Reflections of the Beginnings of the Gospels - Essay Example

Introduction The bible contains various books written by different people who were influenced by the Holy Spirit. The New Testament however is quite simpler to read and understand. It was mostly written by the disciples of Jesus Christ who had a very close interaction with him during his time here on earth. The Gospels are written by various evangelists who tried to help people understand who Jesus Christ was and to believe in him as the Lord and saviour of the universe. (The Holy Bible, 1978) Mathew as an evangelist starts off by clearly elaborating on Jesus’ origin. In this case, he connects the Old Testament and the New Testament. In his Gospel, Mathew addresses a Jewish-Christian community where learning was quite prevalent. The evangelist in the Gospel of Mark is anonymous. He however takes a prophetic approach in trying to help the community believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord. He starts off by connecting to the scripture in Isaiah where the prophet releases a prophetic word to the nation of Israel. The Gospel of John takes a theological context. He does not start off like the other Gospels with Jesus’ genealogy. He describes Jesus’ story as absolutely divine. This paper therefore looks at the Gospel of Luke and specifically how the evangelist tried to help the community to believe in Jesus as the Lord and saviour. (The Holy Bible, 1978) The Gospel of Luke First and foremost the Gospel of Luke takes a world view that is quite different from the other Gospels. This is in the venture of trying to make the Gentiles community believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. Luke, a gentile writes Jesus’ story with a lot of eloquence. He specifically addresses the Gentile community in his Gospel. He starts off the Gospel by addressing Theophilus who was an official in the Roman Empire. In trying to put across the story of Jesus, he vehemently defends Christians and the Christian faith at large. It is very important to note that Luke assures his audience that they will get to know the truth about Jesus Christ as the Lord and saviour and even believe in him. (The Holy Bible, 1978) The Israelites story is actually continued in the Gospel of Luke. This is because the Gospel starts off by clearly elaborating on Zachariah’s story and his wife Elizabeth who was barren. It elaborates that though the two were righteous, they were childless. Other Israelites illustrated in the book are the likes of Anna and Simeon. There is therefore the connection of the church, Jesus’ ministry and the story of Israelites. The Gospel of Luke can therefore be described as that of continuity that is quite seamless in nature. This is unlike the Gospel of Mathew that was continuity from the Old Testament. The seamless continuity in the bible has three major periods. There is the period of the children of Israel when they were waiting for the promise written in the scriptures. There is then the period of Jesus that clearly shows the fulfilment of the promise that was being awaited for by the children of Israel. Finally, there is the period of the church where the new mission is unfolded. (The Holy Bible, 1978) When Luke starts writing his Gospel, he starts at the point of the church episode. In this case, he assures the Roman the official of the Roman Empire that the church has its foundation in the period of the fulfilment of prophesy. This is where Jesus was born and carried out his ministry on earth until his departure to be with the father. In this case, the Gospel of Luke is basically trying to make the leadership of the gentiles’ community to believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord and saviour of mankind. According to the Gospel of Luke, Judaism plays a role in the birth of Christianity. This is illustrated in the way he refers to the creator as the God of Jacob, Isaac and Abraham. He therefore traces the roots of Christianity in Judaism. Luke clearly shows that the founder of Christianity has his roots in the Jewish people. The Jewish people and Judaism have the mark of the covenant which is circumcision. He therefore makes it very clear that the early Christians were Jewish and any person that relates to tem had some form of concession with the Roman Empire. In this case, Luke is trying to make the community understand the origin of Christianity and believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord and saviour of the universe. (The Holy Bible, 1978) Luke puts it across that once the Christians failed to connect to the Jews then some of the favours accorded to them from the Roman Empire were denied. This included the protection provided by the empire. Some of the Christians failed to identify with the Jews because they never wanted to be involved in pagan worship and the Roman festivals that they felt were defiling. The initial chapters of the Gospel of Luke therefore connect Israel’s story to Jesus’ which is then connected to the church. In the venture to make the community believe in Jesus as Lord, Luke connects the story of old and new Israel. This starts of by announcing the birth of two important people who are John the Baptist and Jesus the messiah. The birth of John the Baptist is announced in the temple as Zachariah goes o minister as a priest. On the other hand the birth of Jesus is announced in Galilee, Nazareth. John the Baptist’s parents are introduced as Elizabeth who is old and barren while Zachariah is a priest. Jesus’ parents are Mary who is a virgin, young in age and Joseph who is a descendant of David. The son given in John the Baptist’s case is Zachariah’s silence while in Mary’s case is the pregnancy