Lesson No. 3 THE FOUR GOSPELS

KEY WORD—“CHRIST.” KEY VERSE—John 20:31 KEY PHRASE—“A FOURFOLD PICTURE OF CHRIST.”

NAME, NEW TESTAMENT. Means the “New Covenant” of grace which God made with man in Jesus Christ, in contrast with the Old Covenant of law given through Moses.

NAME—GOSPEL. Means God’s message of salvation through Jesus Christ, and when we speak of The Gospel according to Matthew we mean Matthew’s story of salvation.

WRITERS—The gospels were written by the men whose names they bear, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

ORDER OF THE GOSPELS— While some scholars think that Mark’s gospel was written first, yet many others agree that they were written in the order that they stand, with Matthew as the Genesis of the New Testament, containing within itself the beginning of all New Testament truths.

SYNOPTIC GOSPELS—The first three are called synoptic gospels, because they give the same general view of the life and teachings of Jesus, in contrast with the fourth gospel which deals especially with the divinity of Christ, and the deep spiritual meaning of gospel facts.

PURPOSE—To give a picture of who Christ was, how He wrought, and what He taught, how He died to save us from our sin, and how He rose again for our justification.

THE WORLD PREPARED FOR CHRISTIANITY—The gospel could never have spread with the speed it did, but for three important world-wide events.

1. The conquest of the world by Alexander the Great, and the spread of the Greek language, which made it possible for the gospel to be preached in a language which was understood in every land.

2. The rise of the Roman Empire, with its good laws, and well-organized government, which offered protection to those preaching the gospel.

3. The scattering abroad of the Christians, through persecution in Palestine, which spread their influence over the known world, and made their meetings rallying places for those who longed for something better than paganism. We thus see how providence prepared the way for grace to triumph.

Great Fact I -- Christ as King of the Jews.

Great Fact II -- Christ as the Servant of Yahweh.

Great Fact III -- Christ as the Son of Man.

Great Fact IV -- Christ as the Son of God.