BIBLE INSIGHT

Some Keys to Reading and Understanding the Gospels (Adapted from How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth, Fee and Stuart, pp.113-134)

The Gospels contain three basic pieces of literature: the teachings of Jesus, stories about Jesus, and a record of eyewitness testimony of Jesus. However, the most important key to understanding the Gospels is to be able to take His teachings concerning the Kingdom of God as presented to the first century Judeans and apply them to 21st century Bible believers.

The Nature of the Gospels
The fact that the Gospels were not written by Jesus has been some cause for concern as is the fact that there are four non-identical Gospels. As Bible students we must come to accept that this presentation is how God wanted us to receive the information. Perhaps we can catch a glimmer of God's genius by looking a bit deeper into these concerns.

Why four Gospels? It seems clear that the Holy Spirit had a different audience of the first century in mind for each of the Gospels. For those of us in the church today all four hold equal value and authority as they each contribute to two points of interest concerning Jesus that all Christians wonder about: 1) His history and how that can be related to us and 2) our history and how that can be related to Him.

The Historical Context
As we examine the historical context of the four Gospels we must keep in mind the culture and religion of first century Palestine as well the background of the individual authors and their reasons for writing.

The Historical Context of Jesus - in General
To understand Jesus we must hone our understanding of first century Judaism. This can be done by consulting our Bible Encyclopedias and Commentaries or finding books on the specific topic of Judea in the first century. Fee and Stuart recommend Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus, by Joachim Jeremias.

Becoming aware of the forms of teaching employed by Jesus can lead to a greater understanding of the Gospels. Not only did Jesus use parables, but He also used hyperbole (purposeful overstatement), proverbs, similes, metaphors, questions, and irony among other forms of teaching.

The Historical Context of Jesus - Specifically
Much of the teaching in the gospel is couched in so-called "pronouncement stories." In these episodes the context is included to elaborate the conclusion (Mk. 12:13-17).

As we read the Gospels it is important that we distinguish between the particular audiences that Jesus often addressed. A question we should ask - Was Jesus talking to the multitudes, his close disciples, the Apostles, or His enemies? Knowing the historical context and the audience will help us to understand the point of Jesus' teaching.

The Historical Context of the Gospel Writer
Mark's Gospel aims to explain the nature of the messiahship of Jesus. Namely that it will involve a suffering servant who will conquer sin through His own death. It is through Mark's Gospel that we learn that the cross and servanthood of Christ are also marks of His true disciples.

A close reading of each Gospel (along with our Bible helps) should bring us to an understanding of the historical context of the other three gospels as well.

The Literary Context
The positioning of the various pronouncement stories in each Gospel was as they were individually directed by the Holy Spirit. So it is important not only to be able to interpret each of these stories as it is contained within the Gospel, but also to be able to combine the isolated facts and understand the composition of the Gospel as a whole.

Interpreting the Individual Pronouncement Stories
As noted above we must always keep in mind that there are four documents and each document contains three levels: His teachings, His story, and His eyewitnesses.

Think Horizontally. Consider the parallel accounts in the other Gospels. While it is of interest to use the parallel accounts to "fill out" the history of each story the two main reasons for reading them in parallel is to: give us an appreciation of the distinctiveness of any one of the Gospels and to compare the different contexts in which the stories were presented to the first century church.

The Synoptic Gospels and John. Scholars are quick to point out the uncanny similarities between Matthew, Mark, and Luke and their independence from John. Realize however that all four Gospels portray Jesus Christ through selected events in his life, climaxing in His death and resurrection.

Read your Bible Encyclopedia for various explanations of further similarities and differences, but do not forget that as part of the New Testament canon, we are accepting these writings as God-breathed and therefore are not too concerned that they are so similar. Actually we would be more concerned if they did not have much in common!

For an example of the same story placed in two different contexts see: Mt.23:37-39 and Lk. 13:34,35.

Think Vertically. As you read a story try and think not only of Jesus' historical context, but that of the Gospel writer as well. Try and understand why the Spirit moved a particular writer to place the story in its particular context.

Interpreting the Gospels as Wholes
The Holy Spirit guided each Gospel writer to select, arrange and adapt each story to suit the particular purpose of the Gospel that bears his name. John states his purpose in Jn. 20:31. While the Mark and Luke were written to be understood by a typically Gentile audience (especially Luke), Matthew and John were addressing a Jewish audience. Most so-called discrepancies between the Gospels are caused by the individual writers' adaptation (under the direction of the Holy Spirit) of the material. As an example note that Mark relates the cursing of the fig tree (Mk. 11:21-14, 20-25) for its symbolic theological significance, while Matthew (Mt. 21:18-22) is interested in the lesson on faith.

Final Observations

The four Gospels are our only source of reliable information concerning the central figure of the human race.

What we get out of the Gospels to apply in our own lives must be what God intended. Therefore the Gospels deserve our careful study and consideration.

What we glean from the Gospels concerning the Kingdom (in our age - the church, in the after a while - the redeemed of all ages) is of utmost importance. The Gospels warn us to prepare for the end of our age just as they warned the Jews to prepare for the end of their age.

Exploring the similarities and differences contained within the four Gospels should take a back seat to our appreciation of the unique portrait that each writer offers of Jesus and the growth of our love and devotion towards Him.

[Nelson's Illustrated Bible Encyclopedia, 1986 edition, pp. 439-442 was also used in the preparation of these notes.]

A FINAL NOTE ON OUR SUMMER LECTURE SERIES
Our summer lecture series was an unqualified success. Thanks to Bro. David Banning for bringing us an invaluable series of lessons on raising and being the kind of kids God can be proud of! If you would like to hear the lessons they are available on David's website: www.getthemtalking.com You will need Windows Media Player or any media player that supports the MP3 format.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
"Opportunities are usually disguised by hard work, so most people don't recognize them."

"If you don't hear opportunity knocking, find another door."

"We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are."

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
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Phone: (352) 365-9946 for times of services.
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MONTHLY BIBLE READING: The Gospels - Emphasizing the Early Work of Jesus

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BIBLE INSIGHT is published for the members of, and visitors to, the Church of Christ at Beverly Shores, Leesburg, Florida, USA.
Carey Dillinger is the editor. He can be reached at the church address or via e-mail: webmaster@careydillinger.com