1. The Life of Jesus  The Quest for the Historical Jesus (1906, Albert Schweitzer)  4 canonical gospels (widely accepted by the early Christian community)  The Gnostic gospels (later stories, rejected) Earliest references to Jesus outside of the Bible: Josephus: Jewish Antiquities, 93 AD Tacitus: Annals of Rome,116 AD Historical summary outside the Bible: Jesus was a Jewish rabbi who was executed by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate for stirring up religious unrest in Jerusalem. Apocrypha: books not considered canonical by certain churches or denominations

2. New Testament Epistles (letters) The Gospels of the 4 evangelists : Matthew, Mark, Luke & John * Acts of the Apostles * Revelation 0-4 AD 30 31 33 66 70 100 AD Estimated birth of Jesus (Gregorian calendar) Jesus’ public mission begins Passion death resurrection ascension Pentecost Peter & Paul killed Rebellion & destruction of Jerusalam Matt Mark Luke John Epistles Rev Widely used symbols for the 4 evangelists: man, lion, bull, eagle These are all Greek documents. Hellenized Judaism in a Hellenized Roman Empire.

3. Piecing Together Sources

4. Mark John Matthew, Mark and Luke have a lot of similar material. They are called the Synoptic Gospels. Matt Luke Matt and Luke seem to have had access to Mark’s gospel, so Mark’s is believed to be the oldest. Mark is also the shortest. Luke and Matt seemed to have added material to it. There are lots of sayings of Jesus that both Matt and Luke has that Mark doesn’t. Scholars imagine it as the “Q source”. That makes Mark and an imagined Q as the oldest sources. John’s gospel seems to be completely independent of the other 3.

5. The of Jesus in the Gospels I.Jesus’ Mission begins a. At 30 years old (Lk 3:23) travels from his home-town of Nazareth in Galilee b. At the River Jordan, he is baptised by John the Baptist (Mt 3:13; Mk 1:9) c. He goes into the desert or wilderness to face the devil's temptation (Mt 4:1; Mk 1:12; Lk 4:1) d. At the River Jordan, Jesus calls his first five disciples (Jn 1:35). e. Jesus returns north to Galilee with his disciples and at a wedding in Cana, changes the water into wine first recorded miracle (Jn 2:1) II. Ministry and Teaching in North (1 year in synoptics – 3 years in John) Teaching, healings, exorcisms, prophecies, forgiveness of sins, Kingdom of God, Son of Man, repent (judgment and end times are coming) III Jesus Comes to Jerusalem for Passover (Last Supper) Enters a celebratgy (Palm Sunday). Within a week  crucifixion. The passion and death of Jesus makes up a large portion of the Gospel narrative.