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 the likeness of their faces was the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle.
And Jesus went round the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every bodily weakness among the people.
But one of the Pharisees begged him that he would eat with him. And entering into the house of the Pharisee he took his place at table;
I will rise up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee;
And leaving on the morrow, we came to Caesarea; and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was of the seven, we abode with him.
and how shall they preach unless they have been sent? according as it is written, How beautiful the feet of them that announce glad tidings of peace, of them that announce glad tidings of good things!
and he has given some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds 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/darby'>26,26/type/darby'>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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Ye indeed meant evil against me: God meant it for good, in order that he might do as it is this day, to save a great people alive.
I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh: There cometh a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and he shall cut in pieces the corners of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult.
Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their language to the extremity of the world. In them hath he set a tent for the sun,
Jehovah reigneth: let the peoples tremble. He sitteth between the cherubim: let the earth be moved.
Lo, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
And thou shalt say in thy heart, Who hath borne me these, seeing I had lost my children and was desolate, an exile, and driven about? and who hath brought up these? behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?
And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with new wine. And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with new wine. And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
And a scribe came up and said to him, Teacher, I will follow thee whithersoever thou mayest go. And Jesus says to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven roosting-places; but the Son of man has not where he may lay his head. read more. But another of his disciples said to him, Lord, suffer me first to go away and bury my father. But Jesus said to him, Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.
And there met him, when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, two possessed by demons, coming out of the tombs, exceeding dangerous, so that no one was able to pass by that way.
And Jesus, passing on thence, saw a man sitting at the tax-office, called Matthew, and says to him, Follow me. And he rose up and followed him.
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax-gatherer; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, who was surnamed Thaddaeus;
And he said, Come. And Peter, having descended from the ship, walked upon the waters to go 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 Bar-jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens.
From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples that he must go away to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised.
And when they came to Capernaum, those who received the didrachmas came to Peter and said, Does your teacher not pay the didrachmas?
And when they came to Capernaum, those who received the didrachmas came to Peter and said, Does your teacher not pay the didrachmas? He says, Yes. And when he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, What dost thou think, Simon? the kings of the earth, from whom do they receive custom or tribute? from their own sons or from strangers? read more. Peter says to him, From strangers. Jesus said to him, Then are the sons free. But that we may not be an offence to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when thou hast opened its mouth thou wilt find a stater; take that and give it to them for me and thee.
They say to him, Caesar's. Then he says to them, Pay then what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her, how often would I have gathered thy children as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Ye know that after two days the passover takes place, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified.
and said, He said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and in three days build it.
But the eleven disciples went into Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed them.
And Jesus coming up spoke to them, saying, All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; read more. teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined you. And behold, I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age.
And he was in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him.
and straightway he called them; and leaving their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, they went away after him.
And passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax-office, and says to him, Follow me. And he rose up and followed him.
And looking round upon them with anger, distressed at the hardening of their heart, he says to the man, Stretch out thy hand. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and he gave them the surname of Boanerges, that is, Sons of thunder;
And having taken him away from the crowd apart, he put his fingers to his ears; and having spit, he touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven he groaned, and says to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
And immediately all the crowd seeing him were amazed, and running to him, saluted him.
And going forth from thence they went through Galilee; and he would not that any one knew it; for he taught his disciples and said to them, The Son of man is delivered into men's hands, and they shall kill him; and having been killed, after three days he shall rise again. read more. But they understood not the saying, and feared to ask him. And he came to Capernaum, and being in the house, he asked them, Of what were ye reasoning by the way?
But a certain one of those who stood by, having drawn his sword, struck the bondman of the high priest, and took off his ear.
But go, tell his disciples and Peter, he goes before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him, as he said to you.
Forasmuch as many have undertaken to draw up a relation concerning the matters fully believed among us,
But in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent of God to a city of Galilee, of which the name was Nazareth,
He shall be great, and shall be called Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father;
But it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census should be made of all the habitable world.
