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 he went round the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
And one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him; and he went into the Pharisees 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 thee;
And on the morrow we departed, and came to Caesarea; and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him.
and how shall men preach, unless they are sent forth? as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!"
And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and 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/noyes'>26,26/type/noyes'>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 cast into prison, he withdrew into Galilee.
And a certain scribe came and said to him, Teacher, I will follow thee wherever thou goest. And Jesus saith to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have lodgingplaces; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. read more. And another of the disciples said to him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But he saith to him, Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.
And when he had come to the other side, into the country of the Gadarenes, there met him two men possessed by demons, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass by that way.
And as Jesus passed on from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the customhouse; and he saith to him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus;
And he said, Come. And Peter, coming down from the boat, walked on the water, and came to Jesus.
And Simon Peter answering said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering said to him, Blessed art thou, Simon, son of Jonah; for flesh and blood did not reveal it to thee, 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 put to death, and rise again on the third day.
And when they had come to Capernaum, those who received the halfshekel came to Peter, and said, Doth not your teacher pay the halfshekel?
And when they had come to Capernaum, those who received the halfshekel came to Peter, and said, Doth not your teacher pay the halfshekel? He saith, Yes. And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? Of whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes? Of their own sons, or of strangers? read more. And when he said, Of strangers, Jesus said to him, Then are the sons free. But that we may not give them offence, go to the lake, and cast a hook, and take the fish that first cometh up; and on opening his mouth, thou wilt find a shekel; take that, and give it to them for me and thee.
They say, Caesars. Then saith he to them, Render then to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth those who are sent to her! How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Ye know that after two days cometh the passover; and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified.
and said, This man affirmed, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it within three days.
And the eleven disciples went into Galilee, into the mountain, where Jesus had directed them.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All power was given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, and make all nations my disciples, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; read more. teaching them to observe all things, whatever I have commanded you. And, lo! I am with you always, unto the end of the world.
And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him.
and immediately he called them. And leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, they went after him.
And passing along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customhouse; and he saith to him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
And looking round on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith to the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored.
and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, that is, Sons of thunder;
And they came to the other side of the lake, into the country of the Gerasenes.
And taking him aside from the multitude, he put his fingers into his ears, and having spit, touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
And immediately the whole multitude on seeing him was struck with awe, and running to him, saluted him.
And departing thence, they passed through Galilee; and he would not that any one should know it. For he taught his disciples, and said to them, The Son of man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men, and they will put him to death; and when he hath been put to death, after three days he will rise again. read more. But they understood not what he said, and were afraid to ask him. And they came to Capernaum; and having come into the house, he asked them, About what were ye disputing on the road?
And one of those who stood by drew his sword, and smote the servant of the highpriest, and cut off his ear.
But go, tell his disciples and Peter, that he is going before you into Galilee; there ye will see him, as he said to you.
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to arrange a narrative of those things which are fully believed among us,
And in her sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of David his father;
And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be registered.
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, when Annas and Caiaphas were highpriests, the word of God came to John, the son of Zachariah, in the wilderness. read more. And he came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission 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 straight his paths! Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." He said therefore to the multitudes that came forth to be baptized by him, Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance; and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say to you, that God is able out of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. And already also is the axe lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that beareth not good fruit is to be cut down, and cast into the fire. And the multitudes asked him, saying, What then must we do? He answered and said to them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath food, let him do likewise. And there came also publicans to be baptized, and said to him, Teacher, what must we do? And he said to them, Exact no more than hath been ordered you. And soldiers also asked him, saying, And what must we do? And he said to them, Do violence to no one, accuse no one falsely, and be content with your wages. And while the people were in expectation, and all were considering in their hearts concerning John, whether he were the Christ, John answered and said to them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the latchet of whose sandals I am not worthy to loose; he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire. His winnowingshovel is in his hand to thoroughly cleanse his threshingfloor, and gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. And giving many other exhortations he published the glad tidings to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him on account of Herodias the wife of his brother, and on account of all the evil deeds which Herod had done, added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison. And it came to pass, when all the people had been baptized, and Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying, that the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in a bodily shape as a dove; and a voice came from heaven: "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased." And Jesus himself was, when he began, about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, who was the son of Heli,
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee; and there went out a report concerning him through all the surrounding country
And having done this, they inclosed great multitude of fishes; and their nets began to break.
And Simon Peter seeing it fell down at the knees of Jesus, saying, Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.
and so were also James and John the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon And Jesus said to Simon, Fear not; henceforth thou shalt catch men.
