- [Jon] There are
four books in the Bible that are ancient biographies of Jesus: the Gospel according to
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. - [Tim] And while individual stories
about Jesus and his teachings are familiar to many people, these books have way more to offer if we read them from beginning to end and see how they connect Jesus' story into the overall biblical storyline. - [Jon] So let's talk
about how to read the Gospel. First of all, this word
"gospel," what does it mean? - [Tim] Well, it means good news. - [Jon] Which raises the question good news about what? - [Tim] Well in Mark's Gospel, Jesus enters the story announcing that the time is fulfilled. God's Kingdom has come
near, so turn around and trust this good news. - [Jon] So the good news is about God's Kingdom arriving, but what does that mean? - [Tim] Well, this is Jesus' way of summarizing the whole biblical story that leads up to himself. - [Jon] The whole story. Okay, gimme the short version. - [Tim] Well, the story begins with God creating a good world and then appointing humanity as his representatives to rule it. But then the humans rebel over and over, leading to a world of violence and death. - [Jon] That's a problem. - [Tim] But God is committed
to making it work. So he chooses Abraham and his
family to restart the project. Then through Moses, God brings the family into
a garden land of abundance so that he can restore all
of the nations through them. - [Jon] Right, Israel becomes a kingdom with amazing kings like David, but eventually, Israel rebels too, and it leads them into destruction. - [Tim] But Israel's prophets said that God wasn't giving up. He was going to personally
come and restore Israel so that his justice and peace could spread to all nations and to all creation. This hope was called the Kingdom of God. - [Jon] And that's what Jesus said he was bringing to Israel. - [Tim] Yes, Jesus' good news is about God's Kingdom. The new creation that was
arriving to restore humanity to their role as God's
partners in ruling the world. This is why the Gospel has so many stories about Jesus liberating people
from death and disease, along with all of his teachings about generosity to the poor or forgiveness and loving your enemies. - [Jon] He was
inviting people to live in God's new world. - [Tim] Exactly. So this is one of the
main goals of the Gospel, to show how Jesus is bringing
the whole biblical story to its fulfillment. - [Jon] So that's
why the Gospel authors are constantly appealing
to the Hebrew Scriptures while telling the story of Jesus. - [Tim] Yeah, like when
Jesus is born in Bethlehem, Matthew reminds us that
this was anticipated by the prophet Micah. - [Jon] And he directly
quotes from Micah? - [Tim] Yeah, these direct
quotes are really common. But more often, the Gospel
authors weave biblical phrases into the story without telling you, so you can discover it for yourself. Like when Jesus is baptized, and God announces from the skies— - [Jon] "You are my son, my beloved, with you I am well pleased." - [Tim] Now, if you do some digging, you'll find that God's statement
blends together phrases from three biblical texts to identify Jesus as
the royal son of David, the seed of Abraham, and the servant who's going to suffer for the sins of his people. - [Jon] Whoa, that is subtle. - [Tim] Yes, and the
Gospel accounts do this on every page. Every book is constantly showing how all of the biblical
stories about Abraham or Moses and David and all the prophets, all of it points forward to Jesus. - [Jon] Now, why are
there four different accounts? Wouldn't one be enough? - [Tim] Well, the
diversity is on purpose. Each of the four Gospel authors has shaped and arranged their stories
about Jesus differently, so they can emphasize
different things about him. Matthew presents Jesus as a greater Moses. So he has grouped Jesus' teachings into five large blocks, just like the five books of the Torah. Luke highlights how Jesus
is God's royal servant from the book of Isaiah who brings God's light to the nations. Mark presents Jesus as a
new start for humanity, bringing the mystery of God's new creation crashing into the present. And John focuses on
Jesus' claim to be Yahweh, the God of Israel, become human. To do for us what we could
never do for ourselves. - [Jon] Those are really
different from each other, but they all tell the same basic story, a man from the region of Galilee teaching this good news, but who's ultimately
crucified as a criminal. - [Tim] Yes, all
four books of the Gospel are showing how the arrival
of God's Kingdom through Jesus led him up to the cross, where he was enthroned as
the King of God's new world. - [Jon] He's given a
robe, a crown, and a scepter. - [Tim] Right. And as Jesus suffers the consequences of humanity's rebellion, he's showing that the
power of God's Kingdom comes through his love and self-sacrifice. And when he's raised from the dead, we're watching the dawn
of the new creation. - [Jon] So the Gospel authors don't just want their readers to know about the good news of God's Kingdom. They want them to become a part of it. - [Tim] Yes, the Gospel
is designed to persuade us to trust and follow Jesus so that we can participate
in the new creation that he began.