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John writes his gospel to present the life of Jesus so that unbelievers will come to faith in him, believers will grow in their faith in him as the Messiah, and the Son of God descended from heaven.

In John 1:1-18, John announced that the incarnation of Jesus, when the light broke into the darkness, was a new beginning. The Gospel of John has uses contrasting concepts and themes such as light and darkness (1:4-9), love and hatred (15:17-18), from above and below (8:23), life and death (6:57-58), and truth and falsehood (8:32-47) among others.

John 1:19-12:50 follows Jesus’ ministry. Jesus spent most of his time ministering to people in different areas, especially around the time of Jewish feasts, which took on special importance because of the way in which he related his own work to what the feasts signified. However, his own people still did not recognize him. John 7:37-39

John the Baptist and Jesus’ first disciples recognized Jesus as the Messiah from above. Jesus performed his first sign in Cana and later returned there to perform his second. Meanwhile, several important events introduce some of the dramatic changes Jesus brought to the world. In chapter 5, Jesus performed a sign and faced conflict in Jerusalem regarding his relationship with his father.

In chapter 6, Jesus’ signs and teachings in Galilee correspond to Israel’s experiences of Passover, crossing the sea and receiving manna during the exodus of Egypt. Jesus performed signs and taught in Jerusalem around the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. Many still rejected him. Jesus revealed himself as Israel’s shepherd, but he was rejected in John 10:22-42. Jesus entered Jerusalem, performing signs and disclosing the reality of his future death and resurrection. Gentiles generally admired him, but only a few Jews received him.

In his last days, Jesus focused on ministry to his disciples, preparing them for his departure by serving, comforting, and praying.

Jesus’ death and resurrection were climactic events that show him to be the Messiah and the Son of God.

After Jesus’ death, his disciples, empowered by the Spirit, were sent forth, just like Jesus was sent by God, to evangelize and “bear much fruit”. After his resurrection, Jesus established an order in the church for future generations to follow. John’s Gospel presents Jesus as the Lamb of God who gave his life for his people. Although he died for his people, he did not leave them alone. Before his death, Jesus promised to make his home in their hearts through the spirit, who would bring peace and teach them all things.

Watching the movie The Gospel of John before reading the actual book was beneficial in visually being able to understand Gospel. It allowed me to better understand what John was saying and to be able to read through without stopping to reference what something meant. The portrait of Jesus as a Caucasian groomed man probably was not an accurate view of the real Jesus. However, it was interesting to see a directors interpretation of Jesus as well as the Bible’s stories of Jesus’ humanity and divinity. John’s use of contrasting themes made it very simple to understand what Jesus was speaking about. When you look at the Bible, with all its themes and parables, it really is rather simple to understand. Jesus’ repetitive questioning of Peter and Simon stood out to me. He openly asked them if they loved Him, to which they replied yes every time. Today, Christians are constantly being tested by the World to see if we will deny our beliefs in order to fit into societies mold. As Christians, if asked do we love and believe, we should answer with a resounding, “YES!”.

Luke, the author of Luke and Acts, openly reveals that he is writing his book based on research and not as a first person observer. Luke 1:3 says, “Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus.” The phrase “most excellent” seems to signify some type of knowledgeable, well respected, or high ranked actual person. Maybe even royalty. Luke identified his audience as Theophilus and his desire to write a reliable history of Jesus. Theophilus means “lover of god” so Luke could be writing to any believer. Whatever the case, what was directed to “Theophilus” is beneficial to ALL Christians.

Luke reported important events before Jesus’ public ministry began in Luke 1:5 to 4:13. He stressed that the roles of John and Jesus were intertwined. In the first half of Luke 3, there is a brief description of John’s interaction with the crowds. The second half of Luke 3, starting at verse 21, shows Gods intervention to bring salvation to his people through Jesus Christ. Luke’s gospel is the only Gospel that includes the songs of joy that accompanied the birth of the Messiah such as Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55 and Luke 1:68-79, as well as the angels rejoicing in Luke 2:14, and Simon’s song in Luke 2:28-32.

Luke described many events that took place during Jesus’ public ministry in the region of Galilee. He wrote that Jesus announced his ministry of proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor in Luke 4:21 when he said “and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” A Gentile himself, Luke wrote about these events to show how Jesus was deeply concerned not just with the Jews in Judea, but also with the Jews from all the tribes, as well as the Gentiles. Luke 9:1-6 tells of Jesus calling the twelve disciples and giving them the power to cast out demons.

When Jesus left Galilee, many things happened as he traveled toward Jerusalem. He taught crowds of people and performed many miracles. Luke stressed Jesus’ mercy as Jesus ministered to women, children and sinners, and he emphasized the cost of being Jesus’ disciple.

