Study 4: What are the Gospels?

The Bible has four Gospels, which can be found in the New Testament. The word ‘gospel’ actually means ‘good news’, and the four books are named after their authors: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These books (manuscripts) were written and recorded by the men who had journeyed with Jesus, and as they aged, they knew there was a growing need for historical records to be made. (Normal stuff for the time and culture.)

The Gospels are incredible to read, as they are written by different men with different backgrounds and life experiences—but all focused on sharing who Jesus is and what he taught, based on their personal experience of him.

As you explore the Bible, you’ll find that the Gospels present many of the miracles of Jesus—things like healing the sick, the deaf, and the blind. Jesus even spoke over the bodies of people who had died, and life returned to them. The Gospels show Jesus as the Son of God, demonstrating his authority and power over the physical realm known to humanity.

The Gospels also show Jesus as God in the natural realm too—as he speaks to storms and high seas and calms them. He walks on water and feeds thousands from a simple packed lunch a young lad had to offer. Because Jesus is seen in the Gospels as God, some people wanted to kill him—this becomes especially clear when he starts forgiving people’s sins.

Jesus is also shown to be King over the spiritual realm. We see in the Gospels that he frees people from demonization, and even says to people, “Your sins are forgiven.” Once the community started to see Jesus working in the spiritual realm, they began to plot his death.

As the Gospels gather momentum, retelling the life of Jesus, they each describe Jesus’ journey to the cross and ultimately his crucifixion. Each account talks about his death—and his resurrection three days later.

Each of the Gospels explains why Jesus went on this rescue mission, and how he gave his own life for us—to sort out our sin.