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During August, the readings we shall be following in the E100 challenge are all from the Gospels.
Most of us probably have a picture of who Jesus was, and what he said and did, drawn from all the Gospels put together.
It might be helpful to think about each one in turn, and see the different approaches that each writer had.
They complement each other, of course, and give us a richer understanding than we would have if we only relied on one of them.
Three of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) are similar, in that they record the ministry of Jesus through his preaching and his miracles.
They are often called the Synoptic Gospels – they can be looked at together, and approach the life and work of Jesus from a similar angle.
Mark’s was the first to be written, probably in the fifties AD, and is the shortest of the Gospels.
It was written during a time of persecution instigated by the Emperor Nero, when there was danger of all eye witness accounts of Jesus’ life being lost.
It is full of swift action – Mark uses the word ‘immediately’ so often that the reader almost gets out of breath in the attempt to keep up with Jesus and his followers.
We don’t know who Mark was – traditionally he is identified as John Mark, whose mother had a house in Jerusalem which was used by the first Christians.
He was a great friend of Peter, and it is thought that much of his material came from him.
Matthew’s Gospel was probably written by a Jewish Christian, perhaps a decade after Mark wrote.
Jesus’ ministry is confined to work among the Jews, there are many references to the Jewish Scriptures, and Jesus is seen to be the fulfilment of prophecy.
Luke’s Gospel was probably written at about the same time as Matthew’s, but by a Gentile, Luke the doctor, who accompanied Paul on some of his journeys.
The writer is very interested in Gentiles and Samaritans, women are treated with great sympathy, and Jesus is shown as being gentle with the poor and outcasts.
Luke mentions the Spirit of God more frequently than the other two Synoptic writers, and prayer is given a prominent place in his writing.
This book forms volume one of his work, the second being the Acts of the Apostles.
Both Matthew and Luke quote from Mark, and they both use other common sources – it is probable that there were several collections of Jesus’ teaching in circulation in the early years of the Church’s life.
John’s Gospel is very different from the other three.
It was probably written later, perhaps the late eighties or nineties AD, and is structured very differently too.
It begins with a prologue introducing Jesus as the Word of God.
The Greek word ‘Logos’ translated as ‘Word’, means more than something spoken: it encompasses reason and thought, and also something accomplished.
Jesus’ whole life, in John’s Gospel, is a sign of God’s love in action, and some particular actions are actually referred to as signs: 2:11; 4: 56; 9:16; 11:47and 12; 37; all pointing to deeper truth.
The Gospel is full of contrasts between light and darkness, sight and blindness, and the long discourses in many cases interpret the words or actions of Jesus recorded in the other Gospels.
It might be a good use of a long summer afternoon or four to take a whole Gospel, read it through, and savour its particular contribution to what we know of Jesus.
Have you got any responses/ thoughts/comments on the E100 Readings? If so, please let us know - it would be good to publish them.