Synoptic gospels include Mathew, Mark, and Luke. They are called so because they all agree on the life of Jesus. The gospel of Mark was the original one, and was written in 70 CE. Both Mathew and Luke copy their work from Mark’s gospel and they do so with a lot of consistency. In fact, they at times use Greek words. John’s gospel, on the other hand, has a little influence from Mark’s gospel. It is believed to have come from Luke’s gospel. Originally, the book of John was more Gnostic, but after Johan nine community split, the Gospel was worked on to remove the flavour of Gnostic.
The three synoptic gospels assert that Jesus was not truly divine. John’s Gospel comes out clearly that Jesus was both God, as well as pre-existing. Most of John’s work is unique as compared to the other three gospels. He adapted some materials from Luke. For instance, he speaks of post-resurrection appearance whereby Jesus tells his disciples to cast their nets and they catch many fish. Similar events happen in Luke’s gospel, but this occurs before his crucifixion. In Mathew, Mark, and Luke’s gospel, the true identity of Jesus is kept as a secret, and this puts Jesus in Pain. He fails to cleanse the temple until His mission comes to an end. This is the action that triggers both His arrest and trial. However, according to John’s Gospel, the temple gets cleansed immediately Jesus starts His Ministry. He does not hide His true identity. According to this gospel, Jesus is accused of committing blasphemy.
The Sermon on the Mount did take place (Matt 5: 1-7). During this event, Jesus talked of the Beatitudes whereby He explained the different people who, in God’s kingdom, are blessed. The miracles performed by Jesus help in reinterpreting the events that took place in the Old Testament. For example, when Jesus fed a great crowd (Luke. 9: 1-17), can be related to the story of Moses feeding Israelites with manna (Exodus 16:1-36). Both Moses and Jesus had miraculous powers. On the mount of Transfiguration, when Jesus was three of His disciples, He shone with bright light. Immediately, Elijah and Moses appeared next to Jesus and He spoke with them. Also, a voice came from heaven claiming that Jesus was the Son. The voice is believed to have come from God (Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36).
(b) Jesus miracles, birth and resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus confirms to Christians that Jesus was truly the person he claimed to be. First, it proved that He was divine (Rom. 1:4).Jesus deity was proved when He fulfilled the prophecy by dying on the cross and resurrecting. It further proved that Jesus was the true son of God. It also teaches Christians that Jesus had power to forgive sins (1 Cor. 15:17). According to this verse, when Jesus rose from the dead, He assured forgiveness, as well as eternal life to all those who receive salvation. Jesus resurrection also revealed that Jesus had power over death (Rom. 6-9). The resurrection also reminds us that Satan, God’s enemy was defeated. We should never fear death, and neither should we fear Satan.
The birth of Jesus means a lot to Christians. First, the prophecy was fulfilled that Messiah would be born. He also came to save mankind who would have otherwise received a curse following Adam’s sin. The angels were heard singing from heaven, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14. The birth of Jesus shows us the meaning of being pure. For example, He was born of Virgin Mary (Matt 2:18).
The miracles performed by Jesus Christ also teach us a lot of things. For instance, we realize that He was powerful in that He would perform extra ordinary things such as changing water into wine and feeding the large multitude. From the miracles, we also understand that all things are possible if we trust in God. We see an incidence when Jesus calmed the storm, and in yet another instance, he healed a blind man (Mark 14:46-52). The miracles teach us about faith. Christians need to have faith in God.
(c) Things done by Jesus
Jesus did a lot of things during his ministry. He performed miracles, taught his disciples a lot of things, among other important things. Jesus was able to overcome temptations by Satan, which is a great lesson to Christians (Matt. 4:1-11). Jesus changed lies of many people. For instance as he walked along the shore, he saw two men, Peter and Andrew, who later became his follows and preachers of the gospel (Mark 1:16-20). He also picked other disciples such as James and John. Jesus would go around Galilee preaching about God’s kingdom. He also cured people who had different kind of illnesses. For example, he healed a man who could not speak (Matt. 10:32-34).
During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his disciples the beatitudes. Here, he explained different kind of people who are happy, such as the poor in spirit, those who mourn the humble, pure in heart, among others. Jesus taught his disciples how to pray using the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus preached peace and rewards. He also performed miracles such as feeding the large crowd, walking on water, calming the storm, just to mention but a few. Jesus fulfilled the prophecy when he was born, reined, died, and resurrected.