Now in the fifteenth year of the government of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Ituraea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came upon John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. read more. And he came into all the district round the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet: Voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every gorge shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked places shall become a straight path, and the rough places smooth ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. He said therefore to the crowds which went out to be baptised by him, Offspring of vipers, who has forewarned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce therefore fruits worthy of repentance; and begin not to say in yourselves, We have Abraham for our father, for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. And already also the axe is applied to the root of the trees; every tree therefore not producing good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. And the crowds asked him saying, What should we do then? And he answering says to them, He that has two body-coats, let him give to him that has none; and he that has food, let him do likewise. And tax-gatherers came also to be baptised, and they said to him, Teacher, what should we do? And he said to them, Take no more money than what is appointed to you. And persons engaged in military service also asked him saying, And we, what should we do? And he said to them, Oppress no one, nor accuse falsely, and be satisfied with your pay. But as the people were in expectation, and all were reasoning in their hearts concerning John whether he might be the Christ, John answered all, saying, I indeed baptise you with water, but the mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not fit to unloose; he shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire; whose winnowing-fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his threshing-floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. Exhorting then many other things also he announced his glad tidings to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him as to Herodias, the wife of his brother, and as to all the wicked things which Herod had done, added this also to all the rest, that he shut up John in prison. And it came to pass, all the people having been baptised, and Jesus having been baptised and praying, that the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove upon him; and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight. And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years old; being as was supposed son of Joseph; of Eli,
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee; and a rumour went out into the whole surrounding country about him;
And having done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes. And their net broke.
But Simon Peter, seeing it, fell at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.
and in like manner also on James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Fear not; henceforth thou shalt be catching men.
And after these things he went forth and saw a tax-gatherer, Levi by name, sitting at the receipt of taxes, and said to him, Follow me.
And it came to pass on the second-first sabbath, that he went through cornfields, and his disciples were plucking the ears and eating them, rubbing them in their hands.
And it came to pass afterwards that he went through the country city by city, and village by village, preaching and announcing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God; and the twelve were with him,
But Peter and those with him were oppressed with sleep: but having fully awoke up they saw his glory, and the two men who stood with him.
And Jesus said to him, Forbid him not, for he that is not against you is for you. And it came to pass when the days of his receiving up were fulfilled, that he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass when the days of his receiving up were fulfilled, that he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass as they went in the way, one said to him, I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest, Lord. And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes and the birds of the heaven roosting-places, but the Son of man has not where he may lay his head. read more. And he said to another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, allow me to go first and bury my father. But Jesus said to him, Suffer the dead to bury their own dead, but do thou go and announce the kingdom of God. And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord, but first allow me to bid adieu to those at my house.
And he went through one city and village after another, teaching, and journeying to Jerusalem. And one said to him, Sir, are such as are to be saved few in number? But he said unto them,
The same hour certain Pharisees came up, saying to him, Get out, and go hence, for Herod is desirous to kill thee.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen her brood under her wings, and ye would not.
And it came to pass as he was going up to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
And it came to pass as he was going up to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
And they brought to him also infants that he might touch them, but the disciples when they saw it rebuked them.
But they insisted, saying, He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judaea, beginning from Galilee even on to here.
saying, The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon.
On the morrow he would go forth into Galilee, and Jesus finds Philip, and says 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 came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he abode with them and baptised.
