Your task in this assignment is to
experience the Gospel writer’s portrayal of Jesus as the story unfolds
before you. Keep in mind that the assignment is not to write about who you
understand Jesus to be in your Gospel, but rather to identify and describe who
your Gospel writer understood Jesus to be based on the way he tells his
story of Jesus. In so doing, it is best to read the Gospel all the way through
at one time, as you would a story or short novel, rather than randomly
shuffling through the story looking for particular scenes or passages or
verses, the very act of which will disrupt the flow of the story and cause you
to miss the Gospel writer’s portrayal of Jesus. If you prefer, you can listen
to the Gospel read on DVD or MP3. In some ways, listening to the story is
preferable to reading it because the Gospels were stories written more for
the ear than the eye (remember, many in the ancient world could not read,
and even if they could, books were too expensive to own a personal copy). As
you read or listen to your Gospel, jot down your impressions of Jesus as his
portrait emerges in the story. Try to isolate th
e single, central
Christological image or role your Gospel writer uses to describe Jesus; for
example, Messiah (or Christ), Son of Man, Son of God, Miracle Worker, Teacher, the
New Moses, the Suffering Servant, the Prophet, the Word (logos of God), and
so forth. Be sure that you are identifying a Christological title,
and not just an emphasis of your Gospel. For example, everyone recognizes that
Luke portrays Jesus as compassionate, but merely being compassionate, in and of
itself, is not Christological. That could be said of lots of people who
had no Messianic pretensions or aspirations. Also, while there may be multiple
Christological images employed at times in your Gospel, your task is to
identify and explore the single Christological image that seems to you
to dominate the writer’s view of Jesus. That is, you must explore one
Christological image in your Gospel, not multiple images. There is no
single “right answer” for which the instructor is looking. You can choose any
Christological title you can defend from the text of your Gospel, but
you must defend your choice by appeal to the text of your assigned Gospel.