Important to note is that all people did not appreciate what Jesus did. Some pagans and those who opposed Jewish criticized the miracles performed by Jesus of Nazareth. They argued that the miracles of Jesus and his disciples were as a result of magic. However, this was just mere criticism as confirmed by his death and resurrection. The Pharisees also accused Jesus Christ claiming that He failed to obey the Law of Moses. His disciples were also accused for failing to clean their hands before eating (Matt. 15:1-20). The Pharisees also questioned Jesus regarding the Sabbath. They accused His disciples of picking corns on the Sabbath (Mark 3:23-28)
(d) kingdom of God
Jesus Christ came to restore God’s kingdom in Israel. This kingdom was, however, different from the kingdom of David, or that of Solomon. By the term kingdom of God, Jesus meant a kingdom with spiritual glory. Jesus would be a king, dwelling among his people. The kingdom is found in those people who acknowledged that He was king, and those who would obey God’s commandments. Jesus kept on preaching, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 4:17). By this, he was speaking about himself. He said this to Pharisees who lacked the kingdom inside their hearts. He would say that the kingdom of God can be found in people’s midst (Luke 17:21).
The poor in spirit would enter the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God should be given to those who will make use of it. "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit" (Matthew 21:43). According to Jesus, the kingdom of God belongs to those who are poor in heart. It also belongs to those who get persecuted due to their righteousness (Matt. 5:10). Jesus also says that whoever breaks God’s commandments has no place in the kingdom of God. Therefore, the kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who obey God’s commandments. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus also said that we should pray that the kingdom of God comes to reign over us. The prayer was taught during the Sermon on the Mount. About the kingdom of God, Jesus asserted that it is not everyone who calls him Lord that will enter the kingdom. Those who will enter are those who do God’s will.
(e) Execution of Jesus
Execution was a form of punishment by the Romans. The punishment was imposed on slaves and those who were revolutionaries. Usually, during execution, a person would be stoned like in the case of Stephen (Acts; 54-60). It was meant to put to shame the accused. In the case of Jesus, he performed several miracle like raising Lazarus (John 11:45, Matt 26:1-5, Mark 14 1-2, Luke. 22:1-2). When people saw the miracles that Jesus performed, they tended to believe him, which annoyed the Pharisees. They feared that the Roman authorities would get angry and destroy their temples, as well as the whole nation. They felt that it was better to let one person die, rather than waiting until the whole nation is destroyed. The Romans thought that Jesus would only die for the Jews and not for them.
Therefore, Jesus was accused for being the king of Jews, which according to Christians was false accusation. According to Pilate and some Jewish leaders, Jesus would cause trouble both politically and religiously, which would destroy the Roman Empire by making Jerusalem God’s kingdom. Jewish messiahs would be described as Antiquities of the Jews. These were people who used religion to gain popularity. Roman officials would, however, deal with such people brutally. Jesus died along with two other men who were referred to as revolutionaries, bandits, or rebels. Pilate executed Jesus because he believed that Jesus was another political rebel who would cause havoc if not controlled early enough. Romans had experienced rebellions before they succeeded in appointing Pilate as their governor. This could be the reason as to why they supported that Jesus be killed because he was not Roman.
Conclusion
The discussion above teaches us that there are four gospels, which include Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. However, only the first three gospels are referred to as synopsis because they all agree on the life of Jesus. The discussion further drives us to the lessons learnt from Jesus birth, miracles and resurrection. For instance we learn the importance of faith and righteousness. The gospel teachings also reveal to us that Jesus was truly the son of God who had come to fulfil the prophecy. It has also been discussed that Jesus did several things such as healing the sick, teaching, and performing miracles. He taught of God’s kingdom and emphasised its importance. He said it was different from the Roman Kingdom. Finally, regarding Jesus execution, we realize that he was executed because Romans feared that He would take over their kingdom, both politically and religious. They did not know that He would die for them as well. In fact, they believed that Jesus would die for the Jews.
Work Cited
The New Jerusalem Bible (Doubleday) - ISBN: 0-385-24833-4
