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.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
As to the likeness of their faces, the face of a man, and the face of a lion, toward the right are to them four, and the face of an ox on the left are to them four, and the face of an eagle are to them four.
And Jesus was going about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the reign, and healing every disease, and every malady among the people,
And a certain one of the Pharisees was asking him that he might eat with him, and having gone into the house of the Pharisee he reclined (at meat),
having risen, I will go on unto my father, and will say to him, Father, I did sin -- to the heaven, and before thee,
and on the morrow Paul and his company having gone forth, we came to Caesarea, and having entered into the house of Philip the evangelist -- who is of the seven -- we remained with him,
and how shall they preach, if they may not be sent? according as it hath been written, 'How beautiful the feet of those proclaiming good tidings of peace, of those proclaiming good tidings of the good things!'
and He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as proclaimers of good news, and some as 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/ylt'>26,26/type/ylt'>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
See Verses Found in Dictionary
As for you, ye devised against me evil -- God devised it for good, in order to do as at this day, to keep alive a numerous people;
I see it, but not now; I behold it, but not near; A star hath proceeded from Jacob, And a sceptre hath risen from Israel, And hath smitten corners of Moab, And hath destroyed all sons of Sheth.
Into all the earth hath their line gone forth, And to the end of the world their sayings, For the sun He placed a tent in them,
Jehovah hath reigned, peoples tremble, The Inhabitant of the cherubs, the earth shaketh.
Lo, on the palms of the hand I have graven thee, Thy walls are before Me continually.
And thou hast said in thy heart: 'Who hath begotten for me -- these? And I bereaved and gloomy, A captive, and turned aside, And these -- who hath nourished? Lo, I -- I was left by myself, these -- whence are they?
And I have caused thine oppressors to eat their own flesh, And as new wine they drink their own blood, And known have all flesh that I, Jehovah, Thy saviour, and thy redeemer, Am the Mighty One of Jacob!'
And I have caused thine oppressors to eat their own flesh, And as new wine they drink their own blood, And known have all flesh that I, Jehovah, Thy saviour, and thy redeemer, Am the Mighty One of Jacob!'
and a certain scribe having come, said to him, 'Teacher, I will follow thee wherever thou mayest go;' and Jesus saith to him, 'The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven places of rest, but the Son of Man hath not where he may lay the head.' read more. And another of his disciples said to him, 'Sir, permit me first to depart and to bury my father;' and Jesus said to him, 'Follow me, and suffer the dead to bury their own dead.'
And he having come to the other side, to the region of the Gergesenes, there met him two demoniacs, coming forth out of the tombs, very fierce, so that no one was able to pass over by that way,
And Jesus passing by thence, saw a man sitting at the tax-office, named Matthew, and saith to him, 'Be following me,' and he, having risen, did follow him.
Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax-gatherer; James of Alpheus, and Lebbeus who was surnamed Thaddeus;
and he said, 'Come;' and having gone down from the boat, Peter walked upon the waters to come unto Jesus,
and Simon Peter answering said, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answering said to him, 'Happy art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood did not reveal it to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens.
From that time began Jesus to shew to his disciples that it is necessary for him to go away to Jerusalem, and to suffer many things from the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and to be put to death, and the third day to rise.
And they having come to Capernaum, those receiving the didrachms came near to Peter, and said, 'Your teacher -- doth he not pay the didrachms?' He saith, 'Yes.'
And they having come to Capernaum, those receiving the didrachms came near to Peter, and said, 'Your teacher -- doth he not pay the didrachms?' He saith, 'Yes.' And when he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, 'What thinkest thou, Simon? the kings of the earth -- from whom do they receive custom or poll-tax? from their sons or from the strangers?' read more. Peter saith to him, 'From the strangers.' Jesus said to him, 'Then are the sons free; but, that we may not cause them to stumble, having gone to the sea, cast a hook, and the fish that hath come up first take thou up, and having opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater, that having taken, give to them for me and thee.'
they say to him, 'Caesar's;' then saith he to them, 'Render therefore the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God;'
'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that art killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto thee, how often did I will to gather thy children together, as a hen doth gather her own chickens under the wings, and ye did not will.
