Reading Through The Gospels

I started assimilating the Gospel of John on the first day of this year. Next month I will go through Mark, then Matthew and Luke. Why am I reading through the Gospels in this order?

I chose John because of his perspective. This Gospel is not so much a look at what Jesus said and did as it is a look at who Jesus is.

Some scholars have said that John wrote from a Greek, philosophical perspective. The Greeks were always taking a deeper look at things, seeking to understand the nature of things, and explanations for why things happen the way they do. In John's Gospel, we see Jesus as the Word, the Lamb of God, the Bread of Life, the One who gives the Water of Life, Son of God, Son of Man, the Good Shepherd, the Door to the Sheepfold, the Resurrection and the Life, the Light of the World, the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Mark wrote from a Roman perspective. The Romans were doers. They built one of the largest empires in history, and not just by conquest. They built roads, amphitheaters, arenas, temples, warehouses, palaces, etc., throughout the empire. Mark focused on what Jesus did, and the teachings of Jesus he recorded are "action" teachings that give direction to our actions.

Matthew is written from the Jewish perspective. Matthew constantly quotes the Old Testament prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. He records all of the Sermon on the Mount, and many of the parables. By doing so, he is presenting Jesus as a Jewish rabbi, because parables are a favorite device of rabbis.

Luke also wrote from a Greek perspective, but a historical one. He records events and teachings the others don't. He also references other historical events, such as the census. Many scholars see Luke's Gospel and Acts as one book in two volumes.

I chose the order of John, Mark, Matthew, and Luke because it provides the best approach to lay a foundation of understanding and building on it.

Chronologically, most scholars today think that Mark was written first, followed by Matthew, then Luke, then John. Why is Matthew first in the New Testament? Because Augustine, an early church leader, thought it was. This isn't a major issue, because if someone is reading the Bible straight through, then Matthew's Gospel provides the best continuity and transition from the OT to the NT.

Meditations on 1 & 2 John

After Philemon, I read the letters of John

1 John 12 NOV 08
The key verse in this letter is 4:11, for it ties together the two major themes of God's love for us and our love for each other. If God the Father did love us enough to send Jesus to die for us, then it naturally follows that we have experienced this love would have that same love for others.

1John 02 DEC 08
Ch. 3: 11 - 12 John tells us again to love one another and to not be like Cain. Cain slew Abel because Abel's deeds were good, and his own deeds were evil.

This tells us that Cain did evil before he murdered Abel. What evil did Cain do? He despised his brother. Why did Cain despise Abel? Pride. God accepted Abel's sacrifice and not Cain's. Cain also wanted to be accepted by God, but on his own terms. He wanted to be able to brag about his relationship to God. That is self-righteousness. So, the evil that Cain did included pride, envy, spite and self-righteousness before he added murder.

God accepted Abel's sacrifice because it was based on God's plan. When God dealt with Adam and Eve after the fall, He made clothes for them out of animal skins. That means that some animal had to give up its life. Its blood was shed to provide a covering for man. Abel recognized that any relationship between God and man must be based on blood. The only type of continuing relationship man can have with God must be a blood covenant.

1 John 12 DEC 08
Follow up on comments on 1 John 3: 11 - 12: The larger context is that those who are born again are marked by love for one another. To not love your brother is evil. Cain did not love Abel before he even killed his brother. That lack of love manifested as pride, self-righteousness, envy, and spite before it culminated in murder.

2 John 01 JAN 09
Notice verse 8: "Watch yourselves that you do not lose what we have accomplished..." This is obviously an appeal to protect yourself against regression, or going backwards spiritually. What might not stand out is that this appeal is made to individuals for the benefit of all.

"Watch yourselves" is an appeal to individuals because "self" refers to an individual, and "selves" means more than one individual. The "you" in this verse could refer to an individual or a group, but in this case it refers to both, because the admonition is to preserve "what we have accomplished."

John wrote this letter to "the chosen lady and her children." Scholars believe this was a way of addressing a church, or the Church in general. Either way, this gives us a picture of the Church as a group of individuals, but we are all interconnected by sharing of the same Spirit.

2 John 22 JAN 09
Notice verse 9: "Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God..." This verse confirms the pre-eminence of Christ, or the "Jesus Plus Nothing" teaching. Notice it does not say "teachings," but the "teaching of Christ." This refers not only to what Christ taught, but to teachings that focus on Him or are based on Him. I have often said that any teaching that cannot be related back to Jesus, or that you cannot use Him as an example of, is to be suspected as false.