Luke reported how Jesus entered Jerusalem and faced conflict at the temple. In Luke 19:45-46 Jesus drove out moneychangers and sellers in the temple. The central religious institution of the Old Testament was the temple. Jesus declared that the temple would be destroyed because of the sins of God’s people.

Luke wrote about Jesus’ death and gave much attention to his resurrection in Luke 24:1-49. Jesus commissioned his disciples to be his witnesses once they had received power from above. Then they would preach repentance and forgiveness in his name throughout the world. Luke closed this volume of his history with the apostles praising God at the temple day after day in Jerusalem.

After reading several of the Gospels in their entirety, they all seem to run together and it is hard to distinguish what I facts, and events are from a specific Gospel. Luke’s gospel presents a wealth of information and reads much like a news article listing fact after fact. It was somewhat of a daunting task to read through and find pertinent information to write about, when everything in God’s Word is important one way or another. The Gospel of Luke provides a good look into the life of Jesus Christ, not only as a divine Savior, but also as a earthly man on a mission to spread the Truth.

Contrary to the order of the Bible, it is believed that Matthew was actually written after Mark and follows the basic outline of Mark. As part of the “synoptic gospels”, the Gospel of Matthew is similar to the Gospel of Mark. For example, Matthew 9:2-17 closely follows Mark 2:1-22. The purpose of the Gospel of Matthew is to inspire Christians to further the kingdom of God by presenting Jesus as the long-awaited King that fulfills the prophecies of the Old Testament. It was important to present Jesus as a “king” because the Jews were expecting their Savior to be a mighty ruler. The physical Jesus did not look like your typical king.

The Gospel of Matthew opens with the genealogy of Jesus. Matthew does this to show that Jesus comes from the “royal line” of Abraham. Jesus’ genealogy, birth and early childhood show that he is the long-expected Messiah. Matthew 1:18-2:23 documents Jesus birth and childhood. There is a large gap in the life of Jesus from infancy to his preaching years. However, God worked miraculously in Jesus’ early life to display him as the King of the Jews and Gentiles. This shows that Jesus was not just a Savior for the Jews, but for everyone who believed in Him, including the Gentiles.

In Matthew 3, John the Baptist announced that Jesus is the One who brings the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 4 documents the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness showed him to be deserving of his Messianic role. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount illustrated him as the divinely authorized lawgiver for the kingdom. The Beatitudes in Matthew 5 lay down laws and actions followers of the Kingdom of God should follow.

The works of the Kingdom are evident in Matthew 8 through 10. Jesus performed many miracles that displayed his power to establish the kingdom. He also called and sent out disciples to spread the kingdom. Jesus warned, in Matthew 10:17, however, that persecution and suffering would come to those who serve the kingdom of heaven. He told the disciples to be on their guard and to persevere and let the Spirit guide their tongues when questioned by the government.

In Matthew 11 through 13, Jesus revealed the nature of the kingdom to John the Baptist and to the Jews. His actions and words challenge the accepted expectations about the Messiah and his kingdom. Jesus offered numerous parables that explained that the kingdom comes over time and that all mist repent and remain faithful to Him to enter it. In fact, twenty-three parables were offered in the Gospel of Matthew starting in chapter 5 and ending in chapter twenty-five.

From healing of the sick in Galilee in Matthew 3 through the healing of the 2 blind men in Matthew 20, there are at least 11 instances or events where Jesus performed miracles. This does not include the miracle that God performed in resurrecting Jesus from the dead and bringing Him into Heaven. Jesus’ miracles demonstrated his authority as the Messiah. Many testified to his supremacy as they saw him performing great works. Jesus insisted that life under his kingship is different from life in other kingdoms. Jesus’ actions, parables and answers to challenges revealed that his kingdom brings remarkable changes in the beliefs and practices of God’s people. Jesus strongly condemned the religious leaders of Israel for their hypocrisies and warned of divine judgment.

Much of Matthew’s Gospel conveys authoritative teaching by and about Jesus. Jesus preached with fervor. He was the fulfillment of the Old Testament teachings and expectations. People listened to Jesus, which made the Roman Empire fearful of what this “Jesus” might be capable of with such a large following. Jesus was afflicted and died as the suffering King of the Jews, and he resurrected as the victorious King. Upon his death, he resurrected and revealed himself to his disciples and commissioned them to spread his kingdom to the ends of the earth. This was known as “The Great Commission”.

Matthew is one of my favorite books of the Bible because of all the information it records. One can learn about the birth of Christ, the death of Christ, his teachings, parables, and important “laws” of the church. To this day, I can clearly remember the parables that I was taught in Sunday School a decade ago using those cut-outs on the felt board. I would recommend the Gospel of Matthew to non-believers or new Christians, as it is an easy read and will provide them with a history and overview of what the Christian faith stands for. If you examine the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, you will realize that many of those same CHRISTIAN PRINCIPALS are basic moral standards now as well as policies in our Government.