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 curing every disease, and every kind of sickness among the people.
And one of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. And he went into the house of the Pharisee, and reclined at table.
I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight,
On the following day we departed, and came to Caesarea, and went into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven; and we remained with him.
And how shall they preach, unless they be sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring joyous news of good things!
And he himself 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/anderson'>26,26/type/anderson'>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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And a certain scribe came and said to him.: Teacher, I will follow thee wherever thou goest. And Jesus said to him: The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have roosts; but the Son of man has not where to lay his head. read more. And another of his disciples said to him: Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said to him: Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.
And when he had come to the opposite side, into the country of the Gadarenes, there met him two men, coming out of the tombs, possessed with demons, very fierce, so that no one could pass that way.
And as Jesus passed by from that place, he saw a man named Matthew, sitting at the custom-house; and he said to him: Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphseus, and Lebbceus, who was surnamed Thaddaeus;
And he said: Come. And Peter went down from the ship, and walked upon the water to go to Jesus.
Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him: Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah; for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
From that time Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be put to death, and be raised again the third day.
And when they had come into Capernaum, those who collected the didrachma came to Peter, and said: Does not your teacher pay the didrachma?
And when they had come into Capernaum, those who collected the didrachma came to Peter, and said: Does not your teacher pay the didrachma? He said: Yes. And when he had come into the house, before he had spoken, Jesus said to him: What think you, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect tax or tribute? From their own sons, or from the sons of others? read more. Peter said to him: From the sons of others. Jesus said to him: Then are their own sons free. But that we may give them no offense, go to the sea, and throw in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first; and when you have opened his mouth, you will find a stater; take that, and give to them for me and you.
They said to him: Caesar's. Then he said to them: Give, therefore, to Caesar the things that are Caesar s, and to God the things that are God s.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest those who are sent to thee, how often have I desired to gather thy children together, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, and you refused.
You know that after two days the passover is kept, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified.
and said: This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
And the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into the mountain, where Jesus had appointed to meet them.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying: All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations, immersing them (the disciples) 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 all the days, even to the end of the age.
And he was there in the wilderness forty days, to be tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him.
And he immediately called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.
And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphoeus sitting at the custom-house; and he said to him: Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
And looking around on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their heart, he said to the man: Stretch forth your hand; and he stretched it forth: and his hand was restored.
and James the sou of Zebedee, and John the brother of James: and these he surnamed Boanerges, which means, sons of thunder:
And they came to the opposite side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him: Ephphatha, which means, Be opened.
And at once, all the multitude, on seeing him, were struck with awe, and ran to him and saluted him.
And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he wished no one to know it. For he taught his disciples, and said to them: The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will put him to death; and after he is put to death, he will rise on the third day. read more. But they did not understand this saying, and they were afraid to question him. And he came into Capernaum; and when he was in the house, he asked them: What were you disputing about among yourselves along the road?
And one of those who were standing by, drew a sword, and struck the servant of the chief priest, and cut off his ear.
But go, tell his disciples, and Peter, that he goes before you into Galilee; there you shall see him, as he told you.
SINCE many have undertaken to compose a history of the things that are fully believed among us,
And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, named 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 Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
And it came to pass in those days, that there went forth a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the inhabitants of the land should be enrolled.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of Iturea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being chief priests, 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 immersion of repentance in order to the remission of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his paths straight; every ravine shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made level; and the crooked ways shall be made straight; and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Therefore he said to the multitudes that came out to be immersed by him: Generation of vipers, who has 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 from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. And now also the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not produce good fruit, is cut down and cast into the fire. And the multitudes asked him, saying: What, then, shall we do? He answered and said to them: He that has two coats, let him give to him that has none; and he that has food, let him do likewise. And the publicans also came to be immersed, and they said to him: Teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them: Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And soldiers also asked him, saying: And what shall we do? And he said to them: Take nothing from any one by extortion, nor by false accusation, and be content with your pay. While the people were in suspense, and all were reasoning in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered them all, saying: I indeed immerse you in water; but there comes One mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loose; he will immerse you in the Holy Spirit and in fire. His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his thrashing-floor, and gather the grain into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. With many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people. But Herod the tetrarch having been reproved by him on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, and for all the wicked deeds which Herod did, added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison. And it came to pass, while all the people were being immersed, that Jesus also was immersed; and as he was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him, in a bodily form, like a dove; and there came a voice from heaven, which said: Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I delight. And Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his ministry, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, son of lleli,
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and his fame went throughout the whole of that region.
And when they had done this, they inclosed a great number of fishes, and their net began to break;
And when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at the knees of Jesus, and said: Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.
and in like manner also upon James and John the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon: Fear not; from this time forth you shall catch men.
