BS-604
Paper 1

Exegetical Term Paper

navigate_before

Week 6

 navigate_next
Apr 3 - 8, 23
6 21 22 electric_bolt 1 2
Anxiety
Points 100
Due April 24, 2023
Exegetical Paper on Luke 12

UNPOSSESSED

The true storehouse for our surplus is benevolence.
— William M. Taylor (The Parables of Our Saviour, p. 269)

The Lord’s evocative parable on greed and its destructive effect on the soul of its owners is a blunt warning to his hearers; Jesus’ stern message leaves no room for misinterpretation, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15, ESV). In pursuit of wealth, greed consumes its victims with an unquenchable thirst, twisting the mind inward like the Gollum, unable to break free of his lust for the ring he hated (Tolkien, 1954). Luke breaks up the Lord’s didactic discourses on fear and disquietude by using a petition to settle an inheritance dispute showing the general sentiment of anxiety within the public sphere. The parable only addresses the mortal consequences of covetousness, while Luke leaves the answer on how to be “rich toward God” (v. 21) in the later discourses. Life’s uncertainty fuels anxieties that lead us to seek security in accumulating wealth; as our worldly treasure grows, we become subservient to our possessions until we are utterly consumed — unless we seek a different kind of treasure in another realm (verses 31ff.).

Luke is the only gospel that tells the story of a man entirely absorbed by the wealth that distorted his perception and understanding of Jesus and his teachings. The Lord coldly rejects the man’s petition to arbitrate on his behalf against the greedy brother. This story illustrates a cross-section of the multiplicity of sentiments representing the multitudes. The broad social stratum in the audience experiences fear and anxiety differently; the poor and rich both fear that they do not have enough yet for entirely different motivations. The poor worry they will go hungry, while the rich fear they will miss out on having more. The man in the story from the latter group worries that he will miss out on his inheritance; his request for adjudication to protect his financial interest reveals his selfish worldly preoccupations. The Lord’s admonition is still fresh in the preceding verses, “Do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say” (v. 11); however, this discontented man is so fixated on his entitlements, his flesh is present, but his heart and mind are enslaved to the pursuit of wealth — he mistook the Savior for a small claim court judge.

The gospel of Luke accentuates the disparity between the social and economic classes of the period. The beginning of the passage, where “many thousands of the people gathered together” (v. 1), consists of varying social and economic strata. Instead of directly addressing the man bearing a grudge, Jesus tells the crowd a parable about a wealthy man and his ephemeral acquisitive dream. The interruption by the man with an inheritance dispute serves as a segway for the Lord to teach the people about the emptiness of greed.

“Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
— Verse 14

Luke recorded the only instance when the Lord referred to a petitioner in such cold and distant language to reveal how disconnected this man was from Jesus’ teaching of the upside-down kingdom.

The dark parable ends deadly for the rich man blessed by God (v. 16). The Gospel of Luke contrasts the making of the poor rich in God against the rich’s private obsession with wealth, depriving them of hope, relationships, and life. This parable centered around a man’s soliloquy revealing his inner avaricious motives. Upon seeing his land yield plentifully, the wealthy man thinks about capitalizing on this providential endowment. Greed overtakes his heart as a “man with an evil eye hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him” (Prov. 28:22). The Lord reveals the man hidden thoughts, starting with a question he asks himself:

“What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?”
— Verse 17

The increase in crop yield also increases his appetite for wealth as he disregards his existing storage facilities. As a recipient of God’s providential blessings, the rich man, in his abundance, must remember that he is a servant of God and is held accountable for what he was delegated: “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more” (v. 48). The covetous man is consumed with capacity planning to increase the size of his holding while the poor and everyone else besides himself is ignored, or worse, taken advantage of. The Lord exposes the rich’s egocentrism in the short parable. The man, so full of himself, uses the first-person pronouns eleven times: “What shall I do,” “I have nowhere,” “my crops,” “I will do,” “I will tear down,” “my barns,” “I will store,” “my grain,” “my goods,” “I will say,” and “my soul” (verses 17-19). The only second-person pronoun used is “you” in reference to his soul; his solipsist world turns inward toward himself and his possessions — the rich fool ends up alone. The parable illustrates the paradoxical pursuit of the rich to gain possessions yet has no friends to share them, “The things you have prepared, whose will they be?” Who will give his eulogy? What will they say about this rich man? According to Luke, God has pronounced his judgment, the rich in their pursuit of greed are fools, and “so is the one who lays up treasure for himself and not rich toward God” (verses 20-21).