And after these things he went out, and saw a publican named Levi, sitting at the customhouse; and he said to him, Follow me.
And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he was going through grainfields; and his disciples plucked the ears of grain, and ate them, rubbing them with their hands.
And it came to pass afterward, that he journeyed through cities and villages, preaching and publishing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God; and the twelve were with him,
But Peter and those who were with him were weighed down with sleep. But when they awoke, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.
But Jesus said to him, Forbid him not; for he that is not against you is for you. And it came to pass, when the time was near for his being received up, that he himself steadily set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass, when the time was near for his being received up, that he himself steadily set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And as they were traveling on the way, one said to him, I will follow thee wherever thou goest. And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have lodgingplaces; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. read more. And he said to another, Follow me. But he said, Suffer me first to go and bury my father. And he said to him, Let the dead bury their own dead; but go thou and carry the tidings of the kingdom of God. And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord; but first let me bid farewell to those who are in my house.
And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying towards Jerusalem. And one said to him, Lord, are there few that are to be saved? And he said to them,
In the same hour there came certain Pharisees, saying to him, Depart, and go hence; for Herod designeth to kill thee.
Jerusalem! Jerusalem! that killeth the prophets, and stoneth those who are sent to her! How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
And it came to pass, as he was going to Jerusalem, that he was traveling on the confines of Samaria and Galilee.
And it came to pass, as he was going to Jerusalem, that he was traveling on the confines of Samaria and Galilee.
And they brought to him infants also, that he might touch them; and the disciples, on seeing it, rebuked them.
But they were the more violent, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judaea, beginning from Galilee, even to this place.
saying, The Lord hath risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
On the morrow he determined to go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip. And Jesus saith to him, Follow me.
Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
After these things Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judaea; and there he remained with them, and baptized.
he left Judaea, and went again to Galilee. And he must necessarily pass through Samaria. read more. He cometh therefore to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the piece of land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. And Jacobs well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with the journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith to her, Give me to drink. For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman saith to him, How is it that thou, who art a Jew, askest drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, If thou hadst known the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith to him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Whence hast thou the living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his sons, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said to her, Every one that drinketh of this water, will thirst again; but whoever drinketh of the water that I will give him, will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become within him a well of water springing up to everlasting life. The woman saith to him, Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. He saith to her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered, I have no husband. Jesus saith to her, Thou saidst well, that thou hast no husband. For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband; in this thou hast spoken truly. The woman saith to him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith to her, Believe me, woman, the hour is coming, when ye shall neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship that which ye know not; we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for such worshippers the Father seeketh. God is a spirit; and they who worship must worship in spirit and in truth. The woman saith to him, I know that Messiah cometh (who is called Christ); when he hath come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith to her, I who speak to thee am he. And upon this his disciples came, and marveled that he was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, What dost thou seek? or, Why dost thou talk with her? The woman then left her waterpot, and went away into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man who told me all things which I have done. Is this the Christ? They went out of the city, and came to him. In the mean while the disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, eat. But he said to them, I have food to eat that ye know not of. The disciples therefore said to one another, Hath any one brought him anything to eat? Jesus saith to them, My food is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Do ye not say, There are yet four months, and the harvest cometh? Lo! I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already is the reaper receiving wages, and gathering fruit unto everlasting life; that both the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. And herein is fulfilled the true saying, One soweth, and another reapeth. I have sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored. Others have labored, and ye have entered into their labor. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in him because of the words of the woman, who testified, He told me all things which I have done. When therefore the Samaritans came to him, they besought him to remain with them; and he remained there two days. And many more believed on account of his word; and said to the woman, No longer do we believe on account of what thou hast told us; for we have ourselves heard him, and know that this is in truth the Saviour of the world. And after the two days he went from that place into Galilee.
After these things there was the feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for he would not walk in Judaea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for he would not walk in Judaea, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand.
But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not openly, but as it were in secret.
Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but departed thence to the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there abode with the disciples.
Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and smote the servant of the highpriest, and cut off his right ear. And the servants name was Malchus.
After these things he manifested himself again to the disciples at the lake of Tiberias. And he manifested himself in this manner.
And he said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and ye will find. And they cast it, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of the fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith to Peter, It is the Lord. Simon Peter therefore, hearing that it was the Lord, girded on his outer garment, for he had on nothing but his under one, and threw himself into the lake.
