My Father's House Spiritual Retreat Center at 39 North Moodus Road, Moodus, CT 06469 US - THE FOUR GOSPEL IMAGES OF JESUS

In the 18th, 19th and 20th Chapters, we have the passion and death of Jesus. In the 20th chapter we have Jesus rising to new life. And in the 21st chapter, He sends Peter and us forth to take care of His sheep. We are to be fishers of men.

Mark’s Image of Jesus

Mark’s image of Jesus is that Jesus is the suffering servant who goes to the cross. That is his main theme, his Christology, if you will. But Mark has a secondary theme, that of discipleship. A disciple for Mark is one who carries his cross as Jesus did. Mark wrote his Gospel for the Gentiles in Rome. His key verse was that even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for men (10:45). Mark was probably the first gospel written. The other gospels quote all but 31 verses of Mark. Mark records more miracles than any other gospel. In Mark 1, Jesus says, "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news."

In Mark 2, after healing the paralyzed man, he promised that a time will come when the bridegroom will be taken and on that day the disciples will fast. In Mark 3, He selects His twelve disciples. Mark 4 is the parable section of Mark. He tells the parable of the four soils, the parable of the growing seed, the parable of the mustard seed, and ends up by quieting the sea which causes the apostles to exclaim, "Who is this? Even the wind and the seas obey Him."

In Mark 5, he casts demons into a herd of pigs, heals the bleeding woman and restores a girl to life. In Mark 6, he sends out the twelve apostles, feeds 5,000, and heals all who touch him. In Mark 7, he teaches about inner purity and begins His ministry beyond Galilee healing many people.

In Mark 8, he feeds the 4,000 and warns against wrong teaching. Then Mark beings to etch a literary cross. He restores sight to a blind man and three times predicts His passion, but each time one or more of the apostles are blind to the principle of the cross. So three times in three different ways, Jesus gives the principle of living a crucified life. First, he says if anyone would come after me, he should take up his cross and follow me for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the Gospel will save it. What profit is it for man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?"

Right in the midst of these passion predictions, He is transfigured before Peter, James, and John to prepare them for the passion. The second principle of the cross he gives after they were arguing on the way about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first he must be last and the servant of all." He took a little child, put him in front of them and said, "Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

In Chapter 10, after teaching about marriage and divorce, blessing little children and saying to the rich young man go sell everything, he then predicts his death for a third time only to be misunderstood by James and John who want to drink the cup that He drinks in order to sit at His right and left. Once again, Jesus calls the apostles together and He says, "You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Thereupon, Jesus heals a blind man for the second time. By coupling the three passion predictions and the three principles of the cross between two healings of blind men, Mark shows us that only by a life laid down by humility and service can we be healed of our spiritual blindness.

In the 12th chapter, Jesus confronts the religious leaders. In the 13th chapter, he tells about the future. "Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come using my name and saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed, this is something that must happen, but the end will not be yet. For nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes here and there; there will be famines. This is the beginning of the birth pangs. Be on guard... When you see the disastrous abomination set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must escape to the mountains.... And if anyone says to you then, ‘Look, here is the Christ’ or , ‘Look, he is there,’ do not believe it; for false prophets will arise and produce signs and portents to deceive the elect, if that were possible. You therefore must be on your guard. I have forewarned you of everything. But in those days, after that time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, stars will fall from the sky, and heavenly bodies will be shaken.. At that time, people will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory; then too he will send the angels to gather his chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the ends of heaven." He cautions that no one knows about that day or hour, so be on your guard.

In the 14th chapter is the Passover and the beginning of the Passion In the 15th chapter Jesus is crucified. In the 16th chapter, He rises from the dead, and He appears to the apostles to give them the great commission: "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover." After he said this, he was taken up into heaven.

Luke’s Image of Jesus

In the Gospel of Luke, the storyline is that Jesus is a man of the Spirit. Luke, the doctor, really wrote two Gospels: Luke and Acts; and what he shows is that what the Spirit did in Jesus and in Luke, He does in the Church, his body, as explained also in Acts of the Apostles.

Luke is also a gospel of prayer. Four liturgical prayers are taken from the early chapters of his gospel: the Hail Mary, the Benedictus, the Magnificat, and the Nunc Dimitis. It is also the gospel of women. Luke very often introduces first the man and then a woman. We find this in the case of Simeon and Anna, Zachariah and Mary, the twelve apostles, and the group of women that accompanied Jesus (8:2), the good Samaritan and the female counterpart, Martha the single prayerful woman, Mary, and the single disciples. Jesus also teaches us to pray in Luke by giving us the words to the Our Father.

What the Holy Spirit does in Jesus. In Luke’s gospel, the Holy Spirit first baptizes Jesus. The heavens split open, the Father’s voice is heard saying, "This is my beloved Son", and the Spirit descends like a dove. In the Acts of the Apostles, the first thing that happens is that the whole Church, 120 strong, is baptized in the Holy Spirit and the Spirit descends as tongues of fire. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus goes around proclaiming the kingdom of the Son of God, healing, casting out evil spirits, and forming a community of men and women who will follow him. In the Acts of the Apostle, the early disciples also cast out evil spirits, heal the sick and form communities of men and women who will follow the lord.

In Luke 4, we have Jesus’ inaugural address. After being led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted for 40 days and 40 nights, He returns to Nazareth where He reads the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon us because he has anointed me to preach the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recover sight to the blind, to proclaim the year of the lord’s grace." This is what the apostles will also do in Acts of the Apostles. In Luke 5, Jesus says to Simon after the miraculous catch of fish, "Do not be afraid, from now on you will catch men."

In Luke 8, Jesus tells the parable of the four soils, describes his true family and calms the storm. In Luke 9 and 10, he sends His apostles out and gives His authority to drive out all demons, to heal the sick and to preach the kingdom of God. He calls the apostles to a simple lifestyle. In Luke 10, he appoints 72 others and sends them two by two to every town and place where He was about to go.

In Luke 11, He teaches us the Our Father and about the light within. In Luke 12, He speaks against hypocrisy and warns us not to worry. "Therefore I tell you, do not be worried about life, or about what you will eat or what you will wear. Seek first the kingdom of God and these will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid little flock. Your Father knows what you need. No; set your hearts on his kingdom, and these other things will be given you as well. Sell your possessions and give to the poor, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be."

In Luke 13, he calls the people to repent, heals the crippled woman, and gives parables about the kingdom of God comparing it first to a mustard seed and then to yeast that a woman took and mixed with flour. He warns us to make every effort to enter through the narrow door because many will try to enter and will not be able to do so.

In the 14th chapter, He heals a man of dropsy, teaches us not to seek honors, and tells the story of the great banquet in which many were invited but did not come. In the 15th chapter, he tells the wonderful stories about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son, telling us there is more joy in heaven over the one sinner who repents. In the 16th chapter He tells the story of the shrewd manager, teaches us about divorce and tells us about Dives and Lazarus the beggar.

In the 17th chapter, He teaches us to forgive seventy times seven, heals the ten men of leprosy, only one of whom was grateful. In the 18th chapter, He teaches us about the necessity of praying and not giving up, and tells us of the parable of the widow, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector who respectively exalted and humbled themselves and tells us the wonderful story of the rich young man who is asked to sell everything.

In the 19th chapter he heals Zacchaeus and tells the parable of the stewards that were given 5,000 and 1,000 talents. In the 20th chapter, He challenges religious authorities, and in the 21st chapter, he commends the widow’s mite before foretelling the future. In the 22nd chapter, we have His passion, and in the 23rd chapter, He is crucified and dies. In the 24th chapter He is raised from the death and appears before the two disciples on the road to Emmaus before appearing to his disciples in Jerusalem. He ends up by saying, "Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

Acts of the Apostles. Unlike John, who has Pentecost arriving on Easter Sunday evening, in Luke’s account it does not occur until 50 days later. But then all that the Spirit did in Jesus, He will now do in the apostles.

Matthew’s Image of Jesus

Matthew wrote a highly Jewish gospel, primarily to the Jews of his day. He divides his gospel into five parts because the Jewish torah was written in five books. Matthew was a Jewish tax collector who became one of Jesus’ disciples. This gospel forms the connecting link between the Old and New Testaments because it is the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies. The key verse is, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them" (5:17).

Special features: Matthew is filled with Messianic language such as Son of David and 57 Old Testaments quotes and 76 other references. Matthew’s purpose was to show that Jesus was the long-awaited and foretold Messiah of the Jewish people.

One of His great themes is that Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God. Matthew begins his Gospel with a long genealogy. This is to show that Jesus was the son of David and the son of Abraham.

In Matthew 1, Jesus fulfills the prophecy about the virgin being with child who brought forth a son called Emmanuel, which means God with us (Isaiah 7:14). In Chapter 2, he fulfills the prophecy that Jesus to be born in Bethlehem, (Micah 5:2). Also in this chapter the prophet Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled: Rachael weeping for her children because they are no more (Jer 35:15). John the Baptist came as "a voice of one calling in the desert" (prepare ye the way of the Lord) (Is 11:43).

In Matthew 5, 6, and 7, Jesus gives His beautiful Sermon on the Mount teaching them primarily about the eight beatitudes and the Our Father, as well as about fasting, money, worry, criticizing others, and the narrow way to heaven. He also teaches them about the wise man who built his house upon the rock.

In Matthew 8 He heals the man with leprosy and the servant boy of the centurion, as well as Peter’s mother-in-law and many others. He calms the storm and sends demons into a herd of pigs.

In Matthew 9 He heals the paralyzed man, eats with sinners at Matthew’s house, heals the bleeding woman and restores a girl to life. In Matthew 10 He sends out the twelve apostles and prepares them for persecution. In Matthew 11 He teaches about the kingdom of God. In Matthew 13 he gives the parable about the four soils, the parable of the weeds, the parable of the mustard seed, the parable of the yeast, the parable of the hidden treasure, the parable of the pearl merchant, and the parable of the fishing net.

In Matthew 14 He feeds the 5,000 and walks on water with Peter. In Matthew 15, He teaches about inward purity and sends a demon out of the girl before he feeds the 4,000. In Matthew 16, He changes the name of Peter and builds His church upon Peter the rock. In Matthew 17 He is transfigured. In Matthew 18 He tells us that we have to become like little children. He gives a beautiful teaching on fraternal correction telling us to first go to our brother and speak with him.

In Matthew 19 he confronts the religious leaders. In Matthew 20 he gives the parable of the land owner who went out early in the morning to hire men for his vineyard before going out again and again and saying, "You also go." Matthew 21 is his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Matthew 22 is the parable of the wedding feast. In Matthew 23 he warns the religious leaders. In Matthew 24 he prophesied about the end times. Matthew 25, he tells about the final judgment.

In Matthew 26 He shares the Passover as the last supper with His disciples. Matthew 27 is His passion and death. Matthew 28 is his resurrection and the great commission.