The parable ends without explaining the meaning of being “rich toward God” (Greek: “πλουτῶν εἰς θεὸν”). The New American Standard Bible offers an alternate translation of the Greek word εἰς as “in relation to” instead of “toward.” This rendition of the word gives a clearer understanding of what it truly means to be rich. The contrast between riches as having an abundance of possessions versus having a relationship with God delineates the temporal and eternal. Luke encapsulates this dichotomy vividly two chapters after, in the parable of the prodigal son; after he squandered all his wealth, his so-called friends abandoned him, and all that remains is the son’s relationship with his father (Luke 15:17). The Lord begins the parable with the warning, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions,” (v. 15) not to denounce having material things but to be aware of the deadly effect covetousness has on the soul of its victim. The man in the parable assumes God’s blessings as his to possess rather than seeing himself as God’s “faithful and wise manager” (v. 42). The rich fool dreams of tearing down his barns to build larger ones so he can make more profit during the off seasons and hopefully retire in comfort (v. 19). St. Augustine remarks on the fool’s need to build larger barns puts in perspective that God cares about people, not profits:

Thou hast barns — the bosoms of the needy, the houses of the widows, the mouths of orphans and of infants.
— St. Augustine (Taylor, p. 268)

After the parable, the Lord turns to his disciples to plainly instruct them about their anxiety and their desires to possess. Jesus tells them clearly, “The Father knows that you need them,” but they need to trust God’s promise that he will give them the kingdom (vv. 30ff). Luke’s gospel brings the immediacy of the kingdom into the forefront of his audience by challenging them to have faith:

But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
—Verse 28

Life’s uncertainty brings out anxiety in all of us. The need to control our destiny by securing our future with bigger storehouses is alluring but has deadly consequences. The Lord’s remark, “For you always have the poor with you” (Mat 26:11; Mark 14:7), reminds us that the Church is responsible for the widow, orphans, disenfranchised, and destitute. Jesus challenges his disciples to “sell your possessions, and give to the needy” (v. 33). Our earthly possessions are for the poor in the kingdom that is here and now; our heavenly treasures will be in God’s kingdom that is to come. The Church is entrusted with the promise that the Father has “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:3); the Lord sets the wise to oversee the heavenly treasures to give to the poor “their portion of food at the proper time” (v. 42). While we await the Lord’s return if the Church tends to the “least of these” then we have done good unto Jesus.

Application

The world’s message is: “You don’t have enough! You must have more! Your family and future depend on you having this!” The inescapable appeal of securing your future with more and better things is sidelining Luke’s central message that Jesus was sent to preach the gospel to the poor. When we turn inward toward ourselves to find safety and security, our desires will never be satisfied because greed is an abyss of unrelenting struggles; the side effect of the Church’s neglecting the poor has spiritual consequences:

Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
—Matthew 25:44-46

Ministry to the poor is not optional but central to the Church’s message, and it is the responsibility of every Christian. James puts it bluntly that our religion is defiled and polluted unless we care for “orphans and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27). The Church needs to look outward toward the kingdom, not inwardly, to preserve its resources. Living at the base level of our necessity requires God’s grace and discipline. When the Church becomes a faithful servant, entrusted to distribute (and not hoard) God’s providence to the poor, then it can begin to shine. Let not the churches build bigger barns, but bring God’s treasures out of the storehouses and distribute them to the needy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Taylor, W. M. (1889). The Parables of Our Saviour. NY: A.C Armstrong & Son.
  • Tolkien, J. (1954). The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Exegetical Assignment

Research and Application

Part 1

Research and Interpretation

Choose one scriptural passage in the section of Mark 1-5, 9-10, 12-13 or Luke 11–19. Typically, the passage is 10-15 verses, though it might be slightly shorter or longer:

  1. Read it many times, soak it all in, and meditate on it.

  2. Fill out the chart below based on your own reading and reflections. This is your opportunity to do your own interpretation and make your own notes

  3. Now that you’ve done your own reflections, it’s time to begin further research. Research your passage using Commentaries and Bible dictionaries (not ancient ones—most should be at least written in the year 2000 or later), then fill in the revised chart below.

