Understanding the Gospels

The Gospels are roughly divided up into Jesus’ teachings and narratives, and so it would seem appropriate to follow the principles already set out for epistles and narratives respectively. Indeed, this is true, but the Gospels offer us a few additional challenges, born out of their nature.

For example, where the teachings of Paul, Peter, James etc. were written down by the authors themselves, the words of Jesus were not written down by Jesus himself. In fact, Jesus’ native language would most likely have been Aramaic, and so the fact that the Gospels were originally written in Greek means that his teachings have already been interpreted for us. What’s more, there are 4 of them, each written by a different author, each with a unique perspective on Jesus and his significance. Together, these two factors combine to force us to consider the author of each Gospel (the evangelist), their context, their personality, their interests etc.

Let’s consider an example. Church tradition suggests that Mark’s Gospel records Peter’s memoirs, and that it appeared in Rome shortly after Peter’s martyrdom. It was initially received by the church in Rome, who were then facing the prospect of great suffering at the hands of the Romans. In this light, Mark’s repeated descriptions of the Messiah as being Isaiah’s Suffering Servant¹ are significant in suggesting to the suffering church in Rome that they should expect suffering, for their Master did. Similarly, Luke was a Gentile, and so much of his message is given over to explaining that the Messiah/Christ was equally significant for Gentiles as for Jews.

Another complication is that the contents of the Gospel were not recorded as they happened, but were instead most likely passed down as individual stories and sayings. As a result, many of Jesus’ sayings and teachings were transmitted without context. The evangelists, under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit, placed them in the contexts in which we now have them. In doing this, they usually followed one of two practices:

• The teaching was placed adjacent to narratives illustrating the teaching.
• The teaching was placed in a group of similar teachings. Matthew in particular seems to have followed this practice, with 5 groupings of teachings: life in the Kingdom²; instructions for ministers of the Kingdom³; parables of the Kingdom at work in the world⁴; teaching on relationships and discipline in the Kingdom⁵; and the consummation of the Kingdom⁶.

Some things to remember when reading the Gospels:

• Think horizontally: Consider the parallel accounts in the other Gospels. The point here is not to ‘flesh out’ the account being considered, but rather to get a feel for the distinctive characteristics of the Gospel you are looking at.
• Think vertically: Consider the passages both before and after the one you are looking at to get a feel for context in which the evangelist has placed it.
• Target audience: Jesus frequently switches between talking to his disciples, to the crowds, and to his opponents. You need to be alert for the evangelist’s clues as to when this has taken place.

Jesus made use of many different teaching methods:

• Parables: (More on this in the next section.)
• Hyperbole: e.g. Mt 5:29-30.
• Proverbs: e.g. Mt 6:21; Mk 3:24.
• Similes & Metaphor: e.g. Mt 10:16; 5:13.
• Poetry: Mt 7:6-8; Lk 6:27-28.
• Questions: Mt 17:25.
• Irony: Mt 16:2-3.

Most of these have already been covered in the notes on psalms, wisdom literature and prophecy. The main exception is parable, which we glossed over in the notes on prophecy, but will consider in more detail here.

Understanding parables

Since parables are such a significant (and frequently misunderstood/misapplied!) I thought it important that we consider them on their own.

There are actually 3 types of parable:

• True parable: True parables are characterised by having a clear beginning and end, with some sort of ‘plot’ in between. e.g. the Good Samaritan⁷, the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and Lost Son⁸.
• Similitude: An illustration taken from every day life. e.g. the Yeast in the Dough⁹.
• Metaphor: e.g. the Light of the World and the Salt of the Earth¹⁰.

The following comments mostly apply to true parables, although some will apply also to the other two categories.

The purpose of a parable is always to get a response. For this reason, it is very important to identify the people to whom the parable is directed – otherwise how will you understand the response that is being sought?

Each true parable has a number of points of reference, which are what the listener/reader is expected to identify with and hence be drawn into the story. Unless you first understand the points of reference, you will not understand the impact of the unexpected twist found in most parables.

For example, consider the story of the money-lender¹¹. The points of reference are the money-lender and the 2 debtors. These are expected to be identified with God, the woman and Simon respectively. Each of these people would have been expected to ‘see’ themselves in the story being told.

The process for reading a parable, then,is as follows:

1. Identify the points of reference
2. Work out how the original hearers would have identified with each of the points of reference.

Applying the Gospels

Again, applying the Gospels is a combination of the principles for application of epistles and narratives. For example, as for an epistle, we must consider cultural relativity. e.g. we are unlikely to be forced to go the “extra mile”¹², but we can readily identify comparable situations to which it might apply.

Some of Jesus’ imperatives (commands) seem to us a lot like law – and an impossible law at that¹³! This is a misconception. Jesus’ words are intended as a description of what our lives should be like because of God’s acceptance, not a formula for gaining entrance into the Kingdom.

When reading Jesus’ teachings and considering application, you need to pay attention to the surrounding narratives. As already mentioned, sometimes a story is included especially to illustrate a particular teaching. For example, the story of the Rich Young Ruler¹⁴ is not intended to teach that everyone needs to give away all of their possessions, but rather how difficult it is for the rich to enter heaven.

The final note about applying the Gospels (and in fact the entire New Testament) is this: they are drenched with the tension of the transition between this kingdom and God’s Kingdom. The coming of Jesus signalled the “beginning of the end.” We now live in a time where both kingdoms are present: the consummated Kingdom will bring full and free forgiveness, but this is not yet perfected¹⁵; we have victory over death¹⁶ and yet we will still die¹⁷; we can live in the Spirit, yet Satan still attacks us¹⁸. When we pray “Your Kingdom come,” therefore, it is first of all a prayer for the consummation of the Kingdom, but it also has implications for us today.

Further reading

• Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart, “The Gospels: One Story, Many Dimensions” and “The Parables: Do You Get the Point?” in How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (3rd Edition, Zondervan, 2003) pp. 127-162.

Endnotes

1. Is 8:27-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-45
2. Mt 5-7
3. Mt 10:5-42
4. Mt 13:1-52
5. Mt 18:1-35
6. Mt 23-25
7. Lk 10:25-37
8. Lk 15
9. Lk 13:20-21
10. Mt 5:13-14
11. Lk 7:36-50
12. Mt 5:41
13. Consider for example Mt 5-7.
14. Mt 19:16-30
15. Phil 3:10-14
16. 1 Cor 3:22
17. Phil 3:20-21
18. Eph 6:10-17