Readings in Early Christianity: The Synoptic Gospels

There is perhaps no one who has not heard the name of a seemingly obscure carpenter’s son executed by the Romans around the year 33 CE. Why? His friends and followers preserved the memory of his life and teaching—orally at first and then, after the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 CE, in written records that we have today in the New Testament. This class will focus on the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Why were they written, what do they have to say, and how were they intended to be read? We will immerse ourselves in the religion of the Holy Land—that is, the various forms of Judaism—and the role of the dominant world empire of Rome. Our study will consist mainly of primary texts in the New Testament; but we will also have recourse to some Rabbinic materials, as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls.