Intro to the Gospels and Acts

With help from How to Read the Bible Book by Book and The ESV Study Bible. Highly recommended resources! Seriously, buy them and read them! Jesus of Nazareth is the unmistakable centerpiece of the biblical story. The Gospels make it clear that his significance lies not simply in his death, but also especially in his person, life, and teaching. Nonetheless, each evangelist (Gospel writer) in his own way demonstrates by way of narrative that the death and resurrection of Jesus are the high points of his story (fully one-fourth to one-third of each Gospel is given over to the events of the final week). The first three are synoptic (seeing Jesus through common eyes). Though Matthew and Luke use Mark in their telling of the Jesus story, they set out on their own individual paths, all telling the same story, but each with his own concerns and emphases for the sake of his implied readers. Lukes Gospel is unique in yet another way, because he narrates the story of Jesus in two aspects: First, his Gospel, as do the others, tells about what Jesus began to do and to teach (Acts 1:1); second, in the book of Acts, he tells how the story of Jesus continues, now through the power of the Spirit, in the ministry of the early church. Jesus of Nazareth is the Long-Awaited and Promised Messiah of the World The evangelists make it especially clear that you cannot understand Jesus without seeing how he fits into the Old Testament story that has preceded himas the climax and fulfillment of the hopes expressed almost from the beginning of the story. On the one hand, they all see Jesus as clearly fitting into the prophetic traditionby his mighty words, mighty deeds, and symbolic actions (e.g., cleansing the temple; cursing the fig tree)and so he is perceived by the crowds (Matt 21:46; Luke 7:16; 13:13). At the same time, all of them are writing from this side of the resurrection and know that he is none other than the expected Son of David (Mark 10:4748), Gods Son (Ps 2:7; Matt 3:17; 17:5; and parallels), who comes to his people as their King. One key to this aspect of their narratives lies with the Old Testament understanding of the role of the king in Israel, who is often seen both to represent God to the people and to embody the people of Israel in his own person. This can be seen especially in the book of Psalms and in the suffering servant songs in Isaiah 4253. It will be helpful for you as you read the Gospels to note how the evangelists tell the story of Jesus from this perspective. Take, for example, his baptism and the testing in the desert, where Jesus succeeds at the very places where Israel failed, as his own citations from Deuteronomy 68 make plain. Or take the discourse in John 15:18, where Jesus, picking up an image of Israel from the Old Testament (Ps 80:819; Isa 5:17; Jer 2:21), speaks of himself as the true vine and his disciples as the branches. And his death is clearly seen in light of Isaiahs suffering servant (Isa 52:1353:12), as the one who bears the sins of the people, thus both representing the people and drawing them into the story themselves. For each Gospel (and the book of Acts, too), the evangelist ties the story of Jesus to the story of Israel as the fulfillment of Jewish messianic hopes and expectations. Related to this, each Gospel was written at a time when Gentile inclusion in the grand story was in full swing; and rejection of Jesus by many of the Jews is often highlighted. The Kingdom Already but Not Yet Also related to their composition and relationships to one another, is the essential message about the coming of the kingdom (as already and not yet). Again, the message of the NT cannot be separated from that of the OT. The OT promised that God would save his people, beginning with the promise that the seed of the woman would triumph over the seed of the Serpent (Gen. 3:15). Gods saving promises were developed especially in the covenants he made with his people: (1) the covenant with Abraham promised Gods people land, seed, and universal blessing (Gen. 12:13); (2) the Mosaic covenant pledged blessing if Israel obeyed the Lord (Exodus 19 24); (3) the Davidic covenant promised a king in the Davidic line forever, and that through this king the promises originally made to Abraham would become a reality (2 Samuel 7; Psalm 89; 132); and (4) the new covenant promised that God would give his Spirit to his people and write his law on their hearts, so that they would obey his will (Jer. 31:3134; Ezek. 36:2627). As John the Baptist and Jesus arrived on the scene, it was obvious that Gods saving promises had not yet been realized. The Romans ruled over Israel, and a Davidic king did not reign in the land. The universal blessing promised to Abraham was scarcely a reality, for even in Israel it was sin, not righteousness, that reigned. John the Baptist therefore summoned the people of Israel to repent and to receive baptism for the forgiveness of their sins, so that they would be prepared for a coming One who would pour out the Spirit and judge the wicked. Jesus of Nazareth represents the fulfillment of what John the Baptist prophesied. Jesus, like John, announced the imminent arrival of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:15), which is another way of saying that the saving promises found in the OT were about to be realized. The kingdom of God, however, came in a most unexpected way. The Jews had anticipated that when the kingdom arrived, the enemies of

God would be immediately wiped out and a new creation would dawn (Isa. 65:17). Jesus taught, however, that the kingdom was present in his person and ministry (Luke 17:2021)and yet the foes of the kingdom were not instantly annihilated. The kingdom did not come with apocalyptic power but in a small and almost imperceptible form. It was as small as a mustard seed, and yet it would grow into a great tree that would tower over the entire earth. It was as undetectable as leaven mixed into flour, but the leaven would eventually transform the entire batch of dough (Matt. 13:3133). In other words, the kingdom was already present in Jesus and his ministry, but it was not yet present in its entirety. It was alreadybut not yet. It was inaugurated but not consummated. Jesus fulfilled the role of the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah 53, taking upon himself the sins of his people and suffering death for the forgiveness of their sins. The day of judgment was still to come in the future, even though there would be an interval between Gods beginning to fulfill his promises in Jesus (the kingdom inaugurated) and the final realization of his promises (the kingdom consummated). Jesus, who has been reigning since he rose from the dead, will return and sit on his glorious throne and judge between the sheep and the goats (Matt. 25:3146). Hence, believers pray both for the progressive growth and for the final consummation of the kingdom in the words your kingdom come (Matt. 6:10). The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) focus on the promise of the kingdom, and John expresses a similar truth with the phrase eternal life. Eternal life is the life of the age to come, which will be realized when the new creation dawns. Remarkable in Johns Gospel is the claim that those who believe in the Son enjoy the life of the coming age now. Those who have put their faith in Jesus have already passed from death to life (John 5:2425), for he is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). Still, John also looks ahead to the day of the final resurrection, when every person will be judged for what he or she has done (John 5:2829). While the focus in John is on the initial fulfillment of Gods saving promises now, the future and final fulfillment is in view as well. The already-not-yet theme dominates the entire NT and functions as a key to grasping the whole story (see chart). The resurrection of Jesus indicates that the age to come has arrived, that now is the day of salvation. In the same way the gift of the Holy Spirit represents one of Gods end-time promises. NT writers joyously proclaim that the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit has been fulfilled (e.g., Acts 2:1621; Rom. 8:916; Eph. 1:1314). The last days have come through Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:12), through whom we have received Gods final and definitive word. Since the resurrection has penetrated history and the Spirit has been given, we might think that salvation history has been completedbut there is still the not yet. Jesus has been raised from the dead, but believers await the resurrection of their bodies and must battle against sin until the day of redemption (Rom. 8:1013, 23; 1 Cor. 15:1228; 1 Pet. 2:11). Jesus reigns on high at the right hand of God, but all things have not yet been subjected to him (Heb. 2:59).