Reference: Gospels
Easton
The central fact of Christian preaching was the intelligence that the Saviour had come into the world (Mt 4:23; Ro 10:15); and the first Christian preachers who called their account of the person and mission of Christ by the term evangelion (= good message) were called evangelistai (= evangelists) (Eph 4:11; Ac 21:8).
There are four historical accounts of the person and work of Christ: "the first by Matthew, announcing the Redeemer as the promised King of the kingdom of God; the second by Mark, declaring him 'a prophet, mighty in deed and word'; the third by Luke, of whom it might be said that he represents Christ in the special character of the Saviour of sinners (Lu 7:36; 15:18); the fourth by John, who represents Christ as the Son of God, in whom deity and humanity become one. The ancient Church gave to Matthew the symbol of the lion, to Mark that of a man, to Luke that of the ox, and to John that of the eagle: these were the four faces of the cherubim" (Eze 1:10).
Date. The Gospels were all composed during the latter part of the first century, and there is distinct historical evidence to show that they were used and accepted as authentic before the end of the second century.
Mutual relation. "If the extent of all the coincidences be represented by 100, their proportionate distribution will be: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, 53; Matthew and Luke, 21; Matthew and Mark, 20; Mark and Luke, 6. Looking only at the general result, it may be said that of the contents of the synoptic Gospels [i.e., the first three Gospels] about two-fifths are common to the three, and that the parts peculiar to one or other of them are little more than one-third of the whole."
Origin. Did the evangelists copy from one another? The opinion is well founded that the Gospels were published by the apostles orally before they were committed to writing, and that each had an independent origin. (See Matthew, Gospel according to.)
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And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went to the Pharisee's house, and reclined at the table.
I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him.
And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!"
And he gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
Fausets
From the Old English god spel, "good news." The providential preparations for the gospel attest its divine origin.
(1) The translation at Alexandria of the Old Testament into Greek (by the Septuagint), rendering the Jewish Scriptures accessible through that then universal language of the refined and polite to the literary of all nations. All possibility of questioning the existence or falsifying the contents of Old Testament prophecy was precluded thereby, however much the Jews who rejected Jesus would have wished to alter the prophecies which plainly identified Him as the foretold Messiah. The canon of the Old Testament having been completed, and prophecy having ceased before the Sept. translation, they could not deny that the divine knowledge derivable from it was complete.
(2) Greek and oriental philosophy had drawn attention to religious and moral speculations, which at once exposed and undermined paganism, and yet with all its endless labors gave no satisfactory answer to the questionings and cravings of man's spiritual being.
(3) The Roman empire had broken down the barriers between E. and W. and united almost the whole world, Asia, Africa, and Europe, in one, and established peace and good order, making possible the rapid transmission of the glad tidings from country to country; compare Lu 2:1; Mt 22:21.
(4) The universal expectation in the East of a great king to arise in Judea, probably due to fragments of revelation (as the prophecy of Balsam, Nu 24:17) such as led the wise men of the East to conic seeking "the king of the Jews."
(5) The settling of the Jews, and the consequent erection of synagogues, throughout all the towns of Asia. Greece, Italy, Africa, and western Europe. Hence by the reading of the law and the prophets in the synagogues everywhere each sabbath proselytes of righteousness were gathered from the Gentiles, such as the eunuch or chamberlain of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, a student of Scripture, Cornelius the centurion who "feared God with all his house, and gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always."
These not being bound under the ceremonial yoke, as the original Jews, formed a connecting link with the Gentiles; and hence at Antioch in Pisidia, when the Jews rejected the preaching of Paul and Barnabas, these proselytes, with the Gentiles, "besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath, ... and on that day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God" (Ac 13:15-44). So at Iconium (Ac 14:1), and at Thessalonica (Ac 17:1-4). Such were the "devout men, out of every nation under heaven," the collected representatives of the world, to whom Peter preached with such success (Ac 2:4-11). The 3,000 converts of that day and the 5,000 of a few days after (Ac 4:4) would act as missionaries on their return to their several nations. To the Jews first in each synagogue abroad the apostles preached, and gathered many converts from among them; and then to the Gentiles.
