Chapter 2 – The Gospels

1. Chapter 2 – The Gospels 1 - How do we read the Gospels?: We cannot use modern standards of historical accuracy, scientific precision or even “objectivity” in the reporting of events when reading documents intended for audiences thousands of years ago. 2 - Christian scriptures are a collection of oral traditions, and possible written sources now lost to history, gathered from primary sources (the 11 Apostles) and secondary sources such as the disciples of the original Apostles. 3 - The four gospels have a high degree of internal consistency when they discuss the same event in Jesus life which historians and theologians tell us means that the documents (the Gospels) have a very high level of credibility as primary sources. This credibility is amplified by the fact that they are highly consistent even though written by different people, in different places at different times.

2. 4 - Gospel comes from the Middle English word godspell which means “good news” or “glad tidings” 5 - The Greek work evangelion means “the proclamation or announcement of good news” so we call the authors of the Gospels “Evangelists” meaning “proclaimers of the Good News.” 6 - The Gospels are in fact testimonies of faith 7 - The Gospels seek religious truth meaning the deeper meaning God intends to reveal to people through historical events 8 - For documents in the period in which the New Testament books were written authors and audiences had no interest in peoples personal lives. They focused only on the public and unusual events which made a person, pharaoh, king or messiah famous such as winning a war or rising from the dead. 9 - The official teaching and practices of the Catholic Church are known as its Tradition

3. 10 – Three stages of development of the Gospels: • Jesus spends three years with his Apostles and His presence in this period is historically documented • The Resurrection is the pivotal event • Christ is not Jesus last name • The disciples form the early community of faith after the resurrection • They spread the Word far and near to Jew and Gentile • Development of the oral tradition of which words and deeds of Jesus are most important to pass on • The explanation of Jesus as a many-layered person develops: He is both God and Man • The early community of faith and evangelists starts documenting Jesus life around 70 CE

4. Apostles realized Jesus was not going to return before they die a natural death so they begin to write, or dictate, their memories of Jesus’ teachings and life • The need for a standard instruction for new converts becomes critical as the church expands around the Mediterranean faster and faster 11 - No single gospel provides a completely accurate understanding of Jesus 12 – Each evangelist had a wealth of material available to him: • Stories about Jesus that were told over and over again • The words of Jesus recalled in prayer • Insights drawn by preachers about the relationship between the life and message of Jesus and the history of the Jewish people • Each Evangelist had a particular audience in mind

5. 13 - Mark focuses on the “human” Jesus • Possibly written by a follower of Peter • Between 65 and 70 CE • Written for Gentiles and converts in Rome • Stresses the human suffering of Jesus 14 - Luke focuses on Jesus as the Compassionate Savior • Written by same person who wrote the Acts of the Apostles • Written between 70 and 85 CE • Possible written by a Gentile doctor • Stresses Jesus mercy and compassion 15 - Matthew portrays Jesus as the Messiah of the Jews • No idea as to author and written between 80 and 100 CE • Aimed at Jews with frequent references to Old Testament • Stresses Jesus as the unrecognized Messiah

6. 16 – The first three Gospels are referred to as the “synoptic Gospels” meaning “to see together”. The authors of the first three Gospels seem to have access to the same sources and to each other’s work. 16 – John portrays Jesus as the Divine Son of God • No agreement on who the author might have been but the gospel itself seems to have been written between 90 and 100 CE • The synoptic gospels are better for understanding Jesus’ life while this Gospel attempts to share truths that are more deeply theological and reflective than the truths in the other Gospels. • Gospel is very poetic in describing Jesus as “the bread of life,” “the light of the world,” and “the Good Shepherd.”