The word gospel simply means good news. The purpose of the gospels? To give it’s readers reason after reason to believe in it’s words. Faith is not without reason, just as reality cannot exist without language. Historically, the very existence of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John merely provide historical evidence of a man of importance that walked this Earth known as Jesus of Nazareth; which is little less historically accurate due to the somewhat differentiating recollections. The four gospels offer varying accounts of Jesus’ short life and even shorter ministry. The gospels dictate the different aspects of Jesus’ life, his supposed miracles, and many parables. However, because of the varying accounts of the language surrounding each purposed act in Jesus’ life the reader is often left more perplexed about his reality than when they started reading. The gospels of Luke and John, primarily, attempt to retell the story of Jesus and make a written account of his acts rather than continue to simply pass it on via oral traditions. Unfortunately, the inadequacies of language and thus the blurred line between language and reality require a closer examination of the gospels in order to determine it’s adherence to reality.
Why are there four Gospels instead of just one? According to the early Catholic Church, the Matthew wrote his account first in Hebrew, the language of the earliest disciples. Then Luke accompanied the Apostle Paul in his ministry to the Gentiles, and wrote his Gospel in a different language, Greek. Later Mark wrote what he REMEMBERED hearing at the Apostle Peter’s feet. And finally the elderly John wrote his account to add another account for the Church. The four Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke...
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...r, but also the action of rising out of the water itself. Furthermore, Luke inserts a comment that Jesus was praying almost as a way of downplaying the importance of his baptism.
It is evident by the examination of this one event in both gospels that the language used is entirely inadequate to create an unblemished reality of Jesus’ existence. Instead of providing two accounts of the same event and creating a greater sense of understanding, the language used rather creates more confusion than understanding. It is unfortunate in this regard because the varying accounts should create a more identifiable reality concerning Jesus’ ministry instead of inspiring more uncertainty. The inadequacies of language in the gospels and thus the blurred reality of Jesus’ life require a closer examination of the gospels in order to determine it’s actual adherence to reality.
The contents of the Bible have dealt with controversy in regards to its inerrancy since publication, and will surely continue to. Historians progress to learn more about biblical stories in order to provide evidence for the reliability of information. Many believers today understand that not everything in the Bible has been factually proven. An outstanding topic many scholars pay attention to lies within the four gospels. The three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, replay essentially the same story with minor inconsistencies, while John portrays Jesus in an entirely different way. The differences in each gospel are due to how each gospel entertains different portrayals of the life and understanding of Jesus himself, in order to persuade
The study of the Gospel of John can be viewed as distinct and separate from the study of any of the previous three synoptic gospels. The Fourth Gospel contains language and conceptions so distinct from the synoptics that scholars are often faced with the question of its historical origins. Originally, scholars believed the main source for the Gospel of John to be Jewish wisdom literature, Philo, the Hermetic books and the Mandaean writings, leading to the idea that John was the most Greek of the Gospels. However, with the discovery of the scrolls, scholars were now faced with source materials, remarkably similar to the concepts and language found in John, illuminating the literature as not only Jewish but Palestinian in origin. The discovery of the manuscripts opened up an entirely new interpretation of the gospel of John and a progressive understanding of its proper place within biblical scripture.
The Gospel of John, the last of the four gospels in the Bible, is a radical departure from the simple style of the synoptic gospels. It is the only one that does not use parables as a way of showing how Jesus taught, and is the only account of several events, including the raising of Lazarus and Jesus turning water into wine. While essentially the gospel is written anonymously, many scholars believe that it was written by the apostle John sometime between the years 85 and 95 CE in Ephesus. The basic story is that of a testimonial of one of the Apostles and his version of Jesus' ministry. It begins by telling of the divine origins of the birth of Jesus, then goes on to prove that He is the Son of God because of the miracles he performs and finally describes Jesus' death and resurrection.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the origin of nearly everything the Christian Church teaches about Jesus. The Gospels, in turn, serve as the scale or test of truth and authenticity of everything the church teaches about Jesus. It is said that the Gospels are the link between Jesus of Nazareth and the people of every age throughout history who have claimed to be his followers. Although the Gospels teach us about Jesus’ life they may not provide concrete evidence that what they speak of is true there are several other sources.
