"This is the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God..." - Mark 1:1
The center of Christianity is Jesus. It is not how we behave. It is not whether we listen to hip hop or watch R-rated movies. It is not how often we go to church. Being a Christian is about believing in Jesus. In this series, we will examine the gospels, the biographies of Jesus. These are the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We’ll get an understanding of who Jesus is, what he did, what he said, and how we can live an authentic Christian life.
The gospels tell us that Jesus is the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel referenced in the Old Testament and the Torah. The book of Matthew was specifically written for the Jewish people to help them understand this. So the first thing Matthew starts with is the family lineage of Jesus. Why? The scriptures say that the Messiah would come from the ancestry of King David. So Matthew immediately points this out in Chapter 1. Then, in Chapter 2 he tells us about the birth of Jesus. Can we trust what he says? Yes. Matthew was one of the twelve disciples. He walked with Jesus.
Mark was a close friend of the apostle Peter. His writing of Jesus’ biography is written from Peter’s account. He starts his writing directly declaring that Jesus is the Messiah. Mark doesn’t go too much into the Old Testament text because he was not writing to the Jews. Mark was writing to the Romans. Mark wrote to encourage the Roman converts to stay true to their new Christian faith.
Luke wrote to the Greeks. He is also the only non-Jewish writer of the Bible. The other writers were Jewish who converted to Christianity. Luke focuses his biography on the perfect human nature of Jesus.
The book of John is the 4th gospel. Like Matthew, John was one of the twelve disciples. John, with his brother James, and the apostle Peter had a close relationship with Jesus. There are several references to Jesus taking the three of them for special instruction and prayer. He gives an intimate account of Jesus’ life.
These four accounts of Jesus’ life are distinct but agree that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Each is written from a unique perspective and for different audiences.
So why didn’t the Jews believe Jesus was the Messiah?
In the minds of Jewish people, the Messiah was a great warrior who would come battle the Romans to liberate the Jewish people from Roman rule. He would certainly not be someone who allowed himself to be captured, tortured and die. That made no sense to them. Likewise, the things God does in your life may make no sense to you. God’s ways cannot always be understood by our limited human minds. As we study the gospels we will learn what it means to be a Christian, and I’ll tell you… Some of the aspects of Christian life are counter-intuitive to what we make think of as power, success, authority, and so on.
Jesus became the most powerful human to ever live by allowing himself to die. He proved himself to be the Son of God by resurrecting after death. Jesus was 100% human and 100% God. That math does not add up in our human minds, but it’s God’s arithmetic. God is unlimited. His knowledge and resources are infinite. When you give your life to Jesus, you have access to that knowledge and those resources, but it may not look the way you think it should.
If you have questions, don't hesitate to reach out to me on the website: www.kamryadams.com on the "Connect" page.
Pray before reading your Bible. This allows God to guide you in your study. Simply ask God to better understand his word and live it.
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Independent Study
The Baby Jesus
Matthew 1:18-24 and Matthew 2.
King Herod's instruction to kill all the boys two years old and under is well documented in history. It lends to the authenticity of the scriptures but also to the special nature of the baby Jesus. Many people who have had difficult childhoods believe they are not loved by God. In fact, your difficult childhood may be a direct result of the blessing on your life. Shift your thinking.
Take time to pray about any baggage you have from your own childhood. Forgive those who harmed you intentionally or unintentionally. Thank God for resilience and His love and power that has gotten you where you are today.
The gospels tell us that 