of her relative-Elizabeth. The book then shows Mary visiting her relative Elizabeth. On arrival, just as Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, the baby within her leaped and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth then refers to her as the ‘mother of my Lord’ while Mary praises the Lord for his greatness. (The Holy Bible, 1978) When the baby John the Baptist is born, many people rejoice over his birth and marvel at the Lord’s wonders. This is more so the relatives and the neighbours. On the other hand the shepherds and angels also rejoiced at the birth of Jesus Christ. It is essential to note that both John the Baptist and Jesus were circumcised and named on the eighth day after birth. In both episodes, the names of the children were given before hand by the angel. This therefore is a connection of the old Israel story and the new Israel story. (The Holy Bible, 1978) The evangelist in the Gospel of John also tries to make the Gentile community to believe in Jesus by explaining the story of the conflict in the temple. It was routine for Jesus’ parents to travel to Jerusalem for the Passover every year. At one time when they were returning they noticed that Jesus was not with them. They looked for him and found him in the temple after thee days. He was with the teachers asking questions and listened to what they had to say. His parents were not very happy with him. When his mother told him that they were searching for him he asks why they were searching for him and tells them- ‘didn’t you know that I had to be in my fathers’ house.’ This definitely indicated that God himself was his father and the temple of the Lord was his house. In this case the evangelist tries to convince the Gentile community that they need to believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord. (The Holy Bible, 1978) An overall analysis of the episodes shows that Elizabeth actually represents the aspects of the Old Testament. This is more so in relation to the children of Israel waiting for the fulfilment of God’s promises. This also shows the last period of the prophetic ministry. John the Baptist came first to prepare the way for the messiah. In fact he hesitates to baptise Jesus and says that it should be the other way round. That is, Jesus should be the one to baptise him. He also departs in death before Jesus’ death. Virgin Mary then represents the new Israel and a time span when prophesies that were made in the ancient time are fulfilled. (The Holy Bible, 1978) In the venture to make the community to believe in Jesus, the Gospel of Luke elaborates on how Jesus was presented to the temple. This actually connects the aspects of the law and the spirit in the scriptures. To fulfil the law, a sacrifice was offered during the presentation. It included two pigeons that were young. The aspects of the spirit are then released when Simeon utters prophetic praise when the baby was taken to the temple. The bible says that the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die before seeing the messiah. Just when he sees baby Jesus, he begins to praise the Lord. (The Holy Bible, 1978) He actually tells the Lord that he can now dismiss him in peace since he had seen the messiah. The prophetess Anna also spoke about Jesus when he was presented in the temple. The bible says God that He can dismiss him for he has seen the Lord. Anna was a widow who never left the temple but served God faithfully and carried out many prayers and fasting. She thanked God for Jesus and said that he was the one who was being awaited to carry out the redemption of Jerusalem. The illustration of these episodes is an effort by the evangelist to ensure that the community believes in Jesus as Lord. This is considering the fact that the Gospel gives clear confirmations of prophesies concerning the messiah. (The Holy Bible, 1978) This clearly indicates that Jesus Christ is truly the son of God as prophesied by the earlier prophets such as Isaiah. While in the Gospel of Mathew Jesus’ genealogy is traced to Abraham, the Gospel of Luke illustrates the evangelist’s theology by Prophet Simeon’s announcement. In this case the prophet shows that Jesus actually came to enlighten or to explicate various issues to the gentiles. In this case his aim was to remove some of the wrong perceptions that the Gentiles had about the kingdom of God. Conclusion In conclusion, the bible has various evangelists who try to convince the community that Jesus Christ is Lord. Mathew specifically addresses the Jewish-Christian community. Mark takes a prophetic approach in evangelising to the community. The Gospel of Luke takes a world view in addressing the Gentile community. The evangelist tries to persuade the community to believe in Jesus as Lord by having a seamless continuity where there is the period of Israel, Jesus’ period and finally the period of the church. The period of Israel was where they had to wait for the promise, later the promise is fulfilled in Jesus’ period and the third is the new mission. He therefore tries to show the foundation of the Christian faith. He connects the stories of the old Israel and the new Israel. This was through the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus. In all this he shows that Jesus’ birth was divine and a fulfilment of prophesies of the Old Testament. It is also confirmed in the gospel of Luke by Prophet Simeon and prophetess Anna. All this played a great role in helping the Gentile community to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. Reference: The Holy Bible (1978): New International Version; Exposition of the Gospel of Luke; Grand Rapid, Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers Read More