And after these tilings, he went out and saw a publican named Levi, sitting at the custom-house; and he said to him: Follow me.
And it came to pass, on the first sabbath after the second day of the feast, that he was going through the fields of grain; and his disciples pulled the ears and ate, rubbing them in their hands.
And it came to pass afterward, that he went through every city and village, preaching, and making known the good news of the kingdom of God; and the twelve were with him;
And Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep; but having fully awakened, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.
And Jesus said to him: Forbid him not; for whoever is not against us, is for us. And it came to pass, as the time for him to be taken up into heaven had fully come, that he set his face steadfastly to go up to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass, as the time for him to be taken up into heaven had fully come, that he set his face steadfastly to go up to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass, as they were going on their journey, that a certain man said to him: Lord, I will follow thee wherever thou shalt go. And Jesus said to him: The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have roosts, but the Son of man has not where to lay his head. read more. And he said to another: Follow me. But he replied: Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said: Let the dead bury their own dead; but do you go and publish abroad the kingdom of God. And another said: I will follow thee, Lord; but first permit me to take leave of those at home.
And he went through every city and village, teaching, and journeying to Jerusalem. And a certain man said to him: Lord, are there few that are saved? And he said to them:
On the same day, certain Pharisees came and said to him: Depart, and get away from this place; for Herod intends to kill you.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent to thee: how often have I desired to gather thy children together, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, and you refused.
And it came to pass, as he was journeying to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
And it came to pass, as he was journeying to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
And they brought to him infants also, that he might touch them. But when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
But they became the more urgent, and said: He ex cites the people, teaching throughout the whole of Judea, be ginning from Galilee to this place.
and saying: The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon.
and he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looking on him, said: You are Simon, the son of Jonah; you shall be called Cephas (which, when translated, is Rock).
Jesus answered and said to them: Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days.
After these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea, and he remained there with them, and immersed.
he left Judea, and went again into Galilee. And it was necessary that he should go through Samaria. read more. He came, therefore, to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. And Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. And Jesus said to her: Give me to drink. For his disciples had gone into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to him: How is it that you, who are a Jew, ask drink of me, who am a woman of Samaria? (For the Jews have no social intercourse with the Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her: If you had known the gift of God, and who it is that said to you, Give me to drink, you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water. The woman said to him: Sir, you have ho vessel with which you can draw, and the well is deep; whence have you that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said to her: "Whoever drinks of this water, will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him, shall never thirst. But the water that I will give him, shall be in him a fountain of water springing up in order to eternal life. The woman said to him: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. Jesus said to her: Go, call your husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said: I have no husband. Jesus said to her: You have well said. I have no husband; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband. In this you have spoken truly. The woman said to him: Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where we ought to worship. Jesus said to her: Woman, believe me, the hour is coming, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. You worship you know not what; we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is spirit; and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman said to him: I know that Messiah (who is called Christ) is coming; when he comes, he will tell us all things. Jesus said to her: I who speak to you am he. And upon this his disciples came, and were astonished that he was talking with the woman. Yet no one said: What seekest thou? or, why talkest thou with her? Then the woman left her water-pot, and went into the city, and said to the men: Come, see a man who has told me all things that I ever did. Is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city and came to him. In the mean time, the disciples besought him, saying: Rabbi, eat. But he said to them: I have food to eat of which you know not. Then the disciples said one to another: Has any one brought him food? Jesus said to them: My food is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Do you not say, There are yet four months, and harvest comes? Behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are already white for the harvest. And he that reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for life eternal; that he that sows, and he that reaps, may rejoice together. For in this is the saying true, One sows and another reaps. I have sent you to reap that on which you bestowed no labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labors. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him, because of the word of the woman who testified, He told me all things that I ever did. When, therefore, the Samaritans came to him, they besought him to abide with them. And he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; and they said to the woman: We no longer believe because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard, and we know that this is in truth the Savior of the world, the Christ. And after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee;
After this was the feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
And after this Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
And after this Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the feast of tabernacles, a feast of the Jews, was near.
But when his brothers had gone up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but, as it were, in secret.
Therefore, Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but withdrew thence to the region near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples.
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the chief priest, and cut off his right ear. The name of the servant was Malchus.
After this, Jesus showed himself again to his disciples, at the sea of Tiberias. And he showed himself in this way.
He said to them: Throw the net on the right side of the ship, and you will find. They threw it, there fore, and were no longer able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Then that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter: It is the Lord. And when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girded on his outer coat, for he had on his inner garment only, and threw himself into the sea.
THE former record I made, Theophilus, of all things that Jesus began both to do and to teach,
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem devout Jews, from every nation under heaven. read more. When the report of this had gone abroad, the multitude came together; and they were perplexed, for each one heard them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, and said one to another: Are not all these that are speaking, Galileans? And how is it that we hear, every one in our own language in which we were born Parthians and Modes and Elamites, and we who dwell in Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Gyrene, Roman residents, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians we hear them speaking, in our own tongues, the wonderful works of God?