'Ye have known that after two days the passover cometh, and the Son of Man is delivered up to be crucified.'
said, 'This one said, I am able to throw down the sanctuary of God, and after three days to build it.'
And the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mount where Jesus appointed them,
And having come near, Jesus spake to them, saying, 'Given to me was all authority in heaven and on earth; having gone, then, disciple all the nations, (baptizing them -- to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, read more. teaching them to observe all, whatever I did command you,) and lo, I am with you all the days -- till the full end of the age.'
and he was there in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by the Adversary, and he was with the beasts, and the messengers were ministering to him.
and immediately he called them, and, having left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, they went away after him.
and passing by, he saw Levi of Alpheus sitting at the tax-office, and saith to him, 'Be following me,' and he, having risen, did follow him.
And having looked round upon them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their heart, he saith to the man, 'Stretch forth thy hand;' and he stretched forth, and his hand was restored whole as the other;
and James of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and he put on them names -- Boanerges, that is, 'Sons of thunder;'
And having taken him away from the multitude by himself, he put his fingers to his ears, and having spit, he touched his tongue, and having looked to the heaven, he sighed, and saith to him, 'Ephphatha,' that is, 'Be thou opened;'
and immediately, all the multitude having seen him, were amazed, and running near, were saluting him.
And having gone forth thence, they were passing through Galilee, and he did not wish that any may know, for he was teaching his disciples, and he said to them, 'The Son of Man is being delivered to the hands of men, and they shall kill him, and having been killed the third day he shall rise,' read more. but they were not understanding the saying, and they were afraid to question him. And he came to Capernaum, and being in the house, he was questioning them, 'What were ye reasoning in the way among yourselves?'
and a certain one of those standing by, having drawn the sword, struck the servant of the chief priest, and took off his ear.
and go, say to his disciples, and Peter, that he doth go before you to Galilee; there ye shall see him, as he said to you.'
Seeing that many did take in hand to set in order a narration of the matters that have been fully assured among us,
And in the sixth month was the messenger Gabriel sent by God, to a city of Galilee, the name of which is Nazareth,
he shall be great, and Son of the Highest he shall be called, and the Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father,
And it came to pass in those days, there went forth a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world be enrolled --
And in the fifteenth year of the government of Tiberius Caesar -- Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother, tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene -- Annas and Caiaphas being chief priests -- there came a word of God unto John the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness, read more. and he came to all the region round the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of reformation -- to remission of sins, as it hath been written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, 'A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye His paths; every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straightness, and the rough become smooth ways; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' Then said he to the multitudes coming forth to be baptised by him, 'Brood of vipers! who did prompt you to flee from the coming wrath? make, therefore, fruits worthy of the reformation, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have a father -- Abraham; for I say to you, that God is able out of these stones to raise children to Abraham; and already also the axe unto the root of the trees is laid, every tree, therefore, not making good fruit is cut down, and to fire it is cast.' And the multitudes were questioning him, saying, 'What, then, shall we do?' and he answering saith to them, 'He having two coats -- let him impart to him having none, and he having victuals -- in like manner let him do.' And there came also tax-gatherers to be baptised, and they said unto him, 'Teacher, what shall we do?' and he said unto them, 'Exact no more than that directed you.' And questioning him also were those warring, saying, 'And we, what shall we do?' and he said unto them, 'Do violence to no one, nor accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.' And the people are looking forward, and all are reasoning in their hearts concerning John, whether or not he may be the Christ; John answered, saying to all, 'I indeed with water do baptise you, but he cometh who is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to loose the latchet of his sandals -- he shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire; whose winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and will gather the wheat to his storehouse, and the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.' And, therefore, indeed with many other things, exhorting, he was proclaiming good news to the people, and Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him concerning Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, and concerning all the evils that Herod did, added also this to all, that he shut up John in the prison. And it came to pass, in all the people being baptised, Jesus also being baptised, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit came down in a bodily appearance, as if a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, saying, 'Thou art My Son -- the Beloved, in thee I did delight.' And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, son of Joseph,
And Jesus turned back in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a fame went forth through all the region round about concerning him,
And having done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net was breaking,
And Simon Peter having seen, fell down at the knees of Jesus, saying, 'Depart from me, because I am a sinful man, O lord;'
and in like manner also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon; and Jesus said unto Simon, 'Fear not, henceforth thou shalt be catching men;'
And after these things he went forth, and beheld a tax-gatherer, by name Levi, sitting at the tax-office, and said to him, 'Be following me;'
And it came to pass, on the second-first sabbath, as he is going through the corn fields, that his disciples were plucking the ears, and were eating, rubbing with the hands,
And it came to pass thereafter, that he was going through every city and village, preaching and proclaiming good news of the reign of God, and the twelve are with him,
but Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep, and having waked, they saw his glory, and the two men standing with him.
