How to interpret the Gospels
Our most direct witness to Jesus comes from the four canonical gospels. These four books comprise almost half of the NT in terms of percentage. We need to know what kind of works are the gospels? Are they like modern biographies? If so, why do they not tell us everything we want to know about Jesus, like, what happened during his teens and twenties? Why do these four books not always follow the same chronological sequence?
So, what are the gospels? The term gospel translates the Greek word euangelion, which means “good news.” This word in the day usually referred to good news of a political or military victory (Priene Inscription). In the NT the word denotes the good news proclaimed by Jesus (Mark 1.14-5) or the good news about Jesus (1 Cor.
15.1).
First, the gospels are stories. (We find ourselves entering the story and relating to the characters. We can use our imagination to visualize the playing out of the story.
The gospels were viewed as stories of Jesus drawn from the personal experience of the apostles. (Justin Martyr calls them “memoirs” of the apostles.) But they are not quite like our modern biographies. How so?
The Gospels do not cover the whole life of Jesus, but rather jump from his birth to his public ministry. Matthew and Luke include birth stories, Mark and John do not.
Often the writers arrange Jesus’ actions topically rather than chronologically
(money changers). They report what Jesus says in a variety of ways. A large percentage of the Gospels are devoted to the last week of Jesus’ life. (John’s begins in chapter 12).
They are different from modern biographies, but it does not mean they are not biographies or reliable. Ancient biographies followed a different set of rules. They normally had a simple outline, beginning with the birth or arrival of the main character and ending with his death. (A large portion of a biography may be devoted to a character’s death because a person’s death revealed something about the character). The material between arrival and death included stories and sayings selected and arranged by the author to tell the audience something important about the character.
The four gospels tell four essentially similar stories, but the details vary from one gospel to another. We have four different versions of the one story of Jesus. (Matt and Luke switch the order of the temptations in chapter 4. What do we do with that?)
Synoptic gospels and interrelation yet variation?
Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the gospel writers chose what to include about the stories, actions and teachings of Jesus and what to omit as well as how to arrange it in a way that effectively communicated the good news to their contemporaries.
As ancient biographers, the Gospel writers felt free to paraphrase or summarize what Jesus said and to arrange the events according to a particular theme rather than according to strict chronological sequence.

In his prologue (Luke 1.1-4) Luke admits his use of eyewitness testimony and careful research in retelling the story of Jesus. The goal of the Gospel writers was to tell the story of Jesus in a faithful, yet relevant and persuasive manner for their readers. Rather than viewing the differences between accounts as errors in reporting, we should see them as illustrations of the different theological purposes and emphases of the writers.
These writers were writing under ancient rather than modern literary rules.
(Matt/Luke and the temptations: A central theme in Matthew is the kingdom of heaven/God. It makes sense that Matthew would end his account of the temptations with Jesus seeing all the kingdoms of the world. In Luke, Jerusalem figures prominently, so you could see why Luke has Jesus being tempted to jump off the temple in Jerusalem. They are taking real accounts and making theological points).
They are telling the story of Jesus in order to teach their readers something about the person and mission of Jesus. They selected and arranged their material about
Christ in order to communicate theological truth to their audience.
How should we read the gospels?
Ask two questions:
1.
What does this small story tell us about Jesus?
2.
What is the writer trying to say to his readers by the way he puts the smaller stories together?
Come back to pages 248-9 for interpretive steps.
Step 1 is to understand the main message of each story, a message usually focusing on the life and teachings of Jesus. In step 2 we need to put the episode (like Mary and Martha) alongside the surrounding episodes to see what the writer (Luke) is trying to communicate to his readers (and to us) by the way he has arranged the material.
Advice – try to stick to the main idea of each passage and you will discover some great insights into the Gospels.
We look at what is taught in each episode, and we look for what is taught by the way the episodes are linked together to form the larger story.
How to read individual stories a. Ask the standard questions that you should ask of any story: Who? What? When?
Where? Why? And How?
Mark 4.35-41 – This story focuses on Jesus’ relationship to his disciples. What is
Jesus trying to teach his followers? Will they learn the lesson? Also, by contrasting
Jesus’ response to the storm with that of the disciples, we see the difference between faith and fear. We notice too the power of Jesus’ spoken word. The role questions play in this passage is interesting. The disciples question Jesus’ indifference. Jesus questions their lack of faith. This causes the disciples to question
Jesus’ identity: Who is this who can control the sea? b. Look for interpretive instructions from the author himself. Luke 14.7 – When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable.