    • Do not use the Matthew Henry commentary.

      It was written in 1706 and for some reason many students use it every semester and it has a negative impact on your grade.

    • Write a coherent paper based on the chart below and include all the elements in each section of the chart.

    • Do not deviate from your text and its immediate biblical context.

    • Do not utilize scriptures from other parts of the Bible.

  4. Write a paper according to guidelines below the chart according to the instructions after the chart, including the Application Section (Part 3 below the Chart):

    Complete the Literary Elements Chart below (using literary methodology of Narrative Criticism)

    In the chart below, fill in as many of the literary elements you can find. The goal here is to bombard the text with any and all questions you can think of. Everything depends on how intently you read. In short, the better your questions, the better your research, and by extension, the better will be your final exegetical paper.

    Description Literary Elements
    Discover the Context (Why do you begin and end here? What comes before and after the passage?)
    Do not base your decision on verses, chapters, or headings—none of these are in the original Greek text of the Bible!    		  
    Translations and Word Meanings
    Consult several different translations of your passage (e.g. NRSV, NIV, RSV, NASB, ESV). Record any variant meanings/nuances and modify/ improve your interpretation based on the different nuances of the translations, if they are significant!
    Include any insights from commentaries on meanings of key words/phrases (commentaries will be consulted below in Historical Background)    		  
    Synoptic Parallels or Intertextual References This is not required. But if helpful, list synoptic parallels only if the version differs in other gospels and explain why you think so Omit this unless you feel it is necessary to your interpretation.
    Character(s)
    List all the characters and their roles in the passage.    		  
    Audience
    Can you tell from the text who the audience is?That is, who is being addressed in their writing?    		  
    Observe Grammar and Structure/Ask Questions
    (comparison, contrast, parallelism, series, simile, metaphor, cause/effect, statement/response, irony, and so forth). Ask who, what, when, why where, how, so? See W (Wenham/Walton) p. 105.    		  
    Speaker
    Is there a speech or dialogue in the text? If so, who is making the speech or dialogue?    		  
    Genre
    What is the genre or literary category? Some sample genres are: 1) speech; 2) narrative; 3) hymn;4) parable; 5) dialogue; 6) sermon; 7) poetry; 8) prophecy; 9) prayer; 10) command, etc.    		  
    Setting
    Where is the passage set? What is the geographic location (i.e., on a mountain, in a plain, in a valley, near water)? Is it in a city or a village? A farm or in the wilderness? On a road? If so, where are they traveling from/to?    		  
    Time
    (if relevant—do not make up answer if the text does not indicate anything)! During what season of the year is the text set? What time of day? Is a holy day involved?    		  
    Key Word(s), Phrase(s), or Theme(s)
    List any key words, phrases, or themes. Key words, phrases, or themes are words, phrases, or themes that 1) are repeated; or 2) have significant meaning.    		  
    Historical Background
    Are there references to historical background that will be necessary to understand the text? Are there workers, rulers, tribal leaders, kings, or queens mentioned? Are there references to any ethnic groups? Any events? Religious leaders/issues? Add insights from commentaries and research on historical background. Modify your interpretation appropriately.    		  
    Socio-cultural Elements
    What social conventions can you identify? Does eating, drinking, dining, traveling come into play? Who has/doesn’t have power? Who is “in”? Who is “out”? How is gender or kinship structured (i.e., who is exercising power and agency and can you tell why)? Is there evidence of patronage or benefaction? Is honor or shame a factor? Add insights from commentaries/research.    		  
    Summarize your Interpretation of the Passage in a Sentence or Two (thesis statement)  
    Interpret the Content of the Passage after your research and reading of commentaries (What does it mean; don’t “skip over” puzzling things that you don’t understand–do your best to deal with difficult verses. This should be the main section of your paper). Now try to answer unanswered questions and understand what is puzzling with the help of resources  
    Application: does the passage state or imply how it should be applied? See Part 3 Below:  
    • KEY TIPS:
      1. Do not rely on headings in the Bible or Chapter Divisions since they were added by editors. They will only serve to short-circuit your exegesis and rob you of the joy of discovery. If you let others do the thinking for you, you have not actually performed exegesis but have provided a catalog of what others have said.
      2. Students who have carefully followed the above chart have tended to write the best quality papers and students who do not carefully follow it tend to write poor quality papers.
      3. Do not leave the book of Mark or Luke and jump around to other passages in the Bible.

