The Gospels are not just simple biographical books; rather they constitute a unique literary genre, developed within the early Christian communities.

In the Gospels we find a variety of types of materials:

• Pronouncement stories-other designations: conflict story (apoph-thegm), paradigm (chreia), or narratives, which center on a particular saying of Jesus; see examples in Mk 2, 11, and 12.
• Miracle stories describe the need, the act of healing, and the effect of healing.
• Discourses focus on particular themes such as the kingdom of God, the end-times, forgiveness, humility, or other human and divine qualities.
• Parables illustrate differentthe gos aspects of the kingdom of God, human character and response, etc.
• Passion narratives focus on the suffering and death of Jesus. The passion narratives provided impetus and encouragement to the church during trials and tribulations in the first century.

Each individual unit of material-pericope-should be the subject of the study.

The Synoptic Problem

• The reader should take into account the synoptic problem-similarities and differences between the Gospels-and the question of the sources behind the Synoptic Gospels. Most scholars today believe Mark and Q provide much of the materials for Matthew and Luke.
• In addition, Matthew and Luke present independent materials, materials found only in their respective Gospels.
• John uses a substantial amount of independent materials.
• John focuses more on the theological discourses of Jesus than on the biographical narratives.

Historical Record

The Gospels preserve an historical record of the life and ministry of Jesus; however, these historical records do not follow the modern scheme of history writing, such as clear and strict chronological sequence, balanced selection of materials, verbatim quotations, etc. The Gospel writers present a comprehensive history of the life and ministry of Jesus. In this effort, each writer was guided by his own particular purpose in writing. Materials are arranged in the Gospels, not necessarily to follow a chronological scheme, but to elaborate certain truths the writers wished to communicate to their readers.

Theology

The Gospels contain both history and theology. The Gospel writers were both historians and theologians. They interpreted for the Church what they understood as the purpose of Jesus’ deeds and words. When discrepancies are found in the synoptic accounts, look for the central theological truth or claim common to all three accounts. Discrepancies may be due to different versions of the same account or due to one writer’s own inspired interpretation of the account.

Culture

Understand the overall context of first-century Judaism and the Greco-Roman cultural and political setting of Palestine. This means a good understanding of the political, cultural, social, and religious forces that shaped the life of first-century Jews. Most New Testament surveys will provide introductory chapters on the setting of the New Testament. Two excellent sources for our understanding first-century Palestine are:

• Joachim Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus
• Eduard Lohse, The New Testament Environment

We need to know

• The Jewish attitude toward Rome
• The Roman attitude toward the Jews
• The influence of Greek culture on the Jews
• The religious convictions, influences, practices of Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, and other religious sects

Social conditions

• The place of the Temple, the Law, the synagogue, and the Sanhedrin in Jewish life

Context

As far as possible, attempt to establish the specific context of a particular teaching, or story about Jesus. This is more difficult to do since the Gospel writers have put together the stories and sayings of Jesus to accomplish their own particular objectives. However, the literary context-passages that precede and follow the text-provide an important clue to our understanding of the particular theological perspective of the writer.

Historical Context

We also need to evaluate the historical context of the writers of the Gospels and the communities they address through their writings. The Gospels address particular Christian communities and their particular needs:

• evangelism
• teaching
• worship
• discipleship
• persecution
• tension with Judaism
• political zealousness
• intense expectation of the imminent return of Jesus
• frustration with delay in the Second Coming
• false prophets and teachers
• influence of Gnosticism

The stories and teachings of Jesus reflect the conditions and concerns of the contemporary church in the second half of the first century. For example:

• Matthew addresses the emerging Church as the true Israel established on the teachings of Jesus the Messiah. The Gospel shows a particular concern about the Judaism of His day that rejected the gospel. The Gospel also is a challenge to the New Israel to preach the gospel to all nations.
• Mark presents Jesus as the Suffering Servant and the exalted Lord, to address the issue of true discipleship in the context of persecution carried out by emperor Nero.
• Luke attempts to present the gospel as a gospel for all humankind, the gospel of joy and peace God initiated through the coming of Jesus.
• John deals with the context of Jewish rejection of the Messiah, the growing influence of the disciples of John the Baptist, and the threat of the Gnostic heresy in the Church.

Because of the unique ways in which the various Gospel writers present the story of Jesus, we must “think horizontally and think vertically” as we read and interpret the Gospels.

Think horizontally means reading and interpreting a Gospel in light of the other Gospels, by noticing both similarities and differences. Two benefits:

• First, the parallel passages will give us an understanding of the uniqueness of each Gospel account/writer-compare Mt 24:15-16; Mk 13:14; and Lk 21:20-21.
• Second, parallel reading will help us understand how the same material was used by the church in different contexts/settings-compare the setting of the Lord’s Prayer in My 6:7-13 and Lk 11:2-4.

Think vertically means to read and interpret a Gospel taking into account only that Gospel and interpreting the text in light of the historical context of the writer and the literary context of the Gospel. Understanding the historical context of the text involves the setting in which Jesus spoke the words as well as the setting in which the Gospel writer utilized the words of Jesus to address his readers.

