- Have you ever wondered
why when you open up the Bible,
00:00:01.43\00:00:03.43
you get four different
versions of the life of Christ?
00:00:03.43\00:00:06.80
I mean wouldn't one
gospel have done the trick?
00:00:06.80\00:00:09.90
Today, we're gonna take a look
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at those four different accounts
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and I'm gonna show you
some fascinating details
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that a lot of people miss.
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[mellow music]
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Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
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Those are names
that fall pretty easily
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from the mouths of
Christian believers
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because they're the most
famous books of the Bible
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or at least the most famous
books of the New Testament.
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They give us four
different written accounts
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of the life and
ministry of Jesus.
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Of course, some people say,
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especially in
the last few decades,
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that we have more
than four accounts
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because a handful
of Gnostic documents
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surfaced in recent decades.
00:01:04.16\00:01:05.89
Books like the Gospel of
Thomas or the Gospel of Judas,
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both of which were
discovered in the last century.
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The the Gnostics
were this ancient sect
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that blended the teachings
of pagan mystery schools
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with some of the
teachings of the Bible.
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And most of their
writings were composed
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in either the
second or third centuries,
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which means they were
written well after the event
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you read about in
the New Testament.
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So, they were never ever
included in the Christian Bible.
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But the accounts that
you do find in the Bible,
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Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
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those are the works of
people who were actually there.
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They may have
been written decades
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after the crucifixion of Christ,
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but they were written by people
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who had firsthand
knowledge of the events
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they were writing about
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or at least they
personally knew people
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who were actually there.
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But some people still wonder,
why do we need four of them?
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I mean why didn't the
disciples just get together
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and decide on one
authoritative biography?
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Just one volume that
gives all the important details.
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I mean, if I go to
my own library at home,
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I have lots of biographies
about famous historical people.
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And quite often,
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if we're talking about
somebody from the ancient world,
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I only have one
version of their story,
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one favorite author that
I read almost exclusively
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because that's all that exists.
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But in the Bible,
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we get four different
versions of the Jesus story,
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so you've got to wonder why.
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Experience has taught me
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that there really
isn't any fluff in the Bible,
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extra material that doesn't
actually need to be there.
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Everything in here
is really important.
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But at the same time,
you'll notice that the Bible
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can be occasionally repetitious.
00:02:45.49\00:02:48.20
For example, you'll
find different Psalms
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that actually repeat each other.
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And when you read
1 and 2 Chronicles
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and compare them
to 1 and 2 Kings,
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well, you will
find a lot of overlap,
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but you're also going
to find varied details
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and different nuances.
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And they're all
included in the final product
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because having more
than one perspective
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can shed a lot of light on
what you're thinking about.
00:03:08.98\00:03:12.65
I mean just think
about real estate listings
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like the kind you
find on Redfin or Zillow.
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What kinds of information
do these websites provide
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when you're
shopping for a property?
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Well, usually there's
a series of photographs,
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maybe 20 or 30,
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showing you the
different rooms of the house.
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And you'll
notice that some of them
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will show you the same
room from a different angle
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so you can really understand
the layout of the home.
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Then right beside the pictures,
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there's usually a printed
list of facts with details
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like square footage,
the number of bedrooms,
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the size of the lot,
property taxes, and HOA fees.
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It's another method of
telling you about the same house
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and it gives you details
the photos can't provide.
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So when you put all
the information together,
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you get a pretty good idea
of what the property is like
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even before you go and see it.
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And that's kind of what's
going on with the four gospels.
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If we had only one
account of the life of Christ,
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it would be rather flat,
like a two-dimensional picture.
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But when you get four different
versions of the same story
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written by people from
four different walks of life,
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with four
different personality types,
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all telling the story for
different kinds of audiences,
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well, it suddenly
becomes three-dimensional
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and it also
becomes more believable
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because nobody really
trusts eyewitness accounts
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that sound completely alike.
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In a court of law,
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witnesses that tell
exactly the same story,
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well, it seems a little fishy
and it looks like collusion.
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But in the
gospels, we get real people
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telling the same story
from different perspectives
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and they're
naturally different narratives.
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And what you'll find is
that many of the details
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provided by each author
unwittingly confirmed the
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details provided by somebody
else, which makes you tend to
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believe that these
guys were telling the truth.
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Let me give you an example
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from a story you
find over in Matthew 4.
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It's the story of
Jesus recruiting some of his
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disciples, and I'll start
reading this account in verse 18
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where it says,
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"And Jesus, walking
by the Sea of Galilee,
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saw two brothers,
Simon called Peter,
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and Andrew his brother,
casting a net into the sea;
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for they were fishermen."
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So now, we've
got Peter and Andrew.