Fact finding questions

Ask who, what, when, why where, how, so? See Wenham/Walton p. 105 (Kindle 221).

Who
are the people involved, what kind of relationship do they have? Is it friendly, antagonistic, open, closed, etc.?
Where
are they? What's the atmosphere of this setting?
When
does the action happen? What caused it to happen at this specific time? Is there any particular symbolism of the time?
What
is the central event or key theme? Is it a problem, an event influencing others, a conflict, a crisis, etc.?
How
does the writer seek to communicate the story? How are the events described? Do previous events lead up to this story, or do subsequent events develop from it? Do words used reveal motives, feelings, ideas, etc.?
Why
do the events of the story happen? Are the reasons stated, explicitly or implicitly? Does the writer hint at the reasons by the links made with other stories?
So?
What results follow from this story? Are they expected or surprising within the overall narrative? What results would follow for the reader who accepts or rejects this story?

Part 2

Now Write Your Paper

After completing the chart above, write a carefully pondered, methodical paper that weaves in your findings from the chart above and continues to follow all instructions below.

  1. Your paper must include a thesis statement.

    To craft a thesis statement, think about the text as a whole. What is this text trying to teach people in its original audience? What did the text mean for the ancient world? What is the text trying to communicate to them? How does the passage accomplish these goals? Your answer/s to these questions will form your thesis for the paper. This should be a one-sentence statement that carefully, precisely, and succinctly makes a statement or claim about the meaning (not just the content!) of the passage. Be careful not to make a procedural statement (e.g. “The following paper will exegete the Ten Commandments.”). Such a statement is implicit and need not be stated. A thesis statement, by definition, is a claim or assertion that can be contested. Put in bold this statement and place it at or near the end of your introduction.

    The thesis statement should not begin thus: “In this paper, I will argue that…” Revise this sentence until you achieve clarity, economy of words, and a true introduction to the content of your paper. This will usually require your revising this sentence at least once after you have finished the rest of the paper.

    Example of a good thesis statement:

    As he journeys toward his own death on the cross, Jesus teaches the disciples that they too must take up their cross; to live is to die and to dies to live.

Your focus must be on the historical — what might the text have meant to its ancient hearers given the ancient historical/sociological context. Save any theological reflection (that is, about what you have learned from God) for the Application portion of the paper. Don’t forget to add this:

Part 3

Application

(10 points) Include at the end of your paper about 200-400 words on how this text applies to you and your community (or the contemporary world) today. In making the leap from what the text meant to what the text means, students are to ask the following questions:

Questions are based on Donald Hagner's discussion in, New Testament Exegesis and Research: A Guide for Seminarians (Pasadena: Fuller Seminary Press, 1992), 23.

Feel free to write in this Application Section in the first-person pronoun. As you do, push yourself to go beyond “I have learned a lot.” Think about how the text informs your life and unique experiences. The Application portion should not be an afterthought in your exegetical analysis, but the culmination of it! This is where you work out how the message of the text gets traction in life… in your life!

The only caveat is that you remain focused on what you have learned from the text itself and your further research. Be sure that your application comments are derived directly and reasonably from the meaning of the passage.

While exegesis is primarily about determining what the text meant in its original context and to its original audience, we must not leave the matter there. It is also important to extend the text’s meaning into the contemporary world. After all, the Bible is revelation for us as it was for them. In transitioning from the “then” to the “now,” be careful that you do not throw off the work of observation and research. Responsible application must be an outgrowth of proper observation and research.

