1. The Gospels Chapter 2

2. Gospels Christians believe that because the Gospels were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they are exact factual accounts of the people and events they describe. Objectivity – the reporting of facts alone, without interpretation through a personal viewpoint.

3. Vocab Gospel – Derived from the Middle English work godspell which means Good News. Evangelion – the proclamation or announcement of good news Evangelists – proclaimers of the Good News. Gospels are the testimonies of faith. Religious Truth – the deeper meaning that God intends to reveal to people through historical events.

4. The Development of the Gospels Three Stages: Stage 1 – Jesus of Nazareth and His Disciples Stage 2 - The Disciples and the Early Community of Faith Stage 3 – The Early Community of Faith and the Evangelists

5. Stage 1: Jesus of Nazareth and His Disciples The Basic Facts - Jesus was born a Jew around the year 5 BCE in Bethlehem. He was raised in Nazareth and he was a carpenter. - At about age 30, Jesus began a public career of preaching and teaching. - Jesus’ preaching and actions stirred the people around him which made those in power bring him to trial and he was found guilty under Roman Law and was executed by crucifixion around the year 30 CE.

6. Stage 1 Continued: The Resurrection: The Pivotal Event The death and the resurrection of Jesus led the early Christians to believe that Jesus was more than just an extraordinary person. Without the resurrection of Jesus his followers would not have begun proclaiming that he was both the Lord and Messiah. Jesus’ resurrection made his whole earthly existence – all that he had said and done prior to this event – believable and acceptable as truth.

7. Stage 1 Continued: Christ – not Jesus’ last name. Yeshua – Jesus’ Hebrew name meaning “Yahweh (God) saves” or “Yahweh (God) is salvation. Christ – Annointed one. Christos – translation of Hebrew word Messiah. So to those Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah after his resurrection, he became know as Jesus the Christ which was shortened to Jesus Christ.

8. Stage 1 Concluded: The realization of Jesus as the Christ overwhelmed the disciples, and the whole of their experience of is life, death, and resurrection marks the first stage of the development of the gospels.

9. Stage 2: The Disciples and the Early Community of Faith What would you do? – Would you believe if you: listened to Jesus while he was preaching and healing people saw Jesus convicted and crucified on the cross his body placed in the tomb and finally him appearing before you with the holes in this hands, feet and stomach

10. Stage 2 Continued: Spreading the Word Near and Far: People began proclaiming his life, death and Resurrection to all people. In a matter of decades, the Good News of Jesus spread throughout the Roman Empire: from Palestine, to Egypt, Syria, Greece, Asia Minor and Rome.

11. Stage 2 Concluded: Words and Deeds to Remember: For several decades, this information about Jesus was shared primarily be word of mouth among the Christians developing what was called and Oral Tradition.

12. Stage 3: The Early Community of Faith and the Evangelists Jesus dies around the year 30 CE but it was approximately 40 more years before the first Gospel was written. Only after proclaiming the Good News and developing an oral tradition did the early Christians decide that the free-floating stories and words and teachings of Jesus should be collected into permanent records by the evangelists. The followers of Christ became known as the Church and they realized that Jesus was not going to return in glory as quickly as they had hoped.

13. Stage 3 Concluded The Need For Continued Instruction: The preservation of Jesus’ message for future generations and the need to instruct and inspire the already existing communities of faith was the final need for gospel writers to gather pieces about Jesus.

14. The Gospels: Four Portraits of Jesus The Development of the Gospels

15. The Gospels Chart: What Gospel Author When Written Audience Theme

16. Synoptic Gospels Synoptic – To see together Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke Synoptic Gospels – are similar so can be fully understood when seen or looked at side by side.