Preparation for ETS

Posted on March 22, 2012 by jacobcerone

On the eve of my presentation at the Southeastern Regional meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, a new book arrived.  One of the blogs I frequent had a list of must-read books.  On that list was G.K. Beale’s A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New.  Remembering that one of my faithful readers shamed me for not having read the book, I decided it was high time I picked it up.

I know what you are thinking.  “One of your readers told you that a book exists that contains a discussion on the very topic you plan on presenting at a scholarly conference…and you haven’t checked it out till now?”  To that I answer, “That is correct, sir.”  In my defense, I have read G.K. Beale and D. A. Carson’s Commentary on the New Testament’s Use of the Old regarding my passage, and to my chagrin found nothing of use concerning the topic.  Much like every other resource I had read in the field, the commentary analyzes John’s quotation of Isaiah, God’s pronouncement “this is my beloved Son…,” and the wilderness temptations.  Otherwise, there was nothing about Jesus’ baptism.  Not so in his new volume.

I quickly opened the package, took the book to my computer, referenced the comments on my blog so that I could quickly find the passage cited by my anonymous commenter, and began reading.  It is a good thing I did not reference this resource in January.  It would have drained every ounce of motivation I possessed.  Beale draws virtually the same conclusions as I do in my paper.  Let me give you a smattering of quotations:

John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan River, along with other Israelites.  What is the significance of the water?  Why is it apparently so important that Jesus be baptized by water in a river, along with other Jews, at the inception of his ministry?  The answer seems ready at hand, if one is sensitive to OT precedents.  Just as Israel was led by Moses and had to go through the sea at the exodus to enter the promised land, and just as the second generation had to do the same thing at the Jordan River under Joshua’s leadership, as a miniature second exodus, so again, now that Israel’s restoration is imminent through Jesus, true Israelites must again identify with the water and the Jordan and their prophetic leader in order to begin to experience true restoration… (p. 412)

In conjunction with this OT pattern of the exodus and, as we saw earlier, new creation, that Jesus’s baptism was part of his work ‘to fulfill all righteousness’ seems to allude to the fact that he came to set right what Israel and Adam had done wrong; he was coming successfully to obey, in contrast to Israel’s former disobedience, as well as that ultimately of Israel’s progenitors, Adam and Noah.  ‘By his baptism Jesus affirms his determination to do his assigned work’ as God’s ‘servant’ in restoring Israel and being a light to the nations (note the reference to Abraham in Matt. 3:9, which continues the subtheme of Jesus’s mission, which includes salvation to the gentiles). (416)

Therefore, ‘all righteousness’ refers to Jesus’s obedience to God’s will and commandments throughout his ministry as the eschatological Adam and Israel, culminating with his obedience of suffering at the cross.  His obedience formally begins with the baptism and the immediately following test in the wilderness.  In doing so, he was fulfilling all the prophecies and types and other ways in which the OT looked forward to him. (416-417)

In essence, you have just read a summary of my paper/presentation.

There is a principle in biblical scholarship.  If no one has ever said it before about passage x, then chances are that you didn’t strike gold…that glittering gleam is fool’s gold.  During my research for this topic, which admittedly is far from extensive (at present I don’t know enough Latin, French, or German to explore these sources), I only found “hints” supporting my argument.  The closest resource I found to support my contention wholesale was Joel Kennedy’s dissertation The Recapitulation of Israel’s History published by Mohr Siebeck in the “Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen Zum Neuen Testament” series costing about $115 .  Admittedly, I felt a bit deterred, and I lacked confidence.  Had I struck upon something real, or was I foolishly reading my own theology into the text?

Now…I feel a bit dejected.  Someone else has published my argument before me.  New ground is no longer being broken.  I feel like my presentation will simply be a rehashing of “old” truths.

In my mind this tension always exists in biblical scholarship.  If I say something radically new, have I broken with tradition and no longer see clearly?  Yet, if there is nothing new to be said, then why engage in the endeavor at all?

Nevertheless, I am delighted that a topic that has enthralled me for so long has been taken up by one more capable than I.  Furthermore, the writings of G.K. Beale will endure longer and affect a far greater audience than I am presently capable.  I can only hope and pray that all believers will give greater attention to the Old Testament and allow it to transform their reading of the New Testament.  After all, the apostles treated the Old Testament as scripture, and we must do likewise.