and Jesus said unto him, 'Forbid not, for he who is not against us, is for us.' And it came to pass, in the completing of the days of his being taken up, that he fixed his face to go on to Jerusalem,
And it came to pass, in the completing of the days of his being taken up, that he fixed his face to go on to Jerusalem,
And it came to pass, as they are going on in the way, a certain one said unto him, 'I will follow thee wherever thou mayest go, sir;' and Jesus said to him, 'The foxes have holes, and the fowls of the heaven places of rest, but the Son of Man hath not where he may recline the head.' read more. And he said unto another, 'Be following me;' and he said, 'Sir, permit me, having gone away, first to bury my father;' and Jesus said to him, 'Suffer the dead to bury their own dead, and thou, having gone away, publish the reign of God.' And another also said, 'I will follow thee, sir, but first permit me to take leave of those in my house;'
And he was going through cities and villages, teaching, and making progress toward Jerusalem; and a certain one said to him, 'Sir, are those saved few?' and he said unto them,
On that day there came near certain Pharisees, saying to him, 'Go forth, and be going on hence, for Herod doth wish to kill thee;'
'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that is killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto her, how often did I will to gather together thy children, as a hen her brood under the wings, and ye did not will.
And it came to pass, in his going on to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee,
And it came to pass, in his going on to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee,
And they were bringing near also the babes, that he may touch them, and the disciples having seen did rebuke them,
and they were the more urgent, saying -- 'He doth stir up the people, teaching throughout the whole of Judea -- having begun from Galilee -- unto this place.'
saying -- 'The Lord was raised indeed, and was seen by Simon;'
On the morrow, he willed to go forth to Galilee, and he findeth Philip, and saith to him, 'Be following me.'
Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.'
After these things came Jesus and his disciples to the land of Judea, and there he did tarry with them, and was baptizing;
he left Judea and went away again to Galilee, and it was behoving him to go through Samaria. read more. He cometh, therefore, to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the place that Jacob gave to Joseph his son; and there was there a well of Jacob. Jesus therefore having been weary from the journeying, was sitting thus on the well; it was as it were the sixth hour; there cometh a woman out of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith to her, 'Give me to drink;' for his disciples were gone away to the city, that they may buy victuals; the Samaritan woman therefore saith to him, 'How dost thou, being a Jew, ask drink from me, being a Samaritan woman?' for Jews have no dealing with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, 'If thou hadst known the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked him, and he would have given thee living water.' The woman saith to him, 'Sir, thou hast not even a vessel to draw with, and the well is deep; whence, then, hast thou the living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who did give us the well, and himself out of it did drink, and his sons, and his cattle?' Jesus answered and said to her, 'Every one who is drinking of this water shall thirst again; but whoever may drink of the water that I will give him, may not thirst -- to the age; and the water that I will give him shall become in him a well of water, springing up to life age-during.' The woman saith unto him, 'Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw.' Jesus saith to her, 'Go, call thy husband, and come hither;' the woman answered and said, 'I have not a husband.' Jesus saith to her, 'Well didst thou say -- A husband I have not; for five husbands thou hast had, and, now, he whom thou hast is not thy husband; this hast thou said truly.' The woman saith to him, 'Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet; our fathers in this mountain did worship, and ye -- ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where it behoveth to worship.' Jesus saith to her, 'Woman, believe me, that there doth come an hour, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father; ye worship what ye have not known; we worship what we have known, because the salvation is of the Jews; but, there cometh an hour, and it now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also doth seek such to worship him; God is a Spirit, and those worshipping Him, in spirit and truth it doth behove to worship.' The woman saith to him, 'I have known that Messiah doth come, who is called Christ, when that one may come, he will tell us all things;' Jesus saith to her, 'I am