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"Then He said to them,
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'Follow Me, and I will
make you fishers of men.'
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They immediately left
their nets and followed Him.
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Going on from there,
He saw two other brothers,
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James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother,
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in the boat with Zebedee their
father, mending their nets.
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He called them, and
immediately they left the boat
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and their
father, and followed Him.
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So here, we have the
first four disciples,
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Peter, Andrew, James, and John.
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And of course, that was
Matthew's version of the story.
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What I want you to notice
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is that Jesus first
calls Peter and Andrew,
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and then he calls James and John
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who were busy
mending their nets.
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Now, when you
read the same story
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over in the Gospel of Luke,
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you find a detail that
Matthew never mentions.
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In Luke 5, we read that
Jesus saw two boats on the shore
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and he asks Peter to
take them out fishing.
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It says, "Launch
out into the deep
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and let down your
nets for a catch."
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And Peter, who was
always impetuous, protests.
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"Listen," he says,
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"this is a
complete waste of time.
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We've already
been fishing all night
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and we didn't catch a thing."
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But Jesus insists.
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And so, they go out on
the water and try again.
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And this time, Peter
started catching so many fish
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that he called to the
other boat to come out and help.
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Here's what the
Bible says now in Luke 5
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and you really need to pay
attention to the detail here.
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It says, "And when
they had done this,
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they caught a
great number of fish,
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and their net was breaking.
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So they signaled to their
partners in the other boat
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to come and help them,
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And they came and
filled both the boats,
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so that they began to sink."
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So now we have two
boats, one for Peter and Andrew
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and the other one
for James and John.
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And it says that
were so many fish
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that the nets were breaking,
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which takes us back to Matthew's
account where it tells us
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that James and John
were mending their nets
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when Jesus called them,
but it never tells us why.
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This is something
00:07:23.47\00:07:24.91
that 19th century
Cambridge professor of Divinity,
00:07:24.91\00:07:26.74
J.J. Blunt, would've called
an undesigned coincidence.
00:07:26.74\00:07:31.11
A case where minor details
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found in
different parts of the Bible
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just happened to
corroborate each other
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and he found hundreds of them.
00:07:36.75\00:07:39.85
Nobody planned for this.
00:07:39.85\00:07:41.29
There was no writing committee
that sat down and said,
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"Now listen, Matthew,
you tell part of the story,
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but don't give too much detail.
00:07:46.49\00:07:48.10
And then Luke, when you tell
the same story in your version,
00:07:48.10\00:07:51.83
go ahead and fill in
some of the little bits
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that Matthew leaves out,
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because we think that overall
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that would just make
for a better anthology."
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This is not a work of collusion.
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These were different people
writing at different times
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and in different places,
00:08:04.28\00:08:06.05
and they just happened
to agree with each other.
00:08:06.05\00:08:08.72
The whole enterprise, no
matter what you think of it,
00:08:08.72\00:08:10.82
exudes honesty.
00:08:10.82\00:08:12.62
And these seem like
real historical accounts.
00:08:12.62\00:08:16.36
Having access to four different
records of the life of Jesus
00:08:16.36\00:08:19.83
proves to be really important.
00:08:19.83\00:08:22.10
When you read them,
you get this real sense
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that these people were
describing real events.
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This is not a work of mythology.
00:08:27.27\00:08:29.54
And yet at the same time,
00:08:29.54\00:08:30.81
it's also not
really a work of biography,
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at least not in
the traditional sense.
00:08:32.94\00:08:35.01
And I'll be right
back to explain why.
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- [Narrator] Here at
the Voice of Prophecy,
00:08:41.18\00:08:42.65
we're committed to
creating top quality programming
00:08:42.65\00:08:45.09
for the whole family, like
our audio adventure series,
00:08:45.09\00:08:47.92
"Discovery Mountain."
00:08:47.92\00:08:49.66
"Discovery Mountain,"
is a Bible-based program
00:08:49.66\00:08:52.23
for kids of all
ages and backgrounds.
00:08:52.23\00:08:54.56
Your family will enjoy
the faith building stories
00:08:54.56\00:08:57.30
from this small
mountain summer camp pen town*
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with 24 seasonal
episodes every year
00:09:00.20\00:09:02.64
and fresh content every week.
00:09:02.64\00:09:04.77
There's always a new
adventure just on the horizon.
00:09:04.77\00:09:08.01
- The fact that we have
four different gospel accounts
00:09:11.38\00:09:14.05
means that we have
four different perspectives
00:09:14.05\00:09:16.45
on the life and
teachings of Christ,
00:09:16.45\00:09:18.59
which is
really, really important
00:09:18.59\00:09:20.22
because people with
different temperaments
00:09:20.22\00:09:22.02
and different backgrounds
00:09:22.02\00:09:23.43
are going to be
looking for different things
00:09:23.43\00:09:25.26
when they come to
the pages of the Bible.
