The Gospels as Stories: A Narrative Approach to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

by Jeannine K. Brown

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2020

Overview

Popular writer and teacher Jeannine Brown shows how a narrative approach illuminates each of the Gospels, helping readers see the overarching stories. This book offers a corrective to tendencies to read the Gospels piecemeal, one story at a time. It is filled with numerous examples that show how narrative criticism brings the text to life, making it an ideal supplementary textbook for courses on the Gospels. Readers will gain hands-on tools and perspectives to interpret the Gospels as whole stories.

Key Features

• Offers a corrective to tendencies to read the Gospels piecemeal
• Provides an ideal supplementary textbook for courses on the Gospels
• Contains hands-on tools and perspectives to interpret the Gospels as whole storie

Contents

Part 1: Introduction

• The Turn to Gospels as Stories: Narrative Criticism in Gospel Studies

Part 2: Plot and Plotting

• The Selection, Sequence, and Shape of the Story
• Narrative Plotting in the Gospel of Luke

Part 3: Character and Characterization

• The People in the Story
• Matthew’s Characterization of the Disciples

Part 4: Intertextuality

• The Stories behind the Story
• Intertextuality in John: Passover Lamb and Creation’s Renewal

Part 5: Narrative Theology

• How a Story Theologizes
• The God of Mark’s Gospel

Part 6: Conclusion

• The Ongoing Power of the Gospels as Stories

Top Highlights

“This storied context signals that true discipleship is about avoiding presumption about status and disavowing the pursuit of higher status in the kingdom (cf. 19:27–30; 20:25). Jesus is not providing a revised pathway for gaining status.” (Page 154)

“Plotting refers to the way the story is framed and told” (Page 24)

“Narrative theology avoids taking a snapshot from one part of a Gospel and assuming that this single frame adequately expresses the entirety of the evangelist’s theology on any particular subject. The whole story must be allowed to speak in order for an evangelist’s theology in all its complexity to emerge.” (Page 152)

“Inclusio is a structural feature that bookends a section of narrative, with a repeated word, phrase, or theme placed at the front and at the end of a passage or story segment.” (Page 36)

“Examples from the Gospels include many of the minor characters, such as the two blind men of Matthew 9:27–31. This character pair, like others that appear for just a few lines and then exit the story line, are usually used to exemplify a single characteristic—in this case, faith in Jesus as Messiah (‘son of David’; 9:27).” (Page 68)

Product Details

• Title: The Gospels as Stories: A Narrative Approach to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
• Author: Jeannine K. Brown
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2020
• Logos Release Date: 2020
• Pages: 210
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. Gospels › Criticism, narrative; Narrative theology
• ISBNs: 9781493426324, 9780801049842, 9781540963123, 9781493423552, 149342632X, 0801049849, 1540963128, 149342355X
• Resource ID: LLS:GSPLSSSTRSLKJHN
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:25:48Z

About Jeannine K. Brown

Dr. Jeannine Brown has taught at Bethel Seminary for nearly two decades in the areas of New Testament, hermeneutics, and integration. Her books include Scripture as Communication, Becoming Whole and Holy: An Integrative Conversation about Christian Formation,and the forthcoming volume on Matthew in the Teach the Text Commentary series. She’s written various articles that have been published in Journal of Biblical Literature, New Testament Studies, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Journal of Psychology and Theology, and Journal of Psychology and Christianity. She’s also associate editor of the second edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.