Helpful Things to Understand Before Studying the Gospels
I thought learning these things was really interesting and will be helpful as I study. I’ve learned only a few of them before, which is a shame. I think it will help me see things in a whole new way as I read and study.
·
Most scholars believe Mark was written first and used as a reference for Matthew and Luke
when writing their own records. Almost all that is found in Mark is found also
in Matthew and Luke, but they both added to the story.
·
Mark was written for new
Christians who had not witnessed the events of Jesus' life. For that reason,
one of the main themes is the identification of Jesus as the "Son of
God". It emphasizes the miracles which are evidence of his
divine sonship. Mark was a follower of Jesus Christ but is thought to have been
in his teens when the Lord was in Jerusalem. He later served as Peter’s
interpreter, in speech and in writing. In his book, Mark wrote down the
observations and memories of Peter, one of the original Apostles. Mark’s book
reflects Peter’s interest in spreading the gospel among the Gentiles
(non-jews).
·
Matthew on the other hand, was all
about showing the Jewish converts the connection between Jesus and the Old
Testament prophecies and predictions regarding the Messiah, and
showing how the Jewish authorities of Jesus' day had rejected Him. Jesus is
portrayed as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law and prophecies. He wrote
specifically to the Jews, who were familiar with those prophecies. Matthew was
a publican, or tax collector, before he was called as one of the Lord’s
Apostles. Because of that profession, we can guess that he was well educated
and knew how to read and write, probably in several languages, including Greek.
He was very familiar with the scriptures. Matthew was one of the original
twelve apostles as well.
·
Luke wanted to prove Jesus'
story was true. He wanted to provide a historically accurate and
reliable account of Jesus' birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection.
Luke's Gospel emphasized Jesus role as Savior of all people. He
intentionally connects Jesus with the outcasts of society, including women, the
poor, the sick, the demon-possessed, and more. Luke portrays Jesus not only as
the powerful Messiah, but also as a divine friend of sinners who came expressly
to "seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10). Luke is an interesting
writer because he did not know Jesus Christ personally. He became a follower
after the Lord’s death, when Paul taught him the gospel. Luke had been a
physician, but he left that profession to travel with Paul. He had the
opportunity to talk with many of the Apostles as well as others who were
eyewitnesses to special events or moments in the Lord’s life.
·
John
was writing to members of the Church, who already knew something of the Lord.
The book of John was written later and he seemed to want to help us understand
the Savior’s life in a deeper, more meaningful and lasting way. It is full of
theology and symbolism (such as “the Lamb of God”). It establishes that he was
the Savior long before coming to Earth. One of John's major purposes and themes
was to correctly portray Jesus as the divine Word -- the pre-existent Son who
is One with God (John 10:30) and yet He fully took on human flesh in order to
"tabernacle" Himself among us (1:14). John was a fisherman before
becoming an apostle. He was one of Jesus’ first followers and had a special and
close relationship with Christ as “the apostle whom Jesus loved.”
It is also helpful to understand who the different groups of people were:
·
The Sadducees were the aristocratic “old money”
local governing body (although Jerusalem was conquered by Rome so they were
under Roman Rule- which is who Pilate and King Herod represented). So Rome had
their representative but allowed the Sadducees to govern the people. Both Roman
rulers in Jerusalem and the Sadducees felt that their positions were threatened
by Jesus.
·
The other major players were the Pharisees. They
were like the “new money” who led people spiritually and temporally at a local
level by using Scripture and the Law of Moses to guide the people. They were
the interpreters of the law. They felt threatened by Jesus because of his new
and radical interpretation of the law and the scriptures. Christ was giving the
higher law. The Pharisees took the law to an extreme and thought of the law as
an end to itself where really the law was meant to guide the people to something
higher. The Pharisees couldn’t see how an exception to the law could ever be
made even to help someone if it was on the Sabbath, for example.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Gospels
https://www.catholic.com/qa/please-explain-the-difference-between-the-sadducees-and-the-pharisees-in-the-gospels
https://www.lds.org/new-era/2007/01/who-are-matthew-mark-luke-and-john?lang=eng
https://www.quora.com/Christianity-Why-is-John%E2%80%99s-gospel-so-different-from-the-other-three
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/john.html
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-difference-between-pharisees-and-sadducees-in-the-bible-363348
And The Kingdom and the Crown books by Gerald Lund
