Four Portraits, One Jesus: A

Survey of Jesus and the

Gospels
Strauss, Mark L. 
Zondervan 

 
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62 notes/highlights
Created by LIndomar MOreira da Silva Moreira ​ ​ – Last synced June 23, 2019 
 
 

Part One: Introduction To The Four Gospels

Which of these pictures captured my son’s 19

personality?

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This little story is a good analogy for the New 19

Testament Gospels. Each of the four Gospels —
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — paints a unique
portrait of Jesus Christ.
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same Jesu 20

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unity 20

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unique perspectives 20

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diversity 20

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Matthew presents Jesus as the Jewish Messiah 20

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Mark portrays him as the suffering Son of God 20

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who offers himself as a sacrifice for sins 20

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Luke’s 20

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Savior for all people 20

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John 20

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Not only are the Gospels unique in their portraits of 20

Jesus, they are also unique in their presentations.
Mark is the most dramatic of the four, a powerful and
vivid story which grips the reader from beginning to
end. Matthew is the most structured of the Gospels,
crafted around five carefully ordered teaching
sections. Luke is the most thematic, with themes like
God’s love for the lost, the role of the Spirit, and
Jerusalem’s role in God’s plan resurfacing again and
again. John’s is the most theological of the four, with
more explicit statements concerning Jesus’ identity
and purpose. We should add that all of the Gospels
are all of these things — dramatic, structured,
thematic, and theological — but there are important
differences in emphasis

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Mark 20

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dramatic 20

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Identifying genre is essential for both interpretation 22

and application.

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To understand the Gospels, we must first ask, What 23

are we reading?

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What kind of documents are these and what sort of 23

information are they meant to convey?
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Are they historical accounts meant to pass on factual 23

information, or are they theological documents meant
to teach spiritual truths?

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The genre of the Gospels may be examined under 24

three headings: history, narrative, and theology.

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First 24

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they have a history of composition. 24

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Second 24

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they are set in a specific historical context 24

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Third 24

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they are meant to convey accurate historical 24

information.

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The fact that the Gospels are historical in this third 25

sense has profound implications for Christianity as a
religion

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As an essentially historical religion, Christian ity rises 25

or falls on the historicity of core Gospel events: (1)
Jesus’ words and deeds, (2) his death on the cross,
and (3) his resurrection, the vindication of his claims.
As the apostle Paul wrote with reference to Jesus’
resurrection, “If Christ has not been raised, our
preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Cor.
15:14). For Paul, as for the Gospel writers, the
historicity of these events confirms the truth of
Christianity.
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While all four Gospels are concerned with the same 25

historical events — the life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ — they present different versions of
these events.

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Viewing the Gospels as narratives provides important 25

insights into their literary and theological distinctions

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They are theological documents written to instruct 27

and encourage believers and to convince unbelievers
of the truth of their message

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In summary, we can classify the Gospels as historical 28

narrative motivated by theological concerns.

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Scholars sometimes distinguish between the kerygma 28

— the essential “preaching” of the message of
salvation — and the didache — the “teaching” of the
 Gospel traditions about Jesus.

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Narrative criticism is interested not in this editorial 79

process but in the literary nature of the text itself,
how it functions to produce the desired effect on the
reader.

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As we have seen in chapter 1, the Gospels may be 79

described as historical narrative motivated by
theological concerns

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Part Two: The Setting Of The Gospels

. A survey of the political, religious, and cultural 112

changes that took place during this period is essential
for understanding the world in which Jesus lived and
the birth of the New Testament.

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Over 42,000 returned with Zerubbabel to rebuild the 113

temple (Ezra 1 – 6). More followed with Ezra (Ezra 7 –
10), and Nehemiah later returned to rebuild the walls
of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1 – 6; c. 445 BC). The last of
the Old Testament books, Malachi, was written about
this time (c. 430 BC

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He founded Greek-style cities with theaters, public 114

baths, and gymnasiums and encouraged the
introduction of Greek customs and manners.

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Throughout the “civilized” (Roman) world, anyone 115

who could not speak Greek was considered a
barbarian

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Hebrew 115

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Greek 116

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Aramaic 116

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This linguistic homogeneity enabled the Christian 117

missionaries to preach, teach, and write in a single
language among the diverse peoples of the Roman
Empire.

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two rivals 117

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Though far from a perfect translation, the Septuagint 118

had a profound effect on the Judaism of the Diaspora
and on the origins of Christian ity:

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The LXX provided Hebrew senses to many Greek 118

words.

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doxa 118
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opinion 118

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In this way, the LXX became a powerful apologetic 119

tool for the early church.

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Most Old Testament quotations in the New Testament 119

are taken from the LXX

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parthenos 119

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Using the LXX, Christians could point to this Old 119

Testament text as evidence for the virgin birth of
Christ.

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When Antipater was killed in 43 BC, a power struggle 125
ensued between Antigonus, the son of Aristobolus II,
and Antipater’s two sons, Herod and Phasael. Phasael
was captured and committed suicide, but Herod fled
to Rome. There he appealed to the Romans for help
and was appointed king of Judea.

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Historians mark this event as the end of the Roman 126

Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire, the
transfer from rule by the Senate to rule by a supreme
emperor

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Herod was a strange mix of a clever and efficient ruler 126

and a cruel tyrant

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Miriamne 126

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conspiracy 126

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The Hero-dians mentioned in the Gospels (Mark 3:6; 128
12:13) were Hellenistic Jewish supporters of the
Herodian dynasty, who favored the stability and
status quo brought by Roman authority.

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intestinal cancer. 129

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This is the Herod of Jesus’ public ministry 130

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The cost of maintaining the vast Roman Empire was 135

enormous, and Rome imposed a variety of taxes on
its citizens, from direct poll and land taxes to indirect
tolls or customs on goods in transit

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Both Paul and Peter were probably martyred under 137

Nero.

June 20, 2019