he, who am speaking to thee.' And upon this came his disciples, and were wondering that with a woman he was speaking, no one, however, said, 'What seekest thou?' or 'Why speakest thou with her?' The woman then left her water-jug, and went away to the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, who told me all things -- as many as I did; is this the Christ?' They went forth therefore out of the city, and were coming unto him. And in the meanwhile his disciples were asking him, saying, 'Rabbi, eat;' and he said to them, 'I have food to eat that ye have not known.' The disciples then said one to another, 'Did any one bring him anything to eat?' Jesus saith to them, 'My food is, that I may do the will of Him who sent me, and may finish His work; do not say that it is yet four months, and the harvest cometh; lo, I say to you, Lift up your eyes, and see the fields, that they are white unto harvest already. 'And he who is reaping doth receive a reward, and doth gather fruit to life age-during, that both he who is sowing and he who is reaping may rejoice together; for in this the saying is the true one, that one is the sower and another the reaper. I sent you to reap that on which ye have not laboured; others laboured, and ye into their labour have entered. And from that city many believed in him, of the Samaritans, because of the word of the woman testifying, -- 'He told me all things -- as many as I did.' When, then, the Samaritans came unto him, they were asking him to remain with them, and he remained there two days; and many more did believe because of his word, and said to the woman -- 'No more because of thy speaking do we believe; for we ourselves have heard and known that this is truly the Saviour of the world -- the Christ.' And after the two days he went forth thence, and went away to Galilee,
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
And Jesus was walking after these things in Galilee, for he did not wish to walk in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him,
And Jesus was walking after these things in Galilee, for he did not wish to walk in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him, and the feast of the Jews was nigh -- that of tabernacles --
And when his brethren went up, then also he himself went up to the feast, not manifestly, but as in secret;
Jesus, therefore, was no more freely walking among the Jews, but went away thence to the region nigh the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there he tarried with his disciples.
Simon Peter, therefore, having a sword, drew it, and struck the chief priest's servant, and cut off his right ear -- and the name of the servant was Malchus --
After these things did Jesus manifest himself again to the disciples on the sea of Tiberias, and he did manifest himself thus:
they answered him, 'No;' and he said to them, 'Cast the net at the right side of the boat, and ye shall find;' they cast, therefore, and no longer were they able to draw it, from the multitude of the fishes. That disciple, therefore, whom Jesus was loving saith to Peter, 'The Lord it is!' Simon Peter, therefore, having heard that it is the Lord, did gird on the outer coat, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea;
The former account, indeed, I made concerning all things, O Theophilus, 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, according as the Spirit was giving them to declare. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation of those under the heaven, read more. and the rumour of this having come, the multitude came together, and was confounded, because they were each one hearing them speaking in his proper dialect, and they were all amazed, and did wonder, saying one unto another, 'Lo, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? and how do we hear, each in our proper dialect, in which we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and those dwelling in Mesopotamia, in Judea also, and Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia also, and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya, that are along Cyrene, and the strangers of Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we did hear them speaking in our tongues the great things of God.'
and God, what things before He had declared through the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ should suffer, He did thus fulfil;
and many of those hearing the word did believe, and the number of the men became, as it were, five thousand.
And Peter said, 'Not so, Lord; because at no time did I eat anything common or unclean;'
and having found him, he brought him to Antioch, and it came to pass that they a whole year did assemble together in the assembly, and taught a great multitude, the disciples also were divinely called first in Antioch Christians.
also, having considered, he came unto the house of Mary, the mother of John, who is surnamed Mark, where there were many thronged together and praying.
