Week 2: Introduction to the Gospels

Introduction to the Gospels

What is the Gospel?

• What does the word "Gospel" mean? "Good news"
  • Ⲉⲩⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲓⲟⲛ: "Good News"
    • Ⲉⲩ: "Good"
      • Eulogy = Good word
      • Euphoria = Good feeling
    • ⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲓⲟⲛ: "Message"
      • ⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲟⲥ is just the Greek word for "messenger"
      • God's messengers were spirits, so now the word for them is Angels
    • Related words
      • Evangelist - writer of a gospel
      • Evangelize - to preach a gospel
  • The Gospel was a message before it was a book or a genre
  • First one to use the word was St Mark in Mark 1:1
    • "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God"
• Importance of the Gospel to the Orthodox Church
  • We put it on the altar, read it in every liturgy, adorn it in gold, kiss it, etc.
• What 
does

the

The wordFour "Gospel"Gospel mean?Accounts

"Good news"

• How many gospels are there? 
  • OneWe say four gospels, but it is really one Gospel recorded by four people separatelyseparately. It's the same "good news" that they are all sharing.
  • This is why we say "The Gospel according to..." in the Liturgy
  • Also seeSt Irenaeus (ormakes the argument that the Gospels must be exactly four in Against Heresies Book 3 Ch 11 Sec 8

"It is itnot Ignatius?)possible who talks aboutthat the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number 4than andthey howare. itFor, representssince thethere are four cornerszones of the world in which we live, and four principal winds, while the Church is scattered throughout all the world, and the "pillar and ground" of the Church is the Gospel and the spirit of life; it is fitting that she should have four pillars, breathing out immortality on every side, and vivifying men afresh. From which fact, it is evident that the Word, the Artificer of all, He that sits upon the cherubim, and contains all things, He who was manifested to men, has given us the Gospel under four aspects, but bound together by one Spirit."

• Are four gospels really needed? Why not one gospel?
  • Irenaeus continues his remarks in the same passage

"As also David says, when entreating His manifestation, 'You who sits between the cherubim, shine forth.' For the cherubim, too, were four-faced, and their faces were images of the dispensation of the Son of God. For, as the Scripture says, 'the first living creature was like a lion,' symbolizing His effectual working, His leadership, and royal power; 'the second was like a calf,' signifying His sacrificial and sacerdotal order; but 'the third had, as it were, the face of a man,' - an evident description of His advent as a human being; 'the fourth was like a flying eagle,' pointing out the gift of the Spirit hovering with His wings over the Church."

"And therefore the Gospels are in accord with these things, among which Christ Jesus is seated.
For that according to John relates His original, effectual, and glorious generation from the Father, thus declaring, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' Also, 'all things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made.' For this reason, too, is that Gospel full of all confidence, for such is His person."

"But that according to Luke, taking up His priestly character, commenced with Zacharias the priest offering sacrifice to God. For now was made ready the fatted calf, about to be immolated for the finding again of the younger son."

"Matthew, again, relates His generation as a man, saying "the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham;" and also, "the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise." This, then, is the Gospel of His humanity; for which reason it is, too, that the character of a humble and meek man is kept up through the whole Gospel."

"Mark, on the other hand, commences with a reference to the prophetical spirit coming down from on high to men, saying, 'the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is written in Isaiah the Prophet,' pointing to the winged aspect of the Gospel; and on this account he made a compendious and cursory narrative, for such is the prophetical character."

