Purpose: This assignment is intended to guide you through paying close attention to a Gospel narrative so that you may describe and analyze what is there.
Skills: 1) Paying attention to the details in the Biblical passage and context surrounding the passage, without importing outside information on to the passage or larger Gospel in which the text is found,
2) Writing that includes the ability to describe what is being examined and then move into interpreting (analyzing) what has been observed and described in order to better understand the passage.
3) Writing reflectively by interacting with a Biblical text to think through and better understand the story about Jesus.
Task: For this assignment, will work on Matthew 23:13-39. A series of questions will lead you through a description and analysis exercise on a template linked below. Upload the completed file in doc, docx, or PDF format to Canvas before the due date.
Your answers to the questions should show evidence of your careful reading of the passage; you should, for instance, support your answers with evidence from the text, citing specific chapters and verses that indicate where you found the information that shaped your answers. If you are uncertain whether your answers are sufficient, consider the positive and negative examples below and the rubric at the bottom with respect to your answers.
Positive Example: If you were asked to respond to the prompt, “Describe the issue in the conflict in Mark 2:23-28 and explain the significance of the conflict” you might observe in your answer that “the conflict began when the Pharisees observed the disciples of Jesus picking heads of grain (2:23). The Pharisees ask why they are breaking the law by doing this on the Sabbath (2:24) in an effort to attack Jesus through the behavior of his followers.”
You could then connect these and other key phrases in the encounter to the other conflicts in the immediate context to explain the significance: “This conflict is immediately preceded by several other conflicts that escalate in severity, but also have to do with Jewish boundary markers (or distinctive practices): belief in one God (2:1-12), table fellowship (2:13-17), and practices of holiness/piety (2:18-22).
It is then followed by the most severe conflict which is also more directly over proper behavior on the Sabbath (3:1-6). The conflict in 2:23-28 shows Jesus claiming a greater authority for himself than he has yet claimed (Lord of the Sabbath in 2:27-28) and also sets up his action of restoring health to a man in the final conflict (3:4).” The goal is to 1) demonstrate that you’ve read the text closely, 2) support your answer with specific verses from your passage.
Negative Example: If you were asked to respond to the prompt, “Describe the issue in the conflict in Mark 2:23-28 and explain the significance of the conflict.” A less successful answer may still observe the correct issue in the conflict and discuss the significance, but fail to point either to a place in the text where this is said specifically (even if the exact language from the text is used) or fail to connect it to specific verses in the context.
It may say, “The Pharisees and other opponents are hoping to undermine Jesus’s authority by claiming his followers do not observe the law. This conflict is near the end of a series of conflicts in which the severity is increasing and Jesus is shown to claim more power each time.” Yet, such an answer fails to provide evidence by citing specific places in the text.
As necessary, refer to other passages in Matthew, consult your Powell textbook, or use a dictionary to understand uncertain terms. With these exceptions, no other secondary sources should be consulted. You should answer each of the following questions based only on your own reading of the biblical story. The final written work should be between 400-600 words.
