The Gospels

The Gospels are stories of Jesus’ life and teachings, told by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in the first four books of the New Testament. There is little difference between the first three, they tell the same stories of Jesus but with slight differences. But the gospel of John, the gospel that traditionally appears fourth in the new testament, has many differences to the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These affirmations of faith are used to spread the teachings of Jesus, and give us guidance in our lives. ‘Gospel’ is derived from the old English, ‘god-spel’, (‘god’-’good’, ‘spel’- ‘news’). The gospel literally translates to ‘good news’.

There are three stages of the gospel. Stage one was Jesus’ life. Jesus travels parts of Israel, teaching

But Samaritans believed they were the true religion of the ancient Israelites, as opposed to Judaism, because they remained in Israel when the Jews fled. For this reason, there was a strong rivalry between the Jews and the Samaritans. Jews and Samaritans had long fought over land and religion, but there was no kind-hearted nature about it, like the rivalry we experience today between Australia and New Zealand. There was a hatred between them that ran so deep that no Samaritan would ever help a Jew, and no Jew could ever help a Samaritan, regardless of the circumstances. So when the parable of the Good Samaritan was told, it shocked everyone. No one could expect a Samaritan to help a Jew, especially not when he is at his most vulnerable. So this was why the story had such a big impact. This was not a story about simply helping every one, which is the impression it makes to Christians who don’t understand the rivalry between the Jews and Samaritans. To the original audience, this was a story about helping everyone, including your enemies, which was a concept so strange in that time. This is why the parable had such a resounding effect. But the story had a double meaning, while the story was about ‘loving thy neighbour’, it was also told to show the wrong-doings of the priests and levites. Today, the parable is interpreted as a story told to teach us to

Compared to first century Palestine, there is little injustice between authority and the public in New Zealand today (this fact is debatable when you leave NZ and enter other countries, such as the USA or the Middle East). The Parable of the Good Samaritan can be adapted today to include any vulnerable person that you have the power to help. It's this parable that has shaped certain Christian organisations like Caritas or the St. Vincent De Paul house. It's why us Christians feel it's our duty to donate to the poor, feed the hungry, heal the sick, etc. Because, among other things, mercy towards the vulnerable is a value that Jesus being on earth has taught us. The text has a source of meaning for Christians then because the words had come from Jesus himself, the man we still believe today to be the Messiah. The Christian (and Catholic) church was built on these values, because we believe them to be true, we hold them in our hearts and we live by them because we believe they are