THE BIBLE

The Background of the Gospels

The Bible gives us four different accounts of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. Why so many? How God used different writers to reach different audiences.

Day One: Harmony of the Gospel
The "harmony" of the Gospels is the agreement of the four biblical Gospels. The four New Testament Gospels are like the singers in a four-part choir. They each have their distinct parts to sing, yet the parts combine to make a beautiful composition...
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See Also: "Are the Four Gospels Based on Eyewitness Testimony?"

Day Two: Four Gospels
Here are some reasons why God gave four Gospels instead of just one...
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See Also: "The Gospels and Modern News"

Day Three: The Synoptic Gospels
The Synoptic Gospels are the first three books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These three books plus John are called the "Gospels" because they chronicle the good news of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection—the basis of our salvation...
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See Also: "Can the Gospels be trusted?"

Day Four: Timing of the Writings
It is important to understand that the dating of the Gospels and other New Testament books is at best an educated guess and at worst foolish speculation. For example, suggested dates for the writing of the Gospel of Matthew range from as early as A.D. 40 to as late as A.D. 140...
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Day Five: The Gospels and Salvation
We must keep in mind that the Bible is intended to be taken as a whole. The books preceding the Four Gospels are anticipatory, and the books which follow are explanatory. Throughout the whole Bible, what God requires is faith...
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See Also: "Who Wrote the Gospels?"

Day Six: Jesus Alone
There are a number of times in the Gospels when Jesus' words are quoted or His actions are described during times that He was alone...How did anyone know what He said or did, since there were no eyewitnesses to what happened?...
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See Also: "Did eyewitnesses hallucinate their encounters with Jesus?"

Image Credit: Peter O'Connor; "GOC St Paul's Walden 0075: Stained glass in All Saints Church"; Creative Commons