JESUS THE CHRIST  (Ca. 5 B.C-A.D. 30)

The Coming of the Messiah

“All is now ready for the most important event in human history.  It is an event planned even before the creation of the world.  it is the keeping of a promise made to Abraham over 2000 years earlier.  It is the fulfillment of a host of prophecies regarding a Messiah who would come to establish his kingdom.  Most importantly, it is the beginning of a dynamically new relationship between God and man.  The event is the coming of the Savior of the world, the Messiah — or, as referred to in the Greek, the Christ.

This Christ is not to be just another leader or great man of God, he is to be God himself in human flesh!  The Lord of heaven is to become a servant of the earth.  God, who has previously made himself known through a nation and a law, is now to reveal himself in the most personal way possible — in the form of a man.  Until now God’s blessings have been reserved mostly for a chosen people, but now they are to become available to all people in every generation.

Who is this Christ, this Messiah?  His name is Jesus.  His symbolic name, Immanuel (meaning ‘God with us’) signifies his deity.  He is man, to be sure, but God as well; and he is God — the God of Creation — but man as well. 

As the New Testament record now begins, the scriptures proclaim the good news about the salvation of mankind which comes through obedient faith in Jesus Christ.”

The Gospel Accounts

“Although secular history attests to his ministry and influence, the details of Jesus’ life were never preserved in an explicitly biographical form.  What is known about the historical Jesus comes primarily from the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — four of Jesus’ disciples. 

The Gospel accounts vary in the order in which the record of Jesus’ ministry is presented.  Each account was written by a different author, each having a unique perspective.  Each writer also focused upon different events, either because he was writing primarily to a particular audience or because he wished to achieve a particular purpose in his writing.

What follows is a combination of the four Gospel accounts with an integration of the recorded events as nearly as possible in their proper chronological sequence as previously indicated, any such attempt necessarily involves a degree of speculation, because it is simply not revealed when certain events actually occurred.”

Introductions by the Gospel Writers

Read: Mark 1:1

“Mark’s account begins simply, introducing the reader to the good news about Jesus the Christ which is about to be told.  That good news is beautifully summarized by John in a prologue to his account.”

Read:  John 1:1-18

“In his own introduction, Luke writes to a man by the name of Theophilus in order to provide a more complete narrative of the life and work of this incarnate Word, Jesus the Christ, and of the things accomplished by Jesus’ followers.”

Read:  Luke 1:1-4

All quotations taken from The Daily Bible.