00:09:25.26\00:09:27.50
This is a book that
speaks to different people
00:09:28.86\00:09:30.90
in different ways.
00:09:30.90\00:09:32.27
Some of us are wired
to be strictly factual
00:09:32.27\00:09:34.97
and others have a passion for
things like history or poetry.
00:09:34.97\00:09:39.34
Other people will be
artistic or deeply relational.
00:09:39.34\00:09:42.44
So no matter how
you happen to be wired,
00:09:42.44\00:09:45.05
you're gonna find
some aspect of this story
00:09:45.05\00:09:47.75
that really speaks to you.
00:09:47.75\00:09:49.82
You know, over in
the Book of Revelation,
00:09:49.82\00:09:51.79
it describes the new
Jerusalem, the heavenly city.
00:09:51.79\00:09:55.19
And it says that the
city has 12 different gates,
00:09:55.19\00:09:57.53
three on each side.
00:09:57.53\00:09:59.29
Above the 12 gates,
00:09:59.29\00:10:00.53
you find the names of
the 12 tribes of Israel.
00:10:00.53\00:10:03.26
It also says
there are 12 foundations
00:10:03.26\00:10:05.80
and each one of those is named
for one of the 12 apostles.
00:10:05.80\00:10:09.67
Now, when you go
back to Genesis 49,
00:10:09.67\00:10:12.91
you find the patriarch Jacob
giving detailed descriptions
00:10:12.91\00:10:16.14
of his son's personality traits.
00:10:16.14\00:10:18.18
And of course, all of his
boys were quite different.
00:10:18.18\00:10:21.45
The same was true
of the 12th disciples.
00:10:21.45\00:10:23.45
They had widely
diverging personality types.
00:10:23.45\00:10:26.99
So what some Bible students
think is that the new Jerusalem
00:10:26.99\00:10:30.89
is telling us that God has
made a way for every personality
00:10:30.89\00:10:34.36
to find Him.
00:10:34.36\00:10:35.93
There's an access point
to the kingdom for everybody.
00:10:35.93\00:10:38.57
No matter what
your individual mindset,
00:10:38.57\00:10:40.80
no matter what
your personality quirks,
00:10:40.80\00:10:42.64
no matter how weird
your friends think you are,
00:10:42.64\00:10:46.01
God values you uniquely and
He's provided a path for you
00:10:46.01\00:10:50.08
to discover Him.
00:10:50.08\00:10:51.88
So when God gave us four
different gospel accounts,
00:10:51.88\00:10:54.95
it's possible that He
was opening as many doors as
00:10:54.95\00:10:58.29
possible, telling the
story in enough different ways
00:10:58.29\00:11:00.56
that everybody can find Him.
00:11:00.56\00:11:02.59
And each of the four authors
00:11:02.59\00:11:04.19
appears to have a
different audience in mind.
00:11:04.19\00:11:07.56
Matthew seems to be
writing to brand new believers,
00:11:07.56\00:11:10.47
teaching them what it means
to be a disciple of Christ.
00:11:10.47\00:11:13.67
Mark appears to be
writing to unbelievers,
00:11:13.67\00:11:16.10
trying to convince them
00:11:16.10\00:11:17.24
that there's
something really special
00:11:17.24\00:11:19.54
about this Jesus of Nazareth.
00:11:19.54\00:11:22.01
Luke was a Gentile
00:11:22.01\00:11:23.45
and he seems to be
directing his message
00:11:23.45\00:11:25.78
at the non-Jewish world.
00:11:25.78\00:11:27.75
And John, of course,
was the deep thinker,
00:11:27.75\00:11:30.55
the disciple who was closer
to Jesus than all the rest.
00:11:30.55\00:11:33.72
And he appears to be writing
to more established Christians,
00:11:33.72\00:11:37.36
people who have already been
following Christ for some time.
00:11:37.36\00:11:41.06
But the structure
of these four books
00:11:42.26\00:11:44.30
goes a lot deeper than that
00:11:44.30\00:11:46.50
and this is where
things get really interesting.
00:11:46.50\00:11:49.80
If you dig through the
writings of ancient Christians,
00:11:49.80\00:11:52.34
what you'll find is
that many of them believe
00:11:52.34\00:11:54.58
that the four
gospel writers correspond
00:11:54.58\00:11:57.31
to the four
faces of the cherubim,
00:11:57.31\00:12:00.12
a special kind of
angel that you find
00:12:00.12\00:12:02.08
in the books of
Ezekiel and Revelation.
