The Beauty of the Gospels

9 October 2016 (8.30am service, New Creation Church at Star Vista)

- Sermon delivered by Pastor Joseph Prince

 Sermon Notes (Note: These are personal notes and not a transcription of the sermon.)

 

I.           Freely receive

Many of us don’t read our bible and don’t see the value of our bible. We have thus neglected our bible. “Freely, we receive freely” actually comes from the bible.

Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

To receive a gift, if you need to perform to “earn” this, then you don’t receive the gift. We have to freely receive.

People need to see the excellency and perfection of the scriptures.  Thus, Pastor shows us passages so that we can have a taste of the verses.

In this service, Pastor showed us how to see beauty in the four Gospels.

 

II.        Studying the Four Gospels

When young believers are recommended to read a bible, they are recommended to read John. At the same time, no matter how far one has travelled in one’s spiritual journey, one will come back to John again. John stands in a class of its own.

The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are referred to as the synoptic gospels.  It is because they include many similar stories in similar sequence, while there is uniqueness in approach. They stand in contrast to John, whose content is 95% different from the other three.

Why do we need to study the four gospels?

Pastor gave an example of the politician and writer Winston Churchill.  If you see the political letters of Winston Churchill, you are only understanding the political side of him. However, he has his humorous aspect too. For instance, Churchill was the one who left behind the witty quote “Lady Nancy Astor: Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea. Churchill: Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it.”. Thus, if one only focuses on the political life of Churchill, one could have missed his other aspects of life.

 

III.      The Veil is Torn at the Cross

Hebrews 10:18-20
Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,

The blood of Jesus took away our sin. We are forgiven. There is no need further sin offering.

“By a new and living way”- we have to treat it as if Jesus died just now, and not 2000 years ago.

The more you come to God, the more living you are.

 “Through the veil, that is, His flesh”- The flesh is what separates the Holy God and sinful man. At the cross, the veil is torn, allowing for us to access the Holy God. The sacrifice of the Lord has torn the veil which separates us from God.

God wants the church to be the centre of your life. Christ is in the centre.

At the tabernacle, there are 5 pillars, with the altar of incense right in the centre. There are four colours- blue, red, purple and white. Blue represents God from heaven. Red represents Adam, which was made from ground. When heaven and earth meet (when Jesus and man meet), you get purple, the colour of royalty.

White is the colour of linen. The veil speaks of Jesus’s flesh.

 

The key hangs at the door. The key to every book is at the door. God puts the key at the door.
 

IV.       Four Gospels

 

1.   Matthew

The Gospel of Matthew is about the gospel of the king (Jesus the king).

Matthew 1:1-6
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.

Jesus came from the house of David. Four women were mentioned in the genealogy too. They are: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah (Bathsheba).

They were mentioned to demonstrate God's grace. God can take unlikely people (prostitutes, a gentile and an adulteress) and use them in great ways.

Matthew described the Sermon on the Mount and ended with Jesus comes back again as the king of Israel and met the disciples on the mountain of Galilee.

Matthew 5:1

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.

The eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.

The Gospel of Matthew starts with “God with us” and ends with "I am with you":

Matthew 1:23
Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us.".

He ended with Matthew 28:20 “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The Gospel of Matthew is represented by the symbol of Lion which means the king.

 

2.   Mark

The Gospel of Mark is represented by the symbol of Ox. There is no genealogy of Jesus Christ, and it is all about serving God. The Gospel of Mark started with:

Mark 1:1

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Many of his verses start with “And”. His gospel is one whole narrative and is action filled all the time. Mark is “busy busy busy”, in action all the time. His gospel ends with:

Mark 16:19-20

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

Jesus never stops working, even in the heaven.

 

3.   Luke

The Gospel of Luke went all the way back to Adam. His genealogy starts from Adam, the man. Luke portrays Jesus as the Son of man, and shows the growth of Jesus. Jesus was perfect in every way. For instance, when he was 13 years old, he was asking questions and answering questions among the teachers in a temple.

Luke’s gospel opens with Zacharias, a dumb priest. Zacharias is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke, and he is not mentioned in gospels of Matthew or Mark. As a priest, Zacharias cannot bless the people.

