Lesson 4 Jesus in the Gospels
Introduction
The New Testament presents the life and works of Jesus and the way He was received
by the people who had been waiting for Him for so long. Jesus Christ’s birth, Public Ministry,
Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension are narrated and proclaimed in the New
Testament. The New Testament covers God’s definitive covenant with all people mediated by
His incarnation Son, Jesus Christ. God’s commitment to all His people, which Jesus sealed with
His own bloody sacrifice on the Cross, is the focus of the second part of the Bible.
When you read the Gospels, you read the result of a process of composition and
formation that took 40-70 years. The history behind the Gospels is fascinating. Jesus’ Death
and Resurrection took place around A.D. 30, while the first written Gospel appeared only
around A.D. 60-70.
The four Gospels give us clearer and more complete picture of who He is. The added
quality of the inspired Gospels is that they are the living Word of God, which grounds the faith
of Christians in this ever-changing world.
“MASTER, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO? YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE. WE HAVE COME TO
BELIEVE AND ARE CONVINCED THAT YOU ARE THE HOLY ONE OF GOD.” John 6:68-69
I. JESUS: THE GOOD NEWS
“Reform your lives and believe in the GOSPEL!” (Mark 1:15)
The word “Gospel” usually refers to the written record of Christ’s words and deeds.
Etymology:
Anglo-Saxon: “god” (good) “spell” (to tell)
Greek : “Evangelion” (glad tidings)
The GOSPEL is the Good News of Salvation proclaimed by Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ himself is the GOOD NEWS.
Jesus is THE GOSPEL.
GOSPEL AND GOSPELS
GOSPEL
THERE IS ONLY ONE GOSPEL:
JESUS CHRIST (Mk. 1:1)
HE IS GOD’S TOTAL MANIFESTATION OF HIMSELF.
HE IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.
GOSPELS
THE GOSPELS ARE THE WRITTEN FAITH ACCOUNTS OF
THE EARLY CHURCH.
• Direct experiences of the followers of the
historical Jesus
• Eyewitness testimonies that were heard and
recorded
• Collections of oral preaching
• First Christians’ experiences of the Risen
Lord.
II. Formation of the Gospels
The Gospels as we have them today come to us in three stages:
Scripture scholars generally recognize that the Gospels were developed in three distinct stages. They
are the result of a somewhat gradual process of formation and composition. The three can be
visualized as follows:
Stage 1:
The Historical Jesus
Stage 2:
Oral Preaching of the Early Church
Stage 3:
The Written Gospels
STAGE 1: The Historical Jesus (Jesus’ Life In Palestine – His Words And Deeds)
The Gospels basically have their roots in the words and works of Jesus of Nazareth and in His
interactions with his disciples and other groups with which He came in contact with.
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of our salvation with authority
He performed many miracles
He chose 12 men as his apostles whom he would send to carry out his work after his time on earth
had been completed
He commissioned his apostles to preach his message of salvation to all nations and promised them
that He would send His Holy Spirit to enlighten and empower them as they spread the Good News
throughout the world
Before Jesus went back to His heavenly Father He gave the following instructions to His
disciples: Go into the world and proclaim the good news to all creation. (Mk.16:15). Jesus came to live
among us. His whole life was a revelation of God. Through Jesus, God lived among us and made Himself
known to us. Jesus’ actions are God’s actions. Jesus’ words, instructions and parables are God’s words
to us.
STAGE 2: Oral Preaching of the Early Church (The Early Christian Communities)
Written Gospels were not at the top of the list of activities of the early Church. After the Easter
experience and the giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the apostles and disciples were burning with
zeal to spread the good news of Jesus’ victory over sin and death. Led by Peter, and later by Paul, there
was a burst of missionary enthusiasm which preached the message of Jesus throughout the Roman
(Mediterranean) world. Part of the early preaching, incidentally, was that Jesus was to return in glory
very shortly, during the very lifetimes of the apostles. Thus, it did not make much sense to write down
eyewitness testimony in these early years if the world was to end soon. What would be the point of
it?
The disciples faithfully carried out this mission. After they had received the Holy Spirit they
started to preach about Jesus and all he had done and said.
According to Charpentier, Etienne on How to Read the New Testament,1981-1982, pp 1011 the resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost enabled the disciples to begin
to discover the mystery of Jesus. These disciples remained Jews, but they formed an amazing group
within Judaism: they were the witnesses to the Risen Jesus.
The disciples sought to be faithful in two directions: to Jesus, and to the life which raised a
great many questions.
It was an attempt to answer these questions that they began to recollect what they
remembered of Jesus. However, they did this in the light of the resurrection. These memories were
focused on three points:
1) The disciples preached, to proclaim the Risen Jesus: first to the Jews and then to the
Gentiles. Here we have the announcement of the faith of the first Christians;
2) The disciples celebrated their Risen Lord, in the Liturgy and above all in the
Eucharist. The Eucharist determined the form of many memories of Jesus;
3) The disciples taught the newly baptized, and in order to do so recalled the actions and the words
of Jesus.
The community’s memory of Jesus was kept alive by making collections of his sermons, parables, his
great works (miracles) and key sayings. These collections─later to be used by the Evangelists─were
used in the early liturgies, in the preaching and instructions for the new converts. With eyewitnesses
and close disciples still alive and testifying to what they had seen and experienced, no one really
thought to write a biography of Jesus.