00:12:02.08\00:12:05.39
Well, let's take a
quick look at Revelation 4
00:12:05.39\00:12:07.59
so I can show you
what I'm talking about.
00:12:07.59\00:12:09.96
This was written by
John, who was experiencing
00:12:09.96\00:12:12.79
a vision of the throne room
of God, and here's what it says,
00:12:12.79\00:12:17.30
"Before the throne there was
a sea of glass, like crystal.
00:12:17.30\00:12:20.70
And in the midst of the
throne, and around the throne,
00:12:20.70\00:12:22.84
were four living
creatures full of eyes
00:12:22.84\00:12:24.61
in front and in back.
00:12:24.61\00:12:26.21
The first living
creature was like a lion,
00:12:26.21\00:12:28.48
the second living
creature like a calf,
00:12:28.48\00:12:30.88
the third living
creature had a face like a man,
00:12:30.88\00:12:33.21
and the fourth living creature
was like a flying eagle."
00:12:33.21\00:12:37.32
Now, when you
compare that passage
00:12:37.32\00:12:39.09
to Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10,
00:12:39.09\00:12:42.32
you discover that these
strange looking creatures
00:12:42.32\00:12:44.73
are cherubim,
the angels who stand
00:12:44.73\00:12:46.93
right next to the throne of God.
00:12:46.93\00:12:49.10
Their job is to proclaim
God's glory to the universe.
00:12:49.10\00:12:52.77
So in this vision,
you find them singing
00:12:52.77\00:12:54.97
"Holy, holy,
holy, Lord God Almighty,
00:12:54.97\00:12:58.51
who was and is and is to come!"
00:12:58.51\00:13:01.44
And they're singing
this song with four faces,
00:13:01.44\00:13:03.61
the face of a
lion, the face of a calf,
00:13:03.61\00:13:06.08
the face of a man,
and the face of an eagle.
00:13:06.08\00:13:09.78
Now, what you find
00:13:09.78\00:13:11.29
in the writings of
ancient Christians is this idea
00:13:11.29\00:13:13.49
that because
there are four creatures
00:13:13.49\00:13:14.96
singing this song in heaven,
00:13:14.96\00:13:16.83
there should be
four different writers
00:13:16.83\00:13:18.59
telling the story
of Jesus on earth.
00:13:18.59\00:13:20.96
And wouldn't you know it,
00:13:20.96\00:13:22.13
the four gospels
just happen to have
00:13:22.13\00:13:24.70
the same characteristics as
the four faces of the cherubim.
00:13:24.70\00:13:28.70
I mean just listen to
this astonishing passage
00:13:28.70\00:13:30.94
written by the
Church Father Irenaeus
00:13:30.94\00:13:33.17
during the second century A.D.
00:13:33.17\00:13:35.91
where he explains
why we should only expect
00:13:35.91\00:13:38.68
to have four gospels.
00:13:38.68\00:13:40.68
Not three, not five, but four.
00:13:40.68\00:13:44.49
Here's what he wrote.
00:13:44.49\00:13:45.99
"As also David says, when
entreating His manifestation,
00:13:45.99\00:13:49.49
You that sits between
the cherubim, shine forth.
00:13:49.49\00:13:52.79
For the cherubim, too,
were four-faced, and their faces
00:13:52.79\00:13:55.80
were images of the
dispensation of the Son of God.
00:13:55.80\00:13:59.10
For as the Scripture says,
00:13:59.10\00:14:00.54
the first living
creature was like a lion.
00:14:00.54\00:14:02.64
Revelation 4:7 symbolizing
His effectual working,
00:14:02.64\00:14:06.07
His leadership, and royal power;
00:14:06.07\00:14:08.71
the second living
creature was like a calf
00:14:08.71\00:14:11.15
signifying His sacrificial
and sacerdotal order;
00:14:11.15\00:14:15.05
but the third had, as
it were, the face of a man,
00:14:15.05\00:14:17.65
an evident description of
His advent as a human being;
00:14:17.65\00:14:21.52
the fourth was
like a flying eagle,
00:14:21.52\00:14:23.73
pointing out the
gift of the Spirit
00:14:23.73\00:14:25.23
hovering with His
wings over the church."
00:14:25.23\00:14:28.60
This was a pretty common
understanding of the gospels
00:14:28.60\00:14:31.87
in the earliest days
of the Christian Church
00:14:31.87\00:14:34.40
and it was taught
for many centuries.
00:14:34.40\00:14:37.04
In fact, a few years ago,
00:14:37.04\00:14:38.51
Jean and I visited the
Rock of Cashel in Ireland
00:14:38.51\00:14:41.38
where tradition says
St. Patrick converted
00:14:41.38\00:14:44.61
the pagan king of Munster.