But the things which God fore told by the mouth of all his prophets, that the Christ should suffer, he has thus fulfilled.
But many of those who heard the word, believed: and the number of the men was about five thousand.
But Peter said: By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing common or unclean.
and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came to pass, that they met together in the church for a whole year, and taught a great multitude; and the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
And being aware of his condition, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, who is surnamed Mark, where many had met together, and were praying.
And Paul and his companions put to sea from Paphos, and went to Perga in Pamphylia. But John withdrew from 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 a word of exhortation for the people, speak. Then Paul arose, and waving his hand, said: Men of Israel, and you who fear God, give audience. read more. The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they sojourned in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm he brought them out from it. And for about forty years, he cherished them in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land among them by lot. And after that he gave them judges, for about four hundred and fifty years, till Samuel the prophet. And afterward they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king; to whom he gave this testimony: I have found David the son of Jesse a man after my own heart, who will do all my will. From the posterity of this man, God, according to his promise, raised up for Israel a Savior, Jesus; John having first preached, before his coming, the immersion of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said: Who do you suppose that I am? I am not he; but behold, there is coming after me one, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose. Brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, be cause they did not know him, nor the words of the prophets, which are read every sabbath-day, have fulfilled them in condemning him.
For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, be cause they did not know him, nor the words of the prophets, which are read every sabbath-day, have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death, yet they demanded of Pilate that he should be slain. read more. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulcher. 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 his witnesses to the people. And we preach to you good news concerning the promise made to our fathers, that God has fulfilled the same to us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second Psalm: Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. But that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: I will give you the sure mercies of David. For which reason he says also in another Psalm: Thou wilt not suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. For David, after serving the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw corruption. But he whom God raised up did not see corruption. Be it known to you, therefore, brethren, that through this man is preached to you the remission of sins: and by him, every one that believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Take heed, therefore, lest that which is spoken in the prophets come upon you: Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish. For I work a work in your days, a work which you will not believe, though one fully declare it to you. And as they were departing from the synagogue, they were requested to speak these things to them on the next sabbath. Now, after the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them, and persuaded them to continue faithful to the grace of God. And on the next sabbath-day, almost the whole city met together to hear the word of God.
And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude of the Jews and Greeks believed.
But Paul did not think it proper to take with them him who had departed from them from Pamphylia, and did not go with them to the work.
And when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul, according to his custom, went in to them, and, for three sabbath-days, he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, read more. explaining and affirming that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead; and that this Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ. And some of them believed, and associated themselves with Paul and Silas; of the devout Greeks, a great multitude, and of the chief women, not a few.
And having spent some time there, he departed, and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
For it is written in the law of Moses: You shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the grain? Has God a care for oxen? or does he say it wholly for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, it was written: that he that plows should plow in hope, and that he that thrashes should thrash in hope of partaking.
to another, the working of mighty deeds; to another, prophecy; to another, the discerning of spirits; to another, different kinds of tongues; to another, the interpretation of tongues.
If any one has the reputation of being a prophet, or spiritual man, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.
And we have sent with him the brother whose praise in the gospel is in all the churches;
But when Peter came to Antioch, I openly opposed him, because he had incurred blame. For, before certain persons came from James, he ate- with the Gentiles: but, when they had come, he withdrew, and separated himself, because he feared those who were of the circumcision. read more. And the other Jews, also, acted hypocritically with him, so that even Barnabas was led away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they did not walk uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter, before them all: If you, being a Jew, live after the manner of the Gentiles, and not after the manner of the Jews, why do you compel the Gen tiles to observe Jewish customs?
Now I beseech you also, true yoke-fellow, to assist those women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and my other fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life.
Aristarchus, my fellow-prisoner, salutes you, and so does Marcus the nephew of Barnabas, concerning whom you received commandments; if he come to you, receive him;
Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for the ministry.
Salute one another with a kiss of love. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus.
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty.
Beloved, believe not every spirit; but prove the spirits, whether they are from God: for 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
Think not that I have come to make the law or the prophets of no effect. I have not come to make them of no effect, but to give them their full efficiency.
You have heard that it was said to the ancients: You shall not kill; and whoever shall kill, shall be liable to the sentence of the judges.
No one can serve two masters: for he will either hate the one and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and neglect the other. You can not serve God and riches.
Which of you, by his anxiety, can add one span to his life?
But that you may know that the Son of man on earth has authority to forgive sins (then he said to the palsied man): Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.
Come to me, all you that are weary, and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all the neighboring country, and brought to him all that were sick;
Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.