And those about Paul having set sail from Paphos, came to Perga of Pamphylia, and John having departed from them, did turn back to Jerusalem,
and after the reading of the law and of the prophets, the chief men of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, 'Men, brethren, if there be a word in you of exhortation unto the people -- say on.' And Paul having risen, and having beckoned with the hand, said, 'Men, Israelites, and those fearing God, hearken: read more. the God of this people Israel did choose our fathers, and the people He did exalt in their sojourning in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm did He bring them out of it; and about a period of forty years He did suffer their manners in the wilderness, and having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He did divide by lot to them their land. And after these things, about four hundred and fifty years, He gave judges -- till Samuel the prophet; and thereafter they asked for a king, and God did give to them Saul, son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years; and having removed him, He did raise up to them David for king, to whom also having testified, he said, I found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to My heart, who shall do all My will. Of this one's seed God, according to promise, did raise to Israel a Saviour -- Jesus, John having first preached, before his coming, a baptism of reformation to all the people of Israel; and as John was fulfilling the course, he said, Whom me do ye suppose to be? I am not he, but, lo, he doth come after me, of whom I am not worthy to loose the sandal of his feet. 'Men, brethren, sons of the race of Abraham, and those among you fearing God, to you was the word of this salvation sent, for those dwelling in Jerusalem, and their chiefs, this one not having known, also the voices of the prophets, which every sabbath are being read -- having judged him -- did fulfil,
for those dwelling in Jerusalem, and their chiefs, this one not having known, also the voices of the prophets, which every sabbath are being read -- having judged him -- did fulfil, and no cause of death having found, they did ask of Pilate that he should be slain, read more. and when they did complete all the things written about him, having taken him down from the tree, they laid him in a tomb; and God did raise him out of the dead, and he was seen for many days of those who did come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we to you do proclaim good news -- that the promise made unto the fathers, God hath in full completed this to us their children, having raised up Jesus, as also in the second Psalm it hath been written, My Son thou art -- I to-day have begotten thee. And that He did raise him up out of the dead, no more to return to corruption, he hath said thus -- I will give to you the faithful kindnesses of David; wherefore also in another place he saith, Thou shalt not give Thy kind One to see corruption, for David, indeed, his own generation having served by the will of God, did fall asleep, and was added unto his fathers, and saw corruption, but he whom God did raise up, did not see corruption. 'Let it therefore be known to you, men, brethren, that through this one to you is the forgiveness of sins declared, and from all things from which ye were not able in the law of Moses to be declared righteous, in this one every one who is believing is declared righteous; see, therefore, it may not come upon you that hath been spoken in the prophets: See, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish, because a work I -- I do work in your days, a work in which ye may not believe, though any one may declare it to you.' And having gone forth out of the synagogue of the Jews, the nations were calling upon them that on the next sabbath these sayings may be spoken to them, and the synagogue having been dismissed, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes did follow Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were persuading them to remain 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 did enter together into the synagogue of the Jews, and spake, so that there believed both of Jews and Greeks a great multitude;
and Paul was not thinking it good to take him with them who withdrew from them from Pamphylia, and did not go with them to the work;
And having passed through Amphipolis, and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was the synagogue of the Jews, and according to the custom of Paul, he went in unto them, and for three sabbaths he was reasoning with them from the Writings, read more. opening and alleging, 'That the Christ it behoved to suffer, and to rise again out of the dead, and that this is the Christ -- Jesus whom I proclaim to you.' And certain of them did believe, and attached themselves to Paul and to Silas, also of the worshipping Greeks a great multitude, of the principal women also not a few.
