Teaching Notes are Bible studies we taught before GraceLife Ministries began publishing articles online in 1995. Some were presented as sermons, others as group studies.

Our hope is that these older studies will be a blessing to you in your life and ministry. Please use them in any way God leads you.

These teaching notes are from a series of studies about the Gospels. 

[These notes are from more than 45 years ago.]

The Gospels

The Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — explain the good news of Jesus Christ. They reveal the Person and Ministry of Christ to a world in desperate need of His salvation.

Two of the Gospel accounts — Matthew and John — were written by men who were disciples of Christ during His earthly ministry. The accounts of Mark and Luke were more historical in nature and relied on research and interviews with those who knew Jesus. Both Mark and Luke were companions of the Apostle Pau for many years. It’s believed both men also spent time with Peter and other Jewish apostles gaining information on the life of Christ.

Matthew wrote his Gospel account to the Jewish reader. Mark wrote to the Roman reader. Luke to the Greek reader. John to the entire world following the death of the other apostles and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.

The Gospel of Mark is believed by many to be the first written account of the life of Christ. However, there is a large school of scholarship that believes Matthew, and possibly Luke, wrote earlier. Whichever is true, the three are called the “Synoptic Gospels.” They present a common story of Christ’s life and relate substantially the same incidents in the life of Christ. The Gospel of John has 92% of its information that is new to the Synoptics.

The thrust of each Gospel account was to present Jesus in a way that would be meaningful to the intended readers. Matthew, to the Jew, presents Jesus as the prophesied Messiah from the Old Testament. Mark, to the Roman, presents Jesus as the miracle-working Servant sent from God to save the lost. Luke, to the Greek, presents Jesus as the Son of Man, the Perfect One who understands and meets the needs of the fallen human race. John, to all the world, presents Jesus as the Son of David, God who became flesh to show the Divine and His will for the lives of all mankind.

[Thank you for reading these teaching notes from more than 45 years ago. My prayer is they will be a blessing to you and your life and ministry.]

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