The Gospels had to be written so that the Christian community could measure the preaching of certain
teachers against the authentic tradition and remembrance of Jesus.
A second practical reason why written Gospels had to result was that the eyewitnesses were
beginning to die or be martyred. The early Christians were in fact wrong about their belief in the early
return of Jesus. Again, to preserve the authentic testimony, the Good News of Jesus was committed
to writing. Thus, we are brought to the third stage – the stage of the written Gospels themselves.
STAGE 3: The Written Gospels (The Evangelists)
There is only one real gospel (“good news”), and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ – he is the
good news. But the Church recognizes four authentic, inspired written communal faith expressions
of this good news. These faith expressions we call the Gospels. Three of these Gospels: Mark,
Matthew and Luke are called synoptic Gospels. Scholars noted that when Matthew and Luke
composed their Gospels, they relied on a version of Mark’s Gospel. If you line up Mark─Matthew─Luke
in parallel columns, you would note that there are many similarities, indeed that they can be “read
together” (syn─together; optic─look at). Hence, the term “synoptic Gospel.”
The version of the Gospels will differ slightly because they were composed by different men
writing at different times and in different places. They also present varying points of view because of
the particular audiences being addressed. Each Gospel is tailored to the particular concerns of a
particular kind of community. They all present the good news of Jesus, but adapt their presentation
to the religious needs of the intended audience. With these points in mind, please study each of the
evangelist presented. It is worth noting that the authorship of each Gospel is still disputed. What is
given below is the generally accepted (or most commonly held) theory of authorship.
The Portrait Of Jesus According To The Four Evangelists
Matthew (A.D. 65)
Matthew was a tax collector. When Jesus called him, Matthew get up and follow me, Matthew
followed Jesus and became a disciple.
Matthew was very familiar with Palestine. He has a very thorough knowledge of the Old
Testament and of the practices and customs of the Jewish people. This made him a good teacher.
Purpose: Mt. wrote his Gospel for the Jews. The Jews were familiar with the promises made by God
in the Old Testament. In His Gospel, Mt. wanted the Jews to understand that God’s promises had been
fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He presented Jesus as the new Moses, pointing out that Jesus belonged to the
house of David.
Characteristics: Mt. did not follow the sequence of events of Jesus’ life. He gave more attention to
Jesus’ words and instructions together in the five central sermons. The rest of he material in his Gospel
was arranged around these five sermons.
Matthew referred frequently to the Old Testament, because he wanted the Jews to believe
that God’s promises in the Old Testament were fulfilled in Jesus.
- Link between Old and New Testaments
- Jesus is the true Messiah, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies
- A Jew writing to fellow Jews
- Systematic use of Jesus’ sermons
- Key chapters: 5-7 – Sermon on the Mount
Mark (65 A.D.)
Mark had not been a disciple of Jesus, nor had he met Jesus in person. He was a convert to
the Christian faith.
He belonged to a Jewish family. Mk was born in Cyprus but later transferred to Jerusalem
where he was converted. Soon afterwards he joined the disciples on their mission tours, first with St.
Paul and later with St. Peter.
Purpose: Mk wrote his Gospel for the persecuted Christians of Rome. He presented Jesus to them as
the suffering servant of God. This served to console hem and gave them strength in their sufferings
and trials.
Characteristics: Mk’s Gospel is the shortest of the four. It focuses its attention on the deeds of Jesus.
He arranged the materials according to the regions in which Jesus worked. He introduced Jesus in two
stages. In the first part of his Gospel, he described Jesus’ marvelous deeds. In the second part, he
makes us understand the true mission of Jesus.
- The gospel of action (emphasizes works more than words)
- Writing to Romans
- Starts with John the Baptist
- Short and rugged gospel
Luke (A.D. 75)
Luke belonged to Greek family in Antioch. He was physician by profession and was a welleducated man. He was converted to Christianity at the time when his hometown became the center
of missionary activity. He joined St. Paul in his missionary journeys. He stayed with Paul when Paul
was prisoner in Rome.
Purpose: Lk. Wrote his Gospel for Greek converts. He presumed that they had already catechetical
instruction and intended to confirm and further explain it.
Characteristics: Lk’s Gospel follows Jesus on his journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. It stresses that
salvation is universal, intended for all mankind. Lk’s Gospel speaks of Jesus’ kindness towards all
people. It also brings the joy and happiness which the Good News brigs
- Written for Theophilus, a Roman official
- Christ is savior of every person, not Jews only
- Reflects doctor's heart
- Great joy
- Gospel of prayer
John (A.D.90-100)
John’s Gospel came much later than the synoptics and was only written in the year 95.
John was the disciple whom Jesus loved most. He was the son of a well-to-do fisherman. Before he
became one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, he had already been a disciple of john the Baptist.
John witnessed some special events in the life of Jesus, such as the transfiguration.
Purpose: John wrote his gospel for Christians who were already familiar wit the synoptics. He wanted
to give to mature Christians a more profound insight into the personality of Jesus.
Characteristics: John did not repeat what could already be found in the other gospels. In the conviction
that God is love, he stressed in a very special way Jesus’ teachings on charity. This fourth gospel
furthermore contains many reflections on the mysterious personality of Jesus, on His unity with the
Father and the Spirit and on Jesus’ divine origin.
- Written to everyone
- Established deity of Christ
- Not so much on what Jesus did as what kind of person He was
- Great themes: light, life, love, truth, the Father-Son relationship
- John 17 -- High Priestly prayer