GOSPELS

 

There is a question as to the dates of when the Gospels were written and first published in particular the Synoptic’s.  It is known that the Gospels were first published during the apostolic age and the dates were pretty well established between 65-78 A.D.  It is evident they were written before the death of Paul.  The book of Acts was written before the book of Luke.  Scholars say that Luke had all his information on hand during the imprisonment of Paul at Caesarea.  It is also logical to assume that the books were written before the fall of Jerusalem.

 The Gospels are an account Jesus, of who He was, what He said and did.  The apostles were His best witnesses.  The birth of Jesus Christ was during the time of Herod the Great.  After the death of Herod, Palestine was divided up and ruled by his sons.  For example, it is clear from the gospels that Antipas was the ruler of Galilee and Perea and Pilate was the governor of Judea.

Jesus started out His ministry in the Jewish places of worship but after a time He went out to the wilderness to teach His disciples.  Jesus was an exile in His own land.  He knew from the very beginning what His work was.  He prepared His disciples to carry on His message after His death, burial and resurrection.  They were given the task of bringing His message to the world.

For the next few moments we will talk about the Christian concept.  It is the concept of the crucified and suffering Messiah which Jesus Himself taught during His earthly ministry,.  It was not on the minds of His disciples until He had risen from the dead.  It has been ruling since the writings of Paul.  The concept of the suffering Savior is not the invention of the church.  It was given to the church as a gift from the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no provision for the natural man in the teachings of the New Testament.  The needs of the church are a creation of Christ.  It is Jesus who gives the concreteness and definiteness to the Messianic concept.