The final verse in the Mark 4 passage, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” We are left with the impression that Mark wants his readers to know that jesus is something more than your average teacher. There are parenthetical remarks that aid in understanding. Mark 7.1-23, verse 19 is an example. Mark is making the implication that what makes a person clean or unclean is a matter of the heart and not what we eat. c. Take special note of anything that is repeated in the story. In John 15, abide
(remain) is prominent. In Matthew 23 “woe” gives a tone of warning. In the sermon on the mount, there is the repetition of the phrase, “You have heard that it was said…but I tell you…” Authors use repetition to signal an important truth. d. Be alert for places where the story shifts to direct discourse. (Iffy)
How to read a series of stories
Since the gospel writers could not tell us everything about Jesus, they have selected material and arranged material to send their fist readers (and us) a powerful, life changing message about Jesus. We can look at how the gospel writers arranged their material to learn what they were trying to convey with they composition.
When looking at a series of stories from one of the gospels, we need to look for connections. Look for common themes or patterns. Focus on Jesus’ identity, his mission his teaching and how people respond to him.
Look at Mark 4.31-41 and what is around this story. We find a large section consisting of Jesus’ parables “by the lake” (4.1). The series of parables set off by the word “parable” at the beginning (4.2) and the end (4.33-34) indicates that 4.1-34 should be seen as a unit. Beginning in Mark 4.35 the parables stop and we see a change in location as well as audience (from the crowds to the disciples). These changes strongly suggest that mark is beginning another large unit in 4.35.
When we look for connections between the episodes in 4.35-5.43, we notice several common themes:
*Life is hard. People experience the threat of death, satanic attack, disease and death itself.
*Jesus is sovereign over forces that are hostile to God. First-century people feared some of the same things that we fear: the sea, the demonic, disease and death. Jesus has power over these.
*We should trust Jesus in the midst of the desperate situations of life. The water was threatening to swamp the boat, the demoniac cold not be restrained, the bleeding had lasted 12 years, and the daughter was dead. The common thread running through this entire section is the hopelessness of the situation. Jesus calls us to faith.
He scolds the disciples for failing to have faith in the middle of the storm (4.40). He commends the woman with the hemorrhage for her saving faith (5.34), and he tells
Jairus not to fear, but to believe (5.36).
[look at each episode horizontally]
Through his mighty works Jesus shows himself sovereign over the forces that are hostile to God. Demons, disease, and death strike fear and hopelessness into the hearts of people. Mark’s 1 st Century readers were facing persecution and hostility.

Through this series of stories, he assures them that Jesus has power over everything they fear! He can calm the sea, he can cast out demons, he can heal diseases, and he can raise the dead. They should trust him in the midst of the desperate situations of life.
Applying the Message of the Gospels
One of the most important things to remember when seeking to apply truths from these stories is that we should always keep the larger context in view. Saying that
Jesus has power over hostile forces does not guarantee that he will always deliver us from cancer or car wrecks of other disasters. We should trust Jesus in the midst of desperate situations in life, but the rest of scripture and all of history make it clear that his deliverance can take different forms. Sometimes he delivers from immediate danger but prevention and healing. Other times he delivers through the resurrection from the dead. Paul wrote in 2 Tim. 4.18 – “the Lord will rescue me from very evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom,” he must have been speaking of ultimate and final deliverance because he died a martyr’s death.
How might the message of Mark 4-5 apply to a group of Christians who are suffering/grieving?
The theological principles – life is hard, Jesus is sovereign over forces hostile to God, and we should trust Jesus in the desperate situations of life.
First application is easy: Life is hard. Christians should not expect to be exempt from difficult situations such as disease and death.
Second principle – if Jesus calmed the storm for the first disciples, why doesn’t he calm all of our storms? Look at the larger context. Even while Jesus was on earth he did not heal every sick person or raise every dead person. The first readers of Mark were facing intense hostilities associated with following Jesus. When Mark communicates that Jesus is sovereign over forces hostile to God, we believe that he intends for his audience to understand this in an ultimate sense. Jesus’ miracles are previews of what is to come, glimpses of what life will be like when he returns.
Fee – Kingdom of God stuff.
Third principle – faith in Jesus. This means a wholehearted trust in Jesus. Faith means hanging onto Jesus even when the immediate circumstances look bleak.
Look at Luke 10.25-37 – love for one’s neighbor should transcend all human barriers (race, economic status, intelligence, social skills). This story calls us to love our way through such barriers – befriending a “less attractive” person, tutoring a struggling classmate, reaching out to an international student, forgiving an obnoxious roommate.
To summarize: we have learned that we should read the gospels in a way that matches how they were written. The evangelists wrote 1) to tell individual stories about Jesus and 2) to send a message to their readers by the way they put these stories together into a larger story.
Special literary forms in the gospels
Exaggeration – Matt 5.29-30; Luke 14.26; Mark 10.24b-25