And having made some stay he went forth, going through in order the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
for in the law of Moses it hath been written, 'thou shalt not muzzle an ox treading out corn;' for the oxen doth God care? or because of us by all means doth He say it? yes, because of us it was written, because in hope ought the plower to plow, and he who is treading ought of his hope to partake in hope.
and to another in-workings of mighty deeds; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits; and to another divers kinds of tongues; and to another interpretation of tongues:
if any one doth think to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things that I write to you -- that of the Lord they are commands;
and we sent with him the brother, whose praise in the good news is through all the assemblies,
And when Peter came to Antioch, to the face I stood up against him, because he was blameworthy, for before the coming of certain from James, with the nations he was eating, and when they came, he was withdrawing and separating himself, fearing those of the circumcision, read more. and dissemble with him also did the other Jews, so that also Barnabas was carried away by their dissimulation. But when I saw that they are not walking uprightly to the truth of the good news, I said to Peter before all, 'If thou, being a Jew, in the manner of the nations dost live, and not in the manner of the Jews, how the nations dost thou compel to Judaize?
and I ask also thee, genuine yoke-fellow, be assisting those women who in the good news did strive along with me, with Clement also, and the others, my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Salute you doth Aristarchus, my fellow-captive, and Marcus, the nephew of Barnabas, (concerning whom ye did receive commands -- if he may come unto you receive him,)
Lukas only is with me; Markus having taken, bring with thyself, for he is profitable to me for ministration;
Salute ye one another in a kiss of love; peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus! Amen.
For, skilfully devised fables not having followed out, we did make known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but eye-witnesses having become of his majesty --
Beloved, every spirit believe not, but prove the spirits, if of God they are, because many false prophets have gone forth to 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 go up doth Hazael king of Aram, and fighteth against Gath, and captureth it, and Hazael setteth his face to go up against Jerusalem;
To proclaim the year of the good pleasure of Jehovah, And the day of vengeance of our God, To comfort all mourners.
'Son of man, set thy face unto Jerusalem, and prophesy unto the holy places, and prophesy unto the ground of Israel;
Do not suppose that I came to throw down the law or the prophets -- I did not come to throw down, but to fulfil;
'Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not kill, and whoever may kill shall be in danger of the judgment;
'None is able to serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one, and despise the other; ye are not able to serve God and Mammon.
'And who of you, being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit?
But, that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon the earth to forgive sins -- (then saith he to the paralytic) -- having risen, take up thy couch, and go to thy house.'
'Come unto me, all ye labouring and burdened ones, and I will give you rest,
and having recognized him, the men of that place sent forth to all that region round about, and they brought to him all who were ill,
'Wherefore do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they do not wash their hands when they may eat bread.'
And Jesus said to them, 'Through your want of faith; for verily I say to you, if ye may have faith as a grain of mustard, ye shall say to this mount, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you,
And Jesus answering said to them, 'Verily I say to you, If ye may have faith, and may not doubt, not only this of the fig-tree shall ye do, but even if to this mount ye may say, Be lifted up and be cast into the sea, it shall come to pass;
'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that art killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto thee, how often did I will to gather thy children together, as a hen doth gather her own chickens under the wings, and ye did not will.
'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that art killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto thee, how often did I will to gather thy children together, as a hen doth gather her own chickens under the wings, and ye did not will. Lo, left desolate to you is your house; read more. for I say to you, ye may not see me henceforth, till ye may say, Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord.'
'And whenever the Son of Man may come in his glory, and all the holy messengers with him, then he shall sit upon a throne of his glory;
As it hath been written in the prophets, 'Lo, I send My messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee,' --
And, that ye may know that the Son of Man hath authority on the earth to forgive sins -- (he saith to the paralytic) --
For Herod himself, having sent forth, did lay hold on John, and bound him in the prison, because of Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, because he married her,
for whoever may be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also shall be ashamed of him, when he may come in the glory of his Father, with the holy messengers.'
for even the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.'
And he, being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, at his reclining (at meat), there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment, of spikenard, very precious, and having broken the alabaster box, did pour on his head;
and he said to them, 'This is my blood of the new covenant, which for many is being poured out;
and Jesus said, 'I am; and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the power, and coming with the clouds, of the heaven.'