The Jews' national rejection of Jesus is no valid objection to the gospel, since He foretold it Himself (Mt 16:21; 26:2), and the Old Testament prophets did so too (Isa 49:16,21,26/type/common'>26,26/type/common'>26; Psalm 22); so that, fixing their eyes on the prophecies of Messiah's glory and kingdom which they wrested to mean His setting up a temporal kingdom at Jerusalem and overthrowing the Roman existing dominion, and shutting their eyes to the prophecies of His humiliation, "they knew Him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath," and yet in spite of themselves, like their types Joseph's brethren (Ge 50:20), "they have fulfilled them in condemning Him" (Ac 13:27; 3:18). The harmony in Christ of prophecies seemingly so opposite, His temporal and temporary humiliation, and yet His spiritual dominion now and His final visible and everlasting kingdom, furnish conclusive proof of the Divinity of prophecies which no human sagacity could have anticipated or human agency fulfilled.
The correspondence of the gospel event to the predictions of the Old Testament is thus established by the Jews, unwilling witnesses and therefore beyond suspicion. Graves (Pentateuch, 2:3,6) well says, had they universally embraced the gospel at its first publication, the sceptic might allege the prophecies to have been fabricated or altered to fit them to the events; the contrary is now certain. This is one great cause why the national conversion of the Jews is delayed "until the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in" (Ro 11:35). They continue guardians of the prophetic records until these shall have had their contents examined, and their application ascertained, by every other nation in the world. Genuineness and inspiration of the Four Gospels. The "prophets" in the Christian church who had the spiritual gift of "discerning spirits" were an effectual check on the introduction of a pseudo-inspired writing. Paul appeals to them on the inspiration of his letters (1Co 14:37; 12:10; compare 1Jo 4:1).
Thus, by the two-fold inspiration, that of the authors and that of the judges, the canonicity of the four Gospels, as of the other books of New Testament, is established. The anonymous fragment of the canon of the New Testament attributed to Caius a presbyter of Rome (published by Muratori, Antiq. Ital., iii. 854, and known as the Muratorian Fragment), recognizes the Gospels (Luke and John, the sentences as to Matthew and Mark are obliterated) as inspired, and condemns as uninspired the Shepherd by Hermes, "written very recently in our own times," i.e. in the first part of the second century, the age in which John the last apostle died. Theophilus (Ad Autol., iii. 11), Bishop of Antioch A.D. 168, refers to "the evangelists" and "the Holy Scriptures" of the New Testament. Clement of Alexandria in the latter part of the second century refers to the collection of Gospels as one whole, "the gospel" (Quis Dives Salvus?).
The anonymous letter to Diognetus (sec. 11 ed. Hefele) attributed to Justin Martyr refers to "the Gospels and the Apostles" (i.e. the letters). Ignatius of Antioch, a hearer of John (Ep. ad Philad., sec. 5), calls "the (written) Gospel the flesh of Jesus," and classes it with the Old Testament prophets. Tertullian (Adv. Marc. iv. 2), mentioning the Four Gospels two as the work of apostles and two as that of apostolic men (A.D. 208); Irenaeus (Adv. Haer., ii. 27; iii. 11, sec. 7); martyred A.D. 202; Origen, speaking of the four Gospels as "the elements of the church's faith"; Eusebius; and not only these orthodox writers but heretics, Marcion dud others, appeal to the Gospels as the inspired standard Canon. (See CANON.) .
They were translated into Syriac in the second century, and into Latin and the two Egyptian dialects by the fourth century. We have better evidence for their genuineness than for any other ancient writing. Theophilus arranged the Four Gospels so as to form one work (Jerome, Ep. ad Algas., iv. 197). Tartan, who died A.D. 170, formed a Diatessaron or harmony of the Four Gospels. Barnabas (Paul's companion), Clement of Rome (Php 4:3), and Polycarp quote the Gospels, though not with verbal exactness. Justin Martyr quotes Matthew, Luke, and John largely and exactly. As the heretic Gnostics and Marcion arose early in the second century their acceptance of the Gospels proves that these had been promulgated some time before (i.e. in the apostolic age itself), for after the dissensions between the orthodox and heretics had arisen the Gospels would never have been accepted by mutually hostile parties.
A distinct line was drawn between the apocryphal and the genuine Gospels. Unbelievers, as Celsus in controversy with Origen, could not deny the genuineness of the four even while rejecting their contents. The fathers' large quotations (Origen's especially) prove our Gospels were the same as theirs. Our Saviour wrote nothing Himself, the alleged letter to Abgarus, king of Edessa, being probably spurious. If He had (like Muhammed) recorded His own miracles and teachings, internal consistency would have been nothing marvelous. People would have deified the form, while failing to discern the inner essence. "If I bear witness of Myself My wit
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Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee.