The former narrative I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus both did and taught from the beginning
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, even as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. read more. And when this sound took place, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because every one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed, and marveled, saying, Behold, are not all these who speak Galilaeans? and how is it that we every one hear them in our own language, wherein we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and those who inhabit Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and Romans who sojourn here, both Jews and Proselytes, Cretans and Arabianshow is it that we hear them speaking in our tongues the wonderful works of God?
But God thus fulfilled what he had before announced by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer.
Many however of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men became five thousand.
But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything common and unclean.
and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came to pass, that for a whole year they came together in the church, and taught a great multitude; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
And when he understood the matter, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, surnamed Mark, where many were gathered together, and praying.
And Paul and his company, having put to sea from Paphos, came to Perga in Pamphylia. But John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.
And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, Brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, speak. Then Paul stood up, and beckoned with his hand and said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, hearken. read more. The God of this people chose our fathers, and he exalted the people in their sojourn in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm he brought them out of it; and for about forty years he nourished them in the wilderness. And having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as a possession. And after that, for about four hundred and fifty years, he gave judges, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward 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 having removed him, he raised up to them David to be their king, to whom he gave testimony, saying, "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will." From the seed of this man hath God, according to his promise, brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus; before whose coming forward John had first preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said, Who do ye think that I am? I am not He. But lo I there cometh after me one, the sandal of whose feet I am not worthy to loose. Brethren, sons of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you was the word of this salvation sent forth. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, not knowing him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled them in condemning him.
For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, not knowing him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found nothing deserving death in him, they asked of Pilate that he should be slain. read more. And when they had accomplished all that was written of him, they took him down from the cross, and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we declare to you the glad tidings, that the promise which was made to the fathers God hath fulfilled to us their children, in raising up Jesus [from the dead]; as it is also written in the first Psalm: "Thou art my Son; I have this day begotten thee." And that he raised him up from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he hath thus spoken: "I will give you the sure holy things promised to David." Wherefore also in another Psalm he saith, "Thou wilt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption:" For David, after having in his own generation served the will of God, fell asleep, and was added to his fathers, and saw corruption; but he whom God raised from the dead did not see corruption. Be it therefore known to you, brethren, that through this man is announced to you the forgiveness of sins; and by him every one that believeth is justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken in the Prophets, "Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish! for I work a work in your days, a work which ye will not believe, though one should plainly declare it to you." And as they were going out, they besought that these words might be spoken to them on the next sabbath. And when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and proselyte worshippers followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, exhorted them to continue in the grace of God. And on the next sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of the Lord.
And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of Jews and Greeks believed.
But Paul did not think it proper to take with them a man who had left them in Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
And when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was the synagogue of the Jews. And Paul, as his custom was, went in among them, and for three sabbaths discoursed to them out of the Scriptures, read more. explaining them, and setting forth that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead, and that "this is the Christ,Jesus whom I am making known to you." And some of them were convinced, and joined themselves to Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the women of high rank not a few.
And after he had spent some time there, he departed, going through the Galatian country and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
For it is written in the law of Moses: "Thou shalt not muzzle an ox while treading out grain." Is it for oxen that God careth? Or doth he say it altogether on our account? On our account, no doubt, it was written, that he who plougheth ought to plough in hope, and that he who thrasheth should do it in the hope of partaking.
to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another divers kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
If any one thinketh himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him know surely that the directions I am writing to you are the Lords;
And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise in the gospel is throughout all the churches;
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I withstood him to the face; for he was condemned. For before certain persons came from James, he used to eat with the gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew, and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. read more. And the other Jews also dissembled with him; so that even Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they were not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of gentiles, and not that of the Jews, how is it that thou compellest the gentiles to keep the customs of the Jews?
yea, I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, give them aid; since they labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellowlaborers, whose names are in the book of life.
Aristarchus, my fellowprisoner, saluteth you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom ye received directions (if he come to you, receive him),
Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee; for he is useful to me for the ministry.
Salute one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all that are in Christ.
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but had been made eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone forth 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
Think not that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill.
Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, "Thou shalt not kill; and whoever shall kill, shall be in danger of the Judges."
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate one, and love the other; or else he will cleave to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
But who of you by anxious thought can add to his life one cubit?
But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath authority on earth to forgive sins,then he saith to the palsied man,Arise, take up thy bed, and go to thy house.
