Among the Scriptural testimony we have to the life of Jesus is the fourth Gospel, attributed to the Apostle John, which says that “he who saw it has borne witness–his testimony is true” (Jn 19:35); and “this is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things; and we know that his testimony is true” (Jn 21:24). Yet in its witness The Gospel of John is quite different in character from the three synoptic gospels. It is highly literary and symbolic. It does not follow the same order or reproduce the same stories as the synoptic gospels. To a much greater degree, it is the product of a developed theological reflection and grows out of a different circle and tradition. This is the first of a two-part study into the Gospel of John.

The Gospel of Luke is a unique gospel in that it has a follow-on book – the Acts of the Apostles – both books authored by St. Luke. His works comprise just about 25% of the New Testament. Luke is  a gifted writer, organizing his materials creatively and telling his story with clarity and artistic coloring. Dante called Luke the “scribe of Christ’s gentleness” because of his emphasis on Jesus’ mercy to sinners and outcasts. Some of the most memorable Gospel stories of divine mercy are found only in Luke (the widow of Naim, the prodigal son, Zacchaeus). This is the second of a two-part study into the Gospel of Luke.

The Gospel of Luke is a unique gospel in that it has a follow-on book – the Acts of the Apostles – both books authored by St. Luke. His works comprise just about 25% of the New Testament. Luke is  a gifted writer, organizing his materials creatively and telling his story with clarity and artistic coloring. Dante called Luke the “scribe of Christ’s gentleness” because of his emphasis on Jesus’ mercy to sinners and outcasts. Some of the most memorable Gospel stories of divine mercy are found only in Luke (the widow of Naim, the prodigal son, Zacchaeus). This is the first of a two-part study into the Gospel of Luke.

The Gospels of Luke and Matthew present two similar and yet different accounts of events surrounding the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. What were their purposes, reasons, and what accounts for the differing accounts?

This week we renew our “deep dive” into the Gospel of Jesus as we pick up the good news in Chapter 14. Jesus will begin to prepare his disciples for the time when He will not be among them, for the events that will unfold during Holy Week, and their mission to the ends of the earth.

The position of the Gospel according to Matthew as the first of the four gospels in the New Testament reflects both an older view that it was the first to be written and the esteem in which it was held by the early church. No other gospel was so frequently quoted in the non-canonical literature of earliest Christianity. Matthew presents his story of Jesus, the demands of Christian discipleship, and the breaking-in of the new and final age through the ministry but particularly through the death and resurrection of Jesus. In Part 1 of this study, we consider the first half of the Gospel of Matthew.