• What could be the historical context of Jesus saying the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Mt 20:1-16)?
• What could be the context of the church in which the church heard this parable as it was reported by Matthew in his Gospel? See the connection in Mt 10:27, 30; 20:16.

In this parable, Jesus spoke about rewards in the Kingdom bestowed upon us by a God who is gracious to all who enter the Kingdom; God’s grace is the standard of His fairness and He does not measure out grace by what we do or what we deserve. We are not saved by our works!

This must have been a shocking message to the Pharisees and the average person influenced by the teaching of the Pharisees. Now Matthew inserts this parable in the context of discipleship and the question of Peter, “We have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?” The Church of Matthew’s time was made up of people who had literally left everything to follow Jesus and His gospel.

It was a Church rejected, persecuted, in trial and tribulation, and most of all poor. The parable as well as Jesus’ saying in 19:23-30 shows those considered by the rich and the powerful of that day as the “last” will indeed be “first” in God’s kingdom-a message of comfort. Whereas the religious authorities and the powerful in the society who claim to have the “first” place will be the last.

Gospel Commands

Imperatives/commands in the Gospels are not laws in the same way the Old Testament laws functioned in the Old Testament times. Look for the instructions, principles, or ideals for Christian life in the New Testament commands.

Let us look at Matthew 5:27-32.

• Verses 27-30 focus on disciplining the members of our body as instruments of righteousness and holiness rather than yielding them to be instruments of wickedness; compare to Rom 6:13- 19.
• Though divorce should not be considered a valid option in the Christian marriage, one should not interpret Matthew 5:31-32 without taking into account the redemptive grace of God that overcomes human sinfulness.

While using the text to promote the ideals of Christian marriage and its sanctity, we must also let the text speak redemptively to those who have been divorced and remarried in the church.

Eschatology

We must keep in mind the eschatological expectation of the Early Church and its understanding of the kingdom of God. The Church believed the coming of Jesus, His ministry, death, and resurrection inaugurated the beginning of the end, the eschaton, God’s rule characterized by peace, justice, and righteousness.

All the work of Jesus pointed to the beginning of this new era of God’s reign, the kingdom of God, or the sovereign rule of God on earth. However, the church also recognized the Kingdom has not yet fully come. This tension between realized eschatology and futuristic eschatology-already, but not yet-is a reality we find in the Gospels. The early Christians thus lived between the beginning of the end and the consummation of the end-between the times- between His death, resurrection, and ascension, and His second coming.

This eschatological existence of the Church is very clearly evident in the New Testament writings. The Church looked forward with anticipation to “the coming”-parousia-of Jesus while living life in the Kingdom following its ethical mandate and under the Lordship of Jesus. The eschatological discourses in the Gospels attest to this coming of the Son of Man with His holy angels to consummate the Kingdom.

Parables

Parables in the Gospels are a favorite way of teaching for Jesus. Over 50 parables deal with a number of themes.

• The overall subject of the parables is the kingdom of God.
• Some introduce a new idea or a new perspective about the Kingdom.
• Some introduce an alternative way of thinking about a familiar issue or relationship.
• Some parables introduce the theme of grace, which comes as a surprise not only to the recipients but also to the readers.
• Some parables remind the readers of the Judgment and their accountability to God.

When dealing with the parables, keep in mind:

• Jesus did not speak in parables so He would not be fully understood; He was not speaking in allegorical mysteries understood only by those inside the church. Parables (literally means, “something thrown alongside”) are for the most part illustrations to clarify something that is taught. Jesus intended the parables to be understood by all who heard Him.
• Not all parables are alike

- Some are parables in the true sense of the term, stories created to convey truth. Examples: the Good Samaritan, the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son, the Great Supper, the Laborers in the Vineyard, the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Ten Virgins.

- Some parables are more illustrations than true parables. The parable of the Leaven and the parable of the Sower are illustrations from everyday life.

• Jesus spoke in parables to elicit a response from His audience. Our interpretation of the parables by and large depends on our understanding of this function of the parable; what is the response elicited by this parable?

Let us look at the parable of the Sower in the literary context of Mark 3:31-5:20. Various issues: the urgency of the hour, the need to hear and respond to the gospel; the need to produce; the need to proclaim the Good News. The parable does not aim to show that there are four kinds of people and four kinds of soil; rather, the call is to be the soil that produces fruit.

• Each writer focuses on certain themes or kinds of relationships. Matthew focuses on the parables where the analogy of Master-Servant relationship is found, whereas in Luke, parables focus on other dimensions of human relationships.

Look at Luke 15:1-2; what does this introduction serve? In the setting of the Church, is Luke using it to critique those who were uneasy about the Gentiles coming into the Church?

•  Attempt to isolate the editorial comments and place the parable in the original life setting. Some editorial comments help us to interpret the meaning and message of the parables properly.

• Follow the basic structure and form of the parable; avoid the temptation to allegorize or typologize the parables.
• Look for a common theme. Some parables are connected together by a common theme. Various parables in Luke 15 all have the common theme of joy in finding what is lost.
• In most cases, the last statement of the parable may give us the key to the proper interpretation of the function of the parable.