00:14:44.61\00:14:46.78
At the top of the hill, you
find these old church ruins,
00:14:46.78\00:14:50.39
which date back to the 1200s.
00:14:50.39\00:14:52.59
And among the bits and
pieces they've collected
00:14:52.59\00:14:55.06
in the neighboring
museum, you find four engravings
00:14:55.06\00:14:58.46
depicting the
four gospel writers.
00:14:58.46\00:15:00.86
Each one of them portrayed
00:15:00.86\00:15:02.36
as one of the four
faces of the cherubim.
00:15:02.36\00:15:05.43
Now, when you
study it carefully,
00:15:06.53\00:15:07.64
you discover they were right.
00:15:07.64\00:15:09.27
Each one of the
gospels does connect somehow
00:15:09.27\00:15:11.87
to the four
faces of the cherubim.
00:15:11.87\00:15:14.18
So for example, Matthews Gospel,
00:15:14.18\00:15:17.11
it was written for new believers
00:15:17.11\00:15:18.81
and he's trying to
demonstrate how Jesus
00:15:18.81\00:15:20.78
really is the
long awaited Messiah,
00:15:20.78\00:15:23.55
the lion of the tribe of Judah.
00:15:23.55\00:15:26.19
He establishes
Jesus' official credentials,
00:15:26.19\00:15:29.06
which is only
natural because Matthew
00:15:29.06\00:15:31.26
was a government official
00:15:31.26\00:15:32.79
so, well, official records
would be important to him.
00:15:32.79\00:15:36.20
He opens his
account by saying this,
00:15:36.20\00:15:39.27
"The book of the
genealogy of Jesus, Christ,
00:15:39.27\00:15:41.97
the son of David,
the son of Abraham."
00:15:41.97\00:15:45.24
He's demonstrating that Jesus
00:15:45.24\00:15:47.41
is the rightful
heir to David's throne.
00:15:47.41\00:15:49.48
He's the Messianic King
00:15:49.48\00:15:50.68
they've all been waiting for.
00:15:50.68\00:15:52.41
Jesus was the prophetic branch
00:15:52.41\00:15:54.38
predicted in
Jeremiah 23, where it says
00:15:54.38\00:15:57.59
that one of David's descendants
00:15:57.59\00:15:59.39
would be the ultimate king.
00:15:59.39\00:16:01.56
Here's what it
says in Jeremiah 23:5,
00:16:01.56\00:16:04.56
"'Behold, the days are
coming,' says the Lord,
00:16:04.56\00:16:06.70
'That I will raise to David
a branch of righteousness,'"
00:16:06.70\00:16:10.47
Now, don't forget
that title, the Branch,
00:16:10.47\00:16:12.70
because you're
gonna see it again.
00:16:12.70\00:16:14.60
"A king shall reign and prosper
00:16:14.60\00:16:16.57
and execute judgment and
righteousness in the earth."
00:16:16.57\00:16:19.91
What we have in Matthews
Gospel is Jesus the Lion,
00:16:19.91\00:16:23.24
the Messianic King.
00:16:23.24\00:16:25.01
Then in Mark, we have a
slightly different perspective
00:16:25.01\00:16:27.55
because he emphasizes
the things that Jesus did.
00:16:27.55\00:16:30.89
Compared to Matthew or Luke,
00:16:30.89\00:16:32.52
Mark doesn't give us much
in the way of what Jesus says,
00:16:32.52\00:16:35.39
Instead, he shows us
Jesus, the patient worker,
00:16:35.39\00:16:39.16
the one who came as a servant,
00:16:39.16\00:16:40.96
kind of like an ox that
works patiently in the field.
00:16:40.96\00:16:45.10
And of course, the Old
Testament also predicted
00:16:45.10\00:16:47.67
that the Branch
would be a servant.
00:16:47.67\00:16:49.87
This comes from
Zechariah 3:8, where it says,
00:16:49.87\00:16:53.11
"For behold, I
am springing forth
00:16:53.11\00:16:55.14
my servant, the Branch."
00:16:55.14\00:16:58.18
So now, we have the
regal lion of Matthew,
00:16:58.18\00:17:01.68
and we have the
servant Ox from Mark,
00:17:01.68\00:17:04.19
which are the first
two faces of the cherubim,
00:17:04.19\00:17:07.26
a detail that was not
lost on early believers.
00:17:07.26\00:17:10.89
And right after I
take another quick break,
00:17:10.89\00:17:13.23
I'll come back to show
you how the other two gospels
00:17:13.23\00:17:16.23
reveal the other two
faces of the cherubim.
