Lesson 11
How To
Study the Bible Lesson 11: The Gospels.
By Shane Scott
What Are The Gospels?
The word "gospel" comes from a Greek word which means "good news." The specific content of this good news has to do with Jesus Christ The gospels focus' s on what Jesus did and on what Jesus taught.
Three of the four gospels bear striking resemblance to each other, Matthew, Mark and Luke. For this reason they are usually called the "Synoptic Gospels," since the word "synoptic" means "viewed alike." Over 59% of the material found in Matthew is also found in Mark, and 44% of Matthew's material is found in Luke. In contrast, only 8.5% of Matthew is found in John.
This does not mean that the Synoptic and John disagree with each other. It simply means that they chose to cover different aspects of Jesus' life.
The Purpose of the Gospels
The primary purpose of the gospels was to serve as what we might call "tracts." They were to lead people to have faith in Jesus, as John clearly wrote (John 20:30-31). In fulfilling this purpose the gospels did three things:
1) They recorded the facts about Jesus' life.
2) They recalled the teachings of Jesus.
3) They bore witness to His identity as God's Son.
For this reason, it is really not accurate to describe the gospels as "biographies." Their purpose was not simply to tell the story of Jesus' life, but to advance a certain view of Jesus. This is why the gospels devote so much attention, roughly one-third of their total content to the final week of Jesus' life. The gospels are not mere biographies; they explain who Jesus was. the Savior of the world.
Because the gospels had such a unique purpose, there are three terms that must be understood to understand the gospels.
The first is selective. The gospels writers did not record all of the sayings and doings of Jesus (see John 21-25). They focused on the specific details that contributed to their theme.
Second, the gospels were arranged. Only Luke claims to follow a strict chronological pattern (Luke 1-1-4). Matthew especially tends to group collections of the parables and other teachings together. This is why the order of events differ from gospel to gospel.
Third, the gospels are adapted. This means that Jesus' words are not quoted word- for-word, but they are reported in a way that maintains the original meaning. In our culture, we place great stress on quoting sources word for word. But this was not how historians wrote in Jesus' day. This flexibility allowed the gospel writers to adapt what Jesus said for their purpose& Of course, all of this took place by the guidance of the Holy Spirit
The Four-Fold Gospel
The fact that God chose to inspire four men to pen gospels must be significant. I believe that God intended for these men to write in a way that would be able to reach all kinds of people. While I think it is possible to overstate this case, there are some clear intentions. For instance, Matthew obviously focused on proving that Jesus is the legitimate heir of Abraham and David. This would have great impact on Jews. Luke is the only Gentile author of the gospels, and he seems to write more for that audience. John takes pains to explain various Jewish words and terms, which indicates a more universal audience.
I think that the greatest hindrance to studying the gospels is constantly focusing on harmonizing them. While that can be an effective exercise, the fact is that each of these gospels was intended to stand alone, to speak to its special audience. We should learn to savor each gospel and its unique perspective on Jesus' life.
The Central Theme. The Kingdom of God
The gospels serve to record Jesus' teachings, and there is no question that the central message of Jesus' ministry was the kingdom of God. This term refers to the reign of God, as the parallelism of Matthew 6:10 shows: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done." The Jews viewed time in two parts. This Age and The Age To Come. The Age to Come was the time when God's rule would be established, through the agency of the Messiah. The first century was a time of heightened expectation that the time was near (see Luke l9:11).
Jesus came into public view teaching that the kingdom was at hand (Matt 4:17), meaning that the time was near for God to begin His reign over the Devil and his kingdom. As Jesus began to wield His divine power, God's rule began to overthrow the Devil. This is why the hearings and exorcisms Jesus performed were so significant--it showed the world that God's reign was more powerful than the Devil (see Matt 12.-28).
Salvation, in the language of the kingdom, is "entering the kingdom" (John 3:3-5), or submitting to the reign of God. In this sense, those who submit to the King comprise the church.
The establishment of the kingdom of God is a process, not a one-time event It began with the appearance of the King and continues even now. The final consummation of the kingdom of God will be when the Devil is destroyed and we reign with God in heaven (2 Peter 1.11).
Questions for Review
1. The gospels contain various literary forms that we have already studied.
Match the passage with the form.
Parables-----------Matthew 5.13
Hyperbole----------Matthew 6:21
Proverbs-----------Mark 9-43-48
Simile and---------Luke 8.-l-15
Metaphor
2. What is the purpose of the gospels?
3. What does the term "synoptic" mean?
4. Why is it inaccurate to describe the gospels as biographies?
5. What three words are important to understand the unique nature of the gospels?
6. Why did God select four different men to write the gospels?
7. What is the "kingdom of God"?