When you see exaggeration in the gospels, do not force a literal interpretation or you will miss the real meaning of the passage. Take Scripture seriously, but not always literally. Ask, What’s the real point here? (Take drastic steps to avoid sin; our affection for Jesus will appear as hate in relation to our affection for Jesus; it is difficult for those who depend on themselves, their money, their possessions for their comfort instead of Jesus).
Metaphor and Simile – be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves (Matt
10.16); I am the bread of life (John 6.35). Whitewashed tombs.
Narrative irony – contrast between what is expected and what actually happens
(Mary and Martha, Luke 12.16-21, the rich man who is storing up wealth).
Rhetorical questions – Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
(Matt 6.27).
Parallelism
Parables – a parable is a story with two levels of meaning, where certain details in the story represent something else.
Augustine’s interpretation of Good Samaritan – he misses the point, Jesus’ point was to love your neighbor.
1) Look for one main point for each main character or group of characters. All the other details are there to enhance the story. Looking at the parable of the lost son
(Luke 15.11-32), we can see how this interpretive guideline helps us identify three main points, one for each main character.
Rebellious son – sinners may confess their sins and turn to God in repentance
Forgiving father – God offers forgiveness for undeserving people
Resentful brother – those who claim to be God’s people should not be resentful when God extends his grace to the undeserving.
2)The main points you discover must be ones that Jesus’ original audience would have understood.
Conclusion
God chose to give us four accounts of the good news of Jesus Christ. As we seek to interpret and apply the message of the gospels, we should ask two basic questions as look at episodes in these stories: what is the main message of each episode? And what is the gospel writer trying to communicate by the way he puts the smaller stories together?

The importance of the Kingdom of God in understanding the ministry of Jesus (and the gospels themselves)
Jewish eschatological hope
This age (present evil age; Satan)
Characterized by:
Sin
Sickness
Demon-possession
Triumph of evil people
The age to come (time of God’s rule)
Characterized by presence of the Spirit righteousness health peace
The coming of the end also meant a new beginning – the beginning of God’s new age.
This age was referred to as the time of God’s rule (kingdom of God). It would be a time of righteousness (Is 11.4-5), and people would live in peace (Is 2.2-4). It would be a time of the fullness of the Spirit (Joel 2.28-30) when the new covenant spoken of by Jeremiah would be realized (Jer. 31.31-34; 32.38-40). Sin and sickness would be done away with (Zech 13.1; Isa 53.5). Even the material creation would feel the joyful effects of this new age (Is 11.6-9).
John the Baptist…
Jesus came and announces with his ministry that the coming kingdom was at hand
(Mark 1.14-15; Luke 17.20-21). He drove out demons, worked miracles, and freely accepted the outcasts and sinners – all signs that the end had begun (Luke 11.20;
Matt 11.2-6; Luke 14.21; 15.1-2). Everyone wondered if he was the one to usher in the expected end of this evil age and usher in the age to come. But then, he is crucified!
On the third day he was raised from the dead. Surely now he would “restore the kingdom to Israel” (Acts 1.6). Instead he pours out the promised Spirit. The Spirit’s coming in fullness and power with signs and wonders and the coming of the new covenant were signs that the new age had arrived. Yet the end of this age apparently had not yet taken place. How were they to understand this?
Jesus had not come to usher in the “final” end but the ”beginning” of the end. Now we live between the times, that is, between the beginning of the end and the consummation of the end. Already they knew God’s free and full forgiveness, but they had not yet been perfected (Phil 3.10-14). Already victory over death was theirs (1 Cor. 3.22), yet they would still die (Phil. 3.20-21). Already they lived in the
Spirit, yet they still lived in the world where Satan could attack (Eph. 6.10-17).
Already they had been justified and faced no condemnation (Rom. 8.1), yet there was still to be a future judgment (2 Cor. 5.10). They were God’s future people. They had been conditioned by the future. They knew its benefits and lived in light of its values, but they, as we, still had to live out these benefits and values in the present world.
Figure.