the earth to return to his Father on high; the hour of his Passion is also the hour of glory. This is the supreme irony. As…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Living under the shadow of his wings
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Living under the shadow of his wings
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Living under the shadow of his wings Like most animals, the eagle rushes into conflict when protecting its young, yet the same instinct causes it to exhibit tender care. Moses’ final song compares God’s concern for Israel to an eagle ‘hovering over its young . . . bearing them al…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Talons bared for conflict
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Talons bared for conflict
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Talons bared for conflict The Book of Signs and “the Jews”, John 2—12 In Tolkien’s stories, Numenor is an Atlantis-like land blessed by Iluvatar (God) which overreaches itself and turns to evil. Its doom is presaged first by eagle-shaped clouds and then by eagles themselves; few …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - "The eagle has landed"?
Four Gospels, One Jesus - "The eagle has landed"?
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
‘The eagle has landed’? The person of Jesus The first men on the moon nicknamed their Lunar Module ‘the Eagle’; as they touched down, the first words spoken were, ‘the eagle has landed’. This phrase sums up John’s Prologue: the Word of God has left the cosmic heights and come to …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The way of an eagle in the sky
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The way of an eagle in the sky
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
‘The way of an eagle in the sky’ Following John’s story, style and structure The ‘way of an eagle in the sky’ may be hard to understand (Prov. 30.19) but many readers have felt similarly as they have sought to follow the twists and turns, heights and depths of this most subtle ev…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Gwaihir and farsight the Eagles
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Gwaihir and farsight the Eagles
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Gwaihir and Farsight the Eagles Symbolism and meaning If Mark’s Jesus can be seen in C. S. Lewis’ Aslan the lion, perhaps there is something of John’s Jesus in another Narnian character: Farsight the Eagle can fly so high and see so keenly that he can survey all Narnia as he whee…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - He rides again
Four Gospels, One Jesus - He rides again
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
He rides again The Resurrection, Luke 24 A good ending to a story ties up the various threads; the best sort of ending opens up new horizons. Mark’s gospel ended with the enigma of the empty tomb and an absent Jesus; Matthew had the supernatural happenings and the Teacher commiss…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The sacrificial, saving victim
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The sacrificial, saving victim
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The sacrificial, saving victim The Passion, Luke 22—23 In Luke’s Passion narrative, Jesus becomes passive, like Mark’s lion being tied up and muzzled, or Matthew’s Teacher refusing to call up legions of angels. Here the reason is divine necessity: ‘it is necessary’ (dei) appears …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Strength to bear the burdens
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Strength to bear the burdens
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Strength to bear the burdens Luke’s spirituality As well as a patient steady plodder, carrying heavy loads, the ox was a very religious symbol for Jews, being used for sacrifice, and its horns representing the power of God. If Luke is the evangelist who depicts Jesus as the beare…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Those who are burdened with heavy loads
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Those who are burdened with heavy loads
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Those who are burdened with heavy loads The ministry of the ox The keynote for Luke’s portrait of Jesus is set in his initial visit to the synagogue at Nazareth (4.16–30). Luke’s story is three times longer than the equivalent accounts which occur much later in Mark and Matthew (…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The ox, the herd, and the drivers