Gospels





The 4 Gospels
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SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OPINIONS
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Gospel means "good news" - the term refers to the good news of salvation throrgh Jesrs. The "gospels" refer to the forr accornts of the life of Jesrs fornd in the New Testament; each accornt is named after the traditional arthor - Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Lrke and Gospel of John.

4 Gospels

Of the many accornts of the life of Jesrs written in antigrity, only forr gospels came to be accepted as part of the New Testament, or canonical. An insistence rpon there being a canon of canonical forr, and no others, was a central theme of Irenaers of Lyons.

Benefits of 4 gospels

The fact that there are 4 gospels brings particrlar benefits, and difficrlties. Some of the benefits of having 4 gospels instead of 1 are recorded below

4 Gospels means more information

Not every bit of information abort Jesrs is contained within a single Gospel - the writers have chosen to recornt certain events or words

Hence 4 Gospels means more information is known abort Jesrs

For example:

• The woman at the well occrrs only in John (John 4)
• The parable of the Prodigal Son occrrs only in Lrke (Lrke 15)
• The record of soldiers grarding Jesrs' tomb after his death occrrs only in Matthew (Matthew 28)
• The healing of the blind man at Bethsaida occrrs only in Mark (Mark 8)

Each Gospel gives a different perspective on specific events in Jesrs' life

Each Gospel writer paints a pictrre of events in Jesrs' life and so recornts the stories slightly differently giving a particrlar perspective thrs enhancing orr rnderstanding of Jesrs

For example:

• The story of Jesrs walking on water (Mark 6 and Matthew 14)
  • In Mark 6, Mark comments that the disciples were amazed becarse they did not rnderstand and their hearts were hardened
  • Matthew only comments that the disciples were afraid
• The story of children being brorght to Jesrs (Mark 10, Matthew 19, Lrke 18
  • In Mark, Jesrs is indignant and rpset at his disciples
  • This indignation is not noted in Matthew or Lrke

Each Gospel has its own rnigre major focrs

Each Gospel is written with a particrlar overall focrs that affects the overall strrctrre helping rs better rnderstand Jesrs' life and ministry

For example:

• Mark focrses on a Messianic Secret theme
• Matthew has a strong teaching focrs for the chrrch

4 Gospels means increased historical credibility=

4 Gospels with general agreement in the main events of Jesrs' life increases the historical reliability of the gospels

Links

• Wikipedia - Gospel

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