Hi, guys!
What is the Christian Gospel? I’ve decided to explore here like a journal, so I’ll add my new thoughts and date them as I go, most recent at the top of the journal section of this page. Feel free to scroll down to the bottom for an introduction to this bit, and join me on the Kiwichurch Facebook page if you’d like to ask questions or challenge me in conversation: I’m usually up for a good debate, and I’d love to see you there.
Okay, for starters: I need to share a few thoughts about the Bible, by way of explanation. If you want to bypass the technical stuff and get straight to finding out more about who Jesus was through my dated posts, feel free to scroll down to the next section. But these details do set the scene quite nicely for when Jesus came.
Any comments or questions? You can also join us on the Blog post: The Christian Gospel from a kiwi perspective
The Bible: what’s it all about?
The Christian Bible is divided into two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament has 39 smaller books gathered together, including such gems as Genesis, which has the Creation of the world and the connection between God and humanity before and after things started to get a bit messed up.
Our ‘Old Testament’ includes the first five books, which describe God’s connection with humanity, including his calling of Abraham, who was the forefather of both the Arab nations and of Israel, and his outworking with Israel later. This is an important foundation of Judaism, called the Torah. The Old Testament also includes a number of other books about Israel’s history, poetry, proverbs, and prophecy. King David was a great singer/song-writer: amazing how inspirational a lyre can be.
Christianity comes from Judaism, as Jesus himself was a Jew, which is why we include a lot of Hebrew writing in our Bible too: hence our ‘Old Testament’. It was written before Jesus, by a number of authors, and covers times about 400-2000 BC, and beyond.
The New Testament was written after Jesus, and has 27 books. The first four books are the ‘gospels,’ written by four different authors, which are basically written as testimonial biographies: accounts of the experience of Jesus’s life, death and resurrection. The followers of Jesus, shortly after these events, passed it on (the old ‘gossiping the Gospel’) by word of mouth, and eventually people decided to write things down: finally pulling the different bits together in more full biographical accounts.
Why are these called the ‘Gospel’? The word is from an old English word, ‘godspell,’ which means, ‘good news’. And it is: great news. But why? Join me and find out.
22/1/16 Hope
Jesus – according to Matthew
The first book in the New Testament, the part of the Bible about Jesus Christ, is considered to be written by Matthew: one of the twelve followers of Jesus.
Let’s see what Matthew has to say!
The book, like any decent sized book, has chapters – so I’ll direct you to these as I throw myself in there. The chapters are also divided, for our convenience, into verses – because there’s a lot of information – so I’ll refer to those too. I’m not going to do a comprehensive Bible study as such – if you want to search things out more extensively, go for it: study away, and let us know what you find! But my style here will be evocative.
Right – let’s do this.
What comes first, in Matthew? Ah, yes, of course: one of my favourite parts of the entire Bible. It all starts here: but why? Because, after a lot of anticipation, the time has finally come.
It’s Christmas.
Chapter 1 verse 18 – it begins! The birth of Jesus Christ. This section, right here, has inspired an enormous amount of writing, art, poetry, singing, across the ages, across different cultures: and has inspired good will, good gestures to our neighbours, or to people in need, gifts, for friends and family – but why? Where did it all come from?
Here, have a look: a remarkable thing took place, according to Matthew. Mary was found to be pregnant by the Spirit of God. Okaay…That’s a big deal. Is that even possible? What do you think? Is there a God capable of bringing about a miraculous conception? And, if so, what does that mean for the identity of the child?
That would make him literally the Son of God.
But what god? The Old Testament sets the scene for this: tells us of one God, the Creator of the World. Is he good? Is he powerful? What kind of person will his Son be?
What is his name?
Mary is told, in verse 21, to name him: ‘Jesus’. Jesus is the same name as ‘Joshua’. Both Jesus, and Joshua, mean: ‘The Lord saves.’
The Lord – God, who is well above us, our Creator, the one who existed before us. ‘I am.’ Jesus/Joshua, in Hebrew, Yeshua: ‘The Lord saves.’
Good news: God has sent his Son to save us. But save us from what? From disease? From famine, or natural disaster? From war? From death? From ourselves?
Do we need to be saved? Do we need a God, outside of ourselves, to intervene: to transcend the limitations of our own humanity? Do we need Jesus Christ?
What do you think?
Matthew tells us, Jesus is born. Wise men, following a bright pointing star, come to visit him from the East: they give precious gifts to the ‘King of the Jews’. King Herod, in Jerusalem, feels threatened: he tries to kill him. Mary runs with Joseph, her husband, and Jesus, away from her own land, to Egypt. Jesus is, for a time, hidden, far, far away.
But soon, in the book, he will return to Israel. And what will happen then? What will that mean, if anything, for the rest of the world?
What kind of man this child will grow into? What will this man, said by his mother and angels to be the Son of God, actually have to say? Are there some answers for us to be found here? Is there a hope beyond the limitations of our own humanity: a hope relevant for the entire world?
I’ll be back to explore the next chapters in Matthew, and also to see your thoughts. Write a comment here on the blog post, or join us on the Kiwichurch Facebook page to have a conversation: I’d love to hear from you!
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Until next time!
Michelle.
Introduction: 2016
Okay, guys – I’m pretty excited about this: I’ve decided to walk through the New Testament gospels, the accounts of Jesus, and translate into our terms. I’ll be adding to this page.
I’ll share my own Christian perspective of Jesus: you are free to do with it what you will. I’m not sharing out of the scholarly authority of a theologian, (though I do have three theology papers with Carey Baptist College 🙂 ), or the designated authority of an ordained priest, nor am I trying to displace either one: rather, I am seeking to translate what I have already gained from these.
If you want to study the Bible, go for it, and tell us what you find! I’d recommend a good Study Bible from any Christian bookstore, and maybe a concordance: I found these resources really valuable when I was searching for God.
For my part, I ‘grew up’ in my Christian journey with the NIV Study Bible – so if I use quotes, it will be from this. But my style here will be to evoke: for me, Christianity, and Christ, are at their heart deeply spiritual.
Join me! Share your thoughts along the way. Let’s do this together, as we do life together.
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Pull up a chair, and a coffee/tea/hot chocolate (beer? 🙂 ), and let’s see what Jesus has to say.