And he, having risen in the morning of the first of the sabbaths, did appear first to Mary the Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons; she having gone, told those who had been with him, mourning and weeping; read more. and they, having heard that he is alive, and was seen by her, did not believe. And after these things, to two of them, as they are going into a field, walking, he was manifested in another form, and they having gone, told to the rest; not even them did they believe. Afterwards, as they are reclining (at meat), he was manifested to the eleven, and did reproach their unbelief and stiffness of heart, because they believed not those having seen him being raised; and he said to them, 'Having gone to all the world, proclaim the good news to all the creation; he who hath believed, and hath been baptized, shall be saved; and he who hath not believed, shall be condemned. 'And signs shall accompany those believing these things; in my name demons they shall cast out; with new tongues they shall speak; serpents they shall take up; and if any deadly thing they may drink, it shall not hurt them; on the ailing they shall lay hands, and they shall be well.' The Lord, then, indeed, after speaking to them, was received up to the heaven, and sat on the right hand of God; and they, having gone forth, did preach everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word, through the signs following. Amen.
Seeing that many did take in hand to set in order a narration of the matters that have been fully assured among us,
Seeing that many did take in hand to set in order a narration of the matters that have been fully assured among us, as they did deliver to us, who from the beginning became eye-witnesses, and officers of the Word, --
as they did deliver to us, who from the beginning became eye-witnesses, and officers of the Word, --
as they did deliver to us, who from the beginning became eye-witnesses, and officers of the Word, -- it seemed good also to me, having followed from the first after all things exactly, to write to thee in order, most noble Theophilus, read more. that thou mayest know the certainty of the things wherein thou wast instructed.
and Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him concerning Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, and concerning all the evils that Herod did,
And that ye may know that the Son of Man hath authority upon the earth to forgive sins -- (he said to the one struck with palsy) -- I say to thee, Arise, and having taken up thy little couch, be going on to thy house.'
And it came to pass, in the completing of the days of his being taken up, that he fixed his face to go on to Jerusalem,
And it came to pass, in the completing of the days of his being taken up, that he fixed his face to go on to Jerusalem,
and who of you, being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit?
'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that is killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto her, how often did I will to gather together thy children, as a hen her brood under the wings, and ye did not will.
'No domestic is able to serve two lords, for either the one he will hate, and the other he will love; or one he will hold to, and of the other he will be heedless; ye are not able to serve God and mammon.'
I say to you, this one went down declared righteous, to his house, rather than that one: for every one who is exalting himself shall be humbled, and he who is humbling himself shall be exalted.'
And there appeared to him a messenger from heaven strengthening him;
-- he was not consenting to their counsel and deed -- from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who also himself was expecting the reign of God,
And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth.
And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth.
on the morrow John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, 'Lo, the Lamb of God, who is taking away the sin of the world;
And John testified, saying -- 'I have seen the Spirit coming down, as a dove, out of heaven, and it remained on him;
and I have seen, and have testified, that this is the Son of God.'
this one doth first find his own brother Simon, and saith to him, 'We have found the Messiah,' (which is, being interpreted, The Anointed,)
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith to him, 'Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets, we have found, Jesus the son of Joseph, who is from Nazareth;' and Nathanael said to him, 'Out of Nazareth is any good thing able to be?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'
Nathanael answered and saith to him, 'Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel.'
Nicodemus saith unto him, 'How is a man able to be born, being old? is he able into the womb of his mother a second time to enter, and to be born?'
the Samaritan woman therefore saith to him, 'How dost thou, being a Jew, ask drink from me, being a Samaritan woman?' for Jews have no dealing with Samaritans.
The woman saith to him, 'Sir, thou hast not even a vessel to draw with, and the well is deep; whence, then, hast thou the living water?
The woman saith unto him, 'Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw.'
The Jews, therefore, were striving with one another, saying, 'How is this one able to give us his flesh to eat?'
And he spake of Judas, Simon's son, Iscariot, for he was about to deliver him up, being one of the twelve.
The Jews, therefore, said among themselves, 'Whither is this one about to go that we shall not find him? -- to the dispersion of the Greeks is he about to go? and to teach the Greeks;
others said, 'This is the Christ;' and others said, 'Why, out of Galilee doth the Christ come?
They answered and said to him, 'Art thou also out of Galilee? search and see, that a prophet out of Galilee hath not risen;' and each one went on to his house, but Jesus went on to the mount of the Olives.
and she said, 'No one, Sir;' and Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I pass sentence on thee; be going on, and no more sin.'
