The Gospels
The Gospels
testament
4 CATEGORIES /
SECTIONS OF
BOOKS IN THE
NEW
TESTAMENT
I. Gospels
II. Acts of the Apostles
III.Letters or Epistles
a) Letters of Paul
b) General Letters
IV.Revelation to John
DIVISION OF THE NEW
TESTAMENT BOOKS
Biographies History Epistles Prophecy
Romans
1&2 Corinthians
• Matthew Revelation
Acts Galatians
To
• Mark Ephesians
of the Philippians John
• Luke
Apostles Colossians
• John 1&2Thessalonians
1&2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1&2 Peter
1,2,3 John
Jude
THE GOSPEL
TESTIMONIES
TO JESUS
the recorded testimonies to
the person and work of
Jesus;
how Mark, Matthew, Luke &
John crafted their narratives
– both similar & different -
gospel’s structure,
audience
and message
a side by side comparison of
the Gospels
The Unique Features in each
Gospel:
In Mark - Jesus’ miracles play
a larger part
In Matthew only – Jesus’
sermon on the Mount is found
In Luke – Jesus’ parables
more numerous and better
known
● In John - Jesus’ “I am”
sayings– unique to the 4th
The gospels:
the good news
After Jesus resurrection and
ascension, stories of and about
Jesus – who was and what He
came to do – were written down
and organized into books.
They were written so that
readers and hearers of the Gospel
would “know the truth”
concerning Jesus (Luke 1:4) and
“have life in His name” (John
20:31
I. GOSPELS
gospel – comes from the Old
English word
“godspel” – “God’s [good] story”
which derives from the Greek
word…
euangelion – from eu - meaning
“good” (as in eulogy, euphemism
and euphoria);
and angelion – meaning “message”
or “news” = “good message / news”
I. GOSPELS
the “Good News” – is that the Son
of God died that we might not
perish but have eternal life (Jn.
3:16), and that by knowing the
truth about Jesus we might have
life in His name (Jn. 20:31).
the 1st 4 books of the NT – the
books containing the good news
the written testimonies to the life,
death, resurrection and teachings
of Jesus Christ.
I. GOSPELS
contain biographical material but
covers only 10% of Jesus’ life (His
last three years or so)
primary concern is not with the
facts of Jesus’ life --- but with the
meaning of His life.
intention of the writers was not to
write historical accounts of the
life of Jesus, but to present their
understanding of the person and
work of Jesus for their audiences.
the dating & writing of the GOSPELS
MARK (65-70 A.D.) - 1st to be
written
MATTHEW & LUKE (mid-80s)
JOHN (mid-90s)
Stories about Jesus were
transmitted, initially, in oral
form;
Need for a written account of
Jesus’ life occurred because
His followers were dying.
written to answer a number of
questions in the first century
world; two of the most
important were the following:
1. If Jesus was the Messiah, why
did the Jews not recognize
and accept Him as such?
• Answer: Most Jews were
looking for a king to lead Israel
in the overthrow of Rome, not
a suffering servant.
2. If Jesus was the Son of God,
why was He crucified as a
common criminal on a
cross?
• Answer: God sent His Son to
die a public sacrificial death
for the sake of the world.
Two-fold structure of the gospels
I. The 1st Half has to do with
Jesus’ Public Ministry
His sermons, parables,
discourses and teachings to the
crowds, which are interspersed
with healings and miracles to
authenticate His message
(validating the message through
the messenger).
Two-fold structure of the gospels
II. The 2nd Half has to do with
Jesus’ Disciples
His teaching that the way of
salvation is through the Cross
(Mark 10:45) , followed by his
arrest, trials, beatings and
crucifixion and then His
resurrection to again confirm
His message.
WHY ARE THERE FOUR GOSPELS?
each of the four testimonies
was an authentic, distinctive,
valuable witness to Jesus
and that our understanding of
Him would be richer & deeper
with all four rather than only
one, or with a harmonized,
composite gospel.
WHY ARE THERE FOUR GOSPELS?
If the Gospels are written
testimonies to Jesus, why are
they different? The reason:
- the authors were writing to
different communities or
audiences and
- each chose to emphasize, in
shaping his narrative, different
aspects of the Jesus story.
Mark wrote to Christians
suffering persecution in Rome.
Matthew wrote to Jewish
Christians that Jesus was the
long-awaited Messiah.
Luke wrote to Gentile
Christians that Jesus was the
Savior of the world.
John wrote a theological
reflection on the meaning of the
One in whom “the Word became
flesh.”
The synoptic GOSPELS
Matthew
Mark
Luke
The word synoptic comes from
“syn” (“with” or “together”) and
“optos” (“seeing” as in optic),
meaning that these three gospels
see things in much the same way.
MARK MATTHEW LUKE
SOURCE • is Peter – an • is Mark – more • is Mark – more
eyewitness than 90% than 50%
source • add’l “Q” – quelle – •add’l “Q” – quelle –
• based on meaning source – meaning source –
Peter’s common non- common non-
recollections Markan stories Markan stories
of his years (about 230 verses) (about 230 verses)
with Jesus • “M” – his special •“L” – his special /
• was with or unique materials unique materials
Peter in Rome (some 300 verses) (some 500 verses)
at the end of (different birth (different birth
Peter’s life (1 narratives & narratives &
Peter 5:13). parables) parables)