he left Judaea and went away again unto Galilee. And he must needs pass through Samaria. read more. He comes therefore to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near to the land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now a fountain of Jacob's was there; Jesus therefore, being wearied with the way he had come, sat just as he was at the fountain. It was about the sixth hour. A woman comes out of Samaria to draw water. Jesus says to her, Give me to drink (for his disciples had gone away into the city that they might buy provisions). The Samaritan woman therefore says to him, How dost thou, being a Jew, ask to drink of me who am a Samaritan woman? for Jews have no intercourse with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that says to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman says to him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: whence then hast thou the living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, and his sons, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said to her, Every one who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinks of the water which I shall give him shall never thirst for ever, but the water which I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life. The woman says to him, Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst nor come here to draw. Jesus says to her, Go, call thy husband, and come here. The woman answered and said, I have not a husband. Jesus says to her, Thou hast well said, I have not a husband; for thou hast had five husbands, and he whom now thou hast is not thy husband: this thou hast spoken truly. The woman says to him, Sir, I see that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where one must worship. Jesus says to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when ye shall neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what; we worship what we know, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for also the Father seeks such as his worshippers. God is a spirit; and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. The woman says to him, I know that Messias is coming, who is called Christ; when he comes he will tell us all things. Jesus says to her, I who speak to thee am he. And upon this came his disciples, and wondered that he spoke with a woman; yet no one said, What seekest thou? or, Why speakest thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot and went away into the city, and says to the men, Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done: is not he the Christ? They went out of the city and came to him. But meanwhile the disciples asked him saying, Rabbi, eat. But he said to them, I have food to eat which ye do not know. The disciples therefore said to one another, Has any one brought him anything to eat? Jesus says to them, My food is that I should do the will of him that has sent me, and that I should finish his work. Do not ye say, that there are yet four months and the harvest comes? Behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes and behold the fields, for they are already white to harvest. He that reaps receives wages and gathers fruit unto life eternal, that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together. For in this is verified the true saying, It is one who sows and another who reaps. I have sent you to reap that on which ye have not laboured; others have laboured, and ye have entered into their labours. But many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him because of the word of the woman who bore witness, He told me all things that I had ever done. When therefore the Samaritans came to him they asked him to abide with them, and he abode there two days. And more a great deal believed on account of his word; and they said to the woman, It is no longer on account of thy saying that we believe, for we have heard him ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world. But after the two days he went forth thence and went away into Galilee,
After these things was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in Judaea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in Judaea, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the tabernacles, the feast of the Jews, was near.
But when his brethren had gone up, then he himself also went up to the feast, not openly, but as in secret.
Jesus therefore walked no longer openly among the Jews, but went away thence into the country near the desert, to a city called Ephraim, and there he sojourned with the disciples.
Simon Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, and smote the bondman of the high priest and cut off his right ear; and the bondman's name was Malchus.
After these things Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias. And he manifested himself thus.
And he said to them, Cast the net at the right side of the ship and ye will find. They cast therefore, and they could no longer draw it, from the multitude of fishes. That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved says to Peter, It is the Lord. Simon Peter therefore, having heard that it was the Lord, girded his overcoat on him (for he was naked), and cast himself into the sea;
I composed the first discourse, O Theophilus, concerning all things which 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 to them to speak forth. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, pious men, from every nation of those under heaven. read more. But the rumour of this having spread, the multitude came together and were confounded, because each one heard them speaking in his own dialect. And all were amazed and wondered, saying, Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galilaeans? and how do we hear them each in our own dialect in which we have been born, Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and those who inhabit Mesopotamia, and Judaea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, both Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya which adjoin Cyrene, and the Romans sojourning here, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking in our own tongues the great things of God?
but God has thus fulfilled what he had announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer.
But many of those who had heard the word believed; and the number of the men had become about five thousand.
And Peter said, In no wise, Lord; for I have never eaten anything common or unclean.
And having found him, he brought him to Antioch. And so it was with them that for a whole year they were gathered together in the assembly and taught a large crowd: and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
And having become clearly conscious in himself, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was surnamed Mark, where were many gathered together and praying.
And having sailed from Paphos, Paul and his company came to Perga of Pamphylia; and John separated from them and 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 to the people, speak. And Paul, rising up and making a sign with the hand, said, Israelites, and ye that fear God, hearken. read more. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people in their sojourn in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm brought them out of it, and for a time of about forty years he nursed them in the desert. And having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. And after these things he gave them judges till Samuel the prophet, to the end of about four hundred and fifty years. And then they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul, son of Kis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, during forty years. And having removed him he raised up to them David for king, of whom also bearing witness he said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my will. Of this man's seed according to promise has God brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus; John having proclaimed before the face of his entry among the people the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was fulfilling his course he said, Whom do ye suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, there comes one after me, the sandal of whose feet I am not worthy to loose. Brethren, sons of Abraham's race, and those who among you fear God, to you has the word of this salvation been sent: for those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, not having known him, have fulfilled also the voices of the prophets which are read on every sabbath, by judging him.