Posted in Biblical Studies, New Testament Studies, Quotes | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Stories with Intent

Posted on March 21, 2012 by jacobcerone

I wanted to give a shout out to Dr. Rimm from Moody Bible Institute.  In my apologetics class, he encouraged me to write a thesis type paper analyzing James Dunn’s “Jesus Remembered” and the abridged version “A New Perspective on Jesus.”  While I researched this paper, I was, for the first time, exposed to the various “Quests” for the historical Jesus, the Synoptic Problem, and several other matters concerning gospel studies.  I was reminded of this today as I read this paragraph in Klyne Snodgrass’ work “Stories with Intent:”

We do not have the ipsissima verba of Jesus, nor should we expect them, and attempted reconstructions are not going to supply them.  James Dunn is right; the only Jesus accessible to us is the remembered Jesus, Jesus as he impacted his disciples.  Dunn’s position is reminiscent of Martin Kähler’s: the only Jesus that exists is the historic, biblical Christ.  Anything else is a figment of the imagination.  This is not to side with those who would deemphasize the historical analysis of Jesus, but it is a recognition of the nature of our documents.

It is always nice to explore new areas of study and find that old endeavors have already paved the way.

Posted in Biblical Studies, New Testament Studies, Quotes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

An Engrained Tendency

Posted on March 12, 2012 by jacobcerone

I have an iPad. I also have Accordance for the iPad. This combination for biblical studies is a force to be reckoned with. Currently I carry the following around with me virtually everywhere I go: KJVA, ESV, NET, NIV, ASV, Vulgate, Greek New Testament (and text critical notes), Hebrew Old Testament (and text critical notes), Vulgate, Syriac NT, Pseudepigrapha (in Greek and English), Apocrypha (in Greek and English), Josephus (in Greek and English), Apostolic Fathers (in Greek and English), the IVP reference dictionaries, several Greek and Hebrew lexicons, a French and German version of the Bible, facsimile editions of sinaiticus, vaticanus, etc, thousands of journal articles, and many other modules.

I say this because I want you to realize that every one of the Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, and Latin texts are tagged. This means that if I don’t know the meaning of some particular word, all I have to do is touch it and it will be instantly defined. Furthermore, if I don’t know the case, gender, number of a noun, or the tense, voice, mood, person, number of the word, it gives me that information too.

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Which brings me to my point…when translating through John in German, I find it difficult to not punch a hole durch mein iPad. I keep lightly touching the word I don’t know. When that doesn’t work, I look to see if my finger is on the word. When that doesn’t work, I, like the individual who is flustered when he encounters a locked door, think that force is at the heart of the issue. I try to push harder, and harder, and harder until it eventually dawns on me, “This isn’t how real translation works…people use dictionaries to look up words they don’t know.” In turn, this realization gave way to a second, “Just because most students, and dare I say scholars, cheat with this and other helpful software, when it comes to learning German…gasp…I might actually have to learn German.”

Well…back to the grind.

Posted in Biblical Studies, German, New Testament Studies, Religion | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A Leave of Absence

Posted on March 9, 2012 by jacobcerone

Some of the faithful readers of this meager blog might be wondering, “Where has Jacob gone?”  I had made it regular practice to post at least once a day, excepting weekends.  It has now been 13 days since my last post.  Sadly, my reading and translation has been as dormant as my blog.

Remember on February 7th when I unwisely bragged about my Weekend Warrior DIY Project?  While owning a Honda Civic might mean that I instantly become a mechanic, it doesn’t mean my mechanic(ing) powers are all that great.  Sure, I successfully installed the upper and lower radiator hoses, thermostat, and flushed the system, but I was not capable of diagnosing the following:

  • Missing Wheel Bearings
  • Dry Rotten Arm Bushings
  • Oil Leak
  • New Timing Belt
  • New Water Pump
  • Leaking Radiator
  • Bad Aux Fan
  • Break Pads

So…my car has been a great stressor as it has been in and out of the shop for about a month now.  As if this wasn’t enough, Mary Beth’s car needed new break pads and had some noises from the front axels.  When I took it in, I thought that these were the only issues that needed to be addressed.  It turned out that these were the least of our concerns.  Here is the list…just in case you are interested:

  • Front driver’s and passenger’s side axels
  • Oil pan leak
  • Oil leak in the front or back (cannot remember where the second leak was)
  • Break pads
  • Rotors
  • Hydraulic Leak
  • Coolant Flush
  • Break Flush

All of this came out to a rather sizeable but managable estimate…with one exception…the transmission is starting to go.  Any time you accelerate up a hill in a lower gear, the transmission starts to slip.  Well, with 180,000+ miles on the Nissan Sentra, it was time to bite the bullet and replace it.

The last couple of weeks have been dominated by trips to the mechanic and trips to both used and new car dealerships.  My time has also been consumed by extensive internet research on available cars in the area as well as consumer reports on said cars.  Finally, Mary Beth and I have been making do with one vehicle…I drive her to Durham from our home in Holly Springs, then I drive to work in Raleigh, then back to Durham in order to pick up back up from work, and finally return home in Holly Springs.

But, despite all this, it seems as if life is starting to settle down.  Today we finished purchasing a replacement vehicle for Mary Beth.  Tonight I will pick up the Civic from the shop.  Tomorrow I will detail the cars.  Monday, I will be back to reading, translating, and blogging.

