Read through the Bible in one-year, reflections part IV

In a “read through the Bible in a year plan,” for the New Testament, we will likely be reading in the Gospels. 

#1 Each Gospel is about Jesus. Note how each Gospel starts by turning the spotlight onto Jesus in its own distinctive way. Matthew 1:1, “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Mark 1:1, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Luke 1:1-3 “Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.” John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” 

So right off the bat, when reading in the Gospel, a good question to ask is who is Jesus in the portion I just read? 

#2 There are Four Gospels. Many analogies have been made for the idea of Four Gospels but one Jesus: one musical score but different instruments playing, or one piece of music but four stereo speakers. There will be something we read in one Gospel, and it will move us in a particular way. We may run into that same teaching in another Gospel, and it will impact us in a different way as it is told in a slightly different way. Over repeated readings of the Gospels, we will be drawn to it in different ways. Using an art analogy, repeated viewing of a masterpiece will reveal new beauty each time. Using a music analogy, repeated listening of a masterpiece will reveal new beauty each time. 

#3 In Matthew, the kingdom of heaven (kingdom of God in other gospels) is a big feature of Matthew. On one hand, the kingdom of God is at hand but also, Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, “thy kingdom come.” From this, we get the idea of the kingdom is “already and not yet.” The kingdom teachings are particularly given in the five extended teaching sections of Jesus:

1. The Sermon on the Mount as the constitution of the kingdom of God (Mt. 5-7) 
2. The kingdom personnel on mission (Mt. 10) 
3. The parables describing the kingdom (Mt. 13) 
4. The relationships in the kingdom (Mt. 18) 
5. The near future (probably fulfilled in AD 70) and final future of the kingdom (Mt. 24-25) 

Keep reading! 

Soli Deo Gloria!