Please note: the Gospel for this paper is The Gospel of Mark
GOSPEL CHRISTOLOGY PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
The Gospels have been described as “biographical sermons” of Jesus. They are biographies in
that they aim to inform the audience (whether reading or hearing) about the life and legacy of the
protagonist – Jesus of Nazareth. They are sermons in that they aim not merely to inform, but to
inspire, persuade, and elicit a response. Where multiple sources of the same presentation exist,
inevitably those presentations are both alike and different. Think “remake.” For example, the
movie, True Grit, was originally released in 1969 with John Wayne as “Rooster” Cogburn. It
was remade in 2010 with Jeff Bridges as “Rooster” Cogburn.” The story is essentially the same
in both movies, but the way the story is interpreted in the two movies, and the way the central
character, “Rooster” Cogburn, is portrayed, is different. That is because the directors of the two
movies paint a portrait of the central character, “Rooster” Cogburn,” so that the audiences see
him through the directors’, or storytellers’, eyes. In much the same way, the four Gospel writers
tell the same story of the central character of their biography, Jesus of Nazareth; but because we
see Jesus through each Gospel writer’s eyes, we see a unique portrait of him in each of the four
Gospels. In scholarly parlance, we call this “portrait” of Jesus the Gospel’s Christology; that is,
its understanding, and presentation, of Jesus the Christ.
INSTRUCTIONS
Your task in this assignment is to experience the Gospel writer’s portrayal of Jesus as the story
unfolds before you in the biblical text. Keep in mind that the assignment is not to write a critical
introduction of your Gospel, exploring such things as authorship, date, provenance, genre, etc.
Your Gospel’s Christology is the same, no matter where you come down on these things.
Moreover, a critical introduction of your Gospel is already available in your textbook; there is no
need to rehearse that in your Christology paper. Nor are you to write a theology paper on what
“Christology” is. This is a class in New Testament, not theology. Nor is your assignment to write
about who you understand Jesus to be in your Gospel; rather, your assignment is to identify and
describe who your Gospel writer understood Jesus to be as evidenced by the way he tells his
story of Jesus in his Gospel.
In completing the assignment, 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 the 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
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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.
Once you have isolated the Christological portrait of Jesus you believe your Gospel writer
employs, test your hypothesis against the experts by comparing your Christological interpretation
with the scholarly commentaries on your Gospel. However, do not consult the commentaries
until you have read your Gospel through and come to your own conclusions about its
Christology. Finally, write a paper explaining and defending your Christological interpretation of
Jesus in your Gospel.
Students will be assigned a Gospel based on the first letter of their last names: A-F (Matthew),
G-L (Mark), M-R (Luke), S-Z (John).
 Thesis statement: The paper must have a thesis statement clearly identifying which
Christological image of Jesus will be defend, e.g., “The thesis of this paper is that Mark
portrays Jesus as the Son of God.”
 Length of assignment: Not less than ten (10) and not more than fifteen (15) pages in
length, double-spaced, excluding title page, contents page, and bibliography.
 Format of Assignment: Turabian, current edition. References to the biblical text may be
included in the body of the paper with parenthetical citations, but all other sources must
have footnotes and a complete bibliography of all sources used in the paper.
 Number of citations: The paper must interact with your assigned Gospel, as well as
course resources (textbook(s) and presentations). You must also consult at least five (5)
additional scholarly sources as “conversation partners” with whom to test your ideas.
Priority should be given to scholarly commentaries on your Gospel. Consult the website,
www.bestcommentaries.com for commentary suggestions.
 Acceptable sources: Bible, recent scholarly sources, textbooks, and course presentations.
Preference should be given to academic commentaries on the Gospels. Internet sources
require the instructor’s prior approval.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.NBST 515