00:17:16.23\00:17:19.50
I'll be right back after this.
00:17:19.50\00:17:21.40
- [Narrator] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues,
00:17:25.24\00:17:29.54
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:17:29.54\00:17:34.12
If you've ever read
Daniel and Revelation,
00:17:34.12\00:17:36.32
then come away scratching
your head, you are not alone.
00:17:36.32\00:17:39.35
Our free "Focus on
Prophecy," guides are designed
00:17:39.35\00:17:42.29
to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:17:42.29\00:17:44.53
and deepen your
understanding of God's plan
00:17:44.53\00:17:47.00
for you and our world.
00:17:47.00\00:17:48.56
Study online or
request them by mail
00:17:48.56\00:17:51.03
and start bringing
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00:17:51.03\00:17:54.74
- All right, we're
back from the break.
00:17:54.74\00:17:56.24
So now, it's time to take
a look at the book of Luke.
00:17:56.24\00:17:59.57
You'll remember
that Matthew emphasized
00:17:59.57\00:18:02.34
how Jesus was Messiah, the
rightful heir to David's throne.
00:18:02.34\00:18:06.88
And Mark emphasized how
Jesus was a patient servant
00:18:06.88\00:18:10.79
by describing what
Jesus did to help us.
00:18:10.79\00:18:14.29
And now Luke, the
Gentile physician,
00:18:14.29\00:18:16.93
describes Jesus
as the son of man.
00:18:16.93\00:18:20.83
What you find in the
third gospel is a vivid contrast
00:18:20.83\00:18:24.80
between the perfection of Christ
00:18:24.80\00:18:27.20
and the broken fallen
state of the human race.
00:18:27.20\00:18:31.17
And of course, to Luke's
world, the Gentile world,
00:18:31.17\00:18:34.68
there was a lot of
emphasis on physical perfection,
00:18:34.68\00:18:37.65
particularly among the Greeks.
00:18:37.65\00:18:40.35
So it seems highly likely that
God would choose a physician
00:18:40.35\00:18:44.59
to talk to those people.
00:18:44.59\00:18:46.25
I mean, just go
back and take a look
00:18:46.25\00:18:47.99
at all the ancient Greek statues
and you'll see what I mean.
00:18:47.99\00:18:50.99
They were absolutely obsessed
00:18:50.99\00:18:52.79
with finding
physical perfection.
00:18:52.79\00:18:55.56
So Luke describes
Jesus as the ultimate person,
00:18:55.56\00:18:59.93
the epitome of what it means
to be an authentic human being.
00:18:59.93\00:19:04.17
He shows us Jesus, the man,
00:19:04.17\00:19:06.74
which of course is the
third face of the cherubim.
00:19:06.74\00:19:10.31
And again, this was foreshadowed
00:19:10.31\00:19:11.88
by the Old Testament
with another prediction
00:19:11.88\00:19:14.62
about Jesus, the Branch.
00:19:14.62\00:19:16.48
This one coming from Zechariah
6:12, where the Bible says,
00:19:16.48\00:19:21.02
"Behold, the man
whose name is the Branch!
00:19:21.02\00:19:24.86
From His place,
He shall branch out
00:19:24.86\00:19:26.93
and He shall build
the temple of the Lord."
00:19:26.93\00:19:30.47
Now, remember Matthew
said the branch was a king,
00:19:30.47\00:19:33.97
the lion of the tribe of Judah.
00:19:33.97\00:19:36.54
Mark described the branch as
a servant, an ox-like figure.
00:19:36.54\00:19:40.78
And Luke describes him as a man
00:19:40.78\00:19:43.45
and he gives us the story
of Jesus as a human being,
00:19:43.45\00:19:47.38
God in human
flesh, the Son of Man.
00:19:47.38\00:19:50.95
Which brings us to
the gospel of John.
00:19:52.12\00:19:54.96
A document that
reads quite differently
00:19:54.96\00:19:57.26
from the other three.
00:19:57.26\00:19:59.03
Bible scholars often
called the first three gospels,
00:19:59.03\00:20:02.06
the synoptics, which means,
00:20:02.06\00:20:04.17
well, they kind of tell
the story in a similar way
00:20:04.17\00:20:06.80
down a similar path.
00:20:06.80\00:20:08.00
They're really closely related.
00:20:08.00\00:20:10.34
The word synoptic
actually means to see together
00:20:10.34\00:20:14.38
from the similar perspective.
00:20:14.38\00:20:16.71
But then when you get to John,
00:20:16.71\00:20:18.15
you get a
completely different flavor.
