Bible Course for the Laity - 2004, DVK, Bangalore

Full Reports on the Bible & Theology Course - 2004

Bro. Roy Desilva completed M.Th. at DVK, Bangalore. He then went to Jerusalem for biblical research. Bro. Roy is currently the Program Director of B.Th. His class was conspicuous by the fluency and clarity with which he handled the lessons.

Module-6 is a brief study of each of the four Gospels according to Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. It is arranged in five parts.

6.1   Introduction

"It is common knowledge that among all Scriptures, even among those of the New Testament, the Gospels have a special pre-eminence, and rightly so, for they are the principal witness to the life and teaching of the incarnate Word, our Saviour." (Dei Verbum, art.18)

"If you make my word your home,
you will indeed be my disciples,
you will learn the truth,
and the truth will make you free." (Jn 8:31)

The four Gospels are our primary and chief sources of information about Jesus' life, teaching, activity, and death. Jesus is the principal character of the Gospel story.

Yet, each Gospel brings out different aspects of Jesus' life and teaching in its own distinctive ways. The first three Gospels, namely, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are in many respects very close to one another in that they present a common picture of Jesus. They use the same titles such as 'Son of Man', 'Son of David', 'Christ' or 'Messiah', 'Son of God', 'Lord', etc. They recount many similar incidents and often in the same order.

The first three Gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke - are called Synoptic Gospels. These Gospels bear greater similarity to each other than any of these does to John's Gospel. The term 'synoptic' means seeing together or having a common perspective.

The Gospel according to John interprets the mystery of Christ in a different way. Thus, each Gospel has its own material, sequence, vocabulary, style, and theology, and are not copies of one another.

Each author is a creative theologian who offers a distinctive interpretation of the Christ-event. Each Gospel has its own theology to communicate to its readers. Each Evangelist as a literary artist has drawn a distinctive portrait of Jesus.

6.1.1 Gospels, not biographies of Jesus

No Gospel gives a complete and dispassionate account of Jesus' life, and his words and deeds. Yet, all Gospels give some historical data about the circumstances of his life, and his words and deeds. Gospels are documents of faith based on real historical events and written by believers for believers.

6.1.2 The 'Gospels' and the 'gospel'

There are four Gospels (stories) but only one gospel, one 'good news' (euangelion). Jesus is the gospel. In the New Testament, the 'gospel' is preached.

Therefore:

gospel = Jesus Christ

Gospel = One of the four Gospels (one of the four Gospels according to Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John)

6.1.3 Synoptic Problem

When Synoptic Gospels are arranged in parallels, there are striking agreements in content, sequence of events, language, and style. The "Synoptic Problem" is the question as to why the Gospels according to Mark, Matthew, and Luke are so similar in content, wording, and order of events.

This similarity is because the first Gospel - the Gospel according to Mark - was used as a source by Matthew and Luke.

The second part of Module-6 introduces the first of the Gospels - the Gospel According to Mark.

Module 6, Part 1   Module 6, Part 2   Module 6, Part 3
Module 6, Part 4   Module 6, Part 5
Bible Course Index   Bible Course Outline

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