• • The gospels themselves are represented by the Four Incorporeal Creatures
    • Matthew - Face Like a Man - He started his gospel with the Genealogy of Christ
    • Mark - Face of a Lion - Starts his gospel with "a voice crying out in the wilderness" and focuses on Christ's might
    • Luke - Face of an Ox - Starts his gospel with the priesthood of Zechariah, talks about Christ who offered Himself for the salvation of the whole world by the blood of His sacrifice
    • John - Face of an Eagle - Starts his gospel with the heavenly "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and Word was God" - and proves Christ is Son of God in his gospel
      
      
  • The Redeeming work of Christ is also Christ is also represented by the four creatures
    • Man - Incarnation of Christ
    • Calf - His Sacrifice on the Cross for our Forgiveness
    • Lion - Power of His Resurrection
    • Eagle - His Ascension
      
      
  • The gospels work together to give us the full picture of Christ from several different angles:
    • Matthew: Jesus is the Messiah
    • Mark: Jesus is the Son of God
    • Luke: Jesus is the Savior of the World
    • John: Jesus is the Logos
      
      
• When were they written?
  • All of the Gospels were written in the 1st Century. Starting with Matthew, then Mark, then Luke, then John. That's why we have that order. The Early Church Tradition is that Matthew wrote his gospel first, then Mark and Luke, then John was last.
    
    
• What languages were they written?
  • Matthew's Gospel was most likely originally written in Hebrew and then translated by him into Greek. We don't have any Hebrew fragments or manuscripts of it, but we think this for some reasons:
    • It was directed to the Jews... so it makes sense it was in Hebrew
    • He, himself, was formerly a Jew and a tax collector so he would be most fluent in Hebrew
    • The Early Church Fathers seem to know for certain that he wrote it in Hebrew
      • Jerome (On Illustrius Men Ch 3)
      • Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3:1)
      • Origen (quoted by Eusebius Book 6 Ch 25 Sect 4)
  • Mark, Luke and John were all written in the Greek Language
    
    
• Why were they written?
  • Matthew wrote his gospel in Hebrew during the time Peter and Paul were out preaching - very early on.
  • When Peter and Paul were martyred, St Mark and St Luke wrote their gospels
    • St Mark was a relative of St Peter and his gospel is generally believed to be the written account of the gospel that St Peter preached (we even see in 1 Peter 5:13 that St Peter acknowledges Mark as greeting the reader). So when St Peter was martyred, it was likely then that St Mark wrote his gospel. He probably did not know that Matthew had written a gospel.
    • St Luke was a close associate and physician of St Paul. The gospel he recorded is the gospel that St Paul was preaching. St Luke was also close to St Mary (he wrote her icon) which is why he has such details like the annunciation of the birth of John and the annunciation of Christ in his gospel. So when St Paul was martyred, it was likely that then St Luke wrote his gospel. He probably did not know that Matthew and Mark had written gospels.
  • St. John wrote his gospel last. He did not write it to replace the other three gospels - in fact, the Fathers tell us that he knew that the other gospels existed and he supported them and agreed with them... but he felt they were missing some things. For example, they are missing what Christ did at the very beginning of His ministry. They are also missing some of the long theological dialogues that Christ had. They also didn't document some things simply because everyone knew them! Like the Raising of Lazarus - why would Matthew Mark and Luke leave something so important out of their gospel? Because everyone already knew about it! But by the time of St John maybe some people had forgotten, or he recognized the importance of writing it down... so he did. His Gospel also aimed to give a more theological understanding of Christ - so for example, from the beginning in Ch 1 he mentions this idea of "Lamb of God" and then during the Crucifixion makes it a point to say "during the slaughtering of the lambs for Passover" - so he is making links here for the reader to understand.
• Synoptic Gospels vs Gospel of John
• When

were

The theyGood written?

What languages were they written?

Who is the target audience of each Gospel?News

• Also the relationship to the four incorporeal creatures

What is the "Good News" that these Gospels are preaching?

• The Messiah has come, was crucified and buried, and then rose from the dead and granted us eternal life by faith in Him and participation with Him in the sacraments

How did the disciples spread this "good news" in the New Testament? How did Christianity get so big?

• To the Jews they went to Synagogues, heard the Old Testament reading and preaching, and interpreted it according to the NT
• To the Gentiles, they were attracted by the level of virtue, the bravery of martyrdom, etc.

Characteristics of the Four Gospels

Gospel According to St. Matthew

• Nickname: Meticulous Matthew
  • He loves giving details

Gospel According to St. Mark

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Gospel According to St. Luke

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Gospel According to St. John

•