Through all of this, we have simply learned to roll with the punches. 

Oh, before I forget, is anyone out there interested in a 1996 Nissan Sentra with 180,000+ miles on it.  Car is beautiful and runs great.  Best of all, I can give an unbeatable price!  Hit me up in the comments if you are interested 😉

Posted in Life | Tagged , | 1 Comment

If You Want to Learn…Teach

Posted on February 24, 2012 by jacobcerone

Last night the Cary Alliance Hebrew Grammar II class met for another grueling lesson.  My three students (Christine Davies, Rodney Harvill, and Ingrid Sprecher) learned about pronominal suffixes on the verb.  For those of you unfamiliar with Hebrew, this means that you can express an entire sentence with one word: complete with subject, verb, and direct object. I, on the other hand, continued to learn an important lesson about knowledge, learning, and teaching.

First, if you want to know a subject well, start teaching it.  In our own personal studies, we often pass over important nuances, or we assume too much.  Your students, if they are anything like mine, will force you to consider the material you present from various perspectives.  Their eyes will pick up on the nuances you missed.  They will not permit lazy thinking.

Second, teaching necessitates humility; this is especially true if you are teaching a subject for the first time.  Your students will ask valid questions that you are not capable of answering.  You will provide answers that their persistent observations will discredit.  Do not be obstinate or bitter.  Welcome the inquisitive student.  Welcome criticism.  Only when you receive them in humility are you able to be transformed into a better teacher.  It is interesting how this principle also applies to the Christian life; the only way up is down.

To my Hebrew students,

Thank you for bearing with me in my shortcomings,  forcing me to learn my subject better, and constantly modeling true discipline.

Posted in Hebrew, Life | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Academia

Posted on February 23, 2012 by jacobcerone

My wife sent me this comic in order to enlighten me as to what my future holds.  Thanks love!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

On America and the Church

Posted on February 22, 2012 by jacobcerone

I couldn’t have said it better than Adam Parker over at Bring the Books.  Here’s a quote from his article entitled, “If I Were the Devil…,” to whet your appetite:

I can think of someone I would attack if I were Satan. I would attack the Church of Jesus Christ, and I would do it through one very broad strategy. I would put on a snappy-looking sweater-vest and talk like Rick Santorum did in this now infamous speech.

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The Miraculous in Modernity

Posted on February 22, 2012 by jacobcerone

Here is one of the best Chesterton quotes I have come across to date.  It is as applicable today as it was when he penned it.

An imbecile habit has arisen in modern controversy of saying that such and such a creed can be held in one age but cannot be held in another.  Some dogma, we are told, was credible in the twelfth century, but is not credible in the twentieth.  You might as well say that a certain philosophy can be believed on Mondays, but cannot be believed on Tuesdays.  You might as well say of a view of the cosmos that it was suitable to half-past three, but not suitable to half-past four.  What a man can believe depends upon his philosophy, not upon the clock or the century.  If a man believes in unalterable natural law, he cannot believe in any miracle in any age.  If a man believes in a will behind law, he can believe in any miracle in any age.  Suppose, for the sake of argument, we are concerned with a case of thaumaturgic healing.  A materialist of the twelfth century could not believe it any more than a materialist of the twentieth century.  But a Christian Scientist of the twentieth century can believe it as much as a Christian of the twelfth century.  It is simply a matter of a man’s theory of things.  Therefore in dealing with any historical answer, the point is not whether it was given in our time, but whether it was given in answer to our question.

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Another Chesterton Quote

Posted on February 21, 2012 by jacobcerone

I found that this illustration provided by Chesterton to be rather lucid, as it most certainly applies to my relationship with Mary Beth.

Perhaps the most everyday instance of this point is in the case of women; and their strange and strong loyalty.   Some stupid people started the idea that because women obviously back up their own people through everything, therefore women are blind and do not see anything.  They can hardly have known any women.  The same women who are ready to defend their men through thick and thin are (in their personal intercourse with the man) almost morbidly lucid about the thinness of his excuses or the thickness of his head…Love is not blind; that is the last thing that it is.  Love is bound; and the more it is bound the less it is blind.

My wife is my greatest advocate.  She will fight you to the death if you speak a word of ill will.  Yet, she is my greatest critic, a purging fire.

Posted in Life, Quotes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Fasching

Posted on February 21, 2012 by jacobcerone

Last night in German class we learned about the German season known as Fasching.  It is a celebration that lasts from 11/11 at 11:11PM until the start of Ash Wednesday.  One of Mary Beth’s friends just experienced her “first” Fasching and describes the experience here.

This is certainly a part of German culture I am looking forward to:  parades, costumes, parties, and merriment.

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