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Matthew And John's Gospel

Decent Essays

Jesus is the central figure of Christianity. He was born in Bethlehem, Israel, about 2,000 years ago, and at the age of 30, He began His ministry which lasted 3 1/2 years. He gathered 12 disciples who followed Him throughout Israel as He went around teaching and performing miracles. Eventually His popularity and His views, which conflicted with the legalistic Jewish leaders of the time.

The story of Jesus as Christians know and tell it, comes from that part of the Bible called the New Testament. The first four books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are known as the “gospels,” meaning “good news.” They were all written between about 70 and 100 CE, about two generations after the death of Jesus, and are based on stories of Jesus, told and retold by his followers. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic gospels, because they present a “common view” of Jesus through many common sayings, parables, and events. Both Matthew and Luke seem to have used Mark’s gospel in writing their own accounts. …show more content…

The gospels come out of early communities still struggling with their identity in a Jewish context. The Gospel of Matthew, for instance, is most conscious of the debates within Judaism after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Although the gospels differ in their accounts of Jesus life and ministry, sometimes in significant ways, the early church did not blend them into one account, but preserved these four gospels, with their differences. Together they provide four views of the life and teachings of

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