While the gospel opens with Zacharias, it closes with Jesus who is giving blessing from the heaven:

 Luke 24: 50-51

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.

We should see Jesus as the giver, and see his love for us. He sees us in our faith if we see him as the giver.

 

4.   John

John is conscious of the Father’s presence, the Father’s love. He brings us to join the bosom of the Father.

The opening and closing of John’s gospel land us at the bosom of the Father.

Opening:
John 1:18
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

He constantly lives in the bosom of the Father. He doesn’t come from there, but he constantly lives there.

Closing:

John 21:20
Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”

John leaned on His breast. His gospel opens with leaning on God and ends with leaning on the chest of the Lord. It opens with love, and ends with love.

 

John 1:1 is “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.

In fact, in the original Greek, there is no “the” [Word]. Jesus has always existed. Thus, there is no “the”.

John 4:14

but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

In Jesus, you will be filled, and you will have living waters for others to enjoy.

Why was the gospel written?

John 20:31
but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

In the Gospel of John, miracles are not called miracles but they are called signs. There are 7 signs stated in the Gospel of John. There are many signs that Jesus did that were not written.

The gospels are designed to create faith in us.

95% of the gospel of John was not found in the synoptic gospels. E.g. The miracle of turning water into wine, the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery. Lazarus being raised from the dead, etc.

Thus, the Gospel of John is precious.

The symbol of an eagle represents the Gospel of John: eagle flies higher than any other birds, and the eagle’s eyes can see further than any other birds. John sees Jesus as the son of God:

John 1:1-2

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

The distinctions of the four gospels are summarised in the below table:

 

Gospels	Symbol	Alliteration “S”	Representation	Elaboration
Matthew	Lion	Sovereignty	His majesty	Jesus the King
Mark	Ox	Servant	His ministry	Jesus the perfect servant
Luke	Man	Saviour	His beauty	Jesus the Son of man
John	Eagle	Son	His glory	Jesus the Son of God

 A leader has the 4 faces. Those 4 symbols could appear in different aspects of a leader’s life.

V.          Travel in the Rhythm of Grace

We should travel in the rhythm of grace. The faster you go, the slower you get. Pull back and you go fast.

If you are sick, go to the gospels, read through them, read through the miracles.

Man has always been fearful of God- Men’s first reaction to God is always fear, which is in the nature of men. To see love in God is not natural. Even if an angel or Jesus were to appear in the most sinful man in town, the man will be fearful. We have to go deep into the gospels to see the love in God.

Peter denied Jesus 3 times. However, a few days later, when he saw Jesus, he jumped into the water to approach Jesus. Now, he sees him in Jesus, while before that, he saw God as demanding, judging and severe.

God resists the proud and gives to the humble. If you stay low, nobody can insult you. Water always finds the lowest place.

We are nothing without God. God gives us our position, our family. A fall (destruction) may happen to hurt our pride. However, God will not give us death, illnesses or diseases.

Only those who are “down there” have more grace. Look at self, and you are depressed; look at Christ, and you will be lifted up. Don’t look at the painting of Jesus and pray to it. One has to look at the bible.

Jesus was not taken by force. He gave his life. The captain and officers fell, and Jesus waited for them to get up to arrest him:

John 18:6
Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground.

Gospel of John is the only one that tells us that Jesus was bound.

John 18:12-13
Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.

“Bound” is mentioned in Genesis 22:9:
Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

If you are discouraged, start with the Gospel of John. It is milk for the young, and meat for the more advanced.

 

VI.       Conclusion

Gospels of Mark and Luke focus on the aspects of humanity. Matthew and John see Jesus as the king and the son of God.

John 19:30
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

“Gave up” – Jesus surrender his spirit.

Archaeologists said all others who were crucified by Romans pushed themselves up for air and thus ended with cracked necks. However, Jesus didn’t do that. Jesus was the only one who died with His head bowed. The last gesture He did was worship.

When was bowing our head first mentioned as worship?

Genesis 24:26
Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord.

Worship is submission to the Father. Worship is at rest- bowing down of the head.