Intermediate Information about the Four New Testament Gospels (Lesson 3)  Which NT Gospel contains five programmatic, long speeches, after which is a variation of “Now when Jesus had finished saying [or: instructing] …”? (Matthew; Mark; Luke; or John  Click for the next slide and the answer.

Which NT Gospel contains five programmatic, long speeches, after which is a variation of “Now when Jesus had finished saying [or: instructing]…”? (Matthew; Mark; Luke; or John)  Answer: Matthew 5-7; 10; 13:1-53; 18; (continue clicking for excerpts from the five long speeches)  (1) Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount begins with 5:1: When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2: Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…”  It ends with 7:28: Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, 29: for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Matthew’s Five Long Speeches continued (1)  (2) Matthew’s Sending of the Twelve Apostles begins with 10:1: Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples… 5: These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel…”  It ends with 11:1: Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.  (3) Matthew’s Teaching in Parables begins with 13:1: That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea… 3: And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow…”  It ends with 13:53: When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.

Matthew’s Five Long Speeches continued (2)  (4) Matthew’s Teaching of Church Discipline begins with 18:1: At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  It ends with 19:1: When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  (5) Matthew’s Discourse on Religious Leadership and the End Time begins with 23:1: Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; 3: therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it…”  It ends with 26:1: When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2: “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

Which Gospel contains a discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus about being “born from above”? (Matthew; Mark; Luke; or John) Answer: Answer:  John 3:1-21, which begins 1: Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2: He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God…” (continue clicking for excerpts from the Nicodemus discussion)  3:3: Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”  3:9: Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10: Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?...”

Which two NT Gospels contain stories of Jesus’ birth? (Matthew; Mark; Luke; John) Answer:  Matthew 1:18-25 & Luke 2:1-7 (continue clicking for excerpts from Jesus’ birth stories)  Matthew’s Story of Jesus’ Birth begins with 1:18: Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way… 19: Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.  Matt 1:20: But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit…”

Stories of Jesus’ Birth continued (1)  Matt 1:22: All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”  Matt 2:1: In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2: asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?”  Matt 2:16: When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.

Stories of Jesus’ Birth continued (2)  Luke’s Story of Jesus’ Birth begins with 2:1: In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2: This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  Luke 2:7: And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.  Luke 2:8: In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9: Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

Stories of Jesus’ Birth continued (3)  Luke 2:15: When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”  Luke 2:16: So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.  Luke 2:21: After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Which NT Gospel contains a story of the birth of John the Baptist? (Matthew; Mark; Luke; or John) Answer: Answer:  Luke 1:57-58 (continue clicking for excerpts from the birth of John the Baptist)  Luke 1:57: Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58: Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.  Luke 1:59: On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60: But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.”

Which NT Gospel contains a story of Jesus visiting the Jerusalem temple at twelve years of age? (Matthew; Mark; Luke; or John) Answer: Answer:  Luke 2:41-51 (continue clicking for excerpts from Jesus’ visit of the Jerusalem temple at twelve years of age)  Luke 2:41: Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42: And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival.  Luke 2:43: When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.

Jesus visits the Jerusalem Temple when twelve years old continued  Luke 2:46: After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  Luke 2:49: He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  Luke 2:51: His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52: And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

Great Work! In this lesson we have learned: 1)Five long speeches in Matthew end with “When Jesus had finished saying [or: instructing]…” 2)Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus about being born again is in John 3: )Only Matthew and Luke have stories of Jesus’ birth.

Summary continued 4)Matthew’s birth story has an angel appearing to Joseph, wise men seeing a star, and Herod ordering children under two to be killed. 5)Luke’s birth story has shepherds visiting Jesus in a manger and Jesus being circumcised on the eighth day. 6)Only Luke has a story of Jesus visiting the Jerusalem temple when twelve years old.

Congratulations! You have only Lesson 4 to complete in the Intermediate Lessons on the four New Testament Gospels. You are doing exceptionally well! May the force be with you!