In recent days, news broke of the passing of Dr. Robert H. Stein, Senior Professor Emeritus of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In their tributes, many have noted that Dr. Stein was a highly acclaimed and prolific New Testament scholar and a Christian Churchman with impeccable integrity. Dr. Stein spent most of his scholarly career writing numerous monographs and articles about the gospels and Hermeneutics, in addition to delivering lectures and teaching on these issues in church contexts. There is much one could say about the impact of his scholarship on many Southern Seminary alumni, their churches, and students through the ministries of the pastors and scholars whom Dr. Stein taught and while I could mention a few of the innumerable scholars Dr. Stein’s scholarship shaped, I want to focus this tribute on a few important encounters I personally had with Dr. Stein when I was a Southern Seminary student as a tribute to him.
A Giant of a New Testament Scholar
I first encountered Dr. Stein through his scholarship. As a first semester seminary student, one of my professor’s required his famous and accessible Hermeneutics text, known by many as Playing by the Rules. There have been many advances in Hermeneutics regarding the important work of biblical interpretation since the publication of this book. Yet, Dr. Stein’s text impacted this field as it introduced students to some simple rules to help guide us in our efforts to divide rightly the word of truth.
A couple of semesters later, I encountered Dr. Stein’s important book on the Synoptic Problem. Through this book, he introduced me for the first time to the many issues related to historical Jesus questions and the so-called Synoptic Problem. Dr. Stein’s years of study, mastery of both the primary and secondary sources, and his clear prose skillfully guided many young seminarians through the bumpy and winding road of the Synoptic Problem, Gospels Studies, and historical Jesus questions, while doing so in a way that helped readers of his text love the gospels even more and trust their historical reliability.
Years later, Dr. Stein published his eagerly anticipated commentary on the Gospel of Mark in the erudite but pastorally sensitive Baker Exegetical Commentary Series. Dr. Stein’s concise and precise exegesis illuminates the Gospel of Mark with clear Evangelical commitments and with penmanship that clearly demonstrates a mastery of the issues. Dr. Stein was a giant of a New Testament scholar.
The Heart of a Humble Gentleman
Dr. Stein also had the heart of a humble gentleman. I first encountered this side of Dr. Stein as a young seminarian. One of the many jobs I had as a seminary student was campus security. I fondly remember when my co-workers and I were working one of Southern Seminary’s December graduations, which, if I correctly remember, was a rather chilly day. After graduation, Dr. Stein took the time to walk over to a couple of co-workers and me as we stood outside to thank us for serving the seminary in that way during graduation. I remember turning to my co-worker to say something along the lines of “that was really kind of him to take the time to do that.”
On another occasion, Dr. Stein showed me his humble gentleness when I finally had the opportunity to take him for a course. I had graduated with my Master of Divinity degree in Biblical and Theological Studies, and I had entered the Master of Theology (Th.M.) program in New Testament with the intent of pursuing a Ph.D. in New Testament. Back in those days, the Th.M. at Southern Seminary was viewed by some of us as an opportunity to prepare ourselves for Ph.D. studies or to test the waters to see if we had either the desire or ability to pursue Ph.D. work, for the Th.M. program required students to take at least two Ph.D. seminars and at least two Ph.D. colloquia. So, there I was as a very young Th.M. student in a room with this world class scholar of the gospels with many older, brilliant, and seasoned Ph.D. students in either New Testament Studies or Biblical Studies taking Dr. Stein’s Synoptic Gospels Seminar. I can still see him and many of my classmates sitting around a square table in a seminar room in the Honeycutt Center as we presented and offered rigorous responses to papers on technical and important issues in Synoptic Gospels Studies.
I wrote my paper on a complicated text on the law in Matthew. The respondent did an excellent job responding. My classmates and colleagues were both encouraging and challenging by their comments. During the three-hour seminar, Dr. Stein sat quietly and patiently until he finally spoke and offered both encouragement and constructive criticism. In that seminar, he had a practice of commenting very little in class on the papers, but he would mark up the papers and write a personally typed response to every paper in which he offered more detailed analysis than he had the time to offer in the seminar. His comments were honest but kind.
After the seminar, I remember we saw each other one evening after he had finished teaching a Monday night M.Div. class in Norton Hall. I was working campus security that night. I was making my rounds walking through Norton Hall. When we saw each other, he offered me kind words of encouragement by taking a personal interest in me as a student in his seminar, by asking me about my experience in his course, and by asking me how the course was going for me. We shared a few comments with each other, the substance of which leaves my memory now in my old age! However, I do remember the encouragement I felt as he took the time to show interest in me as a student that night after he had already finished teaching a three-hour evening class.
Dr. Stein was a giant of a New Testament scholar with the heart of a humble gentleman. I, along with many, am thankful for his Christian faith, his life, and his legacy as a Christian.