New Testament Essay 1

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Noah Crawford Professor Larson BIBL 102 New Testament Survey 7 April 2019 The Gospels In a span of three years the entire world was forever changed by one man. Foretold to be the greatest, born of the least, this one man would change the eternal trajectory of all mankind. His name is Jesus, and it is because of him that four biographies remain to be pieces of the bestselling literature since the print machine was created. These four Gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, gave humanity an inside (yet, incomplete) look into the life of Jesus the Christ. As Mark Allan Powell writes in his textbook, Introducing the New Testament , “Each of the four Gospels presents a portrait of Jesus that is distinctive from those of the other three. Near the end of the second century, Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, suggested that the Gospels could be symbolized by the four ‘living creatures’ mentioned in both Ezekiel 1:4-14 and Revelation 4:6-8. Matthew is portrayed as a man, Mark as a lion, Luke as an ox, and John as an eagle” (96). This sheds light on the importance of studying the Gospels individually, understanding each purpose for writing and how they reflect the life a Jesus in a unique and powerful way. The authorship, and date written, of the Gospel of Matthew is uncertain. It is generally believed to have been written by the apostle Matthew sometime around AD 70 in either Syria or Palestine. While these facts remain uncertain, the central message of Matthew remains. As with all Gospels, the purpose of Matthew was to preserve what he knew about Jesus’s life and his words. More specifically, “Mark writes his gospel from a definite standpoint. He purposes to show that the major events in the life of Jesus took place in fulfilment of prophecy” (Guthrie,

32). Essentially, it was necessary that Jesus became a man (as Matthew is depicted) to fulfill the prophecies set forth by the Old Testament. Understanding this is necessary to fully appreciate this gospel as it brings a unique picture of Jesus. It is essentially uncontested that Mark, who was a close follower of Peter and travel companion of Paul (1 Peter 5:13, Acts 13:5), wrote the Gospel of Mark. This account is believed to have been written around AD 40-60 in Rome. Mark puts an emphasis on Jesus being the Son of God, which is where the idea of Jesus as the lion (king) comes from. He begins his gospel calling Jesus the Son of God and then quotes Isaiah 40:3, “Prepare a way for the Lord.” The Gospel of Luke is fascinating in that it was written by Luke for a Roman official, Theophilus, yet now serves as an account for billions of people around the world. Luke wrote his account for one, but God has used it to reach the ends of the Earth. The unique picture of Jesus as an ox (servant) is seen all throughout the book, but specifically in the opening story where Zechariah offers a sacrifice in the temple and in the conclusion with Jesus being the sacrifice for humanity. Those reading this account around this time would have understood this connection as the ox represented the priestly character of our Lord and His sacrifice on our behalf. The Gospel of John is generally believed to have been written by John son of Zebedee, a disciple of Jesus. Most likely written in AD 90 in Ephesus, this gospel was written distinctly different from the other three. It was written to represent Jesus as an eagle (divine), a necessary component of our salvation (1 Samuel 2:6, Isaiah 43:25). While Christians may become God’s children by faith in Christ (John 1:12), Jesus is the only eternal Son of God, thus the only one capable of eternally forgiving sins. There is so much to explore about the life of Jesus. Beginning with his “faces” is a good start. Given the miraculous life of Jesus, it seems only appropriate to close with the words of

John 21:25, “ Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Works Cited Elwell, Walter A., and Robert W. Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament: a Historical and Theological Survey . Third ed., Baker Academic, 2013. Powell, Mark Allan. Introducing the New Testament: a Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey . Second ed., Grand Rapids. Baker Academic, 2018. Print. Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Introduction . Fourth ed., IVP Academic, 2015. The Holy Bible . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. Print. New International Version.

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