THE GOSPELS IN EGYPTIAN CONTEXT

Flemming rightly said that each gospel is a contextual document that narrates “the gospel story for distinct ‘target audiences’ within the first century Mediterranean world” (DF, 240).  The New Testament teaches us how the First Century Church contextualized the gospel in different contexts, to different target audience, using different preaching methods and motifs, with one central message—Christ Jesus.   The gospels have the literary characteristics of ancient Greco-Roman biographies and historiographies about the person of Jesus Christ, directed to a target audience, with a clear purpose statement (DF, 237-238).

In the Egyptian cultural context, no one particular gospel would be appropriate but a audience-sensitive multi-approach has to be evaluated, starting with where the audience resides in terms of their own theological perspectives.  Egypt is a monotheistic country with majority Muslims, and minority Coptic Christians (25% of population, 90M).  Islam is well entrenched through the Al-Azhar Al-Sharif—worldwide center for teaching and for propagating the Islamic faith.  Islam acknowledges and believes in the heavenly messages given to Moses and Jesus as prophets of God and the Holy Scriptures, respectively, the Old Testament and the Gospels.  However, Islam believes that Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, is the final prophet that closes God’s revelation.  Though there are similarities and commonalities between Christianity and Islam, the differences are far more detrimental.  God’s simple oneness in Islam strikes down on the personality of God as Trinity;  God’s might and omnipotence in the beautiful names of Allah strikes down on God’s humility and emptiness—the key to salvation.  Basically, there are two main problems in presenting the gospel to the Islamic culture—The Trinity and the Cross.  Recently, another issue popped up—the infallibility of the Bible.

The gospel of John starting with the eternal logos, Jesus’ pre-existence, the concept of the Trinity, the personality of God as “The Father,” is an appropriate start to an audience who is bewildered by a bloodthirsty, immoral God, whose ugly face was unveiled through ISIS, lately in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Nigeria, and elsewhere.  The gospel of God’s love and fatherhood and assurance of eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ is most needed given the war situation and death that looms around, especially that in Islam, no matter how devout you are, your eternal life is at stake, unknown.  Islam is a religion of works, not of grace; God is relentless, severe, needs worshippers, and is never satisfied.  The Fatherhood and love of God that takes prominence in John’s gospel could touch the lives of Muslim with a healing, salvific message of grace.

         The gospel of John depicts Jesus as fulfilling all the Old Testament prophecies and feast symbols, with the 7 “I AM” and 7 signs; for instance, the “I AM the Light of the world” was followed by giving sight to the blind man from birth, which validates Jesus’ identity.  The continuity between the Old Testament and New Testament in terms of prophecy fulfillment is valuable for the truthfulness of the gospel, validating its infallibility.  The explanation of Christian inspiration is critical to the understanding of God’s salvation plan through successive covenants where God maintains and reiterates the same message, while progressively unfolding His character and redemption plan.  Men of God, at different times and places, inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible that proclaims God’s personality and purpose.  In Islam, inspiration (ilham) could happen to any spiritual person, the reason Moses and Jesus are acknowledged along with the Torah and Gospels (ingil);  but the sending down of the revelation (tanzil) was directly transmitted to Mohammad’s mind through the Preserved Tablets (fixed revelation written on heavenly tablets) (TT, 62-63).  So tanzil is the upper tier of revelation which applies to Qu’ran and is non-negotiable; whereas, the Torah and Gospels are the lower tier of revelation.  The second tier is the hadith (the life of the prophet as a source of social and religious practices that are not included in the Qu’ran), which are instructive for catechesis and for Islamic law (shari’a), but are negotiable and non-eternal (TT, 63).  Tennent raised the issue of using non-biblical texts in the Qu’ran that are of Christian biblical reference within certain confines in evangelistic outreaches, as a corroborating witness to support the biblical message, and clothing the non-biblical texts in a Christological mantle (TT, 71-72).  The Qu’ran is full of biblical events and testimonies about Jesus’ identity, however distorted; these could be used, altered and put in a Christocentric perspective.  In Surat al-Nissa 4:172,“The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul (in Arabic, it is ‘spirit’ not ‘soul’) from Him.”  This verse led many Muslims to faith in Jesus Christ, despite the fact that the rest of the verse commands the Muslims not to acknowledge God as three persons--polytheism.  This verse enlightened many Muslims that Jesus is the Word of God and a Spirit of Him.  So, if the Qu’ran confesses that Jesus is God’s Word and God’s Spirit, what is Mohammad then?  Another example, Jesus is said to be the Judge in the Resurrection Day; and in the 99 names of Allah, God is the Judge.  So the question is, “Is Jesus God the Judge?”  As our Indian brethren said that Jesus does not come to cultures as a stranger but in answer to prayers and longings for the truth (TT, 72), there is a lot to learn from the Qur’anic texts that reveal Eissa ibn-Mariam (Jesus Son of Mary) as the true living God.  This is similar to Paul’s Aeropagus contextualization experience by reference to Greek poets’ non-sacred quotations (Acts 17).  The guidance of the Holy Spirit is essential as such contextualization needs the anointing to be poured on the listeners’ hearts and the revelation of points of contact and common grounds with audience.

Luke’s inclusive motif to the marginalized, the poor, the outcast, and the women (DF, 252) would speak to the people because the majority of the population is lower class to middle class with 26.3 % poverty ratio in 2012/13 (i.e. 23.4 M).  Women in Islam, equally to women in Judaism, are relegated, looked down upon, and seen as source of evil.  Jesus’ treatment to and acceptance of women are a source of healing for and honor to Jewish and Muslim women, as seem in Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman (Jn 4), or the adulteress (Jn 8), or Mary Magdalene (Lk 8:2), or Mary and Martha, or the daughter of Abraham who was bound for 18 years (Lk 13:16), or the 12-year bleeding woman (Mk 5:25).

Matt’s what was spoken by the prophets-motif  serves two purposes:  the authentication of the infallibility of God’s word in the Bible (OT & NT) and the identity of Jesus’ person and mission as the Son of God, whom God the Father sent to fulfill the salvation-historical plan of redemption.  Prophecy fulfillment is positive apologetics hardly denied since it authenticates the truthfulness of God’s word and what Jesus said about Himself.            

All the four gospels are definitely used depending on the Egyptian audience which is varied.  There is one reservation:  the use of Greek rhetorical techniques and methods of persuasion that are not effective in the Egyptian cultural context because people are either poor, uneducated, lower class, or middle class; few wealthy are not interested in a God who challenges the patronage system to transform it  and calls for a reversal of fortune (DF, 254-256).  Even when using the gospel of John, simple words and analogies should be used to address the audience with the relevant point.  Polemical arguments should go hand in hand with positive apologetics to tear down the distorted features and incorrect understanding about God, as the true facts are built up.  In evangelistic outreaches, missionaries must know the background of the people they are contextualizing the gospel for and pray for God’s guidance for the choice of the method, techniques, Bible passages, and approach.  A total dependence on the Holy Spirit for contextualization and for anointing the preacher and audience is critical for the message to breakthrough and to transform people.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Flemming, Dean. Contextualization in the New Testament:  Patterns for Theology and Mission. Madison, Wisconsin:  InterVarsity Press, 2005.