I and the Father are one.'
and it was the preparation of the passover, and as it were the sixth hour, and he saith to the Jews, 'Lo, your king!'
and he who hath seen hath testified, and his testimony is true, and that one hath known that true things he speaketh, that ye also may believe.
Jesus saith to her, 'Be not touching me, for I have not yet ascended unto my Father; and be going on to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and to your God.'
and these have been written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye may have life in his name.'
and if I have prophecy, and know all the secrets, and all the knowledge, and if I have all the faith, so as to remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing;
Smith
Gos'pels.
The name Gospel (from god and spell, Ang. Sax. good message or news, which is a translation of the Greek euaggelion) is applied to the four inspired histories of the life and teaching of Christ contained in the New Testament, of which separate accounts are given in their place. They were all composed during the latter half of the first century: those of St. Matthew and St. Mark some years before the destruction of Jerusalem; that of St. Luke probably about A.D. 64; and that of St. John towards the close of the century. Before the end of the second century, there is abundant evidence that the four Gospels, as one collection, were generally used and accepted. As a matter of literary history, nothing can be better established than the genuineness of the Gospels. On comparing these four books one with another, a peculiar difficulty claims attention, which has had much to do with the controversy as to their genuineness. In the fourth Gospel the narrative coincided with that of the other three in a few passages only. The received explanation is the only satisfactory one namely, that John, writing last, at the close of the first century had seen the other Gospels, and purposely abstained from writing anew what they had sufficiently recorded. In the other three Gospels there is a great amount of agreement. If we suppose the history that they contain to be divided into 89 sections, in 42 of these all the three narratives coincide, 12 more are given by Matthew and Mark only, 5 by Mark and Luke only, and 14 by Matthew and Luke. To these must be added 5 peculiar to Matthew, 2 to Mark and 9 to Luke, and the enumeration is complete. But this applies only to general coincidence as to the facts narrated: the amount of verbal coincidence, that is, the passages either verbally the same or coinciding in the use of many of the same words, is much smaller. It has been ascertained by Stroud that "if the total contents of the several Gospels be represented by 100, the following table is obtained: Matthew has 42 peculiarities and 58 coincidences. Mark has 7 peculiarities and 93 coincidences. Luke has 59 peculiarities and 41 coincidences. John has 92 peculiarities and 8 coincidences. Why four Gospels. --
1. To bring four separate independent witnesses to the truth.
2. It is to give the Lord's life from every point of view, four living portraits of one person. There were four Gospels because Jesus was to be commended to four races or classes of men, or to four phases of human thought,--the Jewish, Roman, Greek and Christian. Had not these exhausted the classes to be reached, there would doubtless have been more Gospels. In all ages, the Jewish, Roman and Greek natures reappear among men, and, in fact, make up the world of natural men, while the Christian nature and wants likewise remain essentially the same. The FIRST GOSPEL was prepared by Matthew for the Jew. He gives us the Gospel of Jesus, the Messiah of the Jews, the Messianic royalty of Jesus. He places the life and character of Jesus, as lived on earth, alongside the life and character of the Messiah, as sketched in the prophets, showing Christianity as the fulfillment of Judaism. Mark wrote the SECOND GOSPEL. It was substantially the preaching of Peter to the Romans. The Gospel for him must represent the character and career of Jesus from the Roman point of view, as answering to the idea of divine power, work, law, conquest and universal sway; must retain its old significance and ever-potent inspiration at the battle-call of the almighty Conqueror. Luke wrote the THIRD GOSPEL in Greece for the Greek. It has its basis in the gospel which Paul and Luke, by long preaching to the Greeks, had already thrown into the form best suited to commend to their acceptance Jesus as the perfect divine man. It is the gospel of the future, of progressive Christianity, of reason and culture seeking the perfection of manhood. John, "the beloved disciple," wrote the FOURTH GOSPEL for the Christian, to cherish and train those who have entered the new kingdom of Christ, into the highest spiritual life. --Condensed from, Prof. Gregory.