Style, Form, and Grammar

Please follow the following style, format, and grammar expectations:

  1. Page length: 2300-3000 words 1½–spaced, three-four pages. [followed by a Works Cited or Bibliography page].

  2. Heading to include Name, Date, Class Name [single spaced]. Do not use a title page.

  3. Font: Times New Roman 12-Point Font (Times New Roman 10 for footnotes)

  4. Margins = one inch.

  5. 1½ spaced [except Heading, which is single spaced].

  6. Insert Page Numbers.

  7. Grammar/Footnotes/ Bibliography or Works Cited page conform to Chicago Manual of Style. To find style requirements, please consult

  8. Do not leave extra space between paragraphs.

  9. Include a Title

  10. Thesis statement is in bold (review in this syllabus for Thesis statement instructions).

  11. Cite the Bible as follows:

    • first time only: Sample — “You must remain completely loyal to the LORD your God” (Luke 18:3, NRSV).

      NOTE: Include the version first time [e.g., “NRSV” or “NIV”] for exact quotes…

    • thereafter: Sample — “You must remain completely loyal to the LORD your God” (Luke 18:3).

    • Do not footnote your Bible verse (see #13 above for parenthetical Bible verses), but footnote your research from commentaries, Bible dictionaries, etc.

Luke 12:13-21 (ESV)

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Discover the Context

Translations and Word Meanings

Consult several different translations of your passage (e.g. NRSV, NIV, RSV, NASB, ESV).

• NIV ESV NASB
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.
17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Record any variant meanings/nuances and modify/improve your interpretation based on the different nuances of the translations, if they are significant!

Include any insights from commentaries on meanings of key words/phrases (commentaries will be consulted below in Historical Background)

Characters

List all the characters and their roles in the passage.

  1. The inquirer

    Petitioner demands Jesus to settle a dispute about inheritance

  2. The “brother” who is absent/silent

    The accused selfish/unjust sibling

  3. The Lord

    The “arbitrator & judge” who refuses to mediate instead teaches him through a parable

  4. The fictitious rich man

    The hoarder of wealth and loves to possess whose soul will be repossessed by God

  5. His “soul”

    His sole companion is “himself”

  6. God

    The Creator who owns everything

  7. The unnamed heir

    The stranger who is likely to enjoy the labor of the rich man who works hard to possess but have no life to enjoy his possession

Audience

Observe Grammar and Structure/Ask Questions

Ask who, what, when, why where, how, so? See Wenham/Walton p. 105 (Kindle 221).

Speaker

Genre

What is the genre or literary category? Some sample genres are:

  1. speech — Petitioner to the Lord & The rich man to his soul
  2. narrative —
  3. hymn
  4. parable — The Rich Fool
  5. dialogue — indignant response from the Lord to the petitioner
  6. sermon
  7. poetry
  8. prophecy — greed leads to dispossession
  9. prayer
  10. command

Setting

See above.

Time

If relevant—do not make up answer if the text does not indicate anything!

Key Word(s), Phrase(s), or Theme(s)__

List any key words, phrases, or themes. Key words, phrases, or themes are words, phrases, or themes that

  1. are repeated; or
  2. have significant meaning.

The rich man in the parable repeats the first person pronouns 11 times.

Historical Background

Add insights from commentaries and research on historical background. Modify your interpretation appropriately.

Socio-cultural Elements

Add insights from commentaries/research.

Summarize your Interpretation of the Passage in a Sentence or Two (thesis statement)

Eternal life does not consist of the accumulation of worldly possessions that are stored in growing but temporal accounts until our appearance before the Judge. True eternal life invests earthly treasures in service to Lord in meeting the need of the poor; the investment’s return will not only inestimable but also eternal.

Interpret the Content of the Passage after your research and reading of commentaries

What does it mean; don’t “skip over” puzzling things that you don’t understand–do your best to deal with difficult verses. This should be the main section of your paper.

Now try to answer unanswered questions and understand what is puzzling with the help of resources

Application

Previous navigate_before
Final • John
Paper 1
Exegetical Term Paper
navigate_before

Week 6

 navigate_next