for those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, not having known him, have fulfilled also the voices of the prophets which are read on every sabbath, by judging him. And having found no cause of death in him, they begged of Pilate that he might be slain. read more. And when they had fulfilled all things written concerning him, they took him down from the cross and put him in a sepulchre; but God raised him from among the dead, who appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we declare unto you the glad tidings of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this to us their children, having raised up Jesus; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee. But that he raised him from among the dead, no more to return to corruption, he spoke thus: I will give to you the faithful mercies of David. Wherefore also he says in another, Thou wilt not suffer thy gracious one to see corruption. For David indeed, having in his own generation ministered to the will of God, fell asleep, and was added to his fathers and saw corruption. But he whom God raised up did not see corruption. Be it known unto you, therefore, brethren, that through this man remission of sins is preached to you, and from all things from which ye could not be justified in the law of Moses, in him every one that believes is justified. See therefore that that which is spoken in the prophets do not come upon you, Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which ye will in no wise believe if one declare it to you. And as they went out they begged that these words might be spoken to them the ensuing sabbath. And the congregation of the synagogue having broken up, many of the Jews and of the worshipping proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And on the coming sabbath almost all the city was gathered together to hear the word of God.
And it came to pass in Iconium that they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake that a great multitude of both Jews and Greeks believed.
but Paul thought it not well to take with them him who had abandoned them, going back from Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.
And having journeyed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was the synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul's custom he went in among them, and on three sabbaths reasoned with them from the scriptures, read more. opening and laying down that the Christ must have suffered and risen up from among the dead, and that this is the Christ, Jesus whom I announce to you. And some of them believed, and joined themselves to Paul and Silas, and of the Greeks who worshipped, a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
And having stayed there some time, he went forth, passing in order through the country of Galatia and Phrygia, establishing all the disciples.
For in the law of Moses it is written, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that is treading out corn. Is God occupied about the oxen, or does he say it altogether for our sakes? For for our sakes it has been written, that the plougher should plough in hope, and he that treads out corn, in hope of partaking of it.
and to another operations of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; and to a different one kinds of tongues; and to another interpretation of tongues.
If any one thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognise the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord's commandment.
but we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the glad tidings through all the assemblies;
But when Peter came to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be condemned: for before that certain came from James, he ate with those of the nations; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those of the circumcision; read more. and the rest of the Jews also played the same dissembling part with him; so that even Barnabas was carried away too by their dissimulation. But when I saw that they do not walk straightforwardly, according to the truth of the glad tidings, I said to Peter before all, If thou, being a Jew, livest as the nations and not as the Jews, how dost thou compel the nations to Judaize?
yea, I ask thee also, true yokefellow, assist them, who have contended along with me in the glad tidings, with Clement also, and my other fellow-labourers, whose names are in the book of life.
Aristarchus my fellow-captive salutes you, and Mark, Barnabas's cousin, concerning whom ye have received orders, (if he come to you, receive him,)
Luke alone is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thyself, for he is serviceable to me for ministry.
Salute one another with a kiss of love. Peace be with you all who are in Christ.
For we have not made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, following cleverly imagined fables, but having been eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, if they are of God; because many false prophets are 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
Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it. And Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem.
to proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Son of man, set thy face against Jerusalem, and drop words against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,
Think not that I am come to make void the law or the prophets; I am not come to make void, but to fulfil.
Ye have heard that it was said to the ancients, Thou shalt not kill; but whosoever shall kill shall be subject to the judgment.
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and will love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
But which of you by carefulness can add to his growth one cubit?
But that ye may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (then he says to the paralytic,) Rise up, take up thy bed and go to thy house.
Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
And when the men of that place recognised him, they sent to that whole country around, and they brought to him all that were ill,
Why do thy disciples transgress what has been delivered by the ancients? for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.
And he says to them, Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Be transported hence there, and it shall transport itself; and nothing shall be impossible to you.
