The Four Gospels Are Gospel
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Going straight to the Cross
My Bible's printer was right: the New Testament
starts at Matthew.
The Four Gospels Are Gospel
by J. Randal Matheny
On TheBible.net, someone asked in a forum
discussion if the four gospels are not to be
considered as a part of the old covenant, since
Jesus lived under the old law.
In the years after the first century, Christians
designated the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John as "gospels." It appears to capture a good
perspective for these books.
These four record a period during which Jesus and
his disciples lived under the old law. So the
history it records is pre-gospel. But they were
written in what is often called the Christian era
by Christians, probably for Christians, or, at
least, to familiarize non-Christians with the Lord
Jesus and his teachings and purpose for coming to
earth.
One big discussion in most circles has been for
whom the gospels were written, Christians or non-
Christians. In either case, the assumption has
been, correctly, that these documents are meant to
be understood within the context of the Christian
message.
Yes, elements of the old law appear there: Jesus
is a Jew, observes the Jewish feasts and laws, and
teaches in the temple and synagogues. But the
entire new covenant holds him forth as Savior,
Lord, and Example. Therefore, in order for us to
understand what he has done and taught, how he
saves us, in what way he is Lord, and in what
manner his life serves as our example, we need
these four gospels for our faith. They are, in
every sense, new covenant documents.
At the end of his work, John wrote, "... these
[signs] have been written so that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that
believing you may have life in His name" (20.30-
31, NASU).
Whoever "you" refers to (Christians, non-
Christians, or both), the object is clear: the
author of this book wrote with the purpose of
bringing people to faith -- or to strengthen
faith, depending on how one reads the Greek verb
here -- in Jesus as a part of the perfect
covenant. We may safely assume the same for the
other gospels.
That is why, to take another tack, the four
accounts devote so much space to the last week of
Jesus' life and, particularly, to his death. These
are no mere biographies, we have been rightly told
for so many years. These basic documents spell out
for us the true facts of the life, ministry,
teaching, and sacrifice of our Lord and Savior.
Since our belief is based upon the historical
truth of the person of Christ, these are basic
books for Christianity.
Christian books, these, through and through!
This question surfaces with more interest because
in recent years some people have attempted to
classify the four gospels as Old Testament in an
effort to exclude the teaching on marriage,
divorce, and remarriage from application to
Christian living today. This is a dangerous and
false teaching, for it appears to relegate what
Jesus did and said to an Old Testament
classification which can be ignored. Such a
position is so distant from the truth of the
gospel.
We can be sure: the four gospels are gospel. We
need them for our Christian faith, teaching, and
practice.
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