Language Lab: What Are “the Gospels”?

Language Lab: What Are “the Gospels”?

Bible Blast: Read Galatians 1:11-12

Preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News! 1 Corinthians 9:16

Before we talk about “the Gospels” (plural), let’s define “the gospel” (singular). The gospel is referred to as the “Good News” in today’s Bible Blast verse. It is the story of Christ’s love for us. It’s talking about the basics of our faith: the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and our salvation in him. The Gospels (plural) are the first four books of the New Testament in your Bible. Those books are called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John because they were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. (That makes it easy, doesn’t it?) They are called “the Gospels” because they tell the story of Christ and how his actions can change the lives of people.

Each of these four authors walked with Jesus Christ when he was on the earth. They ate with him, traveled with him, listened to him speak, watched him die on the cross, and witnessed his resurrection. They knew Jesus personally, and each of them wrote a book about their experiences with him.

Each of the Gospels tells the same story of Jesus, but from four different people’s views. That doesn’t mean that one Gospel is more “correct” than another. It just means that all four men weren’t always in the same place at the same time, and they saw and noticed different things. For instance, when John writes about the Last Supper the disciples had with Jesus, he mentions that he lay back on Jesus’ chest. That’s something special John remembered from that experience. The other disciples may not have noticed or cared much about what John did that night, so they talked about other things that happened during the meal. The fact that leaning against Jesus had an impact on John is a big part of his understanding of the gospel. It made Jesus, the Son of God, personal to John.

You get to share the gospel too. You might never write a book like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but you can tell people about how Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection affects your life. The Good News is yours, too.

Girl Gab: Mom and Daughter, you need two pieces of paper and two pens. Now each of you silently write down five things that are in your kitchen. Tell each other what you wrote. You probably didn’t write the exact same things, but both lists are true, aren’t they? That’s how writing the Gospels was for Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.