Christian Scriptures

The New Testament

Is revelation because it tells us what God wants us to know about Jesus through the words written by inspired writers

It contains Jesus’ words, actions, and his meaning for people.

It is a record of faith of the first Christians

Christian Scriptures

Divided into FOUR SECTIONS:1. Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke

and John2. Acts of the Apostles: describes

early Christian life3. Epistles: a series of letters4. Revelations: the only prophetic

book in the New Testament

Christian Scriptures

Christian scripture contains 27 books that we refer to as the canon, meaning rules.

These books are regarded as authoritative for Christian faith and life.

Christian Scripture

The GospelsThe word gospel means “good news”The first four books of the New

Testament– Matthew, Mark, Luke and John– tell the good news about Jesus and his ministry

Synoptic activity

Synoptic Gospels

The word synoptic means “with the same eye” or “seeing together”

Matthew, Mark and Luke present the basic story of Jesus in similar ways, including the order of the material, the stories told, the sayings of Jesus, even using many of the same words in parallel accounts.

For this reason they are called the Synoptic Gospels.

Synoptic Gospels

Synoptic Gospels“Q” is short for “Quelle,” a German word

meaning “source”Defined as the “common material” found in

Matthew, Mark and Luke“Q” is material which represents a written

collection of saying of Jesus

Q

SYNOPTIC

GOSPELS

On the other hand, while the Gospel of John sometimes resembles the other three Gospels, it tells the story of Jesus in significantly different ways, including a different order of events, different perspectives and points of emphasis, and with its own unique vocabulary and style.

Synoptic Gospels: John

John

Mark wrote the first Gospel shortly before 70 C.E.

The Gospel was written in RomeIt was written for a gentile (non Jewish)

audienceIt is the shortest of the four gospelsIt narrates the ministry of Jesus and

concentrates particularly on the last week of His life.

Mark

Much of the Gospel of Matthew is based on the Gospel according to Mark

It was written shortly after 70 C.E.It was probably written in Antioch, the

capital of the Roman province of SyriaIf focuses on how Jesus fulfilled Jewish

prophecies It is a written collection of sayings of Jesus

and a source of Church history

Matthew

This Gospel was written between 70 and 90 C.E.

Luke is a Syrian from Antioch (in present day Turkey)

The authors were highly literate in Hebrew Scriptures

Continues the biblical history of God’s dealings with humanity found in the Hebrew Scriptures, showing how God’s promise to Israel have been fulfilled in Jesus

This gospel has a special emphasis on prayer, the activity of the Holy Spirit and joyfulness

Written as a historical account of Jesus’ earthly ministry and the church after Jesus’ resurrection

Luke

This Gospel is quite different in character from the three synoptic gospels

It contains many details not found in the other gospels

It was probably written around 90 C.E.It is highly literary and symbolicThis Gospel urges people to reject false

teachings and focuses heavily on Jesus’ miracles

John