Editor’s note: Do you ever feel like you get lost in the weeds when you read the Bible, or that you don’t understand the story arc from beginning to end, or you don’t know how what you’re reading applies to your regular life? Zach Windahl breaks it down for us in The Bible, Simplified. Enjoy this excerpt.
*
The second half of the Bible is what we call the New Testament. This half stands out from the Hebrew Scripture in that it tells the story of Jesus and the development of the church in the first century AD.
The first section of the New Testament is called the Gospels.
The Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Mark
The Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of John
And each of these Gospels is a biography of the life of Jesus. But what is a gospel? And why do we have four of them?
- The word gospel in Greek is euangelion, meaning “good news.”
A gospel was an announcement or a proclamation regarding a change of leadership within the kingdom. So in the case of the Greek Empire or the Roman Empire, when the emperor died and their successor was decided upon, a herald would go into every region, city, and town square announcing the “good news” of who their new emperor was, what their kingdom would stand for, and how the change would benefit those listening.
Caesar Augustus had a gospel message.
Alexander the Great had a gospel message.
This is how the region spoke of their emperors — with phrases and words that Jesus would later take for Himself so people could comprehend what He was there to do.
Jesus entered each new city claiming that He was now King. A new Kingdom had arrived. And what was the good news of Jesus’ Kingdom? The blind could see, the lame would walk, people with leprosy were cleansed, the deaf could hear, the dead were raised, the poor were taken care of, and the sins of humanity were forgiven.
The Kingdom of God was very good news. In His Kingdom, Heaven and earth were being merged.
Now, when you read the Bible and come across the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you’ll understand that each of these authors had his own perspective on his gospel announcement.
Matthew
The first gospel in the New Testament is from Matthew, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples.
Matthew was a Jewish man who worked for the Roman government, but he knew the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) very well.
So Matthew’s gospel was written with a Jewish audience in mind. He emphasized that Jesus was a new, greater version of Moses, and the true King of the Jews. Matthew focused on the teachings of Jesus more than anything else to show how Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
Mark
The second gospel is from John Mark, who actually didn’t know Jesus very well (if at all), but he was close to the apostle Peter. Think of Mark’s gospel as a written version of Peter’s firsthand account. It’s quick and to the point, written almost like a news broadcaster describing the life of Jesus to a television audience.
Mark focused on Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, who didn’t come as a political leader but as a servant who would suffer on behalf of all humanity. Mark is the shortest of the Gospels and was written primarily to a Gentile, Roman audience.
Luke
The next gospel is from Luke, a doctor who did not know Jesus personally. He compiled his gospel based on interviews from a bunch of people who knew Jesus or were around Him.
Luke was a Gentile, which is a word for someone who isn’t Jewish. He was close friends with the apostle Paul, whom we’ll learn a lot more about when we get to the section on the early church. Luke wrote this gospel kind of as a part one, with the book of Acts as a part two. He wrote them for a man named Theophilus (also a Gentile) as an account of the life of Jesus. As a doctor fascinated by the miracles Jesus performed, Luke focused his gospel on the humanity of Jesus.
John
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels because they all shared a lot of the same stories, but the Gospel of John is over 90 percent unique compared to the others. John wrote his gospel decades later, so he had time to think through what the other gospels had missed and what was important for the early church to know about Jesus.
Known as the “Beloved Disciple,” John was one of Jesus’ closest friends. He focused his gospel on the claim that Jesus was God in human form, offering humanity eternal life through His sacrifice.
Each gospel was written in a unique way for a specific audience, but they all announced that the Kingdom of God was at hand and would positively impact the entire world.
Today, our access to these incredible messages means we can easily learn more about Jesus and the Kingdom He began.
This is very good news.
One-Sentence Recap
A gospel is the proclamation of good news that a new and better Kingdom — the Kingdom of God — is here.
Excerpted with permission from The Bible, Simplified by Zach Windahl, copyright Zach Windahl.
* * *
Your Turn
If you’re a new believer, the best thing you can do is read the Bible and learn everything you can about God’s Word. If you’re a long-time believer, the best thing you can do is read the Bible and learn everything you can about God’s Word! Dive in and listen to God’s voice today! ~ Devotionals Daily