00:20:18.15\00:20:20.98
The story opens by pulling
back the curtain of the universe
00:20:20.98\00:20:24.65
to give us a glimpse into
the very beginning of time.
00:20:24.65\00:20:28.72
And it describes
Jesus not as the Son of Man,
00:20:28.72\00:20:32.56
but as the Son of God.
00:20:32.56\00:20:34.56
The narrative just kind of takes
off with stunning language,
00:20:34.56\00:20:37.80
lifting us up to the
heights and giving us
00:20:37.80\00:20:40.37
a glimpse of
things that you can't see
00:20:40.37\00:20:42.50
from an earthbound perspective.
00:20:42.50\00:20:45.27
That's why the earliest
Christians identified John's
00:20:45.27\00:20:49.44
gospel as an eagle.
00:20:49.44\00:20:50.95
And yet again, we have
an Old Testament prophecy
00:20:50.95\00:20:53.31
about the branch
that corresponds directly
00:20:53.31\00:20:56.85
to the way that
John describes him.
00:20:56.85\00:20:59.19
Listen to what
it says in Isaiah 4,
00:20:59.19\00:21:02.99
"In that day, the
Branch of the Lord
00:21:02.99\00:21:05.43
shall be beautiful and glorious;
00:21:05.43\00:21:08.16
and the fruit of the earth
shall be excellent and appealing
00:21:08.16\00:21:10.70
for those of
Israel who have escaped.
00:21:10.70\00:21:14.37
Matthew, Mark, and Luke
describe Jesus from the ground,
00:21:14.37\00:21:17.77
which is where you find
lions, oxen, and people.
00:21:17.77\00:21:21.28
But John describes Him
as beautiful and glorious,
00:21:21.28\00:21:24.55
and he gives us, well,
a heavenly perspective.
00:21:24.55\00:21:27.75
I mean, just listen
to the way it opens over
00:21:27.75\00:21:29.52
in John 1, I think
you'll see what I mean.
00:21:29.52\00:21:32.02
Listen to this
stunning language, it says,
00:21:32.02\00:21:34.82
"In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God,
00:21:34.82\00:21:38.26
and the Word was God.
00:21:38.26\00:21:39.69
He was in the
beginning with God.
00:21:39.69\00:21:41.70
All things were
made through Him,
00:21:41.70\00:21:43.67
and without Him,
nothing was made that was made.
00:21:43.67\00:21:46.90
In Him was life, and the
life was the light of men.
00:21:46.90\00:21:50.27
And the light
shines in the darkness,
00:21:50.27\00:21:52.57
and the darkness
did not comprehend it."
00:21:52.57\00:21:56.41
Right at the
outset, John establishes
00:21:56.41\00:21:59.65
the deity of Christ.
00:21:59.65\00:22:02.38
So what we have
in the four gospels
00:22:02.38\00:22:04.19
is a very detailed
account of how Jesus answers
00:22:04.19\00:22:07.29
to all the Old
Testament prophecies.
00:22:07.29\00:22:10.69
He is Messiah,
the King of the Jews,
00:22:10.69\00:22:12.69
the rightful heir
to David's throne.
00:22:12.69\00:22:15.06
He's the
suffering servant of Isaiah,
00:22:15.06\00:22:17.30
the one who came to
do the Father's will
00:22:17.30\00:22:19.57
and to serve the human
race in order to save us.
00:22:19.57\00:22:23.24
He is the Son of Man,
00:22:23.24\00:22:24.81
the member of the
Godhead who became
00:22:24.81\00:22:26.17
a real flesh and blood
human being just like us
00:22:26.17\00:22:30.38
in order to
identify with us completely.
00:22:30.38\00:22:33.75
The Book of Hebrew says,
00:22:33.75\00:22:34.95
"For we do not
have a high priest
00:22:34.95\00:22:37.35
who cannot
sympathize with our weaknesses,
00:22:37.35\00:22:40.22
but was in all points tempted
as we are, yet without sin."
00:22:40.22\00:22:44.93
Paul tells Timothy that,
00:22:44.93\00:22:46.26
"God was
manifested in the flesh,"
00:22:46.26\00:22:49.16
which means that Jesus
really understands what it means
00:22:49.16\00:22:52.43
to live here.
00:22:52.43\00:22:53.70
And of course, Jesus
is also the Son of God,
00:22:53.70\00:22:57.24
the one equal to the Father.
00:22:57.24\00:22:59.57
The one who was open
the way for you and I
00:22:59.57\00:23:01.51
to come back to
the throne of God
00:23:01.51\00:23:03.28
and to be remade in His image
00:23:03.28\00:23:06.41
like we were originally
in the very beginning.