And Jesus said to them: Because of your unbelief. For verily I say to you, If you have faith like a grain of mustard-seed, you shall say to this mountain, Be removed from this place to that, and it shall be removed: and nothing shall be impossible for you.
Jesus answered and said to them: Verily I say to you, If you have faith, and doubt not, you shall do, not only what is done to the fig-tree, but even if you shall say to this mountain, Be taken up, and be thrown into the sea, it shall be done.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest those who are sent to thee, how often have I desired to gather thy children together, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, and you refused.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest those who are sent to thee, how often have I desired to gather thy children together, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, and you refused. Behold, your house is left to you deserted. read more. For I say to you, That you shall not see me henceforth, till you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.
When the Son of man shall come in his own glory, and all the holy angels with him, then will he sit on the throne of his own glory;
as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way.
But that you may know that the Son of man on earth has authority to forgive sins, (he said to the paralytic,)
For Herod himself had sent and taken John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; for he had married her.
For whoever will be ashamed of me, and my words, in this sinful and adulterous generation, of him the Son of man also will be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels.
For the Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
And while he was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he reclined at table, there came a woman that had an alabaster box of ointment of pure nard, very costly; and she broke the box, and poured it on his head.
And he said to them: This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many.
Jesus replied: I am. And you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Almighty, and coming with the clouds of heaven.
Now when Jesus had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons. And she went and told it to those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. read more. And though they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest. But they did not believe them. Afterward he appeared to the eleven as they reclined at table; and he reproached 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 every creature. He that believes and is immersed, shall be saved; he that believes not, shall be condemned. And these signs shall attend those who believe. In my name they shall cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and, if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. The Lord, therefore, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: and he sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.
SINCE many have undertaken to compose a history of the things that are fully believed among us,
SINCE many have undertaken to compose a history of the things that are fully believed among us, even as they were delivered to us by those who were, from the beginning, eye-witnesses and. ministers of the word;
even as they were delivered to us by those who were, from the beginning, eye-witnesses and. ministers of the word;
even as they were delivered to us by those who were, from the beginning, eye-witnesses and. ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having obtained exact information of all things from the very first, to write them in order for you, most excel lent Theophilus, read more. that you might know the certainty of the things in which you have been instructed.
But Herod the tetrarch having been reproved by him on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, and for all the wicked deeds which Herod did,
But that you may know that the Son of man on the earth has power to forgive sins, (he said to the paralytic,) I say to you, Arise, and take up your bed, and go to your house.
And it came to pass, as the time for him to be taken up into heaven had fully come, that he set his face steadfastly to go up to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass, as the time for him to be taken up into heaven had fully come, that he set his face steadfastly to go up to Jerusalem.
"Which of you, by his anxiety, can add one span to his life?
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent to thee: how often have I desired to gather thy children together, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, and you refused.
No servant can serve two masters; for he will either hate the one, and love the other; or he will cleave to the one, and despise the other. You can not serve God and riches.
I say to you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For every one that exalts himself, shall be humbled; but he that humbles himself, shall be exalted.
And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, to strengthen him.
(he had not given his consent to their counsel and deed;) he was of Arimathea, a city of the Jews, and he himself also waited for the kingdom of God:
And the "WORD became flesh, and tabernacled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and of truth.
And the "WORD became flesh, and tabernacled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and of truth.
The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said: Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world.
And John testified, saying: I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
And I saw, and do testify that this is the Son of God.
One of the two that heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter.
Now, Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathaniel, and said to him: We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the SOD of Joseph.
Nathaniel said to him: How knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said to him: Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig-tree, I saw you.
Nicodemus said to him: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother's womb the second time, and be born?
Then the woman of Samaria said to him: How is it that you, who are a Jew, ask drink of me, who am a woman of Samaria? (For the Jews have no social intercourse with the Samaritans.)
The woman said to him: Sir, you have ho vessel with which you can draw, and the well is deep; whence have you that living water?
The woman said to him: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw.
The Jews, therefore, contended among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon; for he was about to deliver him up, being one of the twelve.
Then the Jews said among themselves: Whither is this man about to go, that we shall not find him? Is he about to go to those who are dispersed among the Greeks, and to teach the Greeks?
Others said: This is the Christ. But others said: Does the Christ come out of Galilee?
They answered and said to him: Are you also from Galilee? Search, and see that out of Galilee arises no prophet. And every one departed to his own house.
She said: No one, sir. Jesus said to her: Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more.
I and my Father are one.
it was the preparation for the passover, and about the third hour; and he said to the Jews, Behold your king!
And he that saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true, and he knows that he speaks the truth, that you may believe;
Jesus said to her: Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and 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 by believing you may have life through his name.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could 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.