The Context of Jesus’ Life

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, 

and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, 

and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. (Mal 3:3)

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

A story normally begins with the author outlining the context. Before a character can step into a play, the stage must be set. Where and when does the story begin? In a screenplay, the writer normally paints a picture of the character in daily life before an inciting incident provokes a journey to begin. This external conflict stimulates growth in the internal life of the character.

From a narrative perspective, how do we see Jesus introduced in the Gospels? From a faith perspective, does the context tell us more about Jesus or the author? This question is interesting because in Greek theatre the gods were mostly passive observers, not active participants, in human events. Yet, Dorothy Sayers (1941, 51) wonders whether the author may somehow inhabit a favorite character. Similarly, Kevin Vanhoozer (2014, 20-21) sees the theatre model playing an upsize role in biblical interpretation and disciplining.

The Gospel of Mark

Assuming Mark’s gospel is the first to be written, his presentation sets the stage for the others. How does Mark present Jesus?

For Mark, Jesus is heralded by John the Baptist, the way a king’s coming would be announced. The allusion to Malachi 3:3 is odd because the text cites Isaiah, but it is significant for at least three reasons. First, the refiner’s image suggests that he changes the environment; the environment does not change him. This is not the hero’s journey so popular in literature and film. Second, the refiner’s fire is directed specifically at “the sons of Levi,” which were the priestly class after Moses. Third, Malachi is a prophetic book, suggesting that Jesus’ mission is an answer to prophecy.

Jesus is heralded by John and then baptized in the wilderness. This setting is both physical and metaphorical, but this baptism is unnecessary for a sinless messiah, but it begs the question: What is its purpose? In the Matthew account John asks this question, and Jesus answers: “to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matt 3:15) The contextual answer is more interesting. Jesus’ baptism serves as a commissioning service blessed by God himself, reinforcing the kingly allusion: 

“When he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:10-11)

Mark describes this act as a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4), but full-immersion baptism serves as a symbolic death and resurrection. In Mark’s post-resurrection context, Jesus’ baptism serves a prophetic purpose that anticipates the crucifixion and resurrection.

The Gospel of Luke

Although John the Baptist is Jesus’ cousin, missing in Mark’s Gospel is the family context that we see  in Luke’s and Matthew’s Gospel. Luke’s account is more personal and many believe that Luke interviewed Jesus’ mother, Mary, in preparing to write. R.C. Sproul (2005, 14) reports that Luke offers a much broader picture of the role of individuals, especially women, and the Holy Spirit in the early church.

This family context in Luke is exemplified by the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist. Their names are symbolic. Zechariah means The Lord Remembers and Elizabeth means My God is an Oath (Sproul 2005, 16,17). Again, we hear an allusion to Malachi in the words that angel speaks to Zechariah:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Mal 4:5-6; See Luke 1:17)

Zechariah and Elizabeth are childless and advanced in age so the angel’s talk about children must have stung, but the angel prophesied that they would have a son—John—and he would be the person of Elijah prophesied.

The angel later visited Mary, who went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. When they met. Mary reported: “For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” (Luke 1:44) This leaping of the baby Jesus in the womb—a happy baby—is the first reported act of Jesus in scripture.

The Gospel of Matthew

This personal, family account of Jesus’ arrival in Luke contrasts with the conflict in Matthew’s Gospel, which I will talk about in more detail later. Matthew introduces Jesus with a geneology, sometimes called a king list, and a family context, but it comes in the context of a battle for political succession. Jesus is born and King Herod almost immediately seeks to kill him, as an apparent contender for the throne. Jesus’ father Joseph is visited by an angel who warns him of the danger and the Holy family slips out in the middle of the night. They flee initially to Egypt and after Herod dies to Nazareth.

For us, the Matthew context is overtly political, but the American church has more typically portrayed it as a sentimental journey or scooted through it quickly. The liturgy typically places the slaughter of innocents the week after Christmas when many people skip church and pastors take vacation. We don’t normally associate babies with kings and politics.

Angelic visitations and midnight journeys connect well, however, with refugees who live with persecution, corruption, and death, as has been the history in Central America. For such folks, spiritual warfare is a thin veil over daily life. For us, the Matthew account provides an important interpretative guide to the New Testament social context. It also reminds us that the Bible was written for adults by adults.

The Gospel of John

The Gospel of John begins with a philosophical interpretation of the creation account—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) The words in Greek—“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen 1:1)—for in the beginning are are the same. The implication is that the world itself was reborn in Christ. John’s extended is discourse on light (John 1:4-9) amplifies Genesis 1:3 and suggests a strong focus on ethics in interpreting Jesus’ life before a segue into the witness of John the Baptist.

Salvation History

In each of the Gospels, Jesus is introduced interpretatively within the context of salvation history. Even in Luke where this history begins in highly personal terms, as with the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the echo of Hannah’s song in the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55; 1 Sam 2:1-10) places Jesus’ life in this historical context far beyond the backroom of a carpenter’s shop. This salvation historical context takes the place of the people left behind with the person’s death or, alternatively, the role that the deceased played in those people’s lives, which we might see in a modern obituary.

References

Sayers, Dorothy. 1941. The Mind of the Maker. New York: HarperCollins.

Sproul, R.C. 2005. A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke’s Gospel. Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.

Vanhoozer, Kevin J. 2014. Faith Speaking Understanding: Performing the Drama of Doctrine. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.

The Context of Jesus’ Life

Also see:

The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com


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