Unit Two: Finding Your Way Through the New Testament

Lesson Two: The Story Begins

In the New Testament, the books that we call the “gospels” tell the story of Jesus. It’s a big story, so there are four books, each told by a different person in his own words. Sometimes they tell the same story in exactly the same way. And sometimes they add something that was especially important to their readers.

You can see the differences in the first words that they write. Like any author, they begin their story at the beginning. But because the story of Jesus is so big, they each find a different place to begin.

The differences can tell us something about each writer. And they tell us something about Jesus, as well.

So let’s look at the way the story begins.

The first book is Matthew, so let’s start there. Matthew begins his story with a long list of names. It isn’t very exciting, but it was very important to Matthew’s friends.

1A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:

    2Abraham was the father of Isaac,

         Isaac the father of Jacob,

         Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

       3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

         Perez the father of Hezron,

         Hezron the father of Ram,

       4Ram the father of Amminadab,

         Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

         Nahshon the father of Salmon,

       5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

         Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

         Obed the father of Jesse,

       6and Jesse the father of King David.

Matthew 1:1-5

There are more names in this list, and we can look through the whole thing some day, but this is enough for now. In these few verses, you may not see a lot of names that you know, but a few should sound vaguely familiar.

Maybe Isaac is familiar, or Jacob, or Ruth, or David.

These are Old Testament names. These are names from Matthew’s history. If Matthew looked at his family albums, his parents and grandparents and great-great-grandparents would have talked about people like Ruth or David or Jacob.

The list of names begins with Abraham, and we can look in the Old Testament and discover that God began something very special with Abraham. God set aside a group of people to have a special relationship with him.

We know them as the Jews, or as the tribes of Israel. These are Matthew’s people, and in Matthew’s time they were waiting for something special from God. A person. A prophet. They might have referred to him as the Messiah, and he was expected to deliver the people of Israel.

So when Matthew begins his story with this long list of names, he reminds his readers that this was a very special child who was born on the first Christmas. This little baby was promised long ago, he has come just as God told us, and he will do something very special.

When the list of names is finished, Matthew tells about the birth of the baby. And then he adds a few new characters who are very important to him.

1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:

 6" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

      are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

   for out of you will come a ruler

      who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew tells the story of the three kings, as we sometimes call them. It would be more accurate to say that they were very wise people. They were actually looking for a king. They got the word that a king was to be born in the area of Bethlehem. So they went looking.

There’s a fourth king in the story. Herod was the current ruler of that part of the world. He was not happy to hear the story that the wise travelers told.

All this talk of a newborn king created a very tense moment, but Matthew was probably not interested in the drama. Maybe a little, but there was more to the story. The travelers came to find a king. Matthew wants everyone to know that this baby will be a king. Maybe his reign will be a little different, but he will most definitely be a king. 

And this baby will be a king that God has promised. That’s why David is mentioned in the list of names somewhere. That’s why the baby was born in Bethlehem, the birthplace of David, the king.

Everything that Matthew says means something to the people who read his story. And if we pay just a little bit of attention, if we can look for the code, if we can remember just a few things from the Old Testament, then these clues can tell us the same message.

But what about the other writers? What did they put in their stories?

Let’s look at Luke.

5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. 7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.

8Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. 16Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Luke 1

This is interesting. Luke doesn’t begin with Jesus at all. He begins with the birth of a boy named John.

Or more specifically, he begins with the promise of the birth of a boy named John. We know the story of how Mary was told that she would have a baby. But the birth of John has the same kind of announcement.

The reason is that John would have a very important job. And he would live a very important lifestyle.

Can you find some hints that John’s life will be different? Write them down here.

Luke has much more to say. His story of the birth of Jesus is the one we read most often at Christmas. He tells about the angels, and he tells about the shepherds. And he describes the scene around the manger.

He has more people in his story than Matthew included. Matthew tells about the kings. Luke tells about the shepherds, and the mom, and the baby.

That takes care of two books. What about the others?

Mark is easy. He doesn’t talk about the birth of the baby at all. His story has no Christmas in it. He is the Scrooge of gospel writers—the gospel Grinch.

But he has a reason, apparently. The birth of the baby is just background for him. Just an introduction. The real action begins when Jesus grows up. So that’s where he begins.

And actually, he begins with our friend, John.

1The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2It is written in Isaiah the prophet:

   "I will send my messenger ahead of you,

      who will prepare your way"—

 3"a voice of one calling in the desert,

   'Prepare the way for the Lord,

      make straight paths for him.' " 4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Mark 1

Mark has something that Matthew has—a connection with the Old Testament. Actually, they all do. They all connect the life of Jesus with the history of the people and the promise of God.

But take a look at John’s ministry. What does he look like? What does he say?

If you want to see Jesus, keep reading in the first chapter of Mark. It moves right into the things Jesus said and did. Mark is an action guy, and his gospel will get us right into the action.

Then there is John. He isn’t the same John that Luke talked about. He’s another John, and he’s very important. Take a look at this.  

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.

 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

 6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1

Matthew begins with Abraham. Luke begins with the announcement of two very amazing births. Mark skips ahead to the action, when John and Jesus get to do the work that they were sent to do.

John begins at the beginning of time, before there was ever a first promise of a Christmas morning.

He doesn’t talk about Jesus the king. At least, he doesn’t start there. He begins with Jesus as God. That’s what the first line means. We call him the Word, and that word means more than just a collection of letters.

It means that he is the one sent from God, and he is the very same as God. It means all that.

So Jesus was with God, and he actually was God.

So coming to earth was a long way to travel.

That part is difficult, but the rest is easy. He came to the people who should have known him, and they didn’t seem to have time for him.

But if anyone received him, they could become children of God, which is really amazing. So this is not just an ordinary baby come to an ordinary manger outside of Bethlehem. This is about God wanting to be close to people like us, and about finding life because of Jesus.

I told you it was a big story.

Four books—four stories. Taken together, they remind us that Christmas is bigger than we could ever imagine.

Let’s review. Matthew tells us that Jesus was born into a long line of families that came from Abraham, and that he came to be a king. Luke will tell you that John was born to prepare the way for Jesus—and also there were angels and shepherds and stuff. Mark will tell you that John lived in the desert and told people that Jesus was coming. And the other dude named John explained that Jesus offered anyone the power to become children of God.

There you go.

Jesus is born, and it’s a very big deal.

[.]