Objective

In this lesson, we’ll see that the Gospels show us what we need to know about Christ in order to believe in Him.

Key Verse

Mark 1:1: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Introduction

Jesus was born in Bethlehem about four hundred years after the last prophet of the Old Testament, Malachi. An angel announced to Joseph and Mary that Jesus was the Messiah, bringing the most extraordinary news the world had ever heard.

Matthew 1:20-23: But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Luke 1:30-33: But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

We learn many amazing things about Jesus from the angel’s announcement. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He came to earth to deliver us from sin. He is the fulfillment of prophecy. Someday He will reign on the throne of David. The angel called Jesus both the Son of God and the Son of David. He is both God and man. This is one of the most important doctrines of the Christian faith, and this is one of the greatest truths that the Gospels reveal to us.

The four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are not just historical accounts of a remarkable man. They are carefully crafted testimonies that reveal the identity and mission of Jesus Christ. Each Gospel writer had a specific purpose in mind, yet all four work together to present a complete picture of who Jesus is and why He came.

In this lesson, we’ll focus on two essential aspects of the Gospels:

• The subject of the Gospels
• The structure of the Gospels

The Subject of the Gospels

Jesus Christ is the subject of the Gospels. We saw that the entire Old Testament looks ahead to Christ in prophecy and pictures. The four Gospels show us the fulfillment of those prophecies. Everything the prophets promised, everything the sacrifices symbolized, everything the law pointed toward—it all finds its completion in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The Gospels show us that Jesus Christ was both God and man. We see the humanity of Jesus in His birth, life, and death. He entered this world just as we do—as a helpless baby born to human parents.

Luke 2:7: And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Luke 2:40: And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Luke 23:46: Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

He was tempted, experienced hunger and thirst, became tired, and suffered pain on the cross. The Gospel writers don’t hide Jesus’ humanity—they emphasize it.

Matthew 4:1-2: Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

John 4:6-7: Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”

Mark 15:15, 19, 34: Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified… Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him… And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

One of the important purposes of the Gospels is to show us that Jesus was like us. The prophets said that the Messiah would be a man. This is why He could take our penalty upon Himself. (Notebook Moment: Why was it necessary for Jesus to be fully human in order to save us? What does this tell us about God’s understanding of our struggles and temptations?)

Deuteronomy 18:15: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

Hebrews 4:15: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

It was necessary that Jesus Christ be both God and man or He could not be the one who goes between God and man to reconcile us to God.

1 Timothy 2:5: For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.

The Gospels also present Jesus as God. This truth is taught most fully in the Gospel of John, but it appears throughout all four accounts.

John 1:1-3: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John 10:30-33: “I and the Father are one.” Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

The miracles that Jesus performed demonstrated that He came from God. No mere human could do what Jesus did.

John 3:2: He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

The resurrection was the greatest demonstration of His deity. Death could not hold the One who is life itself.

John 11:25-26: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Romans 1:4: And who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Gospels were not written as biographies. There are many details about Jesus’ life that we don’t know. The Gospel writers weren’t trying to give us a complete historical record of everything Jesus did. The Gospels were written to present Christ as the Son of God and to show us what it means to believe in Him.

John 20:31: But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

The Structure of the Gospels

There are many similarities but also many differences among the four Gospels. Each emphasizes a different aspect of who Jesus is, like four artists painting the same subject from different angles.

Matthew shows us that Christ is our king. Mark shows us that Christ came as a servant. Luke shows us that Christ was a man. John shows us Christ as the Son of God. The Gospel of John is the most different of the four Gospels, written with a distinctly theological purpose. Despite these differences, all four Gospels have the same basic structure. They all divide into two major sections:

• The life and ministry of Jesus
• The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus

The first section covers thirty-three years. The last section covers the final week of Jesus’ life. This proportion shows us what the Gospel writers considered most important. They spent relatively little space on Jesus’ birth and early years, but they devoted enormous attention to His final week. This emphasis teaches us that the cross and resurrection are the central events of human history.

The first part of each Gospel shows that the ministry of Jesus consisted of teaching and healing. These two activities dominated His public ministry and revealed His divine authority.

Jesus revealed His authority when He taught. People had never heard anyone speak like Jesus.

Matthew 7:28-29: When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Jesus taught both in public and in private. In His public teaching, we see Jesus preaching three types of messages. He delivered prophetic preaching, announcing that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

Mark 1:14-15: After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

He also gave ethical teaching, like the Sermon on the Mount, showing people how God wanted them to live.

Matthew 5-7: [The entire Sermon on the Mount demonstrates Jesus’ ethical teaching about kingdom living.]

Jesus engaged in Messianic teaching, revealing His identity as the promised Messiah.

Luke 4:16-21: He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus also taught in private as He trained His twelve disciples to be His witnesses. Much of this private instruction appears in the later chapters of the Gospels.

Matthew 10: [Jesus’ commissioning and instruction of the twelve disciples.]

John 13-16: [Jesus’ final discourse with His disciples in the upper room.]

The miracles of Jesus were another important part of His ministry. They demonstrated His power over every aspect of creation and every force that oppresses humanity.

Mark 4:41: They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Jesus displayed power over nature, calming storms and walking on water. He showed power over sickness, healing every kind of disease and disability. He demonstrated power over death, raising the dead back to life. He revealed power over demons, casting out evil spirits with a word. Most importantly, He showed power over sin, forgiving people and setting them free from guilt and shame. (Notebook Moment: Which of Jesus’ displays of power means the most to you personally? How does knowing about His authority in these areas affect the way you approach Him with your own needs?)

The second part of the Gospels records the final week of Jesus’ life. These events take up so much space in the Gospels because they are so important. When Peter preached the first Christian sermon on the Day of Pentecost, he focused primarily on the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. This is the heart of the Gospel message.

Acts 2:22-39: “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him… Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Every aspect of the suffering and death of Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament. His death, burial, and resurrection were the completion of the work He came to earth to do. Jesus completed what the angel first described to Joseph and Mary.

Matthew 1:21: She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

(Notebook Moment: As you think about the proportion of space the Gospel writers devoted to Jesus’ final week compared to the rest of His life, what does this tell you about what they considered most important? How should this affect our own priorities as Christians?)

Conclusion

We will see that the four Gospels are very different from one another as we study them individually. But they are also remarkably similar. They have the same subject, which is Jesus Christ. And they follow the same basic structure. The first part tells us about His life and ministry. The second part tells us about His death and resurrection.

The Gospels show us who Christ is and what He came to do. This is what the Apostle Paul preached as well. He understood that the heart of the Christian message is the cross of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:2: For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

As we study and teach the Gospels, we should seek to understand Christ better. We should seek to understand more fully His great sacrifice for us on the cross. But more than just gaining knowledge, we should allow these accounts to deepen our faith and transform our lives. The Gospels weren’t written merely to inform us about Jesus—they were written so that we might believe in Him and find life in His name.

The four Gospel writers have given us an incredible gift. Through their inspired accounts, we can know Jesus Christ personally. We can understand His love for us, His power to save us, and His authority to transform us. As you continue to study these remarkable books, let them do what they were intended to do—lead you into a deeper relationship with the Son of God who became the Son of Man to rescue us from our sins.

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