There is therefore the connection of the church, Jesus’ ministry and the story of Israelites. The Gospel of Luke can therefore be described as that of continuity that is quite seamless in nature. This is unlike the Gospel of Mathew that was continuity from the Old Testament. The seamless continuity in the bible has three major periods. There is the period of the children of Israel when they were waiting for the promise written in the scriptures. There is then the period of Jesus that clearly shows the fulfilment of the promise that was being awaited for by the children of Israel.

Finally, there is the period of the church where the new mission is unfolded. (The Holy Bible, 1978) When Luke starts writing his Gospel, he starts at the point of the church episode. In this case, he assures the Roman the official of the Roman Empire that the church has its foundation in the period of the fulfilment of prophesy. This is where Jesus was born and carried out his ministry on earth until his departure to be with the father. In this case, the Gospel of Luke is basically trying to make the leadership of the gentiles’ community to believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord and saviour of mankind.

According to the Gospel of Luke, Judaism plays a role in the birth of Christianity. This is illustrated in the way he refers to the creator as the God of Jacob, Isaac and Abraham. He therefore traces the roots of Christianity in Judaism. Luke clearly shows that the founder of Christianity has his roots in the Jewish people. The Jewish people and Judaism have the mark of the covenant which is circumcision. He therefore makes it very clear that the early Christians were Jewish and any person that relates to tem had some form of concession with the Roman Empire.

In this case, Luke is trying to make the community understand the origin of Christianity and believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord and saviour of the universe. (The Holy Bible, 1978) Luke puts it across that once the Christians failed to connect to the Jews then some of the favours accorded to them from the Roman Empire were denied. This included the protection provided by the empire. Some of the Christians failed to identify with the Jews because they never wanted to be involved in pagan worship and the Roman festivals that they felt were defiling.

The initial chapters of the Gospel of Luke therefore connect Israel’s story to Jesus’ which is then connected to the church. In the venture to make the community believe in Jesus as Lord, Luke connects the story of old and new Israel. This starts of by announcing the birth of two important people who are John the Baptist and Jesus the messiah. The birth of John the Baptist is announced in the temple as Zachariah goes o minister as a priest. On the other hand the birth of Jesus is announced in Galilee, Nazareth.

John the Baptist’s parents are introduced as Elizabeth who is old and barren while Zachariah is a priest. Jesus’ parents are Mary who is a virgin, young in age and Joseph who is a descendant of David. The son given in John the Baptist’s case is Zachariah’s silence while in Mary’s case is the pregnancy of her relative-Elizabeth. The book then shows Mary visiting her relative Elizabeth. On arrival, just as Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, the baby within her leaped and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Elizabeth then refers to her as the ‘mother of my Lord’ while Mary praises the Lord for his greatness. (The Holy Bible, 1978) When the baby John the Baptist is born, many people rejoice over his birth and marvel at the Lord’s wonders. This is more so the relatives and the neighbours. On the other hand the shepherds and angels also rejoiced at the birth of Jesus Christ. It is essential to note that both John the Baptist and Jesus were circumcised and named on the eighth day after birth. In both episodes, the names of the children were given before hand by the angel.

This therefore is a connection of the old Israel story and the new Israel story.

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