00:23:06.41\00:23:09.75
And wouldn't you know it,
when the Book of Revelation
00:23:09.75\00:23:12.32
describes the four
faces of the cherubim,
00:23:12.32\00:23:14.76
the lion, the ox,
the man, and the eagle,
00:23:14.76\00:23:18.13
well, it gives them
in the very same order
00:23:18.13\00:23:20.96
as the four gospels.
00:23:20.96\00:23:22.56
Now, that might
be a coincidence,
00:23:22.56\00:23:25.00
but after studying this
book for such a long time,
00:23:25.00\00:23:27.27
I somehow doubt it.
00:23:27.27\00:23:30.27
The way these four
gospels are structured
00:23:30.27\00:23:32.44
and the way they show us
different aspects of who Jesus
00:23:32.44\00:23:36.31
was, well, the more you read it,
00:23:36.31\00:23:37.78
the more you start to
discover that none of this
00:23:37.78\00:23:39.68
could possibly be just
coincidence or accident.
00:23:39.68\00:23:43.45
Every nuance right
down to the structure
00:23:43.45\00:23:45.52
of the narrative
itself is carefully designed
00:23:45.52\00:23:48.19
to reveal
something really important.
00:23:48.19\00:23:50.96
And the more you study it,
00:23:50.96\00:23:52.19
the more intricate it gets.
00:23:52.19\00:23:54.10
To the point where you
really start to suspect
00:23:54.10\00:23:57.07
that this book might be covered
00:23:57.07\00:23:59.37
with the fingerprints of
somebody much, much bigger than
00:23:59.37\00:24:03.64
us. I'll be
right back after this.
00:24:03.64\00:24:05.77
- [Narrator] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:24:09.08\00:24:11.51
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers,
00:24:11.51\00:24:14.88
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:24:14.88\00:24:17.32
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:24:17.32\00:24:20.39
Here at the Voice of Prophecy,
00:24:20.39\00:24:21.92
we've created the
"Discover Bible," guides
00:24:21.92\00:24:24.13
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:24:24.13\00:24:25.73
They're designed to
be simple, easy to use,
00:24:25.73\00:24:28.16
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- Over the coming weeks,
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I'm gonna look at each of
the four gospels individually
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because I want you to
see how every one of them
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is designed to show
us something important,
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something unique about Jesus.
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These are not
just four biographies.
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In fact, I'm not even sure
the word biography works here
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because modern
biographies tend to focus
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on the events of
somebody's lifetime
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or maybe the achievements
of some great individual.
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And then near the very end,
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you get a
relatively quick description
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of how that person died.
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The focus in a
biography is someone's lifetime,
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and more often than not,
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the author starts with
the birth of the protagonist,
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but that's not the way
it is with the gospels.
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I mean, they do give
some details from Jesus' life,
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but these are mostly restricted
to the last few years.
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Mark doesn't even
mention His birth.
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He just starts with
the baptism of Christ,
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which happens at the
very beginning of His public
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ministry. And for some
reason, all four gospels
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devote more space to
Jesus' death than anything else.
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It all comes down to
the final week of His life,
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when He dies the
humiliating death of a criminal.
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And then, these
writers dare to suggest
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that He actually
came back from the dead.
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That's not what you would find
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in what we would
call a biography,
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which is why I say the
gospels are not biographies.
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They're gospels.
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That's a compound Germanic word.
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It's good spell or good news.
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It's translated from a Greek
word that was used to describe,
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well, the news.
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It was the word they
used to describe a messenger
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who came to your village
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with
earth-shattering announcements,
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the kind that would
change your life forever.
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He would tell you
about the death of an emperor
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or the devastating
loss on a battlefield,
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or any other bit of news
that meant that your life
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was going to change.
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And that's exactly
what the four gospels are.
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They tell the story of
a man who healed the sick
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and raised the dead.
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He spoke with
such profound wisdom
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that He routinely stumped
the smartest people in the room.
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And the Apostle
Peter summarized His life
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by saying, "He
went about doing good."
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Yet for some reason, the
same man was put to death,
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tortured mercilessly
like a common criminal.
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And if that was
the end of the story,
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I doubt that these four gospels
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would have such
incredible staying power.
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But then they say,
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this man also
came back from the dead
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and countless
millions of people claim
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that He's still alive today.
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In fact, they
actually claim to know Him.
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There is no other work of
literature quite like this.
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And if you've never actually
read the gospels for yourself,
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maybe it's time
to give it a try.
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Maybe start with
the Gospel of Mark.
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It's short enough that
you can actually read it
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in one sitting.
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And I think you'll start to see
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what all the fuss has been
about for the last 2,000 years.
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Thanks for joining me today.
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I'm Shawn Boonstra and
this has been "Authentic."
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