Stanton, Graham. Gospel Truth?: New Light on Jesus and the Gospels. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1995. Paperback.
One of the main characteristics of the gospel of Mark is it’s length. Mark is much shorter than Matthew and Luke, but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. The author of Mark does not slow down the gospel story and makes sure that only important and relevant details are included. When Mark is compared with Matthew and Luke, it becomes obvious to see what Mark has eliminated. The author’s omission of Jesus’ birth, lineage, resurrection, and ascension denote careful planning and purpose in the gospel of Mark.
The New Testament teaches about who Jesus is and what he did on the earth. John wrote the last of the four gospels which recount Jesus’ life and what is to come. The gospel of John is somewhat different from the other three gospels, in that it is more symbolic and less concrete. For example, John expresses Jesus as the Passover Lamb when Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not. This gospel is showing that Christianity is moving away from the long-practiced Jewish traditions. John’s gospel can be laid out into four parts: the prologue or the incarnate word, signs of the Messiah with teachings about life in him, the farewell teaching and the passion narrative, and the epilogue or the roles of Peter and of the disciple whom Jesus loved. The Gospel of John is arguably the most
The book consists of three parts. The first part has five chapters of which focuses on explaining what the key questions are and why we find them difficult to answer. The second part has nine chapters explaining in detail what N.T. Wright considers Jesus’ public career and the approach he had in first century Palestine. The third part of the book, the last chapter, challenges readers to wrestle with the questions of Jesus’ life and ministry.
Before making some discussions on the gospel we believed to be written by the disciple who loved by Jesus (John 13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7) it is good to see the purpose of this gospel. The purpose of the gospel of John seems summarized in two verses “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, who are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31, NIV).
The first three gospels are sometimes called the 'synoptic' (same view) gospels. This is because they each cover teaching and miracles by Jesus that are also covered in another account. John, writing later, recounts Jesus' other words and miracles that have a particular spiritual meaning.
In the gospels of Mark and John, both showed a vivid portrait of Jesus in their writing. Mark’s gospel describes much more of Jesus' life, miracles, and parables as suffering servant. However, John’s gospel was written to convince people to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Nonetheless, both John and Mark present many of the crucial events of Jesus' life, including his trial, crucifixion, and resurrection.
The gospel can be a synopsis or a prolonged message that one person can write stating the many works of Christ while another person may briefly describe Christ’s death and resurrection. There is only one gospel but it is described by more than one apostle just as there is only one Christ therefore there can be no more than one gospel. Consequently, we need to discard the idea that there are four gospels and four evangelists and adopt the view that there is only one gospel. Every time we hear the gospel we should perceive the sermon as Christ coming to you or us being brought to him. One must recognize Christ as a gift so that you do not doubt that Christ himself belongs to you. The gospel is a book of divine promises in which God gives us all of his possessions and teaches us in an affectionate and loving way rather than forcing us (Luther 73). Luther made it clear that “you do not make Christ into a Moses, as if Christ did nothing more to teach and provide examples as the other saints do, as if the gospel were simply a text books of teachings or laws” (Luther
The four gospels are detailed accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Each portrays a unique story and angle of Jesus, who is the savior of the Jews and the world. Apostle Matthew’s writings are to prove to the Jews that Jesus is their Messiah. Mark stressed the humanity of Jesus and also his deity. Luke wanted to show that the gentile Christian in God’s kingdom is based on the teachings of Jesus. John speaks of Jesus as one sent from God to reveal His love and grace to man. The four gospels work together to elaborate on the several key themes; salvation, spreading His word, and the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise.
first gospel to be transcribed in the bible. In addition, the purpose is because Mathew and Luke seem to have very
The Gospel of Luke centralizes the components of Jesus’ divinity, humanity, and ministry which contribute to the perception of Jesus portrayed by the narrator of Luke. Jesus’ divinity is demonstrated through his healings and miracles throughout the Gospel. His humanity is represented through the infancy narrative and also at the beginning of his Passion in the Garden of Gethsemane. Finally, Jesus’ public ministry serves as the most effective and important element of his life because of the essential teachings that he speaks of that give inside evidence to the formation of the modern day church.