And Jesus answering said to them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and do not doubt, not only shall ye do what is done to the fig-tree, but even if ye should say to this mountain, Be thou taken away and be thou cast into the sea, it shall come to pass.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her, how often would I have gathered thy children as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her, how often would I have gathered thy children as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate; read more. for I say unto you, Ye shall in no wise see me henceforth until ye say, Blessed be he that comes in the name of the Lord.
But when the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit down upon his throne of glory,
as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way.
But that ye may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, he says to the paralytic,
For the same Herod had sent and seized John, and had bound him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her.
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of man also be ashamed when he shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
For also the Son of man did not come to be ministered to, but to minister, and give his life a ransom for many.
And when he was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he lay at table, there came a woman having an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly; and having broken the alabaster flask, she poured it out upon his head.
And he said to them, This is my blood, that of the new covenant, that shed for many.
And Jesus said, I am, and ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.
Now when he had risen very early, the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary of Magdala, out of whom he had cast seven demons. She went and brought word to those that had been with him, who were grieving and weeping. read more. And when these heard that he was alive and had been seen of her, they disbelieved it. And after these things he was manifested in another form to two of them as they walked, going into the country; and they went and brought word to the rest; neither did they believe them. Afterwards as they lay at table he was manifested to the eleven, and reproached them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen him risen. And he said to them, Go into all the world, and preach the glad tidings to all the creation. He that believes and is baptised shall be saved, and he that disbelieves shall be condemned. And these signs shall follow those that have believed: in my name they shall cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they should drink any deadly thing it shall not injure them; they shall lay hands upon the infirm, and they shall be well. The Lord therefore, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat at the right hand of God. And they, going forth, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs following upon it.
Forasmuch as many have undertaken to draw up a relation concerning the matters fully believed among us,
Forasmuch as many have undertaken to draw up a relation concerning the matters fully believed among us, as those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses of and attendants on the Word have delivered them to us,
as those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses of and attendants on the Word have delivered them to us,
as those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses of and attendants on the Word have delivered them to us, it has seemed good to me also, accurately acquainted from the origin with all things, to write to thee with method, most excellent Theophilus, read more. that thou mightest know the certainty of those things in which thou hast been instructed.
But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him as to Herodias, the wife of his brother, and as to all the wicked things which Herod had done,
But that ye may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralysed man, I say to thee, Arise, and take up thy little couch and go to thine house.
And it came to pass when the days of his receiving up were fulfilled, that he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass when the days of his receiving up were fulfilled, that he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.
But which of you by being careful can add to his stature one cubit?
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen her brood under her wings, and ye would not.
No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and will love the other, or he will cleave to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than that other. For every one who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.
And an angel appeared to him from heaven strengthening him.
(this man had not assented to their counsel and deed), of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who also waited, himself also, for the kingdom of God
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father), full of grace and truth;
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father), full of grace and truth;
On the morrow he sees Jesus coming to him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
And John bore witness, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon him.
And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God.
He first finds his own brother Simon, and says to him, We have found the Messias (which being interpreted is Christ).
Philip finds Nathanael, and says to him, We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets, Jesus, the son of Joseph, who is from Nazareth. And Nathanael said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip says to him, Come and see.
Nathanael answered and said to him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel.
Nicodemus says to him, How can a man be born being old? can he enter a second time into the womb of his mother and be born?
The Samaritan woman therefore says to him, How dost thou, being a Jew, ask to drink of me who am a Samaritan woman? for Jews have no intercourse with Samaritans.
The woman says to him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: whence then hast thou the living water?
The woman says to him, Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst nor come here to draw.
The Jews therefore contended among themselves, saying, How can he give us this flesh to eat?
Now he spoke of Judas the son of Simon, Iscariote, for he it was who should deliver him up, being one of the twelve.
The Jews therefore said to one another, Where is he about to go that we shall not find him? Is he about to go to the dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?
Others said, This is the Christ. Others said, Does then the Christ come out of Galilee?
They answered and said to him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look, that no prophet arises out of Galilee. And every one went to his home.
And she said, No one, sir. And Jesus said to her, 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 says to the Jews, Behold your king!
And he who saw it bears witness, and his witness is true, and he knows that he says true that ye also may believe.
Jesus says 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 ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life in his name.
And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but 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.