Bible Survey Gospels

All right, friends, we're back in our Bible survey. We're now in the Gospels. We'll begin with Matthew, the central message of Matthew.

Matthew presents Jesus Christ as king. The son of David, born king of the Jews, is rejected by his people, Israel. The book opens with Jesus' genealogy.

It proceeds with his birth. John the Baptist tells of his coming by the Sea of Galilee. We see Jesus calling his disciples.

As the twelve follow him, we see his public ministry and his many miracles. Ten of them are found in chapters 8 through 10. God is in the midst of his people, and they miss him.

Not only that, they reject and crucify him. As Jesus and his disciples journey to the city of Jerusalem for the last time, he is presented as Israel's Messiah and king. The triumphal entry prophecy is fulfilled from Zechariah 9 and verse 9. Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.

This is followed by the wonderful parables of the two sons, the wicked fine dressers, the wedding feast, the fig tree, the faithful and evil servant, the wise and foolish virgins, and the parable of the talents. At the crucifixion of Jesus, a sign is placed atop the cross. This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.

The accounts of his death and resurrection are recorded in chapters 27 through 28. And Matthew's gospel, friends, ends with the great commission found in chapter 28 and verses 19 through 20. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.

And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. And the central events of this book are the story of Jesus' lineage and birth, his public ministry, his death, burial, and resurrection all present him as the kingly Messiah mentioned numerous times in Old Testament prophecy.

The central figures are Jesus, Mary and Joseph, John the Baptist, the 12 disciples, Pilate, and the Jewish leaders. And the central verses are found in chapter 21 and verses 4 through 5. All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of by the prophet saying, tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you, a lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. And the central application for us friends is this, for today's Christian, this application can be found at the end of chapter 28 in verses 19 through 20, dealing with the great commission.

It's the church's marching orders. We must ask ourselves, are we doing it? Are we proclaiming Christ in the gospel message? Do we hold up the risen savior to mankind? Are we making disciples? The great commission is to be done through action, not just observed. And now we're going to be in the gospel of Mark, friends, and the central message here in this gospel is Mark presents Jesus Christ as servant.

This gospel record presents Jesus in action as he performs his earthly ministry in humility. Philippians 2.7 says, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man. And Jesus begins his Galilean ministry preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

His ministry is comprised of driving out demons, healing the sick, praying and preaching and multitudes follow him to be blessed by him. In Mark, Jesus demonstrates his power over disease and cleansing a leper, his power over deformity in healing a paralytic, his power over demons, his power over death and his power over nature. Much of the gospel of Mark is seen through the eyewitness account of Peter, who Mark used as a main source.

The detailed accounts of Jesus are undergirded by the eyewitness account of the apostle Peter. Much is told through Peter's eyes. Peter is transparent in the record of his denial of Jesus, the most comprehensive account of this in the gospels.

But it is the passion of Christ which stands out most clearly in Mark's gospel record. The central events are the earthly ministry of Jesus shown as the suffering servant, the son of man, miracles and healing, feeding the 4,000, walking on the water, his triumphal entry, cleansing the temple, his prayer in Gethsemane, his passion of suffering and dying, his resurrection and his ascension. The central figures are Jesus, John the Baptist, the disciples, those who he healed, and the religious leaders and Pilate.

The central verse, friends, can be found in chapter 10 and verse 45. For even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. And the central application is this.

The key application for today's Christian believer is that we are to model Jesus and then we must be willing to serve. Jesus demonstrated that greatness is found by serving others. Too often we want Jesus and those in our lives to serve us.

How opposite is the true way of discipleship? We must assume the office of a servant and use the example that Jesus laid out in the gospel of Mark, and that was his needs were secondary to the needs of others. If we are to go deeper with God and be followers of Jesus Christ, then we must follow his example in serving others. This way the great commission can be fulfilled and we can bring glory to God.

Now we're going to look at the gospel of Luke, friends, and the central message in Luke is Luke presents Jesus Christ as man, the son of man. Luke devotes much attention to the human birth of Jesus and his childhood. The important aspect which Luke does not wish the reader to miss is the humanity of Jesus.

Jesus Christ is a perfect man who is entirely dependent upon God for all. The theme of this third gospel is centered around the manhood of Jesus and how he is our example in living the Christian life. The book is dedicated to Theophilus, a convert in the Roman Empire, and Luke explains the reason for writing this gospel account, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

Throughout this gospel of Luke, we see Jesus tempted in his humanity by the flesh, the world, and the devil. Jesus is presented to us in portrait form so we may model him well in the Christian life and know for certain that he was not only the son of man but the son of God. As Jesus begins his Galilean ministry, he enters the synagogue in Nazareth and reads from the prophet Isaiah.

After reading Isaiah 61, 1 through 2, he proclaims to his listeners, today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. However, the people reject him and try to throw him over a hillside. This is a picture and miniature of his entire earthly ministry as he preaches his way to the cross at Calvary.

Luke is a detailed narrative of the ministry of Jesus Christ as seen by those who witness the events, and it is the beautiful told story of the gospel records. The central events, friends, are the gospel of the son of man who comes to seek and to save that which was lost, his birth, his boyhood, his earthly ministry, his death on the cross, burial, and resurrection, and his ascension. The central figures are Jesus, Mary, Elizabeth, Zacharias, John the Baptist, the Twelve, and Pilate.

The central verse can be found in 1910, for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. And the central application for us today, friends, is this. Today's Christian application is on lordship, and whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

So, likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. In this gospel narrative, we see a model in motion for us to follow, Jesus. Luke presents a man entirely dependent upon God the father.

The man is Jesus, and he shows us the way to full dependence upon God by this example. If there's one lesson to learn from Luke's account, friends, it's this. Jesus came into the world to seek and to save that which is lost, but if we are to be truly his followers, then we must take up our cross and follow him.

There's no compromise in Christ for the Christian. He demands our all, and because of what he's done for us, we should be all too willing to forsake all for him. And we're going to go next, friends, to the gospel of John and look at its central message.

John presents Jesus Christ as deity. This fourth gospel, because of its evangelical tone and content, has brought many to a saving knowledge of Christ. John's gospel has a uniqueness about it which sets it apart from the other three gospel records.

John does not provide details of the birth of Jesus, nor does he record the many parables of Jesus as do Matthew, Mark, and Luke. We see Jesus as deity immediately as we read in chapter 1 and verse 14, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The apostle John was not just an eyewitness to these events mentioned in this gospel, but was a close eyewitness.

Not only was John touched by the master, he touched the master. It was John who rested his head on the master's bosom. Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of his disciples whom Jesus loved.

This account of Jesus' earthly ministry is for one great purpose, that ye might believe. The record is presented of the Son of God. The word became flesh, who was sent by the Father for the redemption of mankind, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

What a beautiful account of our risen Savior. The central events are these, friends, discourses and events surrounding much of his last days, including six miracles which are unique to this gospel. The central figures are Jesus, John the Baptist, his mother, Mary, Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and the disciples and Pilate.

The central verse is found in chapter 20 and verse 31. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. And the central application is this, friends.

The key application for today's Christian believer is that our Bible is sound and the inerrant word of God. For if you believe Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. This entire Bible is a book about Jesus.

So, too, we will believe. If you have a friend who's not saved, hand him this gospel and ask him to read it. There's no better part of the Bible that you can give for evangelistic purposes.

Only heaven knows the many thousands who've come to Christ through reading this precious volume. One of the greatest statements in all the world is, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And one of the most horrifying statements in all the world is this, and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.