Come to me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
And the men of that place, when they saw who he was, sent out into all that country round, and brought to him all the diseased,
Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
And he said to them, Because of your want of faith. For truly do I say to you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard, ye shall say to this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it will remove; and nothing will be impossible to you.
Jesus answering said to them, Truly do I say to you, If ye have faith, and do not doubt, not only shall ye do what hath been done to the figtree, but should ye even say to this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea, it would be done.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth those who are sent to her! How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth those who are sent to her! How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Lo! your house is left to you desolate. read more. For I say to you, Ye will not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
And when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then will he sit on the throne of his glory,
as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "Lo! I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way;"
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins,he saith to the palsied man,
For Herod himself had sent forth and seized John, and bound him in prison, on account of Herodias, his brother Philips wife; for he had married her.
For whoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will also the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
for even the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.
And when he was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, there came a woman having an alabaster bottle of ointment of pure spikenard, very precious; and breaking the bottle, she poured it on his head.
And he said to them, This is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many.
And Jesus said, I am; and ye will see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.
{The remaining twelve verses, according to Tischendorf and others, made originally no part of Marks Gospel. As the passage was added very early, however, since it is referred to by Irenaeus in the latter part of the second century, it is here given, as an appendix.} [And having risen early, on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary the Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons. She went and reported it to those who had been with him, who were mourning and weeping. read more. And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, did not believe. After this, he manifested himself in another form to two of them as they walked, going into the country. And they went and reported it to the rest; and even them they did not believe. Afterward he manifested himself to the eleven themselves, as they were reclining at table, and upbraided them with 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 ye into all the world, and preach the glad tidings to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized will be saved; but he that doth not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany believers: In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take 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, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down on the right hand of God; and they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs which followed it.]
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to arrange a narrative of those things which are fully believed among us,
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to arrange a narrative of those things which are fully believed among us, even as they were delivered to us by those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and became ministers of the word,
even as they were delivered to us by those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and became ministers of the word,
even as they were delivered to us by those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and became ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having accurately traced up all things from the first, to write to thee a connected account, most excellent Theophilus, read more. that thou mightst know the exact truth with regard to those things in which thou wast instructed.
But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him on account of Herodias the wife of his brother, and on account of all the evil deeds which Herod had done,
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins,he said to the palsied man,I say to thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go to thy house.
And it came to pass, when the time was near for his being received up, that he himself steadily set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass, when the time was near for his being received up, that he himself steadily set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And who of you can by anxious thought add a cubit to his life?
Jerusalem! Jerusalem! that killeth the prophets, and stoneth those who are sent to her! How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate one, and love the other; or he will cleave to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one that exalteth himself will be humbled; but he that humbleth himself will be exalted.
And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
who was not consenting to their purpose and deed, and was waiting for the kingdom of God,
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; and we beheld his glory, a glory as of an only begotten of a father.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; and we beheld his glory, a glory as of an only begotten of a father.
The next day he seeth Jesus coming to him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world!
And John bore witness, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon him.
And I have seen and have borne witness, that this is the Son of God.
He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith to him, We have found the Messiah; (which is, when interpreted, the Christ.)
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith to him, We have found him of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets wrote, Jesus, the son of Joseph, who is of Nazareth. And Nathanael said to him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith to him, Come and see.
Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel.
Nicodemus saith to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mothers womb a second time, and be born?
The Samaritan woman saith to him, How is it that thou, who art a Jew, askest drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
The woman saith to him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Whence hast thou the living water?
The woman saith to him, Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw.
The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
He spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot; for it was he that was about to betray him, being one of the twelve.
The Jews therefore said among themselves, Whither will this man go, that we shall not find him? Will he go to the dispersed among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?
They answered and said to him, Art thou too from Galilee? Search and see that no prophet ariseth from Galilee. {Joh 7:538:12: This passage is omitted as ungenuine by Tischendorf and most critical editors of the Greek Testament. It is found in some manuscripts, but not in the most ancient. It is, however, very generally regarded as a genuine relic of the teaching of Christ, though not forming a part of the fourth Gospel. I give it in the text of Tregelles, omitting the words which he incloses in brackets. Tregelles, however, does not suppose it to be genuine.} [And they went each to his house;
And she said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said, neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.
I and the Father are one.
Now it was the preparation of the passover. It was about the sixth hour. And he saith to the Jews, Behold your king!
And he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knoweth that he saith what is true, that ye also may believe.
Jesus saith to her, Touch me not; for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.
But these have been written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that believing ye may have life in his name.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, and 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.