Then a certain scribe came and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." read more. Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
When he had come to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
So he said, "Come". Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day.
When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?"
When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?" He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from others?" read more. And when Peter said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. Nevertheless, so that we may not offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you open its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for me and you."
They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
"You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."
and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.'"
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, read more. teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.
And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him.
As he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, "Follow me." So he rose and followed him.
And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder";
They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.
And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."
Immediately, when they saw him, all the people were greatly amazed, and ran to him and greeted him.
Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and he did not want anyone to know it. For he was teaching his disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and when he is killed, after three days he will rise." read more. But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him. And they came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you discussing on the road?"
And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you."
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been fulfilled among us,
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.
And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of all the world.
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. read more. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." And the multitudes asked him, "What then shall we do?" And he answered them, "He who has two tunics, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than is appointed you." Likewise the soldiers asked him, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but one mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." And with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the other evil things Herod had done, added this to them all, that he shut up John in prison. When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was also baptized. And as he was praying, the heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." Now Jesus himself, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of him went out through all the surrounding country.
And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were breaking.
When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"
and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men."
After this he went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me."
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.
Soon afterward, he went on through every city and village, preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him,
But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.
But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he that is not against you is for you." When the time drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
When the time drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." read more. To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say farewell to those at my home."
He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them,
At that very time some Pharisees came, and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you."
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
Now they were also bringing infants to him that he might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
But they were urgent, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee to this place."
saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"
The next day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."
The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
After this Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea, and there he remained with them and baptized.
he left Judea and departed again to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. read more. So he came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to him, "How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his cattle?" Jesus answered her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. The water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly." The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he." Just then his disciples came. And they marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you wish?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" Then the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" They went out of the city and came to him. Meanwhile his disciples urged him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Has any one brought him food?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and look at the fields! They are already white for harvest. And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." Many of the Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man is indeed the Savior of the world." After the two days he departed to Galilee.
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
"If I bear witness of myself, my testimony is not true.
Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.
After this Jesus went about in Galilee; he would not go about in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
After this Jesus went about in Galilee; he would not go about in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews' feast of Tabernacles was at hand.
But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly, but in secret.
Jesus therefore no longer went about openly among the Jews, but went from there to the country near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim; and there he stayed with his disciples.
Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
After this Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way he showed himself:
He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Then that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and threw himself into the sea.
In the first book, O Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach,
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. read more. And at this sound the crowd came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were amazed and wondered, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear them, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabswe hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God."
But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.
But many of those who heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
But Peter said, "No, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean."
and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year they met with the church and taught great numbers of people; and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
After the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, "Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it." Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: read more. the God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance, for about four hundred and fifty years. After these things he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And after he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king; concerning whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.' From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. Before his coming John had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was completing his course, he said, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.' "Brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you that fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning him.
For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning him. Though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. read more. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead; and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we preach to you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.' As for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to decay, he spoke in this way: 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.' Therefore he also says in another Psalm, 'You will not let your Holy One see decay.' For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers and saw decay; but he whom God raised did not see decay. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Therefore take care, so that what is said in the prophets may not come upon you: 'Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish; for I am going to do a deed in your days, a deed you will never believe, if someone declares it to you.'" As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people begged that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue, and so spoke that a great number believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.
But Paul kept insisting that they should not take along one who had deserted them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and for three weeks he reasoned with them from the scriptures, read more. explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ." And some of them were persuaded, and joined Paul and Silas; as did a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
After spending some time there, he departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
"Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?"
For it is written in the Law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Or is he speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops.
and to another the working of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another distinguishing between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.
If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command.
And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his preaching of the gospel;
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separate himself, fearing the party of the circumcision. read more. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of them all, "If you, being a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
Yes, and I ask you also, true yoke-fellow, to help these women who have struggled at my side in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, and also Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you have received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him.)
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me in my ministry.
Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Hastings
Under this heading we may consider the four Gospels as a whole, and their relations to one another, leaving detailed questions of date and authorship to the separate articles.
1. The aims of the Evangelists.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.'
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his span of life?
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"he then said to the paralytic"Rise, take up your bed and go home."
Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent to all that surrounding region and brought to him all who were sick,
"Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat."
So he said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you."
And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will be done.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Behold, your house is left to you desolate. read more. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way";
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"he said to the paralytic,
So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; because he had married her.
And he charged them to tell no one about him.
For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly. And she broke the flask and poured it over his head.
And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
And Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."
And it was the third hour, when they crucified him.
Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. read more. And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe it. After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Later he appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen. And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. Then they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the signs that accompanied it. Amen.
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been fulfilled among us,
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been fulfilled among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,
just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,
just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having carefully investigated all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, read more. so that you may know the certainty of the things which you have been taught.
But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the other evil things Herod had done,
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"he said to the man who was paralyzed "I say to you, rise, take up your bed and go home."
When the time drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
When the time drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And which of you by worrying can add a single cubit to his span of life?
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
An angel appeared to him from heaven, and strengthened him.
This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
And John bore witness, "I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him.
And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."
He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means the Christ).
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
Then the woman of Samaria said to him, "How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."
Then the Jews began to argue among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?
He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who was to betray him, though one of the twelve.
The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we shall not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?
Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Will the Christ come from Galilee?
They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Search and look, and you will find that no prophet is to rise out of Galilee." Then each went to his own house.
She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more."
I and the Father are one."
Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover, about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!"
He who saw it has testified, and his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth, that you also may believe.
Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Smith
Gos'pels.
The name Gospel (from god and spell, Ang. Sax. good message or news, which is a translation of the Greek euaggelion) is applied to the four inspired histories of the life and teaching of Christ contained in the New Testament, of which separate accounts are given in their place. They were all composed during the latter half of the first century: those of St. Matthew and St. Mark some years before the destruction of Jerusalem; that of St. Luke probably about A.D. 64; and that of St. John towards the close of the century. Before the end of the second century, there is abundant evidence that the four Gospels, as one collection, were generally used and accepted. As a matter of literary history, nothing can be better established than the genuineness of the Gospels. On comparing these four books one with another, a peculiar difficulty claims attention, which has had much to do with the controversy as to their genuineness. In the fourth Gospel the narrative coincided with that of the other three in a few passages only. The received explanation is the only satisfactory one namely, that John, writing last, at the close of the first century had seen the other Gospels, and purposely abstained from writing anew what they had sufficiently recorded. In the other three Gospels there is a great amount of agreement. If we suppose the history that they contain to be divided into 89 sections, in 42 of these all the three narratives coincide, 12 more are given by Matthew and Mark only, 5 by Mark and Luke only, and 14 by Matthew and Luke. To these must be added 5 peculiar to Matthew, 2 to Mark and 9 to Luke, and the enumeration is complete. But this applies only to general coincidence as to the facts narrated: the amount of verbal coincidence, that is, the passages either verbally the same or coinciding in the use of many of the same words, is much smaller. It has been ascertained by Stroud that "if the total contents of the several Gospels be represented by 100, the following table is obtained: Matthew has 42 peculiarities and 58 coincidences. Mark has 7 peculiarities and 93 coincidences. Luke has 59 peculiarities and 41 coincidences. John has 92 peculiarities and 8 coincidences. Why four Gospels. --
1. To bring four separate independent witnesses to the truth.
2. It is to give the Lord's life from every point of view, four living portraits of one person. There were four Gospels because Jesus was to be commended to four races or classes of men, or to four phases of human thought,--the Jewish, Roman, Greek and Christian. Had not these exhausted the classes to be reached, there would doubtless have been more Gospels. In all ages, the Jewish, Roman and Greek natures reappear among men, and, in fact, make up the world of natural men, while the Christian nature and wants likewise remain essentially the same. The FIRST GOSPEL was prepared by Matthew for the Jew. He gives us the Gospel of Jesus, the Messiah of the Jews, the Messianic royalty of Jesus. He places the life and character of Jesus, as lived on earth, alongside the life and character of the Messiah, as sketched in the prophets, showing Christianity as the fulfillment of Judaism. Mark wrote the SECOND GOSPEL. It was substantially the preaching of Peter to the Romans. The Gospel for him must represent the character and career of Jesus from the Roman point of view, as answering to the idea of divine power, work, law, conquest and universal sway; must retain its old significance and ever-potent inspiration at the battle-call of the almighty Conqueror. Luke wrote the THIRD GOSPEL in Greece for the Greek. It has its basis in the gospel which Paul and Luke, by long preaching to the Greeks, had already thrown into the form best suited to commend to their acceptance Jesus as the perfect divine man. It is the gospel of the future, of progressive Christianity, of reason and culture seeking the perfection of manhood. John, "the beloved disciple," wrote the FOURTH GOSPEL for the Christian, to cherish and train those who have entered the new kingdom of Christ